Uncle E & Helena

Helena & Benjamin loved having people around that they knew!  It was particularly fun to have Uncle E here without his kids, as it meant that our kids wanted to interact with him rather than their cousins, and he was more available to interact with them!  Helena particularly took advantage by walking & talking with him wherever we went.  They even shared fish & chips at a restaurant!

Blenheim Palace

At the end of October, we had our first visitors and visited our first British tourist site.

As there's no direct bus route from our village to the palace, our day started off with a 25-minute walk on a public footpath.  

 

Helena was thrilled to be at a real-life palace. 

 The palace was built in the early 1700s.  The land and 240,000 pounds were given to the first Duke of Marlborough as a gift from Queen Anne, because he had led the victorious Battle of Blenheim.  By the time the seventh duke was in charge, all of the money was gone and it was hard to get more, as dukes were not allowed to work.  He sold all the books in the huge library. After the ninth Duke of Marlborough married a Consuelo Vanderbilt and thus her money, he bought books by the yard in order to refill the library.  Can you imagine buying books by the yard?

  

It was the most gorgeous day we've had in the U.K., so exploring the neighboring village and the Pleasure Gardens of the palace was most enjoyable!

The kids were thrilled to take a train to the gardens.  Here's Benjamin waiting for the train to start!

By the time we were walking back home on the public footpath, the fog was settling back in.

The meaning of hockey coffee

What is Benjamin referring to when he asks for a hockey coffee?

A walkie talkie!

And what about a hooga cake?

A scuba tank!

It's a lot of fun to play Legos with him.

Benjamin's Latest Word

Benj is talking more and more all the time.  It's so much fun.  Here's his latest word:

"hockey coffee"

Anybody want to make a guess for what it means?

(It has nothing to do with this picture.)

Hint #2 - It has nothing to do with a drink, so Auntie Katie, it's not hot chocolate.

Hint #3 - He was looking for something in the pile of LEGOs... 

Guy Fawkes Day

November 5th is Guy Fawkes Day, also known as Bonfire Night.  There are firework displays and basically just a fun time, all because of a man called Guy Fawkes and a number of other Catholics back in 1605.  When James I, a Protestant, became king in 1605, a small number of Catholics protested by planning on blowing up the Houses of Parliament.  Luckily an anonymous letter was sent, giving a bit of warning, and the plan was foiled.  Guy Fawkes is the famous protester, as he was found with the barrels of explosives, waiting to light the fuse, when the cellar was checked.

Nowadays it's referred to as Bonfire Night, when there are firework displays and basically just a fun time for all. Unfortunately the fireworks have been canceled in our village tonight due to bad weather, so we'll go to a different display this weekend.

Helena has been learning about fireworks and "Guy Forks" all week.  Here's her rendition of the story: