Dig's day out

Today is Dig's day. We have to visit the Porthcurno museum of underwater cables. Now if I break my promise to him and say Hey! Let's not bother! Because here's a beach! then he may not stab me in the head, but any bets of a holiday romance are definitely off.

In truth, Grit is not particularly looking forward to this museum. Dare I admit that to this good-time girl it just sounds, um, a tad boring? I console myself with the thought that it is the sort of thing I have to suffer for the sake of husbandly happiness. And the fact that I enthuse to the children about it over their morning bowls of Cheerios, even though I might be dreading every second of it, is because I want Shark, Tiger and Squirrel to enjoy the visit alongside daddy Dig. Who knows? It could be a bonding experience. Anyway, I do not want them dragging long faces in the museum with a look of self-sacrificial sufferance, because that is my job. I do that best, and spending five hours in Porthcurno museum looking at an undersea cable while the sunshine is sparkling on the sands outside is the best way I can think of to make my life miserable and suffer some more.

Now of course I am not going to admit that the visit was quite interesting in a nerdy sort of way, and that I learned quite a lot about communication in general and undersea cables in particular. Neither will I admit that Shark, Squirrel and Tiger had a brilliant time and didn't want to leave, crying Can we come here again? They had to be dragged away to Porthcurno beach, so engaged were they in making codes and semaphore flags. When they weren't doing that, they were sitting in rapt attention to a complex explanation of the history of international cabling, or drawing maps of cables round the world and doing jigsaw puzzles of the British Empire. Best of all was the hour spent sending Morse code signals to each other - which means shouting out the exact words they were about to send and then banging on the button randomly before someone yells back across the room, What's that you said? Say it again! I can't hear you! Shout!

No. Rather than admit undersea cables are interesting and that Dig was right and Grit was wrong, I'll let the photos speak.

Mummy Grit: Look! The sun is shining! We are next to a beach!
Tiger: But I don't want to leave! It is fun! And I just have to send this!