Skip to main content

These ol' Whites

Most of you have probably been following our exploits on here anyway, but here's a quick reminder of what happened for us in 2014.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Theo, Theo, he played one, out into the world did come;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Gave us lots of sleepless nights!


Graham, Graham, he played two, bought himself a bright canoe;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Paddling it's a sheer delight!


Toby, Toby, he played three, he grew up and learned to read;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Takes a book to bed at night!


Martha, Martha, she played four, baked some cakes and then some more;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Winning prizes left and right!


Graham, Graham, he played five, loves to see those fast cars drive;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Took Toby to the race track sights!


Theo, Theo, he played six, giggles lots at Toby's tricks;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Boys together - quite a sight!


Toby and Theo, they played seven, thought that Italy's just like heaven;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Pizza, ice cream, lakes and flights!


Martha, Martha, she played eight, stayed up reading far too late;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Looks forward to her Book Club nights!


Theo, Theo, he played nine, wants to stand up all the time;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Holds on to Mum's fingers tight!


Toby, Toby, he played ten, draws with pencils or a pen;
With a knick, knack, paddy whack, what a lot of Whites - 
Forms his letters, starts to write!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dove Valley Walk: Going round the bend

Somewhere between Marchington and Uttoxeter, the wiggles of the River Dove stop wiggling west to east, and start wiggling north to south. If it went in straight lines, it would make a right-angled bend. As I'm following the river upstream, this was my last section walking west. After this it's north to the Peak District and Dovedale. here the Dove swings north The main walk of this section was all on the south side of the river. But I also did a separate, shorter walk, to explore the village of Doveridge, and the old Dove Bridge which is tantalisingly glimpsed from the A50. Walk 1: Marchington to Uttoxeter I liked Marchington even more as I arrived there for the second time. I parked opposite the village shop - noting the "ice cream" sign outside for later - and near the brick-built St Peter's Church, with a war memorial built in above the door.  A few streets took me to the other side of the village, where I found a path alongside a stream, then across some hay m

Dove Valley Walk: Meeting the Limestone Way

At Uttoxeter my route along the Dove Valley met some official long-distance trails. First the Staffordshire Way north to Rocester, then the Limestone Way continuing up towards Dovedale. Graham joined me on today's walk, which included the Staffordshire Way section and the first part of the Limestone Way. Unusually, it was a one-way hike; we got the bus back.   Uttoxeter to Ellastone Graham and I parked at Uttoxeter train station. It's very cheap for the day if you park after 10am, but I was worried about getting back in time for the school run, so we got there at 9:20 and paid the more expensive rate (still only £3).  We started off across flat fields towards the A50 and Dove Bridge. A group of young cattle gave us hard stares as we walked past. I posted a photo of a wonky gate on the Gate Appreciation Society with the caption "Parallelogate" and it quickly accumulated 200 likes - many more than this post will get!   Passing the old Dove Bridge again , we ploughed t

San Antonio

San Antonio is towards the south of Texas and feels very much more Mexican than American. The balmy evenings, the colourful Mexican market, the architecture of the buildings, and the number of people speaking Spanish around us all added to the impression. The city, in fact, grew out of a Spanish mission and presidio (fort), built in 1718 as part of Spain's attempt to colonize and secure what was then the northern frontier of the colony of Mexico. Texas was then a buffer zone between Mexico and the French-held Louisiana, and Spain was keen to cement her hold on the area by introducing settlers and converting the natives to Catholicism and loyalty to the Spanish government. The missions in general had no great effect, but the San Antonio area was the exception to the rule, growing into an important city with five missions strung out along the San Antonio river. The first of these, San Antonio de Valero, later became well-known as the Alamo, where 182 Texans died in 1836