The Royal Wedding - William and Catherine

We were out for the day today with Leigh's parents so missed the TV coverage live, but fortunately were travelling in the car at the time of the service (and I remembered to set the Vision box for it as was so that I can gape with awe at the dress) so heard William and Catherine make their vows. It was lovely and I don't know whether it was just this occasion, or remembering my own wedding, but it brought a tear to my eye. Just that very intense emotion of promising yourself to another person for your lifetime. I have now cheated a bit and watched a clip on the Royal Channel (I never knew there was such a thing!) on You Tube of Catherine arriving at Westminster - she looked wonderful and the dress was magnificent. Really understated but incredibly beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing the trees in the Abbey now!

We went to Sudbury Hall and The Museum of Childhood today, which is National Trust property about half an hour from us. I'd been before, with the boys and Leigh's mum last summer, and knew it was well worth another visit. The Museum was great again - what I really enjoy about it is that there are toys for children to play with in all the exhibit rooms, and there are demonstrations and things for them to see, which makes the whole experience a bit more interesting for them, and a bit less of a rush round for us trying to leave before they get bored! We managed to get Zachary to go through the Victorian chimney exhibit (yes he was far braver than all the girls and led the way!) - see his soot mark of honour



and we sat in on the Victorian school lesson which was really well done. See the naughty boys at the back of the class



and Leigh's tasty new hat!



Also, Leo found himself a new vocation at one of the exhibits



and who thought ice creams could be quite so hilarious!



Better still, after lunch we discovered that the gardens are also pretty great - Annie and I didn't get that far last year, but beyond the hedge is a wonderful lawn for picnics, a lake with geese to feed, a lovely shady wooded area with great play equipment and some rather nice topiary too. Still haven't made it into Sudbury Hall itself but next visit hopefully...