A Few Weeks in Collingwood

Well, I have left Grandma and Grandpa at home to look after the kids as Laura is now off her feet. I am down at HMS Collingwood on a Divisional Officer's course - it is a two week course that goes into all of the admin details I need to know about managing Royal Navy folks. The course is interesting because it is very interactive; they have actors come in to practice interview techniques, etc. Much better than death by PowerPoint. The Wardroom is very nice, and very, very cheap. A two week stay plus all meals (which are excellent BTW) cost a total of £19.21. I can't get fish and chips takeaway for the family for that much! It is a training base here though, so they are very picky on all of the little stuff. Putting your hands in your pockets is a criminal offence, and using your mobile phone outside would likely lead to some form of incarceration or worse. I brought the camera down here to take some picks, but didn't bring the USB cord, so picks will have to wait until my return. Hopefully Grandma and Grandpa aren't too exhausted by the time I get back. Take care. M

Grandma and Grandpa Arrive

Grandma and Grandpa arrived safe and sound yesterday afternoon. A very long trip, and a 7 hour time shift, but they survived quite handily. Today we went out to Falmouth for a quick trip, then a quick tour of Helston. We stopped in at the Blue Anchor, a 300 year old Pub that used to be a monastary. The beer there is the original recipe from the monks who once inhabited the place, called "Spingot". There are 4 types of Spingot: Jubile, Medium, Braget, and Strong. The Medium is OK, but the others are so bad that they made one of my eyes blink involuntarily for some time.

Our Little Merlin

Lochlan started pre-school this week (the name of the school is "Little Merlins"). He goes three mornings a week, and really enjoys it so far. The facility is just down the road and the staff are great with the kids so we think it should work out quite well. Another bonus from living in the UK is that pre-school is completely free!
Coincidentally, the aircraft that I work with here is also called a Merlin. We all went down to the maintenance facility so I could show Lochlan a real helicopter. This is one big airplane... I think I could drive a Sea King right in the back.

quick vid of the kids at suppertime...