Swallow Hotel Coventry

... A new form of fly away hair mine was fly everywhere.<br>I am dreaming of sitting on my parents decking in the morning sunshine eating a whole fresh mango (juice dripping type - yum) for breakfast reading the morning paper (prob be the Geelong Addy as thats Dad's usual, which I don't luv but at least its not footy season so I won't have to read just about the Cats). Bring it on I say.<br><br>

Ten more sleeps - yippee.<br>Woke this am not to the sound of rain as in the previous how ever many mornings but to the sound of the shop across the road opening up - ok it was 9.30am, and I had a lovely little lie in.<br>Weather actually ok - didn't rain for the first time in over a week, and the sun actually shone today. I'm getting sick of getting soaked wherever I go and hanging for some warmth from sunshine - an alien concept ...

I am being to think I am absolutely mad for doing this ... my bag has been re-packed no less than 10 times to find some space for a mascara and a pair of sparkly flip-flops, both of which I thought were essential items, until I remmebered that I am going to Africa and in fact fighting off bugs should really be my number one priority. So out came the sparkly flip-flops and the mascara and back in went the mossie net and deet spray!!<br ...

... I'll probably initially feel homesick when I arrive in strange surroundings, but hopefully that will soon pass.<br><br>I'm so excited ... new places, new people, the sun - a complete adventure - bring it on!<br><br>Back to reality for now, and back to organising storage, insurance, membership cancellations etc.<br><br>Ciao for now<br><br>xxx

... offer!!<br>First stop... Africa Well, not quite. We thought it would be a bit of a laugh to go to the West Midlands Drive Through Safari Park, about 45 minutes drive from here. The day was great fun and well laid out, meaning we got to get really close up to all the usual assortment of animals and even got to feed some girraffes, deer and some sort of giant bovine-esque creature. (I guess it would be called a Buffalo). I offered to feed the Lions ...

... We&#8217;re now planning to spend November in France where we can speak a little of the language. A couple of great opportunities have come up there that look very exciting. Providing that there are sufficient volunteers, one of the hopes is to erect an eco building in a woodland using local resources. So we won&#8217;t be gaining a winter suntan immediately, and the woollen socks will be important!<br>Alex<br>

... Princess, Sir Percival, a Wood Nymph, Merlin the Wizard, Princess Joan and Knight Sir Arthur of Alcester with his Lady in White. <br><br>We were kindly given some history by the monks before the Abbot opened the doors and invited us peasants for a meal. We did not stay peasants for two long as we were invited to Host the Banquet with the Baron and Baroness of Coombe (otherwise known as Mike and Lynne) - the bonus of this was ...

... thing though for people on a diet. Being a part-time student there, I'm privileged to have access to their online library which is very convenient because back home we don't really have access to good public libraries. Their online journal collection is useful. But enough of that. So lest people think that all we did was hit the books while we were there, we ...

... easiest time for us. But I haven't cried for the last 2 days now, which is good. I think we're coming to terms with it. This is about 0.001% of what we've experienced in the past week. I hope your week has been slightly more balanced than ours. Once again, thanks for your well-wishes and we hope that you can continue to help and support us as we'll need it. Enjoy the pictures - she is adorable...... and she doesn't cry. She sleeps loads. She's a perfect baby!!!!

... years ago. After our stop at the Hathaway home, we headed into town to spend a couple of hours and to visit the homestead of Shakespeare himself. They have maintained the quaint look of this town very nicely. Stratford sits upon the River Avon, hence its name. It rained in the afternoon, but we were prepared and no one melted.