It was very hard to pack up and leave Oxford, partly because of Francis and Mike's lovely hospitality and partly because leaving Oxford meant pcking all our usual gear, plus the suitcase we had left on our last visit. We finally managed it at about 12:30 and headed South in the rain. We had lunch in Portsmouth in a pub called The Slug and Lettuce which was next to the huge Spinnaker Tower.
We booked ourselves on a tour of Nelson's flag ship, HMS Victory. The rain seemed to be putting people off, so we were the only people on the tour. The guide was excellent - drawing a picture of life below decks that really stuck in your mind (and occasionally quoting Hornblower, which added a lot of colour). It's clear that the Victory means a lot to the British Navy. It is still technically the Flag Ship for the British fleet, despite being in permanent dry dock.
The rain made the deck quite slippy. This is where Nelson fell.
Helen tripped about two feet to the left, but didn't fall, so felt rather smug.
When we left the docks the rain started to turn to sleet. By the time we got back to the car the sleet was turning to snow. As we drove to Lancing the snow became thicker and visibility dropped. Thomas and Helen were thrilled. Robert just concentrated on the driving. We arrived at Emma and Graeme's house to find Maddy and Lily waiting at the front door for us. So lovely to come out of the snow to a warm greeting and spaghetti bolognese.
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