Three Rs

Worried that Tom and Sal might have forgotten how to read and write over the summer holidays, I took them down to the local bookshop to choose an improving book each. One wall of the bookshop is covered with doodles, signatures, little pictures and messages from all the authors who have visited the shop for book signings or readings. It was nice to spot some of our favourite authors or characters - it's really a mural of my children's childhood.

At home we covered the trampoline with rugs and cushions and all read for an hour in the sun. I really should have done it before.

In the afternoon we played Make Your Own Fun Day, a family classic, where we set up obstacles on our steep front path and roll tennis balls into bowls at the bottom. Two points if you hit an obstacle on the way down, five if you get it in the bowl.

I'm now at Glamrus Nails (sic) getting a back-to-school pedicure. It would have been a pretty perfect day, if I hadn't completely lost my temper with Tom this morning (it's blown over now, but I'm still feeling cross/regret) and the news and pictures from the Shoreham Air Show crash have just been awful. It's so close to where our family live and we know the air show and area well, we were there in 2007 when another pilot died. It's shocking and sad.