SHOPPING!!!

Hello,

Well we had a great day! We needed to catch the tram... ok I admit Abbey and I weren't very fast getting ready so we missed the first tram so we had to wait for the next one. 

While we were waiting Mum spotted two bags full of toys next to a garbage bin. So Abbey and her looked into the bags and found a collectors bear and some really cute other bears. (In San Fran people leave stuff out that they don't want so other people can take the stuff). Abbey ran them back up to the house. We thought Jasmine Rose might like them. Anyway we caught the tram to the CBD and found a mall to go window shopping in! As we walked around a lady who was selling a really really cool hair straightener/curler did some of my hair. That was cool.

We went into a teen shop and saw some nice clothes Mum really liked a pretty jacket but it was too expensive. Abbey saw a chocolate shop and was there in a second! The man let us try some it was SO yummy! There was a nest made of chocolate with eggs and a chocolate bird as well! Ok as you can guess I LOVE shopping! 

After shopping we went back to Ben and Savy's place and Mum made Savy dinner while Abbey and I checked emails and watched the Karate Kid trailer (the new one with Jaden Smith).

GOOD LUCK FLY

Hope you're a good mother

XOXO

(Meg told me that her brothers dog is expecting!!!)

After dinner Savy drove us in his really cool car (it has a sun roof and a built in computer) to Ben's playback theatre class. We told him and his class mate a story and they had to act it out. Mum told them about the slum camp and they did the playback so well Mum's eyes started watering!!! We told them lots of stories and when class was finished Ben's teacher drove us back to Ben's and we went to bed.

So now I am listening to 'Kiss n Tell' by Justin Bieber!

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Frances

We wake up and get dressed have breakfast and then do maths, blog, and every thing else.

Ben is at home today and so we do an exercise. I have my eye's taped shut and put sunglasses on so Fran does not get embarrassed but mum has a blind fold on. So we go down the street with only smells and sounds and Frances and Ben to guide us, so scary and fun. We walk and they stop us to see if we know some smells and feels of plants like gum tree, passion fruit and some others. We walk to the park and take a tiny peek which makes me cry while ripping a corner off the tape. I put it back on and keep walking I know now what sound it is when we are next to a road and under a tree or on a foot path.

Mum and I listen to Ben saying hello to a dog that barks loudly and so we go. When we get to where we are supposed to be, which mum and I don't no where we are, we get sat down and we wait and then they say try this and its ice cream. They say what flavour. I say vanilla and mint choc chip. My face swelled a bit when I ripped the tape off. But the ice cream made it feel much much better. We went to a opp shop and because there was nothing my size I put funny looking high heels on and also looked at stuff for Fran. After that we went home and did an art project and that was fun.

And that is what Ben does for work as a therapist

RMS

ABBEY

 P.S. One thing I have to ask you guys,  why aren't you commenting, am I writing to myself...!?



Ok so just down the road from Ben and Savy's there are tonnes of street murals and Mum set me up a task; I have to tell you guys a little bit about the Murals so...

The murals of San Francisco are keeping an age old Mexican tradition alive with their bright colours and meaningful pictures. 

The story behind each one is different like in Balmy Alley there is one in remembrance of people who die from AID’s. 

Nearly every street in the Mission District is lined with murals and a street without looks out of place.

Some of the murals are done in traditional Mexican style and others are done with a more modern look, like some are based on video games. 


Ok well better get back to the pile of school work I still have to do... I am listening to Justin Bieber 'kiss and tell'....
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Frances
 

San Francisco

So Mum, Abbey and I walked through San Francisco. Up and down the hills (San Fran gets the award of city with the biggest hills) in and out of the tall buildings.

As we walked we ate some plums that Mum had got off the side of the road in a paper bag (peoples put out things that they don't want out on the side of the street) plumbs. It was a really long walk but we saw lots of San Fran. When we finally reached Golden Gate Park we saw all the homeless peeps =(.

We saw squirrels and one boy had a kite that was in the shape of a dragon which was so cool. It looked really real from afar.

It was nice walking through the park but Mum wasn't too impressed she thought it the traffic was too 'busy' in what was supposed to be a people park (Quote).We wanted to see the Japanese Tea Garden but it cost too much and we also wanted to see a museum but it cost $25.99 for an adult and $15 each child so Mum was like NO WAY!

