Return to Clandon Park

We’ve been to Clandon Park once or twice before, but its been a while, so last spring we decided to make a return visit and sneak a few photos in.

And here we are in front of the house (just to state the obvious)… actually its the back of the house, but its rather impressive from whatever angle you happen to be facing.

 
The back of the house again… with a friendly pheasant wandering the lawn

 
This is from the side… still impressive.

 
 
More from the side… nice day for it!

 
Our friend the pheasant

 
The girls found the “secret garden”…. they’ve been reading too many Enid Blyton books, but to be fair, it was bit hard to find.

 
Unfortunately the daffodils were past their best by the time we arrived, otherwise this would have been a very impressive scene. If only we had have visited a week or two earlier.

 
You can’t take photos inside the main house, which is a shame… its very impressive… but you can take photos in the basement, which is the home of the Surrey Infantry Museum… an amazingly interesting place to visit.

Amongst the things to see here, there’s lots of military medals, including some VC’s, if you’re into that kind of thing…. and I know a few people who are.

  
And if you’re not into that kind of thing, there’s always the dressups.

 

OK, how about a few dodgy extras…

An aerial map of the place

And another dodgy Keezee video… if the shoddy camerawork doesn’t make you feel ill, you might enjoy the peaceful bird noises!

Ice

With it being winter and all, there's a fair bit of ice skating to be had round these parts. We went and checked out the ice rink in front of Hampton Court Palace, which is on every year during winter, and although we didn't partake ourselves on the day of our visit, the girls got the bug and had to do it themselves. So, before we joined the hoards at one of the outdoor rinks, we thought best way to learn would be indoors at our local, the Guildford ice rink. It was all good fun for the kids and Caitlin got herself a penguin (or "penglin", as she calls them) for a bit of steadiness, which was definitely needed, but Lucy didn't bother with any of that and was off on her own after one lap - much to her parents horror.



Checking out the skating at Hampton Court Palace


And here is Hampton Court Palace in case you haven't seen it before.
Although it looks a bit spooky in the (4pm) evening light, it is very grand and is in a lovely spot by the Thames.





Luckily, although we couldn't go ice skating, we could go on the merry-go-round. You don't have to book 3 weeks ahead for that.


And you don't have to book 3 weeks ahead at Guildford Ice Rink either. You just turn up and get your skates on (literally!).




You may notice Caiti needed a little bit of support to stay upright for the photos. She wasn't real steady on the ice to be honest, but she's a trooper and got better once she had her penglin for support.


Lucy on the other hand took to the ice like a duck to (frozen) water. This is when we finally found her in the Olympic training area trying to perfect her double axel/triple salchow combination.

..... And a Happy New 'Ear

Today's blog title is thanks to Caitlin, taken from her recent rousing renditions of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

So a happy new 'ear to everyone. We hope 2010 is good to you all.

These occasions give us an excuse to post photos from the "unclassifiable" folder, or in other words, let you see a few of the things we've been up to here and there in Blighty. Hope you enjoy.


First day at school. Caiti looked pretty excited (before leaving home at least).


But she didn't seem so cheerful once we arrived at school itself and took a couple of family shots....


.....if looks could kill - is she trying to tell us something here?


Here we are at Winkworth Arboretum. We've been here before in early spring, but it's also a spectacular place to visit in autumn when the trees turn very colourful.




Lots of reds and yellows.


The vista from the hill.


Ready for trick or treating on Halloween.
In our old street the local urchins used to knock on the door all evening, but we were wondering why we didn't have any visitors at our new place. After we ventured out into the street ourselves, it soon became apparent that you need to have a pumpkin (preferably hollowed out with a candle) on your doorstep if you're offering "sweeties" for trick or treaters. We'll try and remember that for next time.


A spot of baking


Less talking more mixing


Yummo!



Lucy at Tonbridge Castle, in Tonbridge (funnily enough), which is in Kent. A nice town, but a bit of a drive to be honest.


OK, everyone say "cheese"


Tonbridge shops can be very Tudor


Tonbridge Pizza Express - Jo loves Pizza Express. She took the photo.


And here's the gang at Lucy's 7th birthday party. We had an afternoon tea with a few friends.
Note it's dark outside at 4.30pm - you gotta love winter.

Things to do in May

Here's some pics of some of the stuff we got up in May.

First up - we visited Hatchlands for a spot of adventure trail exploring. You need to follow the clues - in the form of animal prints - around the property, until surprise, surprise, you end up at the gift shop!


This is Hatchlands - I do believe we've been here before


Following the clues


Where's that badger print gone?


Hugs


Sunglasses


Hoodlums

The other thing to do in May is visit a few villages for their annual May Fairs. Apart from the usual pagan rituals of children dancing around Maypoles and the like, there's usually lots of fun rides for the kids, bric-a-brac stalls for the Mums, beer tents for the Dads (and brass band members), and Pimms tents for the whole family (except for the kids).


The Coconut Shy was very exciting, especially when Lucy got a dirct hit and won a coconut.


This ride looks like it will be fun for the kids


Maybe not!


That's better.


Real live racing cars for the aspiring F1 drivers


The guy taking the money for this ride said this is how Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton started out.