It is now Saturday night and we are having a night in after a big day for all. Last night Rebecca and I went out for tea with a group of her friends, a couple of whom I had met briefly in '97. They are all in their 40's with 2 kids under 10 so I feel much more of an average mum in Chorlton! Today R and I took 3 younger kids on a literary whirlwind of activities. We drove to Lyme Park, about half an hour out of Manchester, to the stately home where Pride and Prejudice was filmed - with the famous lake that Mr Darcy dives into and strides out of! There was an exhibition of Beatrix Potter illustrations and letters and activities to match. They listened to a reading of Peter Rabbit, Peter himself was there in person, they colored in, they followed the path outside in the gardens to find little pieces of 'evidence' from the books. It was lovely and they were enthralled by it all. It was a crystal clear sky and a freezing day with all the ponds frozen over! Then returned to Chorlton to see a local production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol', which included some of Rebecca's drama students. It was fun and at the end Josie said "I could just watch that all again." Dan and Nate were privileged to get 2 tickets to a Man U match at Old Trafford and the smile on Nate's frozen face when he came home just now clearly showed that he loved the whole experience. He even got himself the team kit and is wearing it now. Dan has gone up to the chipper to get fish & chips for his tea. He is doing the whole English football experience today. Another wonderful day in sunny (bur FREEZING) Manchester.