The morning after the night before

Ben started whispering to me at ten to seven. I don't normally get up until about 10 on a Saturday but I soon came to, and we slunk off downstairs to play Lego in our pyjamas as directed.

After breakfast of sausages we did the bottlebank walk (although one of the more stupid amongst us forgot the bottles) and failed to find anything except Barbies and baby stuff in the charity shop. Not to be downhearted, we did tunnel park and made piles of pinecones from the trees inside the model railway track.

On our way back the nice butcher gave us some plastic bags to carry our pine-coney booty in, it was difficult carrying 6-10 each without bags.

After yet more Lego and artwork (prolific, this time, with a distinctly nautical theme. Ben is currently into dragons and their bodily functions) we drove north to the treat of the day - Playzone Cosham. We've certainly been there before - I even had my 5th birthday party there - but the giant red slides beckoned. I personally only do the blue, polychrome and tunnel slide, the red devil slides look too dangerous to me. Ben does all of them. We ran around sweatily and chased and hid and I banged my head in the wooden tunnel and eventually his parents came to pick him up, which is always a shame.

On the way home Jof demanded McDongles, even though we'd bought some real food earlier. I had a Happy Meal and she had Chips Galore.

After a smallish tea break it was Beer'O'Clock. We walked to the Royal Artillery pub and there was a full house of Puddlers. To be fair, the Popses were in Oxfordshire so they weren't there, and it's only usually not a full house because we don't go much, but it was lovely to see everyone again after so long (apart from Elizabeth who I met yesterday at the swimming pool, Erin who I met yesterday at school, Ben who'd only just left my house, and the JBs who I met at Wednesday park).

We watched the United match and hooted and ate crisps and stuff while the adults had their vitamin Beer and 3 pints later we all agreed to call it a day and headed back for a sandwich and a bonfire. Tonight's offerings were - a dead cupboard from Elizabeth, Victorian violin case, all the wallpaper from my room and all the usual cardboard and bits of pallet from his work. My goodness me, it's been a good day (again).