CenterParks Longleat, with Thomas - Day 3:The Howling

A slow start to the day is becoming the norm.  The overnight snow had left white patches on the ground, but there was so little it looked like a heavy frost.  Last night was supposed to have been the coldest of the winter so far, with temperatures predicted to drop as low as minus five.  I don't know if it was that cold because the temperature in the villa was quite constant and warm.
We eventually ventured out into the cold, and got as far as the Sports Bar.  We booked a pool table for an hours pool.  Like the bowling, my recent experience is non-existent, so I played badly even by my poor standard.  Thomas seemed to enjoy the environment of the sports bar - perhaps it was the endless TV screens showing mostly the same thing, but weirdly some are slightly out of sync.  One or two have different programs.
From the Sports Bar, Jo and I took Thomas back to the villa, while Liz and Ray went to the Aqua Sana for a spa event.  On the way, we looked for the bird hide.  It is next to a small pond which was still frozen over at 4pm.  Just up the bank at the back of the pond is a villa with very noisy children playing.  We instantly blamed them for the lack of birds, but a few moments later the real reason became apparent. A cat came prowling through the scene, obviously intent on something we couldn't see and unaware of our presence, it went on its way.  The few birds there had been were already gone, and so it was our turn.  We made our way back up the hill on the way back to the villa.  We had not ridden on the 'train' yet, when we arrived at the stop it was just a couple of minutes away.  Frantically we tried to disassemble the push chair as the 'train' arrived, we were still trying as it left, so we gave up and walked back.
Once back in the warm Thomas was soon complaining that he was too hot but even unwrapped he was not happy.  Pointless was on the TV, but having it on was pointless - we couldn't hear it above his cries. Eventually, after I swaddled him and rocked him he dozed off, but not for long - in less than 30 minutes he was back at full volume.  At four months, a child knows his mother and father; he also knows when they are not around and protests accordingly. Even the flames