Thursday 25th March

After breakfast, we waited to make contact with Philip and Sarah via Skype. After a few coordinating SMS messages, we got through at about 9:20am. Just as we hoped, we could see and hear them. They could hear us via Jane's telephone call.

The baby was still asleep and we asked them to pick him up and hold him in front of the webcam for us. It was a great moment for all four grandparents to see the new arrival. It would have been even better to have been there in person but that will happen at a future date.

He is a very cute baby. What's more he seems to be remarkably placid because he slept through the entire one hour conversation as he was passed from Philip to Sarah and back. We used the snapshot button in Skype to get some still photos during the conversation.

They told us that they still haven't decided on a name but they have got it down to two final options and hope to decide within 24 hours.

After the Skype conversation, we loaded our luggage into Jane and Alan's car and set off for more sightseeing. They drove us along the seashore at Bognor Regis and then on to Bosham. By the time we stopped there, the showers had become quite heavy. We saw the road that is covered at high tide - but it was low tide when we were there. Alan and I walked along the water's edge while the girls went to a craft shop. Then we strolled through the town and visited the beautiful old stone church.

The next stop was Chichester. Jane found a good car park close to the town and we braved the rain to find our way through the shopping area to Chichester Cathedral - out of the rain.

After admiring the cathedral, we had lunch in the cathedral's cafe. Naturally the girls wanted to visit a few shops afterwards. Alan had the right idea - he relaxed for a little longer in the cafe and then went to Marks and Spencer where he found a comfortable chair to read the paper to fill in the time. I followed the girls and waited outside each shop and took in the atmosphere of this charming (though damp) village.

Jane and Alan dropped us at Chichester railway station for our return trip to London. We were very grateful to Jane and Alan for their hospitality. They had gone out of their way to show us the highlights of the area and to make us feel welcome. We look forward to seeing them again when they come to Sydney.

The train left soon after 3pm and we reached London Victoria station by 4:45pm. Along the way, our four-carriage train was linked up with another four carriages at Horsham. We caught the underground trains back to Golders Green.

We left the B and B soon afterwards to catch the bus from Golders Green to visit Nicky and John. Apparently Amelia had been very contented all day. Nicky cooked a lamb roast for our dinner. I was feeling so tired that I was nodding off on their lounge and so we didn't stay long. John drove us back to the B and B. I was asleep within seconds of getting into bed.