The South.....

A week and a half ago we went to visit Em and Wog in the south of England. We arrived on Saturday night after I played hockey in the morning. As an aside, hockey seems to be taking up a significant part of each Saturday. Travelling time to and from matches averages 5 hours for away matches, and this particular Saturday we travelled 60 miles out of London - yes, into the country with real cows and sheep and stuff just to play hockey. It doesn't even get that bad in Adelaide! Anyway, Em and Wog were great, taking us to see the historic towns of Portsmouth and Winchester. The "beach" at Portsmouth was a particular highlight (see photo), so we occupied ourselves in the amusement parlours, and playing putt putt golf. Nick and I triumphed in the World Championship of (Putt Putt) Golf! After lunching in a seaside pub, we headed off to Winchester. Both the Cathedral and the town are beautiful, and we'll definitely be going back to explore more.

The "beach" at Portsmouth! 

Laura, Em and Wog at putt putt

Nottingham

A couple of weekends ago we finally made it up to Nottingham to visit Trish, my aunt. It was our first great adventure on the great British rail system, and despite Nick's initial reluctance, the trip was very easy and relatively comfortable. We had a great weekend with Trish, which mainly consisted of eating, drinking and chatting, although we did manage to do some sightseeing. On Saturday, we went to Stoke-on-Trent, better known for being the home of Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and other "potteries". We almost spent a fortune in the factory shops, but did manage to find some extra pieces for our dinner set (given Nick's current tendency to drop plates, glasses etc. these will come in very handy!). On Sunday we explored the centre of Nottingham, a very beautiful old English town renowned for its shopping (I was very much at home!) before sitting down to roast beef and yorkshire pudding, followed by bread and butter pudding.

A view of Nottingham 

Trish and Laura outside Wedgwood