Saturday, October 20: Out to the Midlands

Oh I do so love waking up children before dawn who screwed around at bedtime and swore they would be fine in the morning. Ha! Parent's revenge. We took the Underground to Euston and then on to a Virgin Train to Coventry. I've decided Branson must own a substantial percentage of England. I've also come to the conclusion that this is a people who have invented an astounding array of ways to flush a toilet. Pull, push, tug, wave, flip, depress, and of course the mystery flush where you stare at the back wall of the stall and pray you can figure it out before the next lady in the queue suspects you are either a dullard or blocked up.

But on to Warwick Castle. Garry and Pauline picked us up at the train station and took us to Warwick Castle. Like any locals, they had not been to the most popular tourist spot in their backyard in two decades. That's right. Ask me when the last time I went to the Kennedy Space Center was. However, their lapse resulted in a delightful car tour of Warwick. Lovely town.

Warwick Castle is nothing short of spectacular and the weather was absolutely perfect. The company managing the property has maintained it well and the staff is in period costume. Given the entry fee I would expect nothing less. All in all though, I'd consider it a value. We saw an archery exhibition as well as the boys trying their own hand at it. Colin may have a future there. We watched the launch of the world's largest trebuchet. Being this close to Halloween the projectile was of course a pumpkin.

We had a proper carver lunch at the castle, walked the ramparts, explored the Great Hall and State Rooms, visited the mill and engine room and best of all, I got to lie on the grass and simply immerse in the history of the spot. Both Colin and Liam thought the best exhibit was the Dream of Battle exhibit which follows the thoughts of 12 year old Squire William the night before the battle that took the life of Neville the Kingmaker in 1471.

After the castle we drove to Garry's village of Fenny Drayton stopping in the local pub for a pint and a cider. The boys fell asleep on the way. It took us awhile to figure that out because they were in rear facing jump seats in a Renault. I need one of those! It was a bit chilly so we didn't hang around long. We settled into Garry's house and were treated to a fish and chips with mushy peas dinner before heading over to the squash club for the World Cup Rugby match between England and South Africa. Imagine my delight to walk in and see the new season of Robin Hood broadcast twenty feet high on a squash court wall. Imagine my dismay when they switched to the rugby match with five or ten minutes left in the episode.

Exciting game. England may not have prevailed (I personally believe the Australian ref blew it and that WAS a legitimate try), but I scored some points by bringing a flag of England for the club owner to display during the match. Back to Garry's home where we all convened in the dining room for more spirits, cheese, biscuits and lively conversation. I put the boys to bed around midnight and followed shortly thereafter. I hear Pauling went not long after I and Jamie and Garry tasted a variety of scotches while talking business until 3:00 a.m. Ay yi yi!