Bath

Needless to say I have visited Bath many times. But it had been some years since I had last visited its most famous attraction - indeed the attraction which led to its foundation - the Roman Baths. These were of course extensively restored in the 19th century, so only the lowest parts are Roman. The museum is well laid out, although there is a bit of a shortage of exhibits. And warning: the place is very popular with tourists, even on a wet Monday morning.

At the other end of the popularity spectrum, we also visited the very interesting Building of Bath Museum, housed in a redundant chapel. Possibly not the ideal building for a museum, but you have to do something with redundant chapels. This one was devoted to the architecture of the city, from how it was funded to the methods of construction. Well worth a visit.

 But one of Bath's newest additions, ignoring the large new shopping centre, bus station and forthcoming restaurant quarter (as I would), is a "statue" (actually I believe plaster cast), of swimmer Mark Foster's torso, for the Olympics. Fits rather well into the Cityscape - modern but classic at the same time.

All in all a very nice long weekend. I also had a  go at entertaining the teenagers by joining in badminton and table tennis in the back garden. After which many much underused muscles let me know that they would prefer to remain underused. I also realised that I hadn't played badminton since I was at school, and indeed had never mastered the necessary skills at the time. I haven't improved with age.