Oh deary, deary me

Oh deary, deary me, as Granny Weatherwax would say.  I have a few days holiday and come back to find a blog full of comments. What on earth has been happening in the House of Stories while I was away?

So, firstly, let's look at the latest word game, which is doing terribly well (see the comments if you want to catch up).  When Lovely Younger Son was about six, we visited the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge, the one that broadcasts the Nine Lessons and Carols every Christmas Eve.  It has a famous fan-vaulted ceiling, and the very thoughtful people who run it have installed mirrors and a neat little model to show how it's constructed.   LYS, being a child of a lively mind, loved this, and grabbed me by the hand to come and see it.

"Come and look at this!" he said.  "It's fantassinating!"

So, when this thread was launched, he texted me to claim 'fantassinating' by ancient right.  Another of his inventions is 'snickled' which is that tingle you get in your nose when you've been drinking something fizzy.

If you look at a map of Scotland and find the South-West, which is Galloway, there's a sticky-out bit on the end like a whale's tail.  We've just had a wee holiday on that sticky out bit, right on the coast.  A very amiable seal popped up one evening to say goodnight to us.  There were more birds than I knew the names of, a deer in the garden, a hare crossing the road in front of us, and pheasants so determined to get run over that it's a wonder they're not extinct.

We came back in time to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee in true village style.  Of which, more later.