England! Day 6

Today, we went to a traditional Anglican service at nearby Somerton in a church that was built in the 11th century.  There were twelve people there, including us, the pastor and the organist.  Apparently, every village has a church (Church of England) no matter who goes or doesn't attend.  You'd think after seeing hundreds of buildings that are a thousand years old I'd be over it, but I'm so not.  Every single one takes my breath away.

We then went to The Chapel, the church in the Incredibles' village where they work and worship.  It is a typical contemporary service with guitars and words projected on the wall and coffee (and tea) off to the side.   There were about 35 enthusiastic worshippers and it was a blessing to meet friends and neighbors.  Afterwards, we went to lunch at an English restaurant in Banbury that makes a valiant (if not authentic) attempt at American food.  I had a balsamic chicken wrap and a *jacket* potato (baked - butter, no sour cream). 

And yes, Banbury is the home of the nursery rhyme below, and the statue is in the square to prove it.

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes  

Finally, off to Tesco Express, England's version of a Super Walmart for groceries and a few odds and ends.

Back home for a quiet afternoon of birthday cake and presents (JackJack and Elasti-girl), including several outdoor adventures.  JackJack found a piece of pavement out in the greenspace in front of their house with an X in the middle and announced there was pirate treasure buried beneath.  It took some talking to convince him that it was not the best idea to bring out the shovels on the spot and start digging.  We also got a miniature basketball stuck in a tree.  We tried everything to get it down, including JackJack on my shoulders with a broom trying to knock it out.  His parents and grandpa were napping and we didn't want to disturb them, so a nice neighbor boy took pity on us, came out and shimmied up the tree to rescue the ball.  Whew.  Gigi was running out of great ideas.

Tomorrow, Warwick Castle!  And the confession that I have a feeling this parting may be even harder than when they left for England in the first place.  This has been a wonderful visit all the way around, and there's nothing like playing with the boys and having them, unprompted, say, "Gigi, I love you."