Hawkwood College

Today was the second day of my childminding-in-German adventure. (Mari's first language is German, a language I have never learned).

After Mari and I had done a bit of sparkly jewellery-making and apple-juicing in the morning, Steve took us up to the farm shop, where Mari was given food to give to the chickens, to her great delight..We bought some eggs, then drove to the nearby village of Bisley to admire the old wells, which were looking rather mossy and unkempt. There were no wildfowl around the water, which was sad. Mari and I ended up flicking water at each other instead of admiring birds and stonework.

Back home, we had eggs for lunch, then Mari and I walked through town, via the Shambles market, to the large playground in the park, where M. Proved herself fearless on the big zip wire. Eventually, we had to go to the Leisure centre for a swim, since I'd promised it... I think I've become spoiled, accustomed to our school hydrotherapy pool, which is small, super-warm, absolutely never overcrowded, and has dolphins and stars projected on to the walls. Jumping, diving and dive-bombing are not permitted.

In the public Leisure centre pool, however, swimming is not supposed to be a relaxing and therapeutic sensory experience. So it isn't. Enough said. Mari enjoyed repeated 'bombing' in the shallow end.

When we left the leisure centre, it was time to go and meet Steve, who took us up to Hawkwood college, just outside Stroud, where Kim, Mari's mother had been on a two-day residential course. I snapped them in the doorway together, delighted to be reunited. We drove home together, only stopping at the supermarket to stock up on yet more white wine and plain chocolate. Long live the weekend!