Ullswater

Today we went for a row on "Ullswater". We had a boys boat and a girls boat. Bec and Elizabeth used a two-man synchronised rowing system on their boat, while Hugh and I took it in turns. I'm not sure which was faster. The girls thought they were, but it wasn't a race in any event. After lunch we went to the Keswick pencil museum. Some of the children thought this was an utterly absurd idea, but I knew that Bec would like it, and the sheer eccentricity of the idea appealed to me. One of the extras is of the world largest pencil (and it actually works). Despite the skepticism, I'm pretty sure that Hugh and Henry would admit that this interesting educational experience exceeded expectations. The other extra is of Bec having a wine in the drawing room. This is a lovely, big, old room with bay windows, and a nice view across the fields. The sun stays up ridiculously late over here. Following dinner last night we sat in this spot for hours, the sunlight remained constant throughout, and we finally shrugged our shoulders and went to bed. That's England at its best.