Day 17 - A busy but fun day!

Today was a really fun day as we did loads of different and exciting things! Mummy and Daddy met Grandma, Grandad and I in the Pavillion gardens play area where I had a run around and a play for a little while which was great. Mummy, Daddy and I then went into the town centre for a look around some of the shops as they needed to go into Boots to get some throat sweets for them and some more wipes for me. As we were passing one of the cafes Mummy suddenly exclaimed something and took me over to where a lady was standing talking to some people at a table. I was a bit confused at first until I looked up at the lady and saw what she was holding - a tiny fluffy grey kitten that was so so cute! The lady saw me looking at her kitten and asked if I would like to/was allowed to hold it and give it a fuss. When Mummy and Daddy said yes I was deligted as the lady placed the kitten on my lap and I spent a few minutes stroking it's soft fur and giving it a little cuddle. I was very proud when I was told how good and gentle I was with the kitten and could of kept hold of it for ages, but it started to get a bit restless so the lady gently took it off my lap and smiled when I said 'Thankyou' to her and we went on our way. Mummy decided that she would like to go into 'potters' as she had never been in there before and had heard so much about it. She bought a bag from there and said that she thought the shop was great as it was so old fashioned, with members of staff ready to give you personal service when you walked in the door, draws full of 'surpluss stock', more draws of various things behind the counter, and barely a till in sight (Mummy said she spotted one old looking one tucked away in the corner at the back of the store) and the payment for items instead added up on paper and written down in a ledger book and the customer being given a handwritten receipt! Mummy said she is going to 'cherish' her receipt as a souveneir! (Daddy says that apparently Potters do take credit cards, though the machine must be hidden well away out of sight as Mummy couldn't see any evidence of it!) On the way back to the car we went on another ride on the train in the gardens, as I spotted it running and asked so nicely for a go that Mummy and Daddy couldn't resist. :)

Our next activity was a visit to Fairfields Donkey sanctuary which is a place that rescues/takes in donkeys who have been mistreated. It was only a little place so we only stayed for about an hour, (though Mummy says she could have spent all day there,) but I loved seeing and stroking all the donkeys. I made friends with one donkey in particular who came over to see me and then nuzzled up next to me so I gave it lots of big cuddles which both of us loved - donkeys are very cudddly animals! At one point however, one of the donkeys took a fancy to the books that were hanging on my pushchair and started to eat them! When I tried to pull the books away from it, it acidentally got my hand in it's mouth instead of the book! Mummy and Daddy managed to get my hand out of it's mouth quite easily and it didn't really hurt me, though I was a bit shocked and upset for a while once I realised what had and could of happened! I soon calmed down though and made friends with the donkey again as I knew it wasn't it's fault and it didn't mean to upset me! I gave it a big hug and then spent a while with the other donkeys before heading off on the next part of our trip which was to Bakewell.

Needless to say that one of the first things we did when we got there (after finally managing to find a parking space!) was to go to a cafe and have some bakewell tart and bakewell pudding! Yummy yummy yum! As well as that we popped in to have a look at a small craft fair, saw some ducks and went to see a display of old/classic motorbikes which was really interesting! (Daddy wasn't too sure about going to see the bikes at first and nor was Mummy, though she was less unsure as she loves motorbikes herself, but I kept insisting by saying 'bike', 'bike' over and over again and pointing through to the yard that they eventually gave in!) Before we left we went to a bakery and got some cakes to eat in the car and a lemon bakewell tart to eat later!

The show tonight was 'Princess Ida' by Oxford University G&S Society. Mummy and Daddy said that they enjoyed the show, despite the fact that it was by 'the other place' (Daddy went to Cambridge!) and thought that Ida and Gamma were the particular strong points. They said that there were a few bits that were not so good, but over all they enjoyed it and thought it was a good show. (Mummy also commented that one of 'the three brothers' was 'the spit' of Russel Howard! he he!) They also enjoyed the cabaret afterwards.