Oops, sorry Avery

Avery was complaining that his ear hurt this morning. He has had a bit of hay fever so I thought maybe he had fluid in his ears. I didn't want to give him benedryl because it would make him sleepy and I don't have any kid kind anyway. I decided I would clean his ears with a cotton swab and see if that helped him feel better. Well I put one end in and turned it around then pulled it out and it had a lot of wax on it so I put the other end in and he screamed and when I pulled it out it was soaked in blood. Great. What had I done? Blood was now oozing out of his ear. I told Tristan to walk to school and he did. I could tell he was worried about Avery. I put a towel on Avery's ear and had him lie on it while I called the doctor. They said I could bring him in an hour and a half later. In the mean time I gave him Advil and let him watch cartoons. His ear stopped bleeding after a while and he was feeling better once the Advil kicked in. The doctors here are so strange. They don't touch you unless they have to. They don't look at anything but what you came in for. I told him what happened and he looked in both ears and said the one that had bled looked like it had been affected, whatever that means, and he wrote a prescription for amoxicillin and said he needed to be seen in three weeks to make sure it's better. We walked over to the pharmacy and got his medicine and went home. At least none of it cost me anything but I do pay the 25 percent vat tax on everything. Cory came home early and we went to the commissary and bought a bunch of American food. The total was over 400 bucks! I can't believe it. The commissary is a better deal than the local grocery stores but no where as cheap as WalMart in the states. When we got home Cory put three frozen pizzas in the oven to cook for dinner. They won't fit in our freezer. He forgot about them and burned them to a crisp. So annoying! It's like we put a twenty dollar bill in the oven and burned it to ashes. Avery is feeling better it seems and he enjoyed his day with us while everyone was at school. Since I feel guilty for injuring his ear I let him buy a silly little toy at the commissary. He played with it all the way home which is 43 miles but takes 75 minutes. We pass through some pretty towns and countryside along the way though. Some of the leaves are starting to turn into their fall colors.

Lidia and Aiden had their first mufti day today, meaning they can wear whatever they like if they make a donation to the PTA. Aiden jumped at the chance but Lidia didn't bother. When she came home she said she was the only girl that didn't dress down.

Tristan brought home his France tshirt and hoodie today. They will all match on the trip. He leaves early Monday morning. I've got to get him packed. I am going to miss him. Pray for his safety and that I don't go nuts worrying.

It's different this time

Moving is something we have done several times. However, this is the first time that I knew it is temporary and that I would be moving back to my house that I own while I rent here. Well I suppose California was like this but it was only nine months. It seems a bit hard for me to accept this house as my home when I have a home that I love and plan to return to in three years. I don't love this house like I do mine. I don't hate it but I really do not like cooking or cleaning here. Not that I loved those chores before but because I do not own this house I can not change it and I really despise the bathrooms, cheap carpets, and kitchen. The kitchen isn't horrible but the sink and faucet are and the oven and stove are weird and I hate the clothes washer so much but mostly I don't like being in the kitchen because it is closed up in the corner of the house. I love the open floor plan of my house back home. This house we are in is rather open for a British house so I really am fortunate and do appreciate this house we have to live in. I'm just explaining why I am having a hard time adjusting. These things take time and I'll adjust but in the mean time I just want a maid to come cook and clean for me. It's cheaper than piano lessons. I could get a maid for ten pounds an hour to come clean once a week. I'm thinking about it...

I sat down in the recliner in my room right by the window as the sun was beaming in and fell asleep for three hours. I guess I was behind on some sleep or something. The sun felt good. It has rained a ton the last couple of days. It's getting cloudy again now. The clouds tend to move quick here so we get some sun quite often.


Now I'm off to the kitchen to make dinner and maybe some cookies. I'll listen to the radio while I'm in there. I actually listen to the radio a lot during the day since I'm the only one here.

