Apri 18 (Fri)

We are up in good time, and start to make sense of the mess we have made of the caravan. We are supposed to be out by 10, but suspect this is not rigorously enforced. Fortunately, as it turns out, we are correct.
The girls disappear to try and repeat their tigger grabbing triumph,but everyone helps get the place reasonably ship shape, and we are off around 11.
We are going to stop in Liverpool on the way back. There is no definite plan,but the general agreement is that we will do something Beatles related.
I make the executive decision that we won't head down the motorway, but will explore the glories of the countryside and take the little roads through Preston. Turns out to be a big mistake. The scenery is almost entirley nodescript. All we see of Preston is a ring road, and the traffic the entire route is abysmal. We don't arrive in the centre of Liverpool for three hours.
Bus trips to Penny Lane, a ferry cross the Mersey.... so much to choose from but now so little time. We take the easiset option, the Beatles tour. It's ok, the girls all love it. An "interactive" tour, the buzzword of the museum world of today. It actually means we are handed out an MP3 player to guide us on our way. The replica of the cavern club is probably the best feature. It did mange to convey something of a feeling of what the place must have been like. Would have been more atmospheric if they had filled the whole place with the smoke of a million Woodbines, but hey guys, this is clean air 2008!!
we are there for a good few hours, and we are about to hit scouse rush hour. The image comes to mind of close on half a million moustachio'd permed head hooting at each other in traffic jams and screaming "Our rate Our rate Kaam down Kaam down" before the inevitable fight breaks out, is hard to resist.
I say goodbye to Flo, as H will be taking her straight home . It has been fun having another family member, albeit temporary. She is a lovely girl, quiet, but by no means timid, and always happy to join in with any teasing that is going around.
Actually there isn't much of a queue to speak of, and we ar soon on the motorway heading out of town.
Not for the first time this week, I manage to get myelf lost. I am with Dan, and we (we? I mean I!) manage to miss the M6 and as a result we end up in Manchester. To compound the error I then miss the exit from the inner ring road, and we go the whole way round. Humiliating as we get a call from H suggesting meeting in a services, and have to confess to our cock ups!
We do get ourselves home safely eventually, and in fact do so before the others, they having dropped Flo home.
Big hugs from Sophie, no sign of Kip.
Well, we're back It's Friday night. What else is there to do? Vindalooooo. I am dreading the scales tomorrow!