Fun with the grandchildren

Our grandchildren, Thomas (8) and Sophie (4), recently spent five nights at our house whilst their parents were in New York. Although the weather was not good (it rained a lot) we all had a great time entering the many events inThomas's mini Olympic Games, with a prize giving ceremony at the end. We also went to Shaftesbury on a public bus (a rare treat for them), baked buns one day and pizzas another, visited a farm with rare breeds of donkeys and other animals, and when Sophie was getting a bit tired we watched Peppa Pig DVDs. But best of all was a day spent hunting for fossils on the beach at Lyme Regis - Thomas and Sophie found 16 altogether which they were able to bring home. Mummy and Daddy enjoyed themselves in New York too, so a great time was had by all.

Mercy Ship on TV

The Quest TV programme in the Mighty Ships series, scheduled to go out tomorrow, has now been rescheduled for Tuesday 14 September at 9pm on Freeview channel 38. The programme features the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy, and our son Olly talks to camera in his role as Dive Team Coordinator on the ship. He also tells us that his family can be seen in the background. Its just over 7 years since Olly and his family left England to train as Mercy Ships volunteers and they have spent most of those years working amongst the desperately poor people of West Africa. (The Dive Team has to go deep under the ship twice a week to remove rubbish from the water intake otherwise the engines overheat, the electricity fails and the whole ship grinds to a halt.) Photos show Olly in the filthy waters of Benin and the family in Benin, 2009.