The Swan Hotel Bampton

With time rapidly dwindling I went down to Banbury way this afternoon to visit my brother et famille before I leave, taking the opportunity to say goobye to two young nephews - one of whom was able to appreciate some of the implications of what I am doing, "But what if you get sick?" he asked. :-)

Back up to Stoke in the late evening. Last day of preparations tomorrow.

Willie and Kath came up for a few day's at half term in October, to catch up with Sid and Debbie and to get a wee rest if that is possible with two small children!! They went on a pumkin hunt at Blenheim but did not tdo the hunt , instead they had a fish and chip picnic in the park, and ran around with the kids all afternoon. Here are a few pic's mailnly of Maisie and Ruan.

... passport and it took me about 5 months. More on Polish bureaucracy in the next entry.

2. Vaccinations - I am a bit paranoid so I wanted jabs for everything I could have them for: Hep A, Hep B, Hep C, polio, rabies, typhoid, yellow fever, jap. enceph., meningitis. (I know, it looks quite comprehensive but I'd rather be safe than sorry). It's taken us 6 months to have them all. There were times we would visit our ...

... not possible. Now, with just 3 months to go it's real, it's tangible, it's there, waiting around the corner.

Many things have happened during those 16 months of waiting. We got married with Michal and as a result of that my surname is far less difficult to pronounce and far easier to spell. Unfortunately, the same doesn't apply to my first name, Malgorzata, which has sadly remained a nightmare. Call me Gosia, please.

... Next morning after a wander around an old church we had a light breakfast and embarked for London to drop off the hire car and check in to The Beaufort Hotel, just around the corner from Harrods department store.

Tonight we will go to the Uriah Heep concert in Highbury.

To those who don't know Uriah Heep, firstly shame on you and secondly google them right now. We will keep you informed......

... remote farming country. We saw Aborigine (BCF) on moorings, also a boat called Esther, with the T shaped like a cross - possibly BCF candidates? We arrived at Thrupp and David and Anne came and collected their gazebo, bricks and other things that we had transported from Banbury, to save them carrying them to their car. We joined them later for an enjoyable meal at their house. Wed 7th Oct A cloudy day as we cruised south from Thrupp past all the people living on their boats. We ...

... heading downstream. Which was a lot quicker and easier as the current just carries you for the most part. Aimee also really wanted to try but we figured we would wait till the Pub where the river gets wider again and there isn't constant dodging of bushes and branches and corners. Somehow Scott managed to ram us up onto a log when we got to close to the shore on the way back and actually lifted the boat enough that we were stuck stuck. We had ...

... We had lunch at the Grapevine before walking down the main street. We found a pub which is the oldest Inn in England (The Royalist, 947 AD), so of course everyone had a beer (except the driver who had a great coffee) there to mark the occasion. It was then on to Oxford, we found our hostel thanks to the Sat Nav - 'Betty'.

... of chickens. A great variety of very entertaining birds, sporting mowhawks, afro´s, flare´s, speckles, spots and even a few freshly laid eggs. We the hopped in the car and drove to the nearby hills to look upon the famous whitehorse, an ancient outline of a whitehorse in the grass. It was with a touch of sadness that we goodbye to the chickens and sundry family members and continued on our English odyssey. Pat and Jacquelin A lovely quick ...

... its spires, and there are plenty of them to go around.

After touring Oxford, we headed to Stratford via the Cotswolds. We were driving through some of the most picturesque countryside you could imagine. The beautiful rolling hills, and off in the distance, you could see village church towers (square towers) rising up above the trees. It’s not the same as the Alps, but it is very pleasing to view.