More sights and sounds from Nyan’s trip to England in August 2019.
Mountfitchet
One bright day, we joined Elizabeth, as well as her sister and mommy, on a visit to Mountfitchet Castle, a Norman-era castle and village that’s now a living history museum, complete with buildings, catapult demonstrations, and livestock that the villagers themselves would have had some 1,000 years ago.
Some views around the place:
There were deer to feed:
And chickens and other fowl as well:
Oh, and then there was armor to try on:
And those things that make you look like you’re an archer:
And a place where you could practice your sword skills:
Don’t forget the stockades!
And there was a gift shop that sold ice cream-ish treats that turned the kids’ tongues bright red.
Post-Wedding BBQ
The day after the wedding, everyone got together at Uncle Aung and Aunt Laura’s house for a barbecue by the pool. (Yes, it was hot and sunny with a swimming pool. In England!)
All the cousins were there, so we tried to get an all-cousin photo. Middling success.
The Garden
Nyan loved playing and ‘working’ in Phwa Phwa’s garden. Watering plants, planting flowers, and digging holes for various purposes. Or no purpose at all. Elodie and Tabitha liked to help too.
Farewell Dinner
On our last night in England, a group of us went out to a nice dinner that happened to be at the restaurant where Mommy and Daddy had their wedding reception some 9 years earlier. Nyan enjoyed taking a little tour of the reception hall and listening to stories about the wedding dinner held there, before he was around.
We wrap up with various photos from the flights between Singapore and London, via Dubai.
As we saw, Nyan and Mommy and Daddy went to England in August for Auntie Zuzu and Uncle Iain’s wedding. But it wasn’t just the wedding; we spent about two weeks there and got in plenty of other fun times. Let’s look at some of them.
Elodie and Tabitha
Nyan’s cousins are a few years younger, but they all get along famously; Nyan really embraces the role of the wiser, and somewhat cheeky, older brother.
They built a pillow fort:
And spent a lot of time bouncing on the trampoline:
Nyan spent a lot of time playing with Tabitha, his youngest cousin:
And he went with Elodie to her horse-riding lesson one afternoon:
And one afternoon, the kids — well, Nyan and Tabitha, but mostly Nyan — did a dance recital. LOTS of dances to LOTS of different songs. They were all great, so we share the whole show with you here:
And finally, some random photos of Nyan and the girls, and a video of him showing Elodie how to be a scientist.
Bunky
Nyan also spent a lot of time with Elizabeth, a.k.a. Bunky, the slightly younger daughter of Mommy’s BFF. They played in the yard of her centuries-old home outside a little English village, with her younger sister Immy as well:
Bunky has a tire swing, which Nyan just had to go on!
(The voice you hear is Bunky’s daddy, trying to get her to snap out of a bad mood she had slipped into. Kids!)
Essex
Another day, we took a drive down to the coast to get some fresh air and some ocean breezes. Essex County is a beautiful land!
While we’re on the topic of scenery, here’s a few more shots from around Colchester.
We’ll have more Bunky, more Elodie and Tabitha, and lots more Nyan in our next post. For now, some random photos of the trip, and a video of our boy showing off (as ever) his dance moves.
Nyan’s busy summer was topped off with a couple weeks in England to see Auntie Zuzu and Uncle Iain get married. It was an epic ceremony, and a fantastic trip all around. Let’s take a deep dive into all the fun — starting with the wedding itself.
It was an all-day affair, kicking off around noon and stretching past midnight, held at an events venue with a large outdoor space as well as plenty of interior room for dancing and whatnot.
Both Nyan and Mommy were in the wedding party — she was a bridesmaid while Nyan, along with his younger cousins Elodie and Tabitha, were in charge of the rings. (Nyan was kind of in charge of making sure Elodie and Tabitha carried the rings properly — he called himself the Lord of the Rings…) Here’s some scenes from the wedding ceremony itself:
And a quick video of Nyan and the girls walking in:
It was a brilliantly sunny day, so after the ceremony everyone milled about outside for a while, taking photos and playing games.
Check out Nyan showing off his dance skills on a rock:
(Much more on his dance skills in a bit…)
That rock later became popular with all the kids for jumping off of:
Indeed, there were plenty of other kids, including cousin Eli whom Nyan quickly became pals with. Check out some of the fun the kids got up to during the course of the day and evening:
Here they are waiting on the edge of the dance floor, waiting for the music to start; Nyan, though, was too impatient to keep from moving:
And oh yes, there was dancing. And oh yes, of course, Nyan was there for it. He was there for all of it. He was there from the very first dance, in fact:
Nyan pretty much ruled the dance floor.
As the night wore on, Nyan decided that all his older cousins, aunts and uncles should take turns carrying him around on the dance floor. So, they did.
Besides dancing and numerous other fun activities, the wedding also had a mini casino! You couldn’t play with real money, but since it was fake, that meant the kids could stand at the craps table or roulette wheel, looking suave and dapper as they pretended to gamble.
Finally, just a few random photos from various points across this most epic of wedding days.
August brought Mommy’s birthday, which we celebrated by staying a couple nights at a hotel on nearby Sentosa island. It was quite a treat to be able to feel like we got away from it all, and to only need a 20-minute taxi ride to get there!
The hotel was the Sofitel Sentosa, and it was lovely.
We spent a lot of time in the swimming pool, which included a peacock or two.
The hotel was a short stroll away from the beach, so we hung out there too.
It also had a little pool full of those little fish that eat the skin off your feet and legs. It was a lot of fun!
But the most basic goal of the little staycation was to celebrate Mommy, make sure she got to relax, and for everyone to enjoy some good family time. Mission accomplished!
Nyan Thomas L's Blog 