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A Royal Visit. :)
Sorry 'bout falling off the face of LJ, but life's just busy... Firstly Darcy had a friend staying Saturday-Sunday, and then ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_royal_anna arrived on Monday! :D She is, in case you're wondering, exactly as lovely and gracious in RL as she comes across on LJ, so (obviously) she is the perfect guest. Also she finds washing up relaxing - dirty dishes just kinda vanished.
Anyway, she arrived at half past nine, which meant getting all the children up and dressed before that time! (My kids are not of the 'Always up at 6 am' variety. This has both up and down sides.) The train was on time (yay! Last time it was 2 hours delayed!) so there were no problems at all.
We spent the rest of the morning mostly chatting (or rather talking at odd moments when the children shut up), and then went for a walk, since there is a nature reserve to the back of our house. We intended to feed the swans, but they never showed... The weather was nice though, and the walk lovely.
After some lunch we decided to go into town, where we went in the cathedral, the museum and the shopping centre, which kinda exhausted all options. (There is a nice big park, but we went there last time... Our town ain't exactly big on tourist attractions.)
At some point I should probably mention that we are half-way through the summer's DIY project, which means that all the bedrooms upstairs are full of *stuff* that's been re-located so we can drill holes and almost move walls. Not the *ideal* time to have people round, but I'm planning on having the house spotless next time... ::tries to keep straight face::
In the evening we went out to a lovely Italian restaurant (recommended by my m-i-l) and had a very nice time indeed, with great food and better company! :) When leaving we decided to 'liberate' our bottle of wine, since we'd only drunk about half of it. This plan worked very well indeed, with the help of my coat that Darcy very gallantly carried for me! We were all very mindful of The Coat. *g*
When we got back we watched 'Bedtime Stories' (which we had rented when Darcy's friend was visiting and forgotten to take back) because the children were *desperate* to watch it again, and it IS a lot of fun. Consider it recommended!
Once we'd finished that, and thrown the little 'uns in bed, it was time for the night's main event: Twilight! I shall post a separate review, but for now I'll just say that I adored it in all it's sparkly, ridiculous glory!
Tuesday we had a slow morning, as far as I recall, with Anna being entirely surrounded by children telling her everything she could ever have wanted to know about gogos.
By now having borrowed my f-i-l's car (which has 7 seats), we decided to go to York for the day. Not much to say about the drive, but once there we had our picnic in the shade of the Minster. The Minster (the part we could see) was all wrapped up in scaffolding and plastic sheets, but our picnic was v. nice and the girls had endless fun with the leaves that had already fallen.
Then we did the obligatory wandering around, looking at the old buildings, going in to 'Christmas Angels' (probably the girls' favourite toy shop *ever*), and then ending up in the middle of town where there (of course) was a fair, and the children went on a bouncy castle and a Victorian swing thing. Ended up in Caffe Nero where we had many kinds of milkshake before finally heading back, walking along the walls and sneaking a peek into the Archbishop's garden!
We chose to go the 'scenic' route, which was... interesting. But very scenic. Got back with not much time to spare, and Darcy performed one of his 'dinner-in-15-minutes' miracles (starter and dinner!), and then we all rushed off to the train station where we discovered that Anna's train had been cancelled, thanks to another train that had broken down, but there would be a replacement bus-service part of the way...
But it all worked out in the end, and she got back to London all in one piece!
And that's all, since I kinda suck at writing about RL. But lots of talking was done, and fun was had, and that's the important part. Esp since Anna (in case you didn't know) was my first contact with fandom, and was the best guide anyone could ever have asked for! Dear Anna, if you ever dare brave the trains again, you're more than welcome to come back, and I'll send some photos as soon as we have a functioning keyboard on the iMac! *lots of hugs*
the_royal_anna arrived on Monday! :D She is, in case you're wondering, exactly as lovely and gracious in RL as she comes across on LJ, so (obviously) she is the perfect guest. Also she finds washing up relaxing - dirty dishes just kinda vanished.Anyway, she arrived at half past nine, which meant getting all the children up and dressed before that time! (My kids are not of the 'Always up at 6 am' variety. This has both up and down sides.) The train was on time (yay! Last time it was 2 hours delayed!) so there were no problems at all.
We spent the rest of the morning mostly chatting (or rather talking at odd moments when the children shut up), and then went for a walk, since there is a nature reserve to the back of our house. We intended to feed the swans, but they never showed... The weather was nice though, and the walk lovely.
After some lunch we decided to go into town, where we went in the cathedral, the museum and the shopping centre, which kinda exhausted all options. (There is a nice big park, but we went there last time... Our town ain't exactly big on tourist attractions.)