We could have walked further along and came to riding stables but we looked at the time and had to hurry back because we were going to cook for Savy. On the way back we quickly popped into a shop and saw this amazing carving it was so well carved and every thing was in so much detail.(double click to zoom into see the detail)

After Savy drove us to where Ben was and we went shopping. The shop was huge and everything was organic and whole food (Mum's heaven)!!! Then we came home and went to bed.

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Frances

                                          Double click to view details  

San Francisco is so awesome it has the prettiest painted ladies ( houses that the poets and writers in the Victorian days lived in). 

The houses are always painted with three or more colours that enhance the intricate swirls and flowers that are mixed together and make the painted ladies stand out! They also look grand and graceful with their big stair ways and pretty colours.

double click to view details


 We also saw the bad things about San Francisco. Homeless people with dogs or cats lay on the ground sleeping. They pushed their trolleys around the streets asking for help, food or money. I thought it somewhat like India but all white people. I thought it sad and lonely. If I were homeless I would get a dog or a cat to give me company and reassurance.

We went to the Golden Gate Park and walked around a bit. It was not impressive and it cost a lot of money to go in the buildings and the Japanese tea garden. So we headed home. When we arrived we cooked a delicious pasta sauce and mushroom meal and I ate three servings of it mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm!!!! After we went to the big grocery store and bought some food. We got home and had the most delicious pie in the world and some ice cream and went to bed

The Family

So the weekend was spent catching up with family some of whom I hadn't seen for 30 years (Granddaddy's 80th birthday in 1978)! On Saturday we drove to Waynesboro passing through Hagerstown to see Nannan and Granddaddy's house, where Papa and his bothers Uncle Bill and Uncle Jack grew up and where I used to spend summer holidays when Nannan and Granddaddy brought me over from Scotland to stay. 

 

It was there that I had first met Saharah Moon, when she was only two, and our Dad was in between being somewhere else in the world, and had returned to the USA. We stopped for a photo, then continued on to have lunch in Waynesboro with our Dad's cousin Martha and Pepita, who was married to cousin Bobby. Both Bobby and Martha were children of Nannan's sister, Aunt Helen, whom we saw when I brought Gerard here 20 years ago, when she was a mere 96 years old! Now as Aunt Dorathy and Aunt Nancy pointed out the next day, that generation are all gone, and they have become that generation, we have become their generation and our children are as we were then.

Lunch was fun. Pepita's daughter Elaine had her two youngsters there, little cutey Grace(4) and the little live-wire Bobby (1). They had driven for three hours to see us so they had plenty of energy!!They ran up and down keeping us all fit and amused. Karen, whom we also saw the next day was there with her son Isaac (16) and so too were Martha's daughters Ellen and Beth. We had a good albeit brief catch up. Pepita is still buzzing with energy (which is probably where Grace and Bobby get it from) and it was so special to be able to see her,

 I cannot imagine when we are likely to travel again... Martha told us a little about Great Grandma Garman and where Nannan and Aunt Helen grew up on the farm, and that it was Aunt Helen that rode horses and Nannan was afraid of them! After lunch we all said our goodbyes and we headed home. 

 

On our way back we stopped to swim in the Potomac River, up stream from DC. The day was so hot. Washington has been having a heat wave for a month or so with every day being between 35 and 38. Saturday was a record breaker at just under 40. The water was beautiful, bath warm almost!!! 

 

The next day after we packed our bags (again) we headed to our cousin Kirk's and his wife Annita's place where Nannan's side of the family met. Aunt Dorathy had driven from Pitsburgh and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jack had driven from New Jersey. Cousin Karl and his wife Cindy, were there too as well as Kirk's boys, Erik (17) and Patrick (14). The day was another scorcher. The kids swam in the pool. Uncle Jack played piano for us and although he has been some ten years without his eye sight he has an impressive repertoire of some 3-4 hours of music that he plays, not all that day however!! 

Just after we ate there was an enormous storm which took out the power (and the air-con). Eventually things cooled down, by then we were eating Nannan's favourite Angel Cake to celebrate her birthday along with uncle Jack's, Karen's, Kirk's, Anita's and Erik's, by candle light. 

 It was a good day. The cousins were as fun as I remember, though we are all a little greyer, balder, wider or wrinklier than back then!! And our children all played well as we did then.

