Shelduck? **

We left the glorious sunshine of the south west this morning for a slightly drizzly London. We met a bunch of friends at Osterley House for an Easter Egg hunt. The deal is that all the kids traipse about the park, getting some exercise, and answering questions on a wildlife theme. If they get all the way round they get an easter egg. It ticks all the boxes for all the family really: exercise in a beautiful place, learning something new, chance for younger kids to practice reading and writing and an egg at the end.

Somehow the idyll was broken for me by the parents who encouraged their kids to just rush around and collect all the answers without even reading the questions. Doesn't that defeat part of the purpose of the hunt? And could they really not work out that if they were going to do that they might as well just stay home and buy a cheap egg. And I bet those are the same parents who'll be slagging off the teachers when their kids can't read properly. Grrrr.

Well, here's a shelduck (maybe? I have a bad record recently with identifying birds so am happy to be corrected!)

**EDIT: for those who don't read all the comments, it is in fact an Egyptian Goose (cousin of a Shelduck). Thanks Linuxgamer for being our font of bird wisdom - I'll get one right eventually!

Anyway, our friends had brought a feast with them (described by them as a 'couple of bits and pieces to keep the kids happy') including a kilo of cooked mussels! We contributed a bottle of fizz and we all had a very classy picnic. Then back to Shepherd's Bush for one of R&V's fabulous curry extravaganzas. Another fine day.

We're still in London for another day or so, then who knows where for a couple of days, but I've backblipped the holiday shots so far, here's quick links for those who prefer that route:
Manchester - birthday
Manchester - funny card
Wye: Puzzlewood
Wye: Tintern Abbey
Wye: Canoe-eye view
Wye: slow water mill
Bristol: balls
Bristol: mud