2nd Childhood

I must admit; at times traveling with a six year old and your mother seems beyond madness. For six is a funny age, it seems to be the point where little people start becoming real people. Speech has become fluent, they don't fall down as much and you start to feel that they may have enough sense not to run in front of cars or throw tantrums over the colour pink. However they are still small enough to be scooped up in your arms and cuddled in public without squirming away from 'embarrassment'.

However my notes on this age are nothing compared with the great writer A.A.Milne. In fact his understanding of the age of six is demonstrated in his masterpiece entitled 'Now We Are Six'.
When I was young the title of the book confused me, a little. Now 'we' are six? Why wasn't the book written only for me, for I am six, yes me, not you, me. At the ripe old age of 20 something I have finally gained enough wisdom to see why 'we' are six. For when you are in the company of a six year old there is no other age to be. That is why it felt so right to get up at 6am this morning when Alex started chattering away in whispers of "Are you awake, sis? Pst, hey are you awake?"
"Well yes dear Alex, I am now." How can you be mad though? When you know today will involve throwing sticks off a bridge and seeing the circus.

Now if you have had the joy of reading any works by A.A.Milne you will know that there is a 100 Acre Wood and in this wood lives a bear called Pooh and all his other unlikely English forest friends. This forest is known formally as Ashdown Forest. We kept our eyes peeled for kangaroos, a donkey, a tiger, a piglet or even an owl but they didn't seem to be in season. What we did manage to find though was 'Pooh Bridge' and from this bridge you may play a game called 'Pooh sticks'. I know it all sounds rather vulgar but you are six and these things do not occur to you yet. Before you take the short 10 minute woodland stroll to the bridge you should collect some sticks because you won't find any around the bridge. My winning tip is to get a wand length stick and prune it so that it has one leaf at the top for speed and easy recognition. Once at the bridge you stand on the left side and drop your sticks at the count of three. Then you dash madly to the other side and wait for the gentle current to grant you victory. This is then repeated, many times until you run out of sticks or patience at repetitive tasks.



In the evening it was time for Gifford's Circus, their final performance for the Summer. I was a little doubtful that the plot of War and Peace could be depicted through acrobatics, I mean it did take me two years to read the entire book. How the Dickens do they expect to cram it into two or so hours with an interval? Well somehow they managed it. Of course the plot was cut down to some very basic themes - there was only one death instead of many, there was juggling and fire throwing, horse riding and peasants singing. In fact there was lots of signing and dancing which really kept the whole show together especially when backed up by a live band to keep everyone's spirits soaring along. This is as far as I will critique the show because it was really the whole atmosphere created that was most pleasurable. There was a big tent, horses tethered outside and people of all ages enjoying the show and feeling part of the circus family for just one special night. It was simply brilliant and the best thing was you didn't have to be six to have a magical time.

Hever Castle

Well mummy and Alex arrived in London not in the best shape I must say, apparently migraine sprays do nothing at high altitudes. Has any one else experienced this and if so did they manage to find a fix it? I fear poor mumsie is already dreading the return 22 hour flight back to Melbourne. Thankfully once grounded the spray did it's thing and we were ready to pick up our hire car and get touring.

On arrival at the Avis car rental desk the lovely gentleman behind the desk needed only a second to take in Alex skipping around our pile of luggage before saying "Madam are you aware that the car you've booked is a sports car with - some infathomable amount of - horsepower and start speed?"
Mum replied that all she had wanted was a Citroen because last time she toured Europe with daddy they had a Citroen and she was very happy with it, bless her. The gentleman made some minor adjustments to the booking and we left the depot in a zippy 4 door Ford Fiesta with the soothing voice of the GPS lady guiding us onto the M25.

There had been many plans for this first day but with mother feeling a bit delicate we decided to scrap them and achieve one visit; Hever Castle the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. The journey to Kent from Heathrow was surprisingly quick even though mummy refuses to do anything but 10 miles under the speed limit. We arrived at the castle and decided that elevenses were the first item on the agenda. The middle of the cafe had more cakes than you could poke a fork at resting on it. Including a delightful homemade Victoria Sponge cut into even more delightfully unequal pieces. Off course we hand picked the biggest slices onto our plates and Alex decided to have her first scone of the holiday. I think the greatest appeal for Alex is that the jam comes in mini-pots (must keep in mind that this fascination with the minute could be disastrous if she discovers the mini-bar at the next hotel we stay in). After 3 cups of tea each we felt ready for anything.





Hever Castle was picture book perfect. The castle is not massive but the rooms are decorated to perfection and the carved wood paneling is something special. Apparently we have William Waldorf Astor, to thank for this and the wonderful gardens. The gardens have some great features for keeping children entertained, the adventure playground was so good that I couldn't resist running around with Alex. I resisted the pull of the water maze for the sake of my attire while Alex felt no qualms with walking into a shower.





In the afternoon we drove down tiny little tree lined streets and through umpteen little villages with funny names. To sum up our delight in England I will use mother's quote of the day "I just want to hug everything!"