Uppark

Jim took me and the nut (voluntarily) to this stately home, because it had doll houses. The house was very nice but we didn't get to see much as they had (quite erroneously) put the dollhouses in the very last room of the tour, so the nut sped through the house with great urgency, which was not unrewarded, as there were three houses.

The first was very large, bigger that 1/12 scale. The other was a scale reproduction of Uppark. The last was a regular dollhouse not dissimilar to his own, with which he was allowed to play with. Better still, it was populated with cuddley stegosauruses. He spent a long while playing with them, with another small boy dressed like Spider-Man. The stegs all had a poo on the toilet. He was impressed the furniture had drawers that opened, which could be an expensive discovery for me.

Then we investigated the west lawn, which the nut was looking forward to (evidently he is starved of vast expanses of grass) and the meadow, and played cricket, and had ice creams.

Then we went back to the dollhouse, this time he brought his favorite angrybirds with him. They fought all through the house, upending the furniture. What can I say? We just really like houses. Tiny houses. Only one of us really likes dolls though.

'I miss the doll houses' he says. I point out he has his own

'I miss the stegosauruses'