Bonfire Night

Pyromaniacs rejoice! November is the time of year when fire crackers appear for sale in shop windows and subsequently in the night skies above.

Coming from a country where fire crackers have been banned for about 20 years, its a real flashback (pardon the pun) to see firecrackers for sale in shop windows. The difference being that the firecrackers for sale are not the pretty little Welcome Springs and Catherine Wheels that we remember, but rather the industrial strength New Years Eve type that shoot 200ft into the air. This explains the nightly fireworks displays that can be seen for miles around.

Its all to celebrate the foiling of a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605. If this is how to celebrate a foiled plot, I wonder how the locals would behave if the plot succeeded!
Anyhow, despite the fact anyone can purchase enough fireworks to rival the Sydney New Years Eve show (like the guy two doors down from us did) a lot of the local organisations put on bonfire and fireworks displays for all the locals to attend. We're told these can be lively affairs in some of he less salubrious areas, so we decided to head along to Godalming for its "Family Bonfire Night".

It all started in the High Street, where everyone lit a flaming torch then marched through the town to the bonfire site. It felt like a good old fashioned witch-hunt.... very exciting.


All smiles as the witch-hunt begins



The locals are revolting!!




The bonfire (obviously)


Red-eye reduction has been used in this shot, which explains the weird looking bloke. We bought the fluro sword for Caiti and have regretted the purchase ever since.



And what better way to finish a family bonfire and fireworks show than with some fireworks. They were loud and long.

The Book Parade

Lucy's school had a book parade where everyone had to dress as a book character and parade around the playground for the amusement of parents. It was very entertaining, especially seeing some classic book characters such as Darth Vader (from Stars Wars picture book), Buzz Lightyear (from Toy Story - the book) and Bob the Builder (from the TV Guide).

Lucy went as Sleeping Beauty, which was appropriate because that is what we call her when she is asleep. When Caitlin is asleep we call her "At Last Thank God".

Winchester (the town, not the gun)

So here's few pics of the day we went to Winchester. It wasn't a great day weather-wise, but as we've found this is often the case around here, so it's no use staying in with so much to see....

Winchester's main claim to fame these days is its cathedral (burial place of Jane Austen amongst others), but at one time it was the capital of England and before that, Wessex.
For those who don't know Wessex was a kingdom of old that took up a fair whack of south western Britain; and like the England of today, its rugby team was boring to watch.

We wanted to have a peek at Winchester because it was voted best place to live in Britain in 2006, according to the annual showdown on the popular Channel 4 real estate show Location, Location, Location. This year Winchester slipped down the list (Edinburgh won) and it has fierce competition from many of the Surrey boroughs around our way, but sadly not from our local borough Woking - come on Woking lift your game!!



So here we are outside the town gates and some of the nearby historic houses.


The girls braving the elements outside the cathedral. Nice grass.


The cathedral is quite big and takes a while to walk around, especially with our two.


Some pics of the River Itchen which runs through the town. Its not hard to work out that flooding can be a problem around here.


The pub and beer garden near the bridge in the top-left looked very inviting, but unfortunately Keezee was designated driver.

Eye on London

We've taken the camera into London a few times now, but it seems there's always something new to photograph. So here's a few more shots taken on our visit when Nana and Pop were here.


This picture was taken by a nice lady on Portobello Road, which is in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In case you were wondering, the postcode is W11.


This is the Prince Albert Memorial in Hyde Park - Albert sure was shiny!


Well earned beverages at a pub called the "Sherlock Holmes".
I'm sure there's a witty comment I could add here which includes the word "elementary", but I can't think of one off hand.


This is the next installment of "Spot the Difference" between the above two photos. Leave a comment with your answer. First correct answer wins a dodgy prize.


The oft photographed Houses of Parliament on the River Thames


More scenes of the The Thames from Waterloo Bridge


Caitlin giving orders (literally) at Waterloo Station


This shot is not taken in London, but in upmarket Cobham, Surrey. We had to show you to give you an idea of how well Caiti has fitted in after only being here 6 months - she's given up on kids books and only reads "Exclusively Surrey" magazine.