SC Invasion

July saw an invasion from South Carolina. Lawton, Debbie, Hannah and Harris came for a couple of weeks and we got into all kinds of interesting adventures. Since they needed to reset their time clock, we took them to family day at the July Course in Newmarket. If you just read Vivian's blog on ladies' day, this was a different experience. She figured she knew how to bet and by the end of the day, MJ's college savings is all but gone.

Emmanuel College is part of Cambridge University and Debbie's uncle taught there during the summers for over 20 years. Here is a picture from the courtyard. We also enjoyed Punting on the Cam during our day in Cambridge. We took them to Wimpole Hall which

is a working farm with a great manor house. The best part of that is the hay bale maze. We hopped over to

Framlingham Castle for an adventure. Here are all the kids perched on the wall. I think they got in trouble for this one. Speaking of trouble, the real trouble came when MJ unwrapped the drum kit he got for his 14th birthday. Lucky for us, we had

Uncle Lawton

over to help put the whole thing together. He also gave MJ the quick lesson on how to play. While he was at it, he also proceeded to make our back door neighbor hate us by doing his best Tommy Lee impression for an entire day.

Our neighbors, the Downings, hosted us for a cookout one night and we got to engage in a girls versus boys Kubb battle. Kubb is a game that

originates from Sweden and is supposedly a Viking game. If you dig into the history though, you can't verify that. Regardless, it was an a very nice evening and as you might expect, the men won. Remember, boys rule and girls drool.

The find of the week came from Millets, our favorite outdoor store. They are the Team Crabby

t-shirts for Hannah and Harris. Uncle Lawton always takes us to the secret crabbing spot when we are at Edisto. We load up the crab pots and head home for a crab boil. He has been deemed Captain Crabby for his knack for finding the perfect spot and now his kids officially sport the team shirts.....

Newmarket Ladies Day

I attended Ladies Day at the Races with 15 other women. We were dressed for the occasion with hats and fascinators on top of our heads. Alison had to help me because I didn't know how to fasten my fascinator! We gathered at 11:00 am and then carpooled to the racecourse. It made our drive quite interesting. I couldn't turn my head without pulling the feathers that had attached to the roof and it was very difficult to see past Alison in the front seat with her wide, pink hat! We set up a tent and then set our table, complete with tablecloth and a vase of flowers, thanks to Jayne. They pulled out champagne glasses, as I was expecting Solo cups....We visited in the tent and admired everyone's outfit before heading into the race course gates.

Karen's husband recommended one of his horses for the first race so I bet 5 GBP each way (meaning that he would get 1st, 2nd or 3rd place) and I got a 22 GBP payout. I was off to a good start. We watched the horses parade, then

placed our bet and then went to the grandstand to watch the race. We decided to place bets on the 2nd & 3rd races and go back to our tent for lunch. We enjoyed eating so much that we missed 3 races but got back in time to bet on the 5th race, where once again I had a winner: 16.60 GBP I bet on a few USA horses too....got to be loyal to my homeland! I had a few losers but overall it was a great day!

We stayed in the parking lot until 5:30 and then went to Alix's home for a Bar-B-Q. Here is a picture of a group of the ladies but some of them have changed clothes and I am not in the picture. We had plenty of food supplied by all of us and the party lasted until 11:30 p.m. when I announced that the Skelton mobile was leaving. Many did not

want to walk home so they climbed in my car and I made the rounds through the villages dropping everyone off.

This is an annual event for these ladies and they make a full day of it! I am thankful to have been included and certainly enjoyed my first UK horse race, where I actually saw the horses unlike the Carolina Cup....

Southwold

We headed directly east to the coast of England....Southwold. It is well-known for its beach and its pier. The pier is loaded with an

entertainment center with all types of quirky games that one can

play. Maggie is walking a dog with John chasing behind and John is getting his brain washed.

This is a classic beach town and has the little beach huts that are common along the coastal area. Proportionally, they are every

bit as expensive as beachfront property in the States. Imagine paying $200,000 for what is basically a

garden shed. It was a beautiful day and there is nothing like eating fish and chips on the pier.

The big purchase for the weekend was a new car for Uncle Lawton. We had a family vote and decided that he was such a fishing nerd

(I have copyrighted this term) that he would actually be excited about his new wheels. So Captain Crabby, look for the UPS truck to drop this off soon.

Our first Cricket Match

We attended our first cricket match this summer. It is a celebrity match where a local squad plays against a celebrity team known as the Lashings. The match was held at the Culford school, which is a private school that our neighbors, the Downings, attend. We got a first class education about Cricket and had an excellent afternoon in the sun. The little thatched roof building on the left is the locker room. Not quite the locker rooms that we had at my schools. They also had a refreshment stand. It was a lot like the stand at Winter Park in Wilmington except they served scones and you could get a proper tea in a china cup. The food was served on China.

The school campus was beautiful and it's known for having the oldest iron bridge in England. Here is a shot of the bridge.

To top it all off, our neighbors brought over the school newsletter and there is an article highlighting the events of the day and there in the middle of the cricket picture is a very snazzy looking Vivian and Marshall. Vivian is now known as Posh Spice over here and you can just call me David Beckham. We're celebs and will soon have our own reality show.