Burford garden centre

As always, after holidays I need a "holiday" just to recover afterwards. Our Italian journey was so stressful that my brain has not been functioning properly. I swear I thought the school was supposed to start last Monday, and I was stunned to discover that we had another week of holidays. On one hand, yay, brilliant, we don't need to get up early. On the other hand, how do I keep my guys happy and busy?
On Monday, as happens at every school break, our friend Jen took my guys and me by car to the Burford Garden centre.
There is a lot to see and explore there, and we usually start, visiting the toy shop which has a marvellous phone booth from Dr Who.

Sash loves browsing in the book corner... (all the photos in this post are a mix of our two visits, in February and April, that's why the clothes are different.)

 ...while Eddie runs from one toy to another, trying to convince me we must buy them. I pointedly refuse. The prices in that toy shop are eye-watering. And so are the prices of food in the cafe. £2.75 for a cupcake?! It must be baked with a golden dust.

Coffees for adults, soft drinks and cakes/biccies for the boys. We like to sit by the window.

After a mini-repast we go outside, and look at the plants. There are all kinds of shrubs and flowers, changing from season to season.

I absolutely adore looking at the china sections indoors, both modern, like Emma Bridgewater, and vintage.
The boys find it really boring, so I rarely have a chance to browse to my heart's content.

Back in February I was admiring this lamb pitcher, and didn't realise that Sasha was taking my photo exactly when I was taking a photo of the pitcher. I later found it on my iphone, which he was playing with. He loves taking photos (takes after his Mum, I guess).

This time I wanted to buy some tomato plants but the choice was very limited, and none of the varieties they had appealed to me. We like growing yellow or red cherry tomatoes, which Eddie loves eating in summer straight off the vine.

My guys love the playground outside the car park, and if it's not raining, they enjoy climbing on the wooden frames, tractor or just having fun on the swings. Sash always beams happily, when he's on the swings.

Eddie was proudly showing me his going-down-the-pole technique.

I first visited the Burford garden centre with my friend Trudy and her husband, long before the kids-era. The centre has changed a lot since those days, having expanded a lot. My darling Trudy is no more with us, but I think of her, looking at the beautiful flowers at the garden centre.

Adding this post to #Out&About linky which Alison from Dragons and Fairy Dust and I run together.

And also to the Friday Fabulous linky created by Leta aka Attachment Mummy.