Friday: the last day of the school holidays (not including the weekend) so I took Jess, Joel and Joe to Belton House.

Belton is a stately home (National Trust) with really good opening hours and a lovely garden (this is not my picture as Joe had vanished into the shop with my camera in his pocket by the time I went into the garden - it came off the National Trust website).
Belton
It has to be said that it isn't either the most interesting house or the most beautiful garden in the National Trust's portfolio, but it has those extras which make it perfect for a family day out: a superb adventure playground and a miniature train as well as lots of space for picnics and ball games.

We arrived at quarter-to-twelve, so we went for the picnic first - bit of a scratch affair since I gave it no thought before about 10 p.m. on Thursday, but fortunately everyone of us likes cucumber sandwiches and choc-chip cookies. Then Jess and Joel rushed off to the playground while Joe and I cleared up and followed on more sedately. Joel treated us to a train ride, and then Jess and Joel went back on most of the apparatus again.
Belton (15)Belton (8)Belton (13)
When they had done everything at least twice we wandered back to the house where the kids went round fast and Joe and I took our time. The children rejoined us at the two o'clock talk on the history of the house, and then came round the second half of the house again at our speed rather than theirs.

Joe treated us to afternoon tea. I went to the garden where the children were supposed to meet me after looking at the stables. (Last time Jess went to Belton it was for a Three Day Event where she met her heroes - Willian Fox-Pitt and Andrew Hoy.) I wandered round the gardens alone, and eventually ran the children and Joe to earth in the shop - an easy guess as they all seem to have this obsession with spending money.

On the way home we managed to avoid the clash of tastes over music by the simple expendient of not having any, but we were subjected to the silly jokes; fortunately I know a great many of these. I can also tell tales of every gaffe Helen and Inge made as teenagers which keeps their children endlessly amused.