Oh! Avery says he can actually swim now. I guess we will see when we go to France and stay at a hotel with a pool but he seems proud of himself and is enjoying his school swim lessons. I am so glad! His class also has forest school on Thursdays now which I am sure he loves. They fenced off a part of the school yard where there are trees and plants and they do nature activities for a couple of hours. They have to take their wellies to wear and a jacket.

walking

I went on a nice 4.5 mi walk with a group of ladies today. We started at the Golden Ball pub in Lower Swell and walked through Stow on the Wold and back and had lunch at the pub. Everyone was very nice and it was a lovely day. It was a bit windy but I didn't mind. I didn't rain! This group goes out once a month on a Tuesday morning. I plan to continue. The country side is very pretty. I hit some stinging nettle with my finger and it is still tingling late tonight. So annoying!

I spoke with Avery's teacher yesterday. She was very nice and concerned that he had said that. She said he is having a hard time making friends because they have all been friends for a few years and because he is sometimes rude to them. Social skills are something we are always having to work on with these boys. He and I both felt better after talking to her after school.

Piano lessons are very expensive here. Well at least if the older two do it at school. It's less expensive for the younger two but it's likely because they are small group lessons instead of private. If Lidia and Aiden take lessons it will be 15 pounds per 30 min lesson. That's 25 dollars a lesson per kid! Another drawback is the school requires you to also be in choir if you take music lessons. Aiden hates choir and depending on the songs they sing(if they are church songs) Lidia might not want to either. I may call around and see how much it would cost elsewhere.

another week

Sorry I don't have any pictures to post. I have not taken any recently. Another week has gone by and school has been good overall. The kids don't seem to have too much homework. They all seem happy overall except Avery says his teacher hates him and yells at him saying things like "wake up" or "wipe that smile off your face". I guess I'm going to have to have a chat with her. She does not seem friendly at all. Luckily there are other assistants and teachers in there a lot of the time so she is not the only one he deals with but it still bothers me that he feels that way.

Yesterday and today have been very rainy. I wonder if we will still be having our group walk tomorrow. Even if it stops raining it will likely be very muddy after all of this. I drove Lidia and Aiden to school today because it was raining a lot but I should have just made them put on their rain gear and walk. I did not save any time by driving them. Traffic was outrageous. Plenty of people were still walking, they just had on their wellies and coats. We are lucky to have such a good road system in the states. Cory always bikes to work. Today he just put on his rain siut and went. His hair will be soaked. He should get a rain cover for his helmet. I'm sure he passed lots of cars on his way in.

I joined the gym in town. I went to several classes last week and enjoyed it. I did zumba a couple of times and water aerobics a couple of times. I am out of shape so it has made me pretty tired but I know that it will get easier as I keep going. I also went to zumba at church Friday morning and got roped into doing a number to Grease Lightning with them at the ward talent show Saturday night. I always have fun and go for it 100% so I may have just looked like a fool to some but at least I'm a happy fool. hee hee There were five of us on stage and we did it once and then again with the audience joining in. Cory was a good sport and got up and did it with a few adults and lots of kids. One of our missionaries played the guitar at the talent show and was awesome. He is from Ireland and it sounded very folksy kind of like banjo. It was a metal guitar. So cool. One of the other elders, from UT, did a drum routine that was really cool too. We have some talented elders. They had a table with displays but I didn't feel like putting anything out to show that I had made. I have not made anything recently anyway.

Gotta do laundry today or Tristan and Avery will not have clean uniforms tomorrow. Fun fun.

I always follow politics and especially so right now. I am saying prayers for Mitt Romney to win. I am scared to think what Obama would do with a second term. He and his pals are ruining everything and seem to have no respect for the Constitution. His ideals need a serious reality check.

It is funny to me how much I follow current events these days. When I was growing up I didn't care about anything on the news even though my dad was the one reporting the news. I also hated history and now I love it. Funny how your view of the world changes as you get older and see so much more than yourself.

