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.

Ham House

Video time again! For Nana's second adventure, we tried a spot of shopping at Kingston-on-Thames (a favourite retail spot for the Keezee girls) followed by a visit to nearby Ham House - you guessed it - another National Trust property. Our trusty camera was still getting over the battery-ing it took at Hatchlands, so we took the video instead.

Aside from the time it takes to copy, edit and upload videos, they seem to look OK, so we might try it again soon - keep your eye out for more. In the meantime, please enjoy the majesty that is, Ham House...... the house of Ham!

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.

Eton (and Windsor ) again

Looking back again at our previous blog entries, you may recall the disasterous camera-less visit to Windsor. We vowed to return again better prepared, and when the time was ripe, we charged the camera battery for a full week. We wanted to be sure we could capture all of the action for you, our loyal readers.

We begin our re-visit on the banks of the River Thames:



You may also recall the Chariots of Fire courtyard. Here it is again in case you missed it:


Of course, what's a visit to Windsor without dropping by Windsor Castle?


It's a little known fact that Windsor has the cheapest and best ice creams in England. Its due to a royal decree we're told...


Here's a building which looks remarkably like one of Keezee's old engineering drawings:


The place is full of tourists:


But at last.... we finally met Her Majesty:

Hampton Court Palace

Still playing catchup on photo posting.... here's some pics of our visit to Hampton Court Palace on Sunday 26th August - a nice day it was too.

We couldn't decide whether to go inside and tour the Palace or visit the Country Fair that was on across the road, with rides and stalls. We decided to take the Fair option - bad move. 6 quid per person to get in, then you had to pay top dollar (or is it top pound) for everything once inside. Not to worry, you live and learn.


Hampton Court Palace


The Palace in detail - note the 16th century scaffolding in the background


Another addition to our collection of fancy gate photographs


Lucy and Mum entering the super slide at the Fair


Lucy and Mum coming down the super slide at the Fair - you need to look closely!


At the Fair - Caiti really got into the Maypole dancing


At the Fair - this bird kept attacking Jo, so they had to put its blinkers on


At the Fair - how city kids learn to milk cows!


Nice pubs on the Thames at Hampton Court

Pics and stuff

We're moving to our new digs in West Byfleet today, so we're expecting to be offline for a while until the broadband gets hooked up. So, to keep our legions of blog fans happy, we thought we might post a few pics that we had lying around.

It's also worth reporting how cold the weather has been this week, especially after last week's mini-heatwave (26 deg). Monday was a public holiday in the UK and we were thinking about attending the Surrey Show in Guildford (another picturesque town) but the day was cold and rainy, with a top temp of 7 degrees (yes 7) so we canned that idea. We went to a local "Tesco Home" store instead and (as far as one member of the family was concerned) it was a great day out.
For the record: http://direct.tesco.com/

Anyway, enough of that, here's the pics.....

More of Kew Gardens





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