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.

Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire

We've just returned from a 850 mile tour of Hertfordshire and Yorkshire during which we met up with 18 friends and relatives. In Hertfordshire we stayed with our friends Wendy and Keith who took us to the Henry Moore Foundation's centre at Perry Green, near Much Hadham. Moore set up the Foundation as a charity to promote the arts and it now does much good work both in the UK and internationally. We had a tour of Moore's house and some of his workshops and saw much of his prolific output, from small drawings up to massive sculptures weighing several tons. Whilst all of these sculptures were very cleverly thought out and brilliantly executed in all kinds of materials we still had difficulty reconciling the titles of some of them with the finished work of art. No doubt I was missing something but my favourite, perhaps because it looks like its title, was the family group on the bench. If you want to see them for yourself you will have to hurry as the centre close to the public for the season on 30 August. (Top photo shows Wendy comparing sculpture to its title in the guide - can you tell what it is?)

Center Parcs

The Center Parcs brand started in The Netherlands and the De Kempervennen Center Parc is almost identical in every way to the Longleat Center Parc in Wiltshire, UK, which we know quite well. However our luxurious VIP villa at Kempervennen was new this season and included a dishwasher, home cinema outfit, whirlpool bath and sauna. See photos of Sophie and Thomas pretending to enjoy a sauna and Ben almost lost in foam in the whirlpool bath. Both these facilities brought much needed relief to aching muscles, scrapes and bruises after a day of cycling, swimming and sports. Our VIP villa also had fresh rolls and croissants delivered before breakfast each morning and a free daily newspaper - in English of course. It really was excellent, well equipped in every area and spotlessly clean.

Happy Birthday

Jenny and I recently celebrated my significant birthday with a week at Center Parcs de Kempervennen in the Netherlands. Ben, Clare, Thomas and Sophie were with us and on the morning of my birthday they got up early and decorated our villa with balloons and signs they had made themselves and got out a lovely cake and a bottle of champagne they had brought out from England. I got some lovely cards and presents too - an interesting armorial (for the garden) from Jenny, a tasteful heron from Ben and family (also for the garden) and, all the way from Olly and family in Togo, West Africa, a Phillips PhotoFrame complete with lovely family photos and a charming locally painted picture entitled "Family Transport - visit to parents". In the evening we had a meal at the Center Parcs grill where I was presented with a free drink by the management! Altogether a day to remember! I've attached a few of my own photos but if you would like to see about 20 of Ben's excellent photos of the week log on to http://www.flickr.com/photos/benpeet/sets/72157624506428965/ for the photo set.

"Time flies"

I see that it is five weeks since I made my last blog entry. Where has the time gone? Well, since Ben and family left us on 3 June we have had three more sets of guests staying with us. Guests provide the perfect excuse for putting all the chores on one side and driving round sharing interesting and lovely places in Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire with them. Its great fun but the chores are still there when the guests have gone! This year we have taken our visitors to villages and small towns which were having "open garden days", a wonderful way to admire other people's gardens and homes, from stately manor houses to charming little cottages. And there were some lovely ones too. We have also spent some time playing in the opening rounds of our Croquet Club summer competition. We've done well in the Doubles Association Croquet and should be through to the next round but we won't talk about the Doubles Golf Croquet! Then of course there have been talks to do, singing, bellringing, committee meetings and much watering of the garden during the recent dry spell. We need a holiday! Photo shows my sister Joan (one of our guests) with Jenny on Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, made famous by the Hovis TV advert many years ago. It was a bit chilly and damp that day.

Royal Bath and West Show

Last week we went with Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie to the Royal Bath and West Show, probably the biggest agricultural show in England. Hundreds of farmers, animal owners, cheese makers and florists had entered their cows, bulls, sheep, pigs, poultry, rabbits, goats, floral displays, cheeses and much more in the hope of winning the show medals. In addition there was a show jumping competition, military band displays, a parade of old vehicles and thousands of side stalls. We had a ride on the miniature railway (that's us behind the boy in the black top hat), watched the sheep judging, savoured the aroma of the cheese hall, watched the old tractor display and much more. After a long day we drove to the nearby Somerset town of Shepton Mallet for a fish and chip supper, then home to bed. What a lovely day.