Nannan made such a wonderful effort to make me part of the family I am sure she would have been pleased to see the results of her efforts paying off even after all these years.

We came home late, were up early and SM dropped us at the airport.

We said our goodbyes, we had a good time there. It is has been fun staying with people at their homes and learning the ins and outs of where they live... when at Tommy's in London we caught the 53 into see the sights, at Saharah's we took the 52 or the 54!! SM has a lovely home and although we didn't get to see her in her new home we know just how it will be. Even though we had allowed a little more than the required 90 minutes we had only just enough time to get our bags checked in and go through security (which was on orange alert) before our plane was boarding. At first they they didn't have seats for me and Frances (the plane was over booked) but they got us on! The girls are so good at catching transport now, I think they could take a plane on their own!!

Camille.

We have really cool cousins in our family! We played in the pool with Erik and Patrik and tried to get Issac to come in but he chickened out. We went inside and then this HUGE storm blew up and actually a neighbour's house almost got hit by one of the branches! Erik, Isaac and Patrik took us to a shop where they bought Abbey and I slurpies. I had coke flavour and Abbey had blue raspberry... We walked back to Erik and Patrik's and swam again. Abbey, Erik and Patrik had a war over who had the blow-up bed. I got the doughnut all to my self! We tried to get Issac to come in again but he wouldn't. We teased him about how good the pool was and how nice the water was. Sahara drove us back really late and we had to get up early in the morning to catch the plane to San Francisco!!!

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Frances

Zoo

After trapeze we went to Sahara's friend Kesha's place for dinner, Kesha had her boyfriend over and her Mum (She lives in New York and she has seen Justin Bieber and Dolly Parton!). 

Her Mum told us to come and visit (I was like hell yeah!). Kesha had made a very nice dinner for us and we had a nice watermelon. Abbey and I tried to show a clip of Justin Bieber to her on her phone but her phone only showed prank ones! Sahara fell asleep and Kesha told us that at parties you draw pictures on the face of the first peeps to fall asleep! We didn't because she woke up but now when my girlfriends are over LOOK OUT! We walked home late at night and I was tired.

I woke up and had a shower and ate my breakfast. Mum, Abbey and I walked to the zoo. We saw the cutest prairie dogs! They were sitting in the enclosure. Two were eating some hay that was around the entrance to one of the burrow. One was around the back digging under a log. All around the enclosure were wasps buzzing back and forth, the wasps were huge!

We walked further and saw a tiger. Abbey said that we should pretend the pictures of the tiger at the zoo was taken at Rathanbore, I naturally said NO!

After the tiger we saw lynxes, spiders, meerkats, monkeys, gorilla's and otters. There were five male otters. One of them kept on going to a clump of grass and pouncing on the clump and pulling with all it's might then running back to a hollow log with the grass in it's mouth. The rest of them came up to the ditch before the fence and stared at all of the visitors!

We also saw a panda bear and a fishing cat. In the cats place there was a under water bit that you could see into and in the water there were goldfish... They were there for the cat to catch. 

We went to the bird house and saw spoonbills, ducks, herons, pigeons and flamingos. There was a place that you could walk into a room that had birds in it. There was a peacock and some really strange pigeons with a fan of feathers on top of their heads. A volunteer said that there was one bird there that would hit you with it's wings and draw blood! I didn't believe him but he did sound like he new what he was talking about! 

Abbey and I shared a fairy floss (cotton candy) while we walked home. We walked past Target and dropped into get some mini shorts. After that we went home to find Sahara worked form home. Abbey and Sahara made dinner, I washed up. Then while we were going to bed Abbey and I had a pillow fight...

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Frances

Washington DC

We get the train from Amelo to the airport. After we check in Frances and I walk around the Airport while mum and dad do Internet. Frances and I buy some cute looking hoop earrings. We hop on the aeroplane to DC. Saharah Moon is there to meet us. We go to her place and I go to sleep, its still day time.

I wake up and we walk down to see her new house that she is buying. Its tall (needs a little doing up) and it has a big tree in the front that shades the house. I am so, so, so jet-lagged. We wander up to see the fountain. All the little girls and boys are playing in it. One little girl takes off her clothes to put on her swim suit but she dodges her mums hand and runs off to the fountain. One time the mum nearly gets the swim suit on but she takes it off and the mum gives in. We go home and have a small dinner and sleep (ok I have to tell you it is nearly as hot as India).

