Wintery

 There was snow overnight. By the time we awoke, however, the rain had swept in and washed it away. Across the Downs, north of Chichester, it had settled, but our coastal strip was clear.

Ellie woke at 6:05 but went back to her room when the Gorse Fox explained there was a further 25 minutes before she could play in the bedroom. She finally emerged and jumped onto our bed at 6:50. That's acceptable. We followed the usual morning protocol and Ellie was "ready to rock" at 8:30. The Gorse Fox insisted the Silver Vixen stay put as it was cold and damp. She didn't argue, and Elli and the Gorse Fox wandered around to school.

The Silver Vixen had not slept well. She decided that Pilates was a non-starter today, and went back to bed. The Gorse Fox headed across to Worthing for the usual football. It was a hard game. The teams were unbalanced, and the Gorse Fox's orange team had to feed off scraps as they were under constant pressure. The final score was about 7-5 against us, but at least the Gorse Fox scored a good goal.

When he got home, soaked to skin still from the game, Cousteau-Cub was there. She had been to Bognor Regis and stopped in on her way home. She stayed with us for a chat and a bite of lunch.

The Gorse Fox was weary from the morning's football, so we had a quiet afternoon in the lounge until it was time to collect Ellie. Again, the Gorse Fox insisted that the Silver Vixen stayed put, in the warm, and he went to collect Ellie by himself. Ellie burst into the house and wanted something to eat - as she always does. By the time she had had a snack and got changed, she only had a few minutes to start her homework before Urban-Cub arrived to collect her.