I also grew up feeling a bit out of place being a mormon in the south where everyone is baptist or methodist. However, as I have grown up and moved around I can see that being raised in the "bible belt" has had a positive affect on my life. Even though I was not raised in the same church as most of my peers the fact that most of us had faith in Christ made a difference in my life. Most people back home in the south are nice God fearing Christians and the way they live their life shows it. I am glad to have been raised around those good people who try to live a Christ like life. It is a very different feeling to live in places where people are more selfish and don't believe in Christ and try to take away the rights of Christians to express their beliefs. Liberal atheists try to take away the free speech of Christians and I am so sick of it. I love that when I was little we recited John 3:16 everyday and had prayers at school and recited The Lord's Prayer before games and concerts. We also sang My Country Tis of Thee and said the Pledge every morning. Now some are trying to outlaw anything that seems patriotic. It's disgusting. Here is the UK they have a religous element to education. They don't push any particular religion but the values that religion teaches. This week I heard one of the teachers tell a student "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" and I was pleased. We should be able to say things without fear of being sued.

finding a rhythm

It seems like it's been so long since we have had a real daily routine, living in transition all these months. It's really the worst part about moving. The kids are going to school and seem to be enjoying it but today was a real Monday morning, no one really wanted to get up and going. I told them they are so lucky I refused to send them to a school that attends on Saturdays as well and I better not be hearing anymore moaning about school on Mondays. I am trying to decide what I want my schedule to be like while they are at school. Particularly, what gym should I go to. There is one that a few of my friends go to that is less expensive but on the other side of town and only has zumba one morning a week. The real draw there is that I know a few people that go there. The gym downtown is closer and has zumba three mornings a week and a martial arts class I'm interested in as well as a water aerobics class. The gym membership is more but offers more. I know one person that goes there. Clearly that is where I should go but I am always hesitant to commit. I should go with Marie tomorrow and see how I like it. I miss my Utah zumba instructor, Angie. I loved her class. I want to get out and walk but not by myself. I don't really know anyone near me that's dying to get out and walk a few miles with me in the mornings. I need a big dog to walk. hee hee I swore I would not get a dog here. I really don't want one 24/7,  just to walk. I should volunteer to walk a neighbor's dog.

Tristan has a cycling proficiency course at school this week and next. My friend Dawn teaches it. I hope he does well. He hasn't ridden his bike much lately. They ride their bikes down my street and work on skills. Avery starts swimming for pe this week. They bus them over to the local pool once a week for ten weeks. The liesure center instructors will divide them by ability and work with them. I hope he cooperates and maybe they can help him get over his fear of dunking his head so he can learn to swim. Tristan's field trip to Rue is in two weeks. I'm gonna miss him and worry about my little guy the whole time. Maybe he can email and text me to say he's ok. I'll have to ask. He's excited and nervous. He has never been away from home without us.

All of these PE classes are new to us since Utah has kind of brushed it aside as something you can do in your free time and they just let you play outside for recess and once you are older you don't get much of a break. Well here they do PE twice a week and it's very structured, usually teaching some sport. Since they have to dress differently for the sports you have to remember what kit to bring what days. Aiden is doing football and rugby, Lidia swimming and hockey. The younger two are easier. They just have sweatpants and a tshirt they can wear for any PE along with trainers(sneakers). Avery has the swimming this term so he has to take that once a week. Tristan and Avery are going to a soccer clinic after school on Thursdays this term. They enjoyed it last week even though they thought they wouldn't. I bought them football boots(cleats). I told the instructors they have zero soccer experience so he put them with the younger kids but the boys did not seem to mind.

The kids say they like school better here than in America. We'll see if that lasts. I am particularly glad that Tristan seems to have a better attitude. His teacher says he knows a lot about nature. I get that a lot with all of my kids. I guess we all enjoy nature and therefore know more about it than some. The kids seem behind in writing skills here. That is a larger focus here I think. It is the land of Shakespeare after all and they will never let you forget it. Literature is very important here as well as history. The kids seem fine in maths here. In the states they are trying to push everyone into advanced math but it doesn't work. Aiden wasn't ready for algebra last year and them making him take it just caused him a lot of stress and frustration. In the states it seems that they don't care about handwriting or spelling anymore but they definitely care about those things here. Lidia likes her cooking class and Aiden likes his German class. Aiden wanted to take Spanish but you don't get to choose here. Your classes are according to your grade and so he is taking French and German. I guess he will get Spanish next year.

Cory is getting up and taking Lidia to seminary everyday. It is from 6:30-7:15. She doesn't seem too exhausted from it. She hasn't complained that I know of. I have her and Aiden pack their lunch and shower the night before so when she gets home she has half an hour to eat breakfast and put on her uniform and head out the door. They have to leave by 8 so they have time to walk to school and go to their lockers and get to class by 8:30. They are done at 4 and walk home usually arriving around 4:30. I walk Tristan and Avery over to school at 8:50 and pick them up at 3:20. All of the kids get a 20 min break and a full hour lunch. It makes a huge difference I think. They eat a snack at break and eat all of their lunch and have time to just talk to their friends. It's a much more balanced day. In Utah they never had time to finish eating and were starving after school everyday.

My routine at home isn't set or familiar to me yet. It still feels strange cleaning up here. The house is different and even the cleaning supplies take getting used to. I'm used to the washer and dryer now but I don't like how wrinkley they make your clothes. I despise ironing! These so called energy efficient washers are a joke to me. I just don't believe they save much. It seems to me that the cycle is way longer than the old one I have at home in UT and that it may use less water but more electricity because it agitates forever trying to get it clean with less water. I just don't buy it and the clothes don't get as clean either. It's like these darn so called energy efficient light bulbs. I hate them. The light is poor and they absolutely do not last longer than old bulbs like they claim. They just cost more and they are hazardous to dispose of. The toilets here are so annoying. The bowls only keep a tiny bit of water in them and so if someone poops the bowl gets nasty and needs to be cleaned everytime and it usually takes a few flushes to get it to go down. Sometimes I have to dump a glass of water in the bowl to get it to flush. It's so stupid when people design things trying to save a little bit of water but it makes the appliance practically useless. Things should work well, otherwise what's the point. All of this water is not disappearing anyway. It gets cleaned up and recycled. Speaking of recycling, we do recycle here and I don't mind that. However, I am not participating in the food waste recycling. They have a little bin you can put your food scraps in and they pick it up weekly but we don't throw away much food and the little bin just gets so disgusting so quick. I don't do it anymore. Luckily we qualify for a larger trash can because of our family size. It only comes every two weeks but we do fine since we recycle the bulky stuff. They will let you have as many recycle bins as you want. I wish it were just another can instead of those little bins. We also have a yard waste can. It's full right now, we've been trimming bushes and trees and the grass has to be cut every two or three weeks.

My car is possessed. I really like it except when it goes crazy on me. So it's a french car and it has lots of fancy computerized features. Sometimes those things go a little nuts on me. Well three random times since we bought it, it has gone into some sort of safe mode or something where it will only drive about 15 mph. Now when this happened when I first left the house it wasn't that big of a deal because I noticed it right away and just went back home and tried again later and it was fine. However, it happened when we were driving to Bournemouth all of a sudden while we were on the freeway. We were making a long line of cars behind us. Cory changed it to manual transmission mode and shifted the gears around and it woke up and started going again but it was scary. I'm scared to drive it to France for fall break but don't want to take Cory's little Fiat either. My car acted up again the other day so I told Cory we needed to do what we should have when we first bought it since it seems the dealer did nothing and we changed the oil and filter, both air filters and the fuel filter. It took a while because Cory was not familiar with the car and nothing was coming up on google searches until he did a search in french. It's been ok lately. We'll see how long it lasts. These little car episodes don't seem to bother Cory as much as they do me.