'The family'

'Sahara eating lunch'

                                           

'Pretty butterfly'

When I wake up (really early) I have breakfast and we deicide to go for a walk in the park. Mum and I take pictures of butterflies' wings and heads

. We walk around looking at the poison ivy. Then its time for dad to go to the airport. So we go and hug dad good bye bye bye bye. We go to the swimming pool. Its so refreshing and nice. Frances and I wade around talking about stuff like 'I miss my friends' and 'I miss nanny poop and the horses'. When we get home we have another dinner and go to sleep. We wake for the third day to go canoeing (so fun). We arrive at the river and hire two canoes and go for it.

Mum and I in one and Saharah and Frances in the other. They speed ahead and we go slow. Half way through mummy has to do it by herself because I am aching. I go to sleep on the way back. We see a turtle as we are leaving. The turtle has its head held high and when we get a metre. We go to Trader Joe's and get food. Then go home to eat and sleep.

RMS

ABBEY

Washington DC.

Hey, yesterday Ben came to Washington DC!! He was on a course in Virginia and had the day in town before he flew back home. So we spent the day with him while Saharah Moon was at work. We went to the American Indian Museum and watched some of the old legends of the tribes on a screen surrounded by all the traditional dresses.

This is a story about one of the star constellations. It begins with a girl and her little sister. They are playing with their friends who decide to play being bears. The older sister tells the younger sister to hide in the bush because she thinks that something bad will happen. The little sister hides and the big sister turns into a real bear and kills every one except the little sister, whom she makes her slave. The little sister is picking berries for the bear when her brothers return from war. She asks them to help her. They tell her that she must find out the bears weakness. The bear tells her that it will die if someone chops of its little toes, but if any blood escapes the bear will come back to life. So the brothers put brambles around the cave entrance. When the bear comes out she pricks her foot and falls over. The brothers chop her little toes off and burn her but one drop of blood escapes and she comes back and is mad . The bear tries to kill them but one brother picks up a stone and asks it to help. The ground lifts up the children leaving the bear on the ground. The ground continues to rise until the siblings turn into stars. The bear says rather sadly 'you're safe now' ...but it's too late.

We had some traditional American Indian food and then walked back to the train station with Ben, he caught the train to the airport while we went home.

Surprise!!!

Saharah Moon and Mum woke us up early and we drove to a trapeze studio and yes, that's right, we did 'fly'. At first I was so scared! I climbed up the ladder and waited for the instructor to clip me onto the safety ropes. I stood on the edge of the suspended platform with my toes over the edge. The instructor held onto the back of my belt while I gripped the bar with my right hand, then with my left.

The Instructor said 'ready' then 'hup' and I jumped off. I swung back and forth then I tried to get my legs onto the bar but my arms were too weak! When I was told to let go I dropped onto the net and then hopped off. The next time I managed to get my legs up and then I tried to do a back flip (which failed) and landed. The third time I did a back flip - you swing your legs back then forward three times then let go and grip your knees, the momentum swings you around, you do a back flip and land on your bottom on the net.

We did a few more of the same, then we did a catch...

That means there are two peeps up in the air, you and another person who catches you. So while the person prepares themselves you get ready and when they call 'hup' you jump off the platform (holding the bar) swing your knees over the bar and you let go with your hands and swing back then the other person grips your hands and you straighten your legs and they hold onto you, swinging you with them till they tell you to let go and you drop off and land on the net!

Ok I did it on the first try!!!

It was so fun but like I said to Saharah I prefer HORSES!!!

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Frances

We have again been having a busy and fun time. Of course it was sad that Gerard had to go home and miss out on this last leg of the adventure... but he had some of his own adventures on the way home... and he will have much to do to keep him busy till we get back!!!!! In the meantime us girls continue to navigate our way around DC successfully and find plenty of new and interesting things to see and do with the help of our trusty tour director SM. Fancy that I managed to do trapeze at all let alone a fairly decent catch...

I am a hopeless vertigobe under normal conditions.

Washington like Holland, has been suffering a heat wave and we are just in from a lengthy day in the sun so I am heading for a cold shower. Chow. 

