Holiday, part 2

We didn't stay with MIL this time, partly as the warden in her sheltered housing wasn't too happy at having the camper van parked in the car park overnight and partly because MIL lives in a very small 2 bed bungalow and we are now one extra.  So we were booked into a campsite called Thornton's Holt a few kms away.  We also got Chris Evans put onto MIL's car insurance so we could borrow her car for the week.  She is going through a tough time at the moment which means that she isn't comfortable using the car, so there was no problem with us using it.  Even though there is a good bus service into the city from the campsite, this was one instance where I was glad that we had a car. 

On Saturday we took a trip to a working inner city windmill and science centre.  It was free entry so I had no problem with buying a couple of bags of flour and a book about the original miller and scientist and mathematician, George Green.  The science centre was very small but well thought out, and the sort of place I could see us returning to regularly if we lived in the area each time we'd learnt the theory behind each principle demonstrated.
  
No idea what happened on Sunday, but on Monday we had planned it so that Chris Evans had a bottle of expressed milk and was going to take Dr John and Pip to the caves under the city whilst I went shopping for clothes but the cave tour was at 12 and Chris Evans thought it might prove a little tricky if Pip woke up in the middle of it, so they tried the castle but that is closed on Mondays so they came and met me for lunch.  At that point I'd only been to the market for some material and haberdashery and I also got a first piano book for Dr John and grade 1 and 2 pieces for me so I can see what level I'm at.  
I was grateful for their company in the afternoon as Dr John is a great clothes shopper, always picking great things for me, and Chris Evans isn't bad either.  They are both better than me at finding clothes anyway!  I hate clothes shopping.  So I came away pretty happy with a few sale pieces from Monsoon.  We then headed over to SIL and BIL's for a bbq.  BIL is Star Wars mad and is keen to indoctrinate Dr John with the ways of the force.  I'm not too sure how happy I am about that, but there doesn't seem much stopping it.
 
On Tuesday, Chris Evans and Dr John seemed to properly develop their colds, so it looked like we were going to be unable to take advantage of the heated swimming pool on the campsite.  We have tried formal swimming lessons before when Dr John was much smaller which were a disaster and we decided that maybe he would suit learning with us informally, but we have been so rubbish at going that maybe it is time to rethink that strategy although that would be another after school activity to try and fit in.  Anyway, on Tuesday we headed back into the city to attempt the caves again.  Underground is one of my least favourite places to be, so Pip and I went underwear shopping in M&S whilst the boys finally did the tour.  Dr John seemed to enjoy it and I got told various snippets about it although I think I will see if Chris Evans will blog it for any more detail than that!  That night Pip had caught the cold too so she just wanted to comfort feed all night so I didn't get much sleep.  

The next morning I was able to get an hour or so's extra sleep whilst the others went to the playground and in the afternoon while Dr John stayed with MIL, we took Pip to visit grandma (Chris Evans' grandma) who is staying in a respite care home while MIL sorts herself out.  Then back to the camper van via Morrisons to pick up a roast chicken and salad and a couple of other things to take back to Switzerland like spaghetti hoops and monster munch (good healthy stuff!) which we take back as a treat. 

Thursday saw us saying goodbye to MIL and making our way down to Dover.  We had booked passage on a ferry on Friday morning but when we arrived at the port at 5.45pm we thought we'd see if we could get on a ferry then and stay in Calais overnight rather than Dover.  We had to pay a bit extra as it was outside the 2 hour of our booking but figured that it was worth it as we could eat on the boat and wouldn't have to get up so early the next day (not really an issue for me, but always a bonus for Chris Evans!).  So, after my last fish and chips for a while we arrived in Calais.  By this point I was developing a sore throat and losing my voice so was glad that we quickly made our way to a camper van park by the beach and within a couple of kms of the docks and settled down for the night.  We awoke to a ticket on the windscreen for 7 Euros for the priviledge of staying the night, so paid that and went on our way.