Pam and Susie Visit--Laundry, The Rookery and Birthdays

After a few days on the road it was time for them to do some laundry. Bill kept an eye on the wash as well as Colin sleeping in his stroller. 

 Meanwhile the rest of us walked down the road to The Rookery, the largest municipal rock garden in Britain. Walking on the rocks across the pond was great fun but we sure held our breath as Nora stepped across.

It is built on a steep slope that runs up to the railway line.

                 My favorite picture!

Kalani took advantage of the abundant chalk to write her name

There are some gigantic plants by the pond

We took the opportunity to celebrate some birthdays that are coming up soon.

Kalani turns 11

 Anna turns 8 in August but she didn't mind opening her gift early

Pam with her zany London shirt

A Visit from Pam and Susie and Children, Day 1

Happy Day! After months of careful planning the time arrived for a visit from family.

They rented an unusual cottage attached to a house and had 4 bedrooms and an enclosed yard for the kids to play in. A bathroom in every bedroom was a plus.

Remember to click to enlarge the photos

A living room with lots of throw pillows, and sometimes a grandpa.

A tiny kitchen

Kalani ready to venture out

Heading to the bus stop beside the gas line replacement work

Kalani, Anna and Nora love riding the bus, as long as they can be on the upper deck.

SeaLife Aquarium

They are proud of their Victorian architecture 

This stingray kept sticking an edge out of the water

Do you really want to touch an anemone?

Bill held a sleeping Colin during dinner.

Twister with a Twist

Last night's Family Home Evening activity was a kick! A variation on the old Twister game, only played with plates of food instead of the plastic mat with colored circles.

Red is baked beans, blue is colored rice pudding, yellow is custard sauce, and green is mushy peas.

Samantha is out

Getting messy now

We had to stand back when it deteriorated into a bit of a food fight!

Mid-June Garden Update

We've had so much rain that finally the hosepipe ban has been lifted.

We are always amazed at how much the plants have grown since our last visit. Steve dug up some potato plants so we could have some new potatoes.

Too much rain has made the radishes woody. 

You can barely see the little white cauliflower deep inside the leaves.

Real head lettuce! I've never grown it before.

Today's harvest

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration

Marking 60 years of The Queen's reign, the Diamond Jubilee celebrations centred around an extended weekend on 2, 3, 4 and 5 June.

They really know how to throw a party!

I had wondered why nobody flies flags here; I guess they save it all up for celebrations like this.

Suddenly flags and pennants and bunting were everywhere.

"So, how was that then? Rather good I thought. The weather could have been a bit brighter but, heavens above, no one who was there – whether at one of the big events or their own local street party – will ever forget it.

A thousand boats struggling through the wind and sleet while a life-size puppet horse reared up on the roof of the National Theatre; the grinding sound of a Lancaster bomber as it emerged from the clouds coming down the Mall; and more communal cupcakes, Cava and crisps than have ever been gathered together in one country-wide celebration."

Saturday was a day of service for the LDS in the UK. Our ward had a service project planned. We were to clean the church building in Brighton. However a contracted company came in during the week and did a deep clean. Therefore the service project was cancelled.

But we did have a baptism in the building.

A young man from Eastbourne was baptized in our building since theirs does not have a font.

Sisters Grosso and Naseem with Katy who returned just for this baptism. She helped to teach him and drove for hours to be here.

It was great to see Sister Priestly again. She was part of the group of missionaries that went home a few weeks ago.

Afterwards we decided to eat out and try once again to find a decent steak.

We went to the Marina and although the floating Chinese restaurant looked interesting we chose the West Quay.

We will continue our quest for a tender steak--or maybe just give up.

On Monday our ward had a picnic/barbecue in a local park.

How many guys does it take to light a fire?

Most of our YSA youth were here as well as other ward members.

I'm glad we were here for this grand celebration even if we couldn't attend in person. The British excel at pageantry and they really pulled it off for the Queen.

1952

The Answer

Would you believe it's a chimney?

In the days of steam trains suffocating smoke in the tunnels meant that shafts had to be bored from the surface to ventilate the tunnel and the underground route could be followed by the line of large chimneys between the tunnel entrances. You can still follow the tunnel on google earth by spotting the chimneys. The trains are electric these days making the chimneys obsolete.

Here is a link to an interesting article about this very unusual tunnel entrance. It mentions the chimneys as well as the individual who lives in the cottage above the entrance.

Quiz

What is this structure?

During one of our walks we wondered what this was and had to ask someone.

Here is a more distant shot to give some perspective.  Remember to click to enlarge the photos.

Once we found out we've been able to spot some others ones.

So...take a guess!