At some point I should probably mention that we are half-way through the summer's DIY project, which means that all the bedrooms upstairs are full of *stuff* that's been re-located so we can drill holes and almost move walls. Not the *ideal* time to have people round, but I'm planning on having the house spotless next time... ::tries to keep straight face::
In the evening we went out to a lovely Italian restaurant (recommended by my m-i-l) and had a very nice time indeed, with great food and better company! :) When leaving we decided to 'liberate' our bottle of wine, since we'd only drunk about half of it. This plan worked very well indeed, with the help of my coat that Darcy very gallantly carried for me! We were all very mindful of The Coat. *g*
When we got back we watched 'Bedtime Stories' (which we had rented when Darcy's friend was visiting and forgotten to take back) because the children were *desperate* to watch it again, and it IS a lot of fun. Consider it recommended!
Once we'd finished that, and thrown the little 'uns in bed, it was time for the night's main event: Twilight! I shall post a separate review, but for now I'll just say that I adored it in all it's sparkly, ridiculous glory!
Tuesday we had a slow morning, as far as I recall, with Anna being entirely surrounded by children telling her everything she could ever have wanted to know about gogos.
By now having borrowed my f-i-l's car (which has 7 seats), we decided to go to York for the day. Not much to say about the drive, but once there we had our picnic in the shade of the Minster. The Minster (the part we could see) was all wrapped up in scaffolding and plastic sheets, but our picnic was v. nice and the girls had endless fun with the leaves that had already fallen.
Then we did the obligatory wandering around, looking at the old buildings, going in to 'Christmas Angels' (probably the girls' favourite toy shop *ever*), and then ending up in the middle of town where there (of course) was a fair, and the children went on a bouncy castle and a Victorian swing thing. Ended up in Caffe Nero where we had many kinds of milkshake before finally heading back, walking along the walls and sneaking a peek into the Archbishop's garden!
We chose to go the 'scenic' route, which was... interesting. But very scenic. Got back with not much time to spare, and Darcy performed one of his 'dinner-in-15-minutes' miracles (starter and dinner!), and then we all rushed off to the train station where we discovered that Anna's train had been cancelled, thanks to another train that had broken down, but there would be a replacement bus-service part of the way...
But it all worked out in the end, and she got back to London all in one piece!
And that's all, since I kinda suck at writing about RL. But lots of talking was done, and fun was had, and that's the important part. Esp since Anna (in case you didn't know) was my first contact with fandom, and was the best guide anyone could ever have asked for! Dear Anna, if you ever dare brave the trains again, you're more than welcome to come back, and I'll send some photos as soon as we have a functioning keyboard on the iMac! *lots of hugs*
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Oh! I was so excited to get Little Miss M's fabulous card in the post today and please say a huge THANK YOU to her. A reply will be on its way shortly. :)
Now with added fic-recs...
I left out lots of stuff, but then most of it would have required long explanations... (Star Wars theme! *g*)
Thank you *lots* - I had so much fun and it was such a treat to spend time with you and your lovely family again.
Thank YOU for coming. *hugs* It was wonderful having a break from all the DIY (which is coming on, btw). Many apologies for all the mess (again).
I just showed Miss M your comment, and she's v. pleased. She's been complaining lately that she never gets any mail!, so you'll make her day. :)
Anyway, I have to run off and bring Darcy his morning cup of tea, hoping to revive him...
ETA: Thank you so much for the parcel! The girls are very happy, and the card is just *wonderful*! (And how did you find Miss M's favourite gogo? I am in awe!) ::squish::
ETA2: Just remembered that I meant to send you the link for this, and then decided to throw in another rec, because it is an *amazing* story:
Threads That Are Golden Don’t Break Easily. Torchwood/Narnia crossover, and it works *perfectly*.
Far Off, Like A Dull Rumour Of Some Other War. Torchwood, 1918. This is one of my favourite stories of all time. It takes the TW team of 1918 (you can read about them here) and not only fleshes them out, but creates a mesmerising and utterly compelling story.
Both fics are around the 10,000 word mark though, so save them for when you have plenty of time. :)
Re: Now with added fic-recs...
:D
Thank you for the links! I am supposed to be packing at the moment (someone decided we need to leave at 6:45am tomorrow morning. I didn't even know there was such a time!) but will look forward to reading them before too long.
I remembered that Hilbo was pointed out to me as the best of all Gogos, and Ebay was nice and cooperative for once. :)
I have sent the small people's post first. Yours will follow (eventually)!
I hope you are all having a wonderful time at the seaside!
Re: Now with added fic-recs...
Last time we were in the Faroes, we had to get up at something like 4:30, because the plane left at 7! (And it's around an hour's drive...) This was not fun. Anyway, you certainly seem to be having a busy holiday - I hope you get some time to catch your breath between all the packing!
but will look forward to reading them before too long.
Keep them to hand for long, wet autumn evenings. :)
And speaking of gogos and post, then the mail arrived whilst I was writing this comment (comments take a long time with children around), and there was much rejoicing! I'd say something about 'Oh you shouldn't!' but I have a feeling you're having lots of fun too. (They loved their cards! And Miss M is currently searching high and low for their gogo book.)
I hope you are all having a wonderful time at the seaside!
We did! It was blustery, and very British, and we got sand in everything, but we found fossils and had a brilliant time!