The highlight of the few days was catching up with family. Christopher, Anthony’s nephew, dropped in one evening (actually Jenny had picked him up from the school where he teaches as his car was out of action). He’s turned into a fine young man. We also had a family dinner at the Apple Cart gastro pub on the outskirts of Peterborough and caught up with Heather, Anthony’s niece, and her husband Jonathan and young daughter Phoebe. It was lovely to see the children who we last saw in 1996 all grown up and settled. Unfortunately their eldest daughter Joanna still lives in Yorkshire so we didn’t get to see her.

We had a day out with Michael to the MPS Childhood Wood in a Sherwood Pines Nottinghamshire. I had planted a tree there for David in 1999 after the International MPS Conference in Vienna. The Childhood Wood was established by the British MPS Society to remember children and adults who had died as a result of MPS, and the trees are all clones of the great oak in Sherwood Forest. Michael wasn’t very mobile so we parked the car and Anthony and Michael had a tea in the cafe whilst I searched for the Wood. It was very cold and the frost hadn’t cleared from the forest floor. It was hard to find the Wood but I recognised the area when I saw it. The trees have grown. It felt a bit strange to be here. Even though I didn’t know which tree was which (the trees are no longer individually marked) I’m glad I came as the Wood is a powerful symbol of genetic science and hope for the future.

On the way home we stopped for lunch at the Maypole Inn. Michael enjoyed his beer and ice cream.

The next day we drove to Stamford, a Georgian town about 20 minutes away to get out for the day and stretch our legs. The town has a lot of character and has been the scene for many period dramas. We walked, bought teaspoons and cutlery rests at St Martins Antique Centre, had a pub lunch at The Crown, walked through the weekly market and found a hatter just closing his stall and bought Anthony a new checked cap and Michael a knitted beanie.

On Saturday morning we farewelled Michael and Jenny and set off for our next destination. We dropped off the hire car at Budget Rentals and caught the fast train to London.