On arrival, we spent one night in Wiltshire with Grandad and Nana. Alexander met his cousin Danny.
We drove up to Scotland, via David and Margaret Shannon's place in the midlands. Alexander adored David and spent most of his time in pretend phone conversations with him. He used about five new words in his first conversation with David.
We spent a couple of nights in Edinburgh with Michael Bickell and his boyfriend Simon before setting off to see the Highlands with them. Alexander enjoyed his back seat between Mummy and Uncle 'Imon', and liked spotting 'sheeps' and other animals.
On our way down south we stopped off with the Kiesers, where Alexander immediately made friends with Erin (2½) and her big sister Charlee (4½). Erin and he threw rocks in a stream together, before Alexander walked into the stream and we had to end the walk. He surprised me by noticing the difference between himself and Erin in the bath, pointing at his 'wee' (willy) and then at Erin with a "where is it?" sound.
We had a week around Easter with his aunt 'Datie' (Katie) and cousin Danny. The two boys got on very well, though sometimes Alexander overwhelmed Danny and had to be stopped from squashing him into corners. They liked chasing each other, generally using Katie as a maypole and saying "boo!" to each other. They showed amazing kindness to each other, Alexander handing Danny his comfort Quack Quack and his 'onny' (dummy) whenever he thought Danny would want them. Alexander enjoyed feeding swans and ducks on the canal at Devizes, and playing soccer with Nana and Danny on a picnic in the New Forest.
The next week was spent in France, first in Paris and then in Burgundy. Alexander continued to show amazing stamina for museums, spending nearly a whole day in the Louvre with good humour. He kept saying 'statue', and pointing out dogs, horsies and boobies to Mummy. In Burgundy he even went around the Chateau de Tanlay, filled with priceless ancient furniture and china without breaking anything. He especially loved playing on a toy tractor at our B&B and met a sheep and a goat in the garden there.
Back in the UK, we spent two nights in London at 'Anvrew house' with my friend Andrew Teeton. He got in a few more museums, including the National Maritime Museum which has a lovely interactive section for children. He even made a penpal there, a boy called Oscar, who asked for Alexander's address when he realised he might never seen Alexander again.
