Eureka!

Richard and I took Eben to 'Eureka' today, the museum for children in Halifax, W Yorks. He's been keen to visit after seeing some photos from Marianna's recent visit with Frieda.

At 5, he's definitely getting to the age when trips like this will be best done with a friend (or his younger brother) joining us.  What Eben really gravitates towards is the company of other children. He likes having us around, but the real fun is to be had when dashing about with others who move at his own speed.

However - Eureka has plenty to offer any child who, like Eben, loves to manipulate objects, especially machines of any kind. While he was jumping around, seeing how his own movements changed a sound and light display, I played with a slow shutter setting on my iPhone camera app :-) Something for all ages there...  So it's a super-grainy result, but perhaps it captures something of Eben's excitement.

And of course we enjoyed treats in the cafe: hot dog and chips for Eben, burger and chips for Richard, roasted veg salad for me. 

Towards the end of our visit, we were in the 'living and working together' part of the building. To our total amazement, Eben became engrossed in the make-believe bank that was part of the 'high street' section.  He loved stamping pretend paper forms (what a retro child...) And he loved the safe deposit boxes, which you could open by cracking a child-friendly code to produce a series of numbers: how many bears did Goldilocks visit? How many fingers on one hand? One, ..., buckle my shoe etc.

On the way home, Eben got a bit bored in the car. It was pouring with rain by then, and the traffic was slow in patches. Richard was driving, while E and I mucked about with the iPhone maps app in the back, following our route. Then we remembered Siri - which I don't usually use - and much fun was had by posing a series of daft questions to  it.

We picked Ruth up on our way back into Sheffield, as she and Josh were both working at the farm today. Their barn had sprung a major leak, with the heavy downpours, so she was soaked after clearing out a gutter that was the main culprit. I dropped her off back at their house, ready for a quick change and turnaround so she could take Eben to his 4 p.m. swimming lesson. In that hectic process, she came back with their car key in her pocket... which Josh would need in order to drive home, and collect Luca from nursery, later. So I popped back up to the farm with it, a short drive for me and an excuse for a quiet dip into Radio 4. My real reward was a beautiful box of farm produce to bring home: strawberries, fennel and some homemade redcurrant cordial.

And once home, while Richard was cooking tea, I lay down on the bed and fell asleep instantly ....