It's very different here for the kids going to school with peers that have such a different upbringing. I guess since we have moved a lot I never thought of the kids being used to only LDS friends but since we have been in UT the last five years, they don't really recall much about friends in MD. Here there are a lot of people that don't even believe in God. Religion is not lived by many here or it is more about tradition and history than the way you live your life. There are many good people and some are religious but there are a good number who are not and that is strange to my kids, expecially the older ones. Younger kids don't really talk about that much. The kids at our church are very nice and my kids get along with them really well.

Back to school!

Avery's first day of year 3

Tristan's first day of year 6

Lidia and Aiden riding their scooters home from school

Lidia and Aiden after their second day in yr 8&9

The kids all say they had a fantastic first day at school. I was feeling poorly so I rested all day and just enjoyed the quiet. Luckily I felt better by the time I had to pick them up. I walked to get Avery and Tristan and drove and picked up the older two but traffic was a nightmare and I think I will have them just walk home from now on. Cory walked them to school today and will tomorrow and maybe they will know the way to get back home. It's exactly one mile from our door to the school doors so not bad but they are gonna try their razor scooters tomorrow and see if they get there a little quicker. Update, they took their scooters today and while it may have been nice going to school since it's mostly downhill, it wasn't as nice coming home uphill and dragging the scooters along. So maybe they will stick to walking. Riding bikes isn't really a good options since the roads are narrow and you can't ride on the sidewalk without running over people. Me and the younger boys walked over and met them and walked home with them. I think they know the way and will be fine on their own.


Lidia and Aiden's schedule looks a lot different than it did in Utah. They begin their day in home room but here they call it registration and it's when you meet with your form and they take roll and announcements and such. It lasts twenty minutes. Oh and Aiden said they sing the school song and have a morning prayer. They have eight class periods that are 40  min each minus the five min between to change classes but some classes are two blocks so they are 80 min minus the five to get to the next. They also have a 20 min morning break and an hour lunch break. Every day is different so they will eventually just know the schedule by what day it is but for now they have it written several places and luckily most of the kids are the same in each class so they can follow the group. They divide each grade into three forms or houses. Some kids might be more advanced in one subject than another and go with another form for that subject. Aiden's house is Fisher and Lidia's house is More. So they pretty much stick with their home room class all day it seems.

Lidia has Classic Civ two periods a week, Spanish three periods a week, Maths five periods a week, art two periods mondays, physics two periods mondays, drama one period a week, english five periods a week, games(like netball, tennis etc) two periods on Tuesdays, PE two periods on Thursdays this term it's swimming for her next term will be gymnastics, history two periods a week, music one period a week, info tech (computers) one pd a wk, geography two pds/wk, religious studies two pd/wk, biology two pds Fridays, Technology(workshop) two pds Fridays, Chemistry two pds Fridays, and she has tutoring two pds/wk.

Aiden has Art two pds, PE two pds, Tech two pds, maths five pds, english five pds, music two pds, german two pds, french three pds, history two pds, religious studies two pds, science five pds, geography two pds, drama one pd, class civ two pds, info tech one pd, games two pds.

Whew! Lots of classes. They have a homework schedule too where certain subjects give homework certain days and each subject is not supposed to take more than half an hour. I think they have homework in three subjects a day but that doesn't mean the teacher will always give homework just that that's the only day they are allowed to I guess.

There is a geography field trip to Naples, Italy during fall break for years 8&9 but I don't think I will send them because it's the first week of break which is when Tristan and Avery are out also. If it were the second week when Tristan and Avery are back in school I would consider it but we are planning to go to Paris for the week they are both out and I am not cancelling just so they can spend two days (four daytrip but two spent traveling) in Naples looking at a volcano. Maybe we will take them there when we go to Italy later. It's also kind of expensive to send them for such a short stay.

