Wakeup

 Ellie was awake by 6:30. This meant that we were awake by 6:31 as she leapt into bed with us. The early start did mean that everything was done and dusted by 8:00 so Ellie sat down with grandpa and invented a card game. The Gorse Fox would explain the rules if they had ever become clear. Essentially cards were revealed and some had to have a story with them and gained a point. The others didn't have a story and if a story was forthcoming, you lost a point. The problem was that you never knew whether a story was required until Ellie had made up her mind based on how close you were to reaching her score. The Gorse Fox heaved a sigh of relief when it was time to go to school... he can't take the pressure of a 5-year-old's logic.

Ocado delivered early and then we whizzed round to Sainsbury's. Once home, the Gorse Fox grabbed the slippers that had arrived on Tuesday and took the bus into Chichester. M&S refunded the money without any problem and he looked to see if they had a smaller version that he could replace them with. No. Nothing in his size. He resolved to order online where they did have his size. 

As he left, however, he remembered that there was another shoe shop round the corner, in South Street. He wandered in. There nestling on the display was a very light trainer-style slip-on shoe. This was exactly what he had been seeking. He tried them on. Perfect. Five minutes later he left clutching some new "slippers" which are in fact casual slip-on trainers. He has worn them ever since getting home and is delighted with how comfortable and how light they are.

Yesterday would have been the Gorse Fox's dad's 66th birthday. This got him thinking about the information he has in the family tree regarding him. He went back and realised he had little information about his schooling so did some research on the school to which he and his twin were evacuated at the start of the War. Sure enough, he found some pictures of the school. More interestingly he found a school photo from 1942 and there they were. The twins were sitting near the front, right next to the teachers. The Gorse Fox was very pleased.