Hope you like my video and that it doesn't cause too much hassle down loading.

 

London to Holland

London is a mass of fun! It has all sorts of stuff to see, do and walk around. It even has sandy lanes in the middle of London for people to ride their horses (and the horse riders wear tweed jackets and cream jodhpurs). There are police on horse back.

Early on the first morning we sold our van to a nice guy and then we packed all that stuff into our travelling bags! Really late in the afternoon we went to see the Greenwich Meridian. We saw all the clocks and telescopes. Mum and I read a touch screen book about the man that made the first sea clock.

After that we went to the cinema! We watched Eclipse (I hid at the scary bits). It was so Cool! Awesome! Cool! Wicked!!!!! When it was finished we ate some delicious pizza (it was so yummy). We went home and mum and dad stayed up with Tommy and talked while we slept. (Abbey)

The next morning we woke up early and caught the train to London Bridge and then caught another train to Charring Cross. We walked to the Seven Dials (Seven streets that meet each other and have a statue/monument in the middle). Mum guided us to Isaac's hotel. We asked at reception but he had not checked in.... His plane arrived at 7:30 am and it was 12pm then. Tommy popped by and told us where Pineapple Studios was (I know it sounds silly but it is a major dance studio) and we watched some recordings of the Pop dancing classes. Mum took us to Trafalgar square where there was a huge dance sequence being filmed. Abbey and I wanted to watch but Mum and Dad wanted to go else where. So Abbey and I being the good kids that we are did as we were told.

Mum took us to see the horse guard (which we liked better anyway). The guards had to wear full uniform; Black or red jacket, mettle breast plate, white jods, huge black boots and a silver helmet and did I tell you that it was so HOT?! I got really sun burned!

We walked to Westminster Abbey, Dad, Abbey and I went inside and saw all the tombs of past kings and queens, like Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elisabeth I. Jane Austin had a monument there and so did Shakespeare. We left the gilded Abbey and walked (with Mum) to look at Big Ben, Parliament House and onto Buckingham Palace. Well! Tell you what, you lucky not to be a Queen (or king or princess or prince)! Just outside the gates were hundreds of tourists (like us)! Imagine having your house looked at like that! I wondered if the Queen watched us! 
 

We walked further on and came to the front of Whitechaple. In their two open front guard houses stood two mounted house hold cavalry men. All the tourists were taking photos of themselves with the horses. We posed too and I gave the horse a huge kiss and said hi! Then we went inside the gate and waited for the changing of the guard. A foot soldier came out and marched behind the arches yelling 'Stand clear of the arches!', he said it like three times and then he got mad because none of the tourists had moved (we had) and they were standing infront of the horses. He yelled really loud, 'STAND CLEAR OF THE ARCHES... I SAID “MOVE”!' slowly the people moved and two mounted house hold cavalry trotted out to the original guards places (they had opened the door at the back of the guard houses). The foot soldier yelled again 'stand clear of the arches' then the guards that had been on duty trotted forward nearly running the people over. All the girls standing infront of them screamed as they tried to get out the way! We cracked up! How could anyone be sooooooooo dumb as to stand in the way when the guy told them not to. I think the guard would have had a hard time keeping a straight face! I know I might sound evil but you had to be there to get how funny it was.

We went back to Isaac's hotel and met him and his friend, Lee. We found out that Isaac's plane had left without him so he had catch another flight, that is why he was late!

After, Isaac and Lee went to a concert and we watched a very rude opera (like so rude I can't even say what it was about - but it was funny). Oh and it's name was Pleasure's Progress....

EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

We stayed up late that night...

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Frances

Sunday......Harrods....Isaac.....fun.....Toys.....Chocolate.......Tea........!!

On Sunday we went to Harrods (A huge huge huge huge huge big big big FANCY shop) with Isaac. First we walked through to the food hall and we stopped in the tea and chocolate hall. Isaac bought some tea (he looked at a tea called Darjeeling Happy Valley Snow Mist for £5000 per kg but he didnt get that!!) and we had a chocolate BUT WAIT......!!!!! We saw chocolate slippers and chocolate tea cups and hand bags. There was all the chocolate in the world (Ok this is where the queen USED to shop ). There was a cake for £4999.99. OMG!!!! ok ok ok ok. I had a sticky toffee chocolate. 
 

