Monday, May 26, 2008

Rain...Rain...and Rain again...

It has rained solidly for the past 2 days. Days when the country and I were all on the roads. Not pleasant. Slow, tedious, dangerous, and thoroughly exhausting. I cannot tell you how many lunatics there are on the motorways . I think I have seen them all in the past 2 days.

Anyway, we are home from out visit to Andrew and Ann, and we had a wonderful time. There was much playing of the PS3 and singing too.... remember Singstar? And we had raclette for dinner, which was wonderful.

Yesterday, we all went to Canterbury to see the university which David is hopefully going to go to in September. It was wonderful. It is a campus, as opposed to a city uni, and I had a chat with some students we met there who all rave about it, especially the science departments, and say they are so happy they made the choice to go there. David says it is even better than he had imagined, and he is so excited.

This was taken at the university... This is the view of Canterbury and the Cathedral from the hill, where the university is situated. How stunning. He will be so happy there, I think/hope, and now all he has to do is work and get the results he needs for admission. 2 weeks to go till he writes the rest of his finals.


Ann is very musical, and plays the trumpet, guitar and the piano, and now, the tuba as well! She showed me the 2 tubas she has, and so help me, they are almost as big as she is. She is having a wonderful time in the band she plays in, and I asked if she knew how to play this monster, and she said, she just worked it out. I did mention that she was very musical, didn't I??

This morning, we all went to a huge shopping mall close by, so the 3 of them could go to the new Indiana Jones movie, which they were less than impressed with. Apparently the plot left something to be desired. And me?? I walked around the shops. It was sensory overload. I never go shopping, because then I spend money. And today, half of England was in this shopping centre, because it is a Bank Holiday and it is raining. So the nation goes shopping.

It has been so long since I browsed, that I didn't know where to start, and I spent what money I had with me very rapidly. Little things. But so much fun. For a while. But after an hour, I had had enough, and the queues for every restaurant were miles long. So I sat and watched people instead.

Close to where they live, there is a road which is prone to flooding, and both yesterday and today, we had to drive through deep pools of water. It is amazing how the sight of large pools of water makes people very wary. After fording the flood 4 times in 2 days, I was beginning to wonder if I had terminally damaged my car, but even though it coughed and spluttered a little, it kept going. And we got home too.

So there you have our break away. Wet. Very wet. But with a house full of your own kids, life looks good, no matter what the weather does!

5 comments:

Crystal said...

I'm so glad you had a wonderful time - and traveled safely too!!! I love watching the people at malls and I'd rather sit than fight the crowd too. It's fun to just have time to wander and be amazed by the displays, the products - and yes, the prices too!! And the university view is beautiful. How nice that David thinks it looks even better than he thought - that's a good sign. Now, what will you do next on your week off? Have fun - and do tell us about it.

Needled Mom said...

The view of Canterbury is lovely. I might even like going back to school there!

Ann's tuba looks huge. It's wonderful that she can manage such an instrument and be so clever as to play so many different ones.

Glad that you managed to travel safely. Flooded streets are always a worry.

Carole Burant said...

Sounds like you're having a wonderful, but soggy, holiday with your son and daughter in law:-) How I would love to see Canterbury for myself, I've heard so much about it from a penpal I use to have who lived near there. Such a magnificent shot you got of Canterbury and the Cathedral!!! How exciting for David to see for himself the university which he hopes to attend...best of luck to him!!

I've always wondered how people can play the tuba and hold it at the same time, it's so huge! lol How lovely that Ann is so musically inclined...I'm afraid I have no talent whatsoever there! lol

Enjoy the rest of your trip!! xoxo

Judith said...

You do have a very fine looking family. And I can almost hear the
excitement of anticipating college.

Also, this is quite late, but I so enjoyed how you kept the children occupied while on the ship. I hope
you know how excellent your organizational skills are.

Mary said...

welcome back.