So today was Tom's Pass-Out Parade.  He has been in the TA since last April and today he became a fully fledged soldier - likely to go to Afghanistan (as we were told) and serving on an equal footing with regular soldiers.  He has found the training hard at times but has loved it and felt sad today that this phase of his life is now ended.  He has plans to continue his service - of course doing his TA work but hoping to get accepted as a potential officer at Sandhurst in the not too distant future.

For me it was a poignant moment.  His is so like his father in his uniform.  His build is the same and he moves like Dick did (although he looks more like me - poor chap!).  I couldn't help thinking how proud his father would have been - and his grandfather - and for both my mum and I it was an emotional day. 

We had lunch in the Dining Hall.  Things have improved hugely since my days in the Army.  The food is excellent and the barracks at Pirbright were a model of modern-day army living - not a Nissan hut in sight!

Tom is home now.  Tired exhausted and happy.  I am just a little daunted by the size of the laundry pile!  But not my problem!!!!

The Festival was as usual very busy, very inspiring and very tempting in equal measure.  We managed to restrain ourselves commendably I thought as far as buying went this time.  Just a few fat quarters here and there and a stencil and that was it.  I haven't got any photos as I managed to take a camera with a flat battery (DUH!) so I must apologise.  But as usual I came away with lots of ideas and thoughts of how things could be used to ampfly my quilting ideas.  I am in total awe of some of the craftsmanship of some of the contributors.

We went off on our Rhine cruise on the Monday morning, travelling by Eurostar to Brussells and then by coach to Cologne.  We didn't view Cologne but set sail in the evening with a lovely welcome dinner.  The cabins were large and very well appointed (bathrooms with baths and separate showers) and the food was out of this world.  I have never ever eaten better and on most evenings it was either a 5 course or 7 course meal!!  Breakfast and lunch were buffet meals but offered the most imaginative selection you can think of: bacon eggs etc, croissants and danish pastries, fruit, cheeses, cold meats and so on - that was breakfast and lunch daily had a selection of hot meals and salads which meant that you would never be disappointed.

Our first day's holiday saw us in Koblenz which is a stunning town with lots of old buildings which mercifully we appear to have left standing whilst dealing with Mr Hitler!

This house is just typical of lots of the houses in the cetre of the town.  So pretty!  Little alleyways lead into pretty squares with coffee shops and flowers everywhere.  It was just like a picture book.  Later we sailed down to Boppard - another equally picturesque town.

We spent the next day sailing down the Rhine Gorge which is very beautiful and lined with various castles in various states of repair.  We had a brilliantly funny guide, Keith, who gave a commentary on all of them, some of the myths and fairytales associated with them and some of the actual history, all presented in a witty and endearing way.  Eventually we got off in Mainz - a modern city which had little of the charm of Koblenz but ishere the Gutenburg press was created.

The following day we went to Heidelberg.  How lovely a town is this? We spent ages wandering the streets, buying chocolates for gifts and drinking coffee. It is full of beautiful pieces of architecture like this:

 The next day took us to the best part of the cruise as far as I was concerned: Strasbourg and Colmar.  Such lovely town and almost like Holland with the canals and beautiful flowers everywhere.

These photos almost don't do it justice and of course I have just given you a flavour of it all.  It was a lovely cruise.  I have to say that the average age was considerably higher than I am used to but my mother enjoyed it hugely and we met some interesting people.

So now I am back for a short while before preparing for a week in Brittany with my friends Nikky and Bev and husbands/partners.  Tom is away on his basic training for the TA- loving it and having a blast.  Ben is back into the routine of school and Monty and I have had some excellent long walks which we have both enjoyed.

Despite all the indulgences of my holiday I still managed to lose 6lbs in 2 weeks and am pleased to report that I am playing tennis and doing pilates along with the walking.  Another stone off and I shall be happy!