Brother Matthew and family come to Durham

Brother Matthew, his wife Marion and their three kids - count 'em! THREE! - came to stay for Easter, and we all had a terrific time.

Here are all the cousins playing with the cars in our back garden (l to r - below): Liam, Chloe, Gregory and Barnaby. (Looks like Liam's Lightning McQueen is facing off with Gregory's Mac...) Liam took a while to get used to the presence of three new kids in the immediate vicinity, and even on several occasions, actually touching his toys - heresy! - but soon he thrived on being around them, and loved it - despite one or two, er, disagreements.
I was able to get Matthew into Durham Castle to stay, normally a student hall of residence, and normally not available for 'tourists' at Easter. It's a spectacular treat as a place to sleep, and of course the kids loved the huge staircases and the spiral ones and going up into the turret to knock on the big wall behind which all the dragons are kept.
It was also great to have Liam out in the garden playing...



We also went to Hall Hill Farm, a great farm/playground place outside Lanchester (near Durham), where kids can feed lambs, hold and stroke rabbits and little chicks and ride on a tractor. Here are some pics of Liam with a rabbit, some sheep, etc...