Greetings from Hurricane Irene, who we didn't meet personally, but who left a trail behind her that affected our holiday to New England just a little. Here are just a few of the impressions we got travelling through the US states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine (we had to miss out Vermont because the roads were closed!).

We could have gone to England really because we saw the same places in the US: Salisbury, Barnstable, Plymouth (several of those), Northampton, Cheshire, Manchester, Weymouth and so on. But you can't see whales or seals "just like that" in our home country so easily, and that has to have been one of the real highlights of our trip.

Sportwise, we did a little hiking, a little canoeing and a little swimming. Shoppingwise, we bought a few postcards and some t-shirts, and foodwise, we ate an awful lot of lobster and shrimps. Sleepwise, Lucy agreed - just the once - to get up at an extremely early hour to watch a sunrise with Daddy from a "mountain" top. Needless to say, I couldn't be persuaded. And even though we speak the same language, America was definitely a culture shock for me. And for Lucy too, at least because of the time change.

But school has started again, Lucy is in the 4th year of primary now and will be working towards a certificate enabling her to go to grammar school. It promises to be an interesting year. And she's grown another few centimetres.

Wotsit and Thingummy were good lads and remained in the pond this summer (no trips out this time). We have now brought them back inside, since the temperatures have dropped significantly. Ah, it's good to see them and scratch their noses!