Then we went to the toys and there were so many toys - huge doll houses (with lights and wooden chairs and all sorts of stuff)! And there was a Helicopter THAT COULD FFFFLYYYY!!

We also saw a Maine Coon kitten that was already as big as a cat and it grows as big as a bath tub OMG, and Isaac was going to buy it but it had to be in quarantine for nine months before he could take it back to Canada,so he didn't!!!!!!! There were dog's clothes - rain jackets and dog fashion and and Sasha, it had Tutus and I wanted to get a dress for Mishka and mum said “noooooooo” (it cost $100)!!!! Ok I loved it.

RMS

ABBEY

London was a whirl wind... we could have spent six months just looking at London. Each morning we had to be somewhere early so we had to get up early. We walked all day looking, looking, looking. We dragged ourselves in late and stayed up till late/early chatting to Tommy. It was lots of fun and exhausting.

We caught up with Isaac while we were there; another part of the story of ME (he married Mom after my Dad and took us to Scotland to be near Sameling). He lives in Canada, in the Arctic Circle, as a doctor for indigenous health. He was on his way to a TED conference with his friend Lee. It was a lucky overlap that we were leaving while he was arriving.

We left London at 5.00am in the morning to catch the plane to Amsterdam. We flew to Frankfurt and then to Schipol. When we arrived at the Airport we found that there had been some bad storms (tornados they said), caravan blew away, trucks were blown over and a church spire had fallen on the train tracks. We had to take the train to Zwolle and then catch a bus to Olst an hour away from there. Abbey and I got separated from Gerard and Frances in the crush to get on a bus – we ended up on a bus but they weren't - they caught up with us before the train to Deventer left. From Deventer to Rijssen we were back on track, but we didn't arrive at Uncle Gerard's until 8.00pm. Fifteen hours to travel a hop-skip over the English Channel!!! Now we were truly wiped out!!

Camille

We arrived in Amsterdam and were greeted by hot weather. We headed to the train station, only to find that sever storms had forced cancellations of some services around the area of Rijssen...various advice was provided with little confidence, so we took the plunge and headed for Zwolle, near Rijssen, and as Camille described above, eventually found Uncle Gerard waiting at the platform when we arrived.

Rijssen is a small provincial city with a population of around 30,000 including surrounding areas. The city has a central area that is pretty much car free, but full of bike traffic. The house Gerard lives in in near the city centre, and has a large attic and cellar. Like many a batchelor's residence, the house is cluttered with things past and present, but we were very comfortable during our stay. The outstanding feature of theNetherlands is the relative flatness compared to Hobart, making the bicycle a preferred mode of transport for all ages. 

Mothers and fathers were transporting their families on the one bike (reminiscent of India), and older citizens comfortably plied the streets as they went about their business. We visited relatives and were a little humbled and mightily gladdened by their hospitality and friendship. We found out much about the family tree from visiting the cemetery with Uncle Gerard, and talking with Sieneke,

my second cousin. She provided us with photos and a family tree. Her husband Tom transported us to the railway for our on-going adventures in America. But prior to thus we visited a fantastic windmill, and watched as the huge stone wheels crushed and ground linseed, and afterwards the heated pulp was pressed into oil, through the marvellous workings of the mill. Such a simple looking construction. Yet so effective. Of course we pondered how these wooden machines were built in times past. This mill was reconstructed in the old way, using mortised timber joints and wooden and metal fasteners, but cranes were used to place the major forms in place. We rode around the surrounding countryside, and it appeared so fresh and wholesome...maybe the fact that we were riding the bikes (and the weather being so favourable) influenced that feeling somewhat. Frances and Abbey particularly liked getting out on the bikes.

While I had no feeling of sadness as we left Uncle Gerard at the platform in Rijssen, now as I write I think warmly of all the stories we shared with Gerard of dad and mum, and the earlier years of their life in Holland. The boyhood stories, the work of Grandmother and Father, the war, the accident, the loves lost...all within the family history,

but now more entrenched in my mind. So now we near the Schipol airport, the last chapter about to unfold in my trip, I ponder fondly and proudly on the trials and tribulations of the Dutch side of my family. I will add more addition to this blog once I have spent a week or so at home! Gerard.