July visitors

Well, they came, the Californian munchkins (they were good enough to bring their mother with them), and they stayed with me nearly a month, and then they went back (taking their mother back with them).
I really had my grandpa fix, I can tell you.
Highlights were a visit to the Imperial Air Museum at Duxford. If you haven't been, do go, it's awesome, although the price of ice creams is outrageous, even without the chocolate flake; and a visit to the Raptor Foundation to watch the falconry display. All three munchkins had a go at feeding an Eagle Owl, a bird so much bigger than any of them that they couldn't help flinching as it flew up to take the morsel from their gloved hand.

Oh yes, and for Kiki an outing to check some Kestrel and Barn Owl boxes. Despite appearances, the owl that she is holding is not dead, just placid.
After I came back from seeing the family off at Heathrow, I set about cleaning up the house, or at least the living room. Now it is immaculate, nothing out of place, everything polished and sparkly. But it's deafingly silent and spookily empty. Can't wait for the next invasion of the fruit of the fruit of my loins.