Hogan plus Vowles

As you are all aware, Velia and the Children had a truly wonderful holiday and in doing that gave us a really super time. You may have gathered that from the photos in my previous blogs. You may also be aware that Velia enjoyed seeing her best friend, Rachel, in Weston-super-Mare and hoped that she would be around for the birth of Rachel's second baby. Well on the penultimate day Madison was born! How about that?! Here's Velia with Madison, Rachel & Jamie with the New Baby, and Georgia with her Sister. Now, I ask you, isn't that just the icing on the cake?

It was Father's Day and what did we do? We all went to Bristol Zoo and so Talan, Grace, and Jack had a wow of day, with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins and lots of animals, ice-creams. laughter, great Keepers and the whole gamut of fun and learning. And then back to a nice hotel in the Somerset countryside. Spoilt Dads!

Longleat was another magical component in the perfect holiday. Imagine seeing a Giraffe just one week old or cruising by hippos, the most dangerous animal of all? Can you conceive the joy of Grandparents given the privelige of seeing the wonderment in Grace and Jack's eyes. It doesn't get much better.

What better fun than to have Granny take you on a donkey ride, pretend you are a cowboy or a princess, and then bury your feet and show you how to make sandcastles?

Here's the Cottage at Doubleton Farm with feeding animals and hens, collecting eggs for breakfast and the usual nice things of a holiday.......

Tina and I have to pinch ourselves to believe that the wonderful visit and holiday with Velia, Grace, and Jack actually happened so that's the "pinch" in the title of this blog. They went back to Canada just 6 days ago. It was magic..... Why do I pick the West Somerset Railway to highlight their visit? Well, the decision to go on this day out really spoilt me because I have a long passion for trains and railways since I was a little boy and to take Tina, Velia, and the Grandchildren out to share this was terrific. Take a look at the map - it's a brilliant journey along the Somerset Coastline, this gives a view of the castle at Dunster, the seaside at Blue Anchor, the medieval port of Watchet, and then past the Quantocks to Bishops Lydeard. Right from the outset the children were introduced to sights, sounds, and smells of yesteryear. Steam trains have a lovely smell of coal, steam, hot oil, and huge energy, the train hisses, and rumbles, clanks, chuffs, and has a very...

As you all know I am a rugby fanatic and I was so chuffed to read the following by John Inverdale who is probably the UK's top sports journalist :- “ Canada stand tall under onslaught Watching the final quarter of the New Zealand v Canada rugby international on Saturday made me wonder what it would have been like to have said a decade or so ago to Mike Tyson in his prime: "Look, I'm going to stand here for the next 20 minutes, and I'd like you to punch me as hard as you possibly can in the midriff, ferociously and unrelentingly, just to see if I'm alive at the end of it." They would probably have been your last words. Well, after just about holding their own for the first hour of the match, the brave Canucks took the battering to end all batterings for 20 minutes as Dan Carter conducted his orchestra and the All Blacks pounded their line unremittingly - and yet, somehow, the Canadians emerged very bloodied but very unbowed. They may have conceded 10 tries but ...

T Today we went to Rand Farm just north of Lincoln. It's a wonderful farm that concentrates on rare breeds such as the Suffolk Punch Horse. It is a terrific opportunity for children to see milking, feed lambs and calves with the bottle, and take a ride on a trailer pulled by a blue tractor. Needless to say Jack was very intrigued and Grace was amused....

Velia's colleagues can feel reassured this Frisian Cow is pregnant and she is feeling for movement of the calf'! We visited a farm today with Grace & Jack, lots of animals and great for the children - could not resist this one for the album.

Yesterday we returned to Meadow Hall to resume shopping and, as you can see, Jack showed that he can shop too. He was promised a motorbike, he really likes his bikes [see earlier blog]. He chose a green Kawasaki that did great sounds - a heavy metal intro and then a proper full gutted roar with wheel spin wheelie - absolutely great in a lift with a frosty faced old biddy in Marks & Spencers. Marks & Spencers? did I mention underwear, ask Velia, she'll fill in the rest of the story. The kids were great again, a good lunch, tea in M&S, and lots of laughter..

Today we went shopping - yup you read correct! SHOPPING. We went to Meadow Hall at Sheffield, an ultra modern shopping complex with every store imaginable. Michelle and Greg came along to spoil the kids and enjoy the fun - and it was fun the kids were brilliant. Postman Pat and Anne-Marie helped but then if Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles can't treat them who can? We had a good lunch and great smoothies [no bananas but terrifically healthy and super tastes of fresh fruit and yoghurt blended] later we had tea at Marks & Spencers - very good too. Shopping went well - no stress! Needless to say Jack livened up events - he had this absolutely gross kinda slimy two headed dragon that he found to be stretched in a variety of ways including pulling it out with his teeth - this made Greg and Grace laugh until tears came - it was hilarious! [see picture.] Late home and the children had a good movie............ another lovely day in the holiday.

A sunny Sunday in England is a day for a pub lunch with the family and so we did just that and then add cousins and finish the day off in the garden with doting uncles and blowing bubbles - it doesn't get much better!

On the last day of May [actually it was my Mum's Birthday] we had a lot of fun. The day started with yawns as they are getting over jet lag with Bryn being very serious and protective. We went to Brigg Garden Centre to see beautiful plants, lots of fish with Jack being startled by a jumping fish causing great hilarity, and rounded off with a good lunch. The day rounded up with ice creams .... a nice day although we do miss Al.