The tranquility of a Sunday morning. Words from a George Ezra song slip into my mind and I can’t seem to shake it, “cold nights, Sunday morning”. I find the song and play it. Gopal posts a political message about our PM on our consultant’s group. Really Gopal, I think, the Sun that is what you read on a Sunday morning. He explains that it is the most read newspaper in the UK and that is how the politicians get their message across. What do I know about politics, eh. I leave it to the experts and turn to my broad sheet.
George Ezra’s Shotgun plays next and I am now immersed in the travel section. A trip down the canal in the Camargue, with horses trotting along the canal bank, herons and egrets foraging, while flamingoes flock the wetlands watching the barges float past. Now I am riding along the canal bank and can feel the sun rays on me. The music ends, the gentle humming of the fridge is the only sound in the background. If I listen carefully, I can hear birds chirping and the faint rumbling of traffic in the distance.
I need to get ready to make my own adventure. Dreaming is fine, but experiencing it with the kids is even better. When I get to Lakshmi’s house I find that Lavinia and her mother are not well. I can only take Lakshmi and we make our way to the Lee Valley Farm Park. Easter is almost around the corner and most farms and parks are doing egg hunting adventures. It is almost midday by the time we get there. We collect the map and follow the other children.
First stop is lamb feeding. All the children get a chance to hold the bottles as the lambs gulp the milk down. Some lambs are so desperate they try to lick the bottle tops over their pens as they wait their turns. Lakshmi is too scared. We still get our first stamp. We need at least 3 stamps to collect the bunny ears. Next is meeting the chicks time. Lakshmi doesn’t want to pet the little fluffy bundles either. We collect our second star and visit the meerkats before stopping off at the soft ball play centre.
The rain starts but that doesn’t deter us. After lunch we walk around and see the horses, hens, turkeys, sheep and goats. There are more play areas. The slides are wet and slippery, but Lakshmi still has a go. We forgot to collect the plastic eggs which are dotted around the farm but a lady who has collected more than her son’s share gives us some of his.
We stop off to see the bunny rabbits being fed. They are big and apparently are the third largest types of rabbits and can weigh almost 6 kilos. The last event is the falconry show. The lady gives us a class on kestrels, hawks and owls. She brings out the various birds, makes them fly from post to post and feeds them. The last one is an owl, which is huge and she lets us gently touch the back feathers. Lakshmi is having none of it and wouldn’t even look when I try to take a photo of her next to it.
Regardless of not wanting to touch the animals and birds Lakshmi has had a marvellous time. We exchange the plastic eggs for some Easter eggs before making our way back home as the day draws to a close.
