T' North

I seem to have omitted Grannie and Grandad Yardley in my account of our glamourous holiday. They were the instigators of the vacation-long search for cats that has been required to take place in every location that we have been to (including in Hyde Park this afternoon). Here they are recovering from an intrepid journey round the garden to hang over the fence to search for felines.

We didn't have the time, the weather or sufficient Alice leg span to make it to Blackpool to ride a real donkey, but here she is gamely enjoying riding a llama or somesuch.

We had a lovely time in Bolton - the daily routine involved Daddy eating at least one pie, Alice setting off to hunt cats and then walking back (as long as her parents weren't looking) and Mummy lifting her head from Heat or OK magazines to grumble about the weather. But only three or four times a day - I didn't want to get on anyone's nerves or anything like that.

The daily routine when we left Bolton involved Alice asking after "Geya" (which was the grandparental concept rather than an accurate pronunciation of either Grannie or Grandad) about a hundred times per day and to go to search for cats at least twice as many times. They certainly left and impression upon the young lady!