Castles made of sand
Holidays on the English coast were a staple of my childhood summers, and Mrs. Monkeyshines’ too; she went to the beaches of the south-west, and I to those of the south-east (and we both went to the Isle of Wight). So we were both looking forward to our week with the Little Monkey on the Suffolk coast, at Aldeburgh; which was where the Monkeyshines Grandma went as a child…
Although, despite having fun at the beach with moats, and throwing pebble after pebble into the sea, the Little Monkey’s highlight was probably the visit to the farm. He literally ran round all day, scarcely believing that so many amazing things (trains and tractors, animals and slides) could all be in one place. Two years of stroking the cat have trained him well, and he petted everything from a chick to a donkey.
He showed a clear natural talent as a horseman (well, as a ponyboy, I suppose, but that sounds a bit like a derogatory term for a centaur); and then went gleefully down the slide in the soft-play area dozens of times. Subsequent days out at Framlingham castle and the Latitude festival were excellent fun, but I don’t think they quite reached the giddy heights of the farm…
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