Seaton Deleval

We left the house at 6.30 am in order to arrive at #2 daughter's in time for them to get to work while we looked after Thomas. The system in Whitley Bay is that Reception class does a half day for the first week, which means a lot of organising for working parents, not to mention it being quite unsettling for the children who seem to be raring to get to school anyway. By 9 am Thomas said his mum told him he could get off to school now, but his shift was afternoon from 1-3.30.

We took him to the NT property at Seaton Deleval just a few miles up the road. It didn't open till 11 so we went to have a look at the kitchen garden. He had fun identifying the crops of carrots, pumpkins, onions etc and I picked him a few loganberries, surreptitiously. This is him and one of the scarecrows.

The inside of the main building, built by Vanburgh, had been destroyed in a fire - more interesting to look at for Thomas than furnished rooms. He investigated all the fireplaces to see if any had big enough chimneys for Santa to get down.

We had to head back to get washed and changed into the new uniform for his second afternoon at school. (Parents did yesterday). It was only a 10 minute walk, so we were there in heaps of time for him to chat to some friends before they could get in. He rushed into the classroom without a backward glance. I said we'd pick him up later. He gave a cursory, dismissive wave. I hope he stays this keen!

We picked him up, then went to the park by the school where he played with some friends.

His mum had a last little run after work, before the Great North Run on Sunday. There are 57,000 competitors, so it's not likely we'll see her. Her cousin is also running but will be further back so they hope to meet at the end.