That's better

I have just returned from three days holiday, or vacation if you are American.  We went to near Stratford in the 'van and visited The Cadbury factory one day, and Warwick Castle the following day.  There was a slight generational split in the scores for each, with the older members of the group marking Cadbury low, whilst the children marked it high.  They gave away free chocolate.  Say no more.

As for Warwick Castle, we were unanimous in our ten out of ten score.  It is a magnificent structure in its own right, but also brings a lot of character actors together to provide a full and enjoyable experience.  We were all booked on the Dungeon tour, however had not read the small print and missed the fact that it was not suitable for under tens.  We therefore split in to two groups, the first being men and eldest child, for whom the tour lasted just under two minutes, with the first dark and scary "set piece" scaring the children to the point that we had to retrace our steps and leave the tour.  The women went afterwards, and found it a fantastic, if scary, experience.

Next we watched the birds of prey in the main arena, and they were truly magnificent.  The final eagle taking a long flight from the top of the highest tower down to the arena, skimming low over the heads of the audience in doing so.

We also say a demonstration of weapons by three men whose delivery style was the spit of Top Gear.  It was telling us the myth, and then the reality, of a number of aspects of fighting in those days.  Facts such as shields being wood and leather, not metal, to absorb blows, and also that most fights lasted under ten seconds, not five minutes like the table-jumping and candle-snuffing stuff of your average Errol Flynn film.  Favourite comment of de-bunk was "For instance, I am not really a knight, I am a fifty year old diabetic".

We then toured the restaurant, the main house and the Weekend Party tour, which covered the Twentieth Century aspects regarding the parties, and the hanky panky in which they apparently indulged quite regularly.  The devils.

Combined with Canasta every evening, we have a very enjoyable three days in the 'van.

Now I am back at work, and the few days off and the busy nature of the workplace means that I don't really know where to start.  I am currently on a conference call in listen-only mode, hence the blog.

Hopefully catch up tomorrow.