Tristan and Avery had a good day again today and when I went to pick up Avery from his class he insisted on singing to his teacher and the handful of students still in there. He sang for a few minutes about school and time to go home and such. He likes to just make up stuff like that and has no clue that it seems a little odd. I just smile and say how nice he is.

They teach music lessons at school if you choose and pay for it. I think I will have them all take piano and see how it goes. They work it into the school day in the jr school and I think they do it during lunch break or after school at the sr school. Aiden says he wants to play the saxophone. I'm not sure I want to hear that. lol Plus we have a keyboard but not a sax.

The sr school has a lot of clubs they can join that take place during break or after school. Like I think maybe Aiden will want to do swim club. They just swim one day a week after school. We'll see. They can also go to the homework lab after school until 5:30 if they want help.

I need to figure out a routine for myself. It's all a new adjustment for me again living in a new place. I miss my walking neighborhood buddies. I may have to join the gym and make one of my friends go walking with me. I walked up to the clinic today to pick up urine containers. Fun fun. We have our first NHS appt next week and they require a bunch of paperwork and urine samples to be brought in. They will just see all of us at once and get us in the system. The clinic and pharmacy are about a fifteen minute walk away. It was a nice day outside. I sat down by the window with the sun on me when I got back and fell asleep. We must have caught a bug or eaten something bad because Cory wasn't feeling great this morning and I'm better but not completely well.

Eating in the UK

If you love meat and potatoes then this place is for you. I'm am not huge on such. If you like meat pies then you will really like the food. Cory enjoys those things occasionally but too heavy for very often. We don't like English sausage or bacon, we buy the American kind on base. If you have not noticed our vegitarian leanings are not so strong here. It's a little easier to be vegetarian with CA and Mexico nearby. Even carrots are not so great here. They don't grow well here for some reason.

One thing that is nice is they really support local products here. When you buy meat or produce it says if it is from England, Wales or Scotland etc. It's all pretty fresh. With the size of the UK it's like if everything at the grocery store in UT was raised or grown locally in UT. You can tell by the taste and looks that it's more fresh. They don't refrigerate eggs here. Apparently you don't have to if you don't wash them? Finding a feather or a little chicken poop on the outside of an egg is not uncommon and they only sell brown eggs here. I could get goods delivered from a local farm but since the store is pretty local I'll likely stick with that since its less expensive and easier for me. They grocery stores have online ordering and you can pick it up or have it delivered. I have not done that but I know a lot of people do.

I find American foods from home comforting sometimes so we do have pizza and hot dogs and hamburgers and soda pop occasionally but usually we eat them at home. We ate out more in America. Here it tastes better at home usually and is way less money. I tend to cook the same things like veggie soup, enchiladas, tacos, fish, pasta etc. I have a a ton of can goods from my food storage that will take a long time to finish off but I plan to try.

Cory and the kids tried Scottish Eggs the other day. It's a common pic nic or lunch type food here and are usually eaten cold. I think they warmed them up a little but they liked them OK. Well Tristan wouldn't eat it but Aiden loved it. It's a boiled egg inside a sausage ball that has bread crumbs on the outside and been fried. I don't plan to try it. I don't like the sausage here.

The kid across the street likes my grilled cheese sandwiches or he calls it a cheese toasty.

Here they don't sell cereal and things with artificial colors or flavors so no fruit loops and such. I know they are not good for you but they are yummy once in a while so I buy them on base when I actually go there, it's an hour away. I noticed the other day they were selling fruit loops here now but with all natural ingredients and they tasted disgusting and the colors were all muted and gross looking. We will stick with mini wheats. They have some with fruit centers here which are pretty good. 

The cheese is different here too. No processed fake junk like American cheese. The English cheddar is white and pretty good. It's rare to find pepper jack or monterey cheese but you can get gouda and goat cheese and other kinds I am probably not familiar with.

Sweet chili sauce is popular here. I like it too. Sweet chili chicken wraps are common.

Blackberries grow wild all over here. Reminds me of my childhood. We picked them as kids. They grew in the woods behind our yard. The grocery stores sell lots of blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries etc. You don't really have many melons around here but most fruits you can get and are good. Right now nectaries are in season and yummy. The grapes, bananas, apples are good too. The apples I just bought are from New Zealand though. I just have a hard time with the veggie selection, mainly the lettuces. They are not the kind I am used to. I'm trying to have us eat down all these darn canned veggies anyway. I think I had too much food storage. I have tons of oats. Anybody have any good recipes that use lots of oats? lol The boys will eat oats for breakfast.

The schools ask that you don't send junk food in lunches like cookies and chips so we just save them for after school treats. I don't plan to buy school lunch but Lidia and Aiden do have a money card that they can use at school if they want to buy anything to eat or drink.

These ovens take forever to heat up but they seem to cook ok. I just wish there were words on the controls instead of pictures. Feels like I'm trying to figure out hyroglyphics. They are German and I guess they do it so they don't have to print different languages on the appliances here in Europe but it's annoying.

I made pumpkin bread the other day. They don't really sell canned pumpkin here but I brought several cans.

They do sell vegetarian meat like products here and Cory says it's good so I'm making sloppy joes with it tonight. 

The grocery stores also sell a better variety of fresh baked breads and rolls here. Their donuts are ok but not the same as in the states. They sell Krispy Kreme donuts at the grocery stores but they are 13 pounds a dozen which is like 20 bucks. No thanks.

Gloucester History Festival

We were just sitting having lunch and a parade came by
with lots of bands and people in period attire.
I love men in kilts playing bagpipes.
We had been planning to come see Gloucester Cathedral
but hadn't done it till today and we lucked out.
We had no idea but it was the History Festival!
Lots of fun and all free!
Gloucester is the town nearest ours, only 4 miles from Cheltenham.

Down at the end of this little alley is a Beatrix Potter
museum and shop. She visited here long ago and wrote
The Tailor of Gloucester which they say was her favorite book.

Gloucester Cathedral is pretty and has lots of history
itself and today the grounds were full of reinacters from all ages.

These two were very talented playing several
instruments and singing. The lady played the drum the entire
 time she switched from the trombone, flute and singing.
That's multitasking!

I should have taken a pic of the boys holding the shield and spear.
Not an easy task for these little guys.

Aiden grinding "cereal" (wheat)

ladies dancing

I think they said the room of requirement appears here.
I need to rewatch the movies.
These are the first fan vaulted ceilings in the UK.
There are tiny holes in the ceiling so if there is a roof fire
water will just run on through.

Harry and Ron realize Hermione is in trouble
while sitting out here in the garth.
That fountain is from a stream that runs under the cloisters.

several scenes from the first two HP movies were filmed here
in the cloisters and out in the garth.
They flooded it for the scene where the bathroom floods
and then they wrote on the wall that the chamber of secrets was
opened and the troll chased them, etc.

Ron and Harry hide from the troll here in the lavoratory where the
 monks washed their hands daily.
They bathed only three times a year.

I think this is a Duke of Normandy.
There are a lot of people buried here.
Kind Edward II was buried here long ago and
many people made the pilgrimage to see and that's
how they raised the money to complete the cathedral.
It was just a monastary before.

I love this little St Andrew Chapel.
It was painted by a Victorian artist Thomas Parry.

The boys loved watching them fight!

all sorts of tents showing life through the ages

Avery was very interested in their swords.

lots of neat old buildings

cool viking boat

proof that i was there too. lol

The girls back there were singing boogie woogie bugle boy type songs,
loved it. A couple was even swing dancing.

Hands on history is the best. Everyone was so
nice and loved sharing their history knowledge.

That white row boat above Lidia's head kept rowing around
with guys dressed up and shooting a cannon. Startled me every time.

we may just have to take a tour down the river in one of those canal boats one day.

We got the kids ice cream before we left.
They also have a toysrus in Gloucester so we let the kids
look around and it was so fun for them.