Un petit garçon by James ( aka Jacques)

I went to the beach in France. I had a chocolate croissant (it was yummy). I'm going to explore the hotel (in Guernsey). I love my Mummy.

I like Sark by Tom

I got a beautiful dragon on Sark. I had a ride in a horse-drawn cart. We had a bumpy boat ride. It was a bit scary but I went to sleep anyway. James went to sleep as well but Mum stayed awake and felt sick. I lost another tooth. Hopefully the tooth fairy will come tonight!

Stranded in Saint Malo & other stories

We sadly farewelled our family of donkeys on the west coast of Ireland and made our way to Jersey in the Channel Islands. In a place with a large disparity between rich and poor it was somewhat confronting to see more drunken carousing than at home in Australia, including Alice Springs. People were literally spilling out of pubs and cafes to have a cigarette between drinks while flash cars and old bombs alike zoomed up and down the street. The island itself is very scenic and architecturally beautiful and we managed to find a pretty good playground close to our hotel.

Our 'foreign language' experience was fulfilled on the coast of Brittany in the old walled town of Saint Malo. It was VERY touristy and I never really succeeded in ordering the kind of coffee I intended (an expensive exercise). The beach there is lovely and once again a cold wind was no deterrent to Tom and James swimming in the sea. Worsening wind meant we had to delay our trip to the Island of Sark for a day. The least said about our 'emergency' accommodation the better. The only redeeming events of the day were the successful navigation of the workings of a French laundrette in French (by moi) - though the dryers even defeated various bashings by my feisty French co-washers - and some delicious baguettes for lunch. We were ravenous by then as I couldn't entice the kids (or myself) to eat the stale crusty bread from the hotel breakfast room - nutella from a spoon can only sustain a small boy for so long...

As expected, apart from a rough ferry crossing, Sark was lovely though the number of tractors (the only motorized transport allowed) has certainly increased over the past few years. We stayed with a local family in a beautiful country house complete with a giant trampoline. A gorgeous sunny day was,of course, followed by more wind and rain, though we have made it to Guernsey, our final stop before heading home.

Over the past week I've noted the absence of French children in public - an exception being the occasional couple accompanied by a solitary well-behaved child in a restaurant. Needless to say, it's made us feel rather conspicuous at times! We were rather relieved, therefore, to see a rowdy group of French schoolchildren on the Guernsey ferry which has now led us to believe that, while they may behave better with their parents, they are generally worse than Australian children on excursion.

Other notes:
The tooth fairy has yet to find Tom who has lost his second tooth - maybe we need to stop confusing her and stay in one place for a while!
James has recovered from a bee sting (the bee stepped on his foot!)and happily ate smoked haddock for breakfast.
Tom's potato zapper didn't make it through airport security.

Further items of attrition:
1 Swiss army knife (lost, not confiscated)
1 pair of pyjama pants
A few pieces of Lego
A woollen beanie
Assorted socks (none matching)
A muslin wrap

Don't call me Bunny by James

I fed the donkeys. We live in a house in Ireland with the donkeys. There's a dog called Dusty. I like exploring but sometimes I get lost. I love my Mummy. I've got a new hat.

There's a Donkey in the Meadow by Tom

I had a donkey cart ride and a horse cart ride in Killarney. They were both fun. We're staying where there are four donkeys I can look after. I give them carrots and apples. One is called Bessy and one is called Primrose. The babies don't have names yet but I called one Trotalot and James calles the other one Naughty because he won't let us touch him. We are going to the Channel Islands tomorrow.

James got some new toys by James

I got Mrs Bunny for Easter and some chocolate. I went on the merry go round in York on the upstairs boat and on the cart. I got some toys. I like pizza. And I like my mum. I miss my kinder friends. That's all.

Bumping car ride by Tom

On holiday in York I went on on some dodgem cars with d. I drove a little bit and d drove the rest. A guy with a teddy bear kept bumping into our car. And I went on a roundabout. On the roundabout there was a double decker bus and I went upstairs and rang the bell. I've been on a real double decker bus in Edinburgh. I went to the House of Illusions and I learned something about a card to scoop people up and splat them on the ground like a bug. There were interesting mirrors and shadows. I don't believe in ghosts.

Normal for Norfolk

(It's the name of a shop here... I'm also hoping it explains the kids eating scrambled eggs with their fingers!) The amazingly mild, sunny March weather has changed to well...grey. Even so, the boys have managed to paddle at the beach at Wells-next-the-Sea where we have been staying. We went to a small village called Hemingford Grey in Cambridgeshire and visited (by private appointment) The Manor, a house built by the Normans 900 years ago which was the inspiration for the Green Knowe series of children's books by Lucy M Boston. www.greenknowe.co.uk Tom was thrilled to see the toys and rocking horse which feature in the books (but sadly no ghosts). Lucy Boston's daughter-in-law still lives in the house and showed us around. We were sad to hear from her that Tom's Midnight Garden, also close by, is now a swimming pool. We stopped at Cambridge itself on the way home and Tom remarked that the provosts at Trinity College look like Thomson and Thompson from Tintin! Like Virginia Woolf, James found it very frustrating (and insulting) to have to (please) keep off the grass! In keeping with our 'Norman' theme, we explored Castle Acre Priory and Castle where the boys had great fun playing 'hide and seek' in the ruins. There is much less traffic here, some of it of the equine variety, though crowds are starting to build for the Easter long weekend. We're off to York and Scotland in any case - hopefully less popular with holiday makers...