Thursday/Rāpare
We have hired a car. Nice to get into the countryside as we have been in cities since Pebble Beach, so off to go green again. Car below.
You know you are in the Cotswolds when you drive on roads like this. We nearly crashed as Bill did not see a bus coming so quickly on a road like this. Luckily we are still here.
Below is the Air Bn'b we stayed in - not the whole place, just the loft which is in the bottom right corner, and in the second picture. Look for the door nearest the red mini, then go past the front building and at the back and up is the loft. It was stunning. The music turned on when we arrived, and it was so homely.
Below this photo are some inside views. Do you see what I mean about homely ?
Below are photos from the drive into the loft. It was in The Old Rectory behind the church. I had to take two shots. It was majestic. The property is owned by two guys. The village is called Withington.
Below is the Mill Inn pub, 5mins walk down the road, where we had traditional pub food for dinner. Now that Bill and I are vegetarians (for the most part), Bill had onion and potato pie and I had macaroni cheese. It wasn't yum yum.
What took our eye were two children playing their own make up game of "Die prince and Die princess". They must have played it for nearly an hour. It was fascinating to watch it from beginning to end. The boy was about 8 and the girl was about 6. I heard the boy call the girl Milly. The game started with the boy on the centre piece below pointing his finger at Milly, and saying "Die princess". To my surprise she curled down and died . Then she called to the boy (not sure whether it was a cousin, friend or sister, Bill thought they got on far too well for them to be brother and sister.) The six year old then asked the boy to be her prince and come and kiss her. He declined, and said she could now point the finger at her from the centrepiece and she has to say "Die prince". He rolled down and died at her command. They kept swapping roles for 20 minutes and giggling with glee when they died and when they took command. Then Milly strode over a bridge nearby and the boy suggested she come from the other side of the bridge, walk and then he would command. They played this game for an hour. I was trying to be in their world. The bridge and the centre piece were crucial, but what else made this simple game a game they played over and over. Did they like dying in different ways, someone looking at them, the repetition or ?. Below are photos of the centre piece and bridge which were their props. Both Bill and I were inspired by their self expression and ability to create and play.
Below the bridge, where they walked towards the centre piece which the young people stood on in turns. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of them playing at the time - I took this when we went past the next morning.
Ka akiaki nga tamariki. Young people as leaders.