| Once again breakfast, and once again, The
Big Breakfast! What a pleasant surprise - we had thought it cancelled,
based on Steve's report at Judson Collins. Kermit the Frog was a
guest on a segment of International Spawn Stars.
Then breakfast. The kids are still not quite getting it; they order the breakfast and don't eat it, even though they can delete items. |
| Some of the kids hadn't changed their money,
or had traveller's cheques to cash, so we ran quickly to the Bureau de
Change at the Post Office so Jill, Drew, Christian, and Mary could get
some poundage - we did too - then ran back to Nando's to hop the bus for
Coventry. We all just made it.
(Sadly, it looked later like not all the lunches made it on board, but we shared them round, and everyone did fine.) |
| It's a fairly short drive to Coventry, but
Geoff took a special way into town to show us the statue of Lady Godiva,
after having told us the story of her famous ride and Peeping Tom and all.
Into the Cathedral where the kids were quite impressed, in spite of their expectations. The view from the spire is amazing, as is the climb up and down - although only 180 steps v. 500+ at Warwick Castle yesterday! |
| After looking at the artwork and such, we
went in to the new cathedral, where we purchased photography permits, and
caught up to the kids who were being lectured by a docent.
She explained all about the bombing and the rebuilding, then showed us through the various chapels and art works, talking about the cathedral's world-wide ministry of reconciliation. |
| After a bit more looking about, it was time
for the bus again. (sorry, coach)
On we got, and after Kate See said grace, we passed out the lunches, sharing around where there weren't enough bags. |
| The trip from Coventry to Oxford was pretty,
but longer than I expected. Geoff dropped us off near the Lincoln
College end of the University, right around 1:30.
The college didn't open back up until 2:00, so it was off to the shops for a quick trip for T-shirts and cups and such. |
| I had mislaid my booklets on Oxford, so I was flying blind again - working from memory. They had a record of our tour request, so that was OK, but it was not a tour: they don't do tours, just point out the dining hall and the Wesley Room, and leave it at that. |
| We wanted to do our devotion in the Chapel,
but it was locked. I went to ask, and was told they never let anyone
in there. When I said we had hoped to do our devotional service in
there, she (the porter?) brightened up - "oh, you didn't say THAT, did
you?" - and handed me the key.
It was a beautiful devotion, with Mary Ann doing selections from a sermon John Wesley had preached in that chapel on Scriptural Christianity. |
| Then it was return the key, head back to Magistrate's
Court, if Evan could just find it, and the bus (oops, coach).
Stunningly, we were all there at our appointed place even before Geoff pulled up in the coach. Even with some of us having run across to the public loos! |
| The ride home was uneventful, apart from minor
grousing re the need for a stop for sugar and other snackage. We
arrived home about 5 PM, so the kids got some free time before dinner -
with a reminder not to go fill up because dinner was imminent.
Sadly, many of them didn't listen: McDonald's was the richer, and the kids were the poorer, as they served us a fine vegetable quiche (leeks, carrots, and zucchini) with green beans and boiled yukon-gold-looking potatoes. (btw, they tasted good with HP sauce!) After exhorting them like a Jewish Mother (eat, eat! you're wasting away!), we were off to the play. |
| It was a great production of A Midsummer Night's
Dream in the RST. We had the front two rows' balcony seats, on the
non-keyboard side, and everyone enjoyed the play immensely (apart from
some embarrassment at parts of the staging).
Unfortunately, Sarah wasn't feeling well, so she and Mary Ann went back to Nando's at the intermission. Sadly for them, the play only got better from there on, finishing with a bang, as Bottom et al presented the story of Pyramus and Thisbie. A great time was had by all. In fact, no one even lifted a Mini the whole way home. |
| An attempt at cards was made: first Euchre, then 3-13, but they packed it in when the boys couldn't follow what the rules were (they just didn't get it at all). |
| Sleep and Morning, another day. |
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