Putting the grim in pilgrimage

The annual trip to Avondale House to check the leaves.
It went pretty much according to plan.

- Forgotten jacket necessitating a U-turn. Check. (luckily enough, this year it happened just as we were turning the corner out of the estate)
- Kids being incredibly annoying during the car journey there. Check.
- Loud protestations of "we don't want to go for a walk, it's BO-RING!" upon setting off. Check.
- Wellies forgotten in the car and pair of shoes soaked through within 300 yards. Check.
- Loud demands for treats within 20 minutes of setting off. Check
- Loud running around and screaming contest. Check.
- Lumberjacks who had until then happily been chainsawing away "au naturel" reaching for their hearing protectors as our kids entered the mile perimeter. Check.
- Hundreds of very stressed squirrels, with their fluffy tails stuffed in their fluffy ears, who will live in anxiety until next year's visit. Check.
- Kids being even more incredibly annoying during the car journey back. Check.
- Engine fault light illuminating the dash board upon reaching the furthest point from home... Nope... Not this year. I have found the correct mixture of not using the fifth gear for too long, not driving over 110 kph to stop the car from over-cooling.

A successful trip.