Fantastic
frosty morning today so we decided to make the most of the sunshine! After
breakfast we headed out to explore toward Welwyn (where Laura works). Passing
through Codicote on the way we found April Cottage (Roni’s Mum’s name), a stud
farm (Bray felt at home) , cute cottages and tiny horses who were stampeding in
circles.
One of the
first things we found in Welwyn itself was the Wellington Inn with a giant boot
hanging outside – reminded us of home! Carrying on we explored St Mary’s church
with its two-tone squirrels, stone flourishes and lovely garden area before
following the road around to Rose Cottage. The claim to fame of this cute house
is that Vincent Van Gogh’s sister Anne lived there in 1875-76 and he used to
visit her there, at times ‘compelled by poverty’ to walk all the way from his place
of employment in London!
We then
stumbled upon a great wee charity shop where Bray purchased his fluorescent
green hat with ear flaps for a pound - which appears in many photos from here
on out! Getting chilly and a little peckish we picked up takeaway coffees to
thaw our cores and meandered back toward Codicote. Spotting a white heron on
our way and noticing the tiny horses had moved on from stampeding to more ‘animal
pursuits’. We also found a Newtown sign
that Bray had photos with before we finally made it home for warm lunch and
some Scrabble.
Rawiri
joined us for some Scrabble when he got home from work before we all headed on
a family trip to the supermarket and egg supplier. MANY supplies to be
organised prior to cupcake creation tomorrow…due to these jobs we didn’t end up
eating dinner until around 1030! But it didn’t feel late and we even managed to
share some favourite YouTube clips before trying to skype with Joe and Joelle
in Australia. Their internet was NOT co-operating though so in the end we
postponed until tomorrow morning and the boys had another late night of FIFA
before bed.
