I promised perlmonger a cream tea as a birthday treat, and we decided to partake of this treat at Lacock, making use of our National Trust membership.

we sallied forth from the house about midday, and stopped in Southville for lunch at our favourite brunching hole, and to stock up at the greengrocer. Then we allowed Jane (the satnav) to guide us to Lacock, which she did via Brislington and Bath, and thus it took *ages*.

still, we arrived eventually, located a suitable cream tea emporium, then went for a stroll round the very lovely manor house, abbey cloisters and grounds. And strolled too long, as the emporium had shut, as had the other one we found on our travels round the village.

ho hum. We returned home, to find nothing that we fancied that wasn't frozen solid, and dined on a supper of lumps of Jarlsberg, a bag of Twiglets and a bar of Green and Black's almond chocolate.

so yesterday, we tried again. We decided to go to the Welsh Bird of Prey centre, stopping for lunch at Penarth, as we'd never been, and it looked pretty. We had a very nice lunch in a restaurant called Piersons (which appears to be a Play on Words), then trundled on to Barry, to the BoP centre.

we arrived at 3.05. And it was shut. Doors and gates locked, tills turned off. With a notice on the door that they closed at 4 p.m. "in the winter". It's only 8th October, guys. And your web page clearly states that you are open till 5.30, or one hour before dusk, whichever is earlier. Which isn't 4 p.m. in any book.

so we wandered home slightly disconsolately, pausing to walk over to the burial chamber at Tinkinswood; this is a mere 6000 years old.

and when we arrived back, I *made* some bloody scones, because that seemed to be the only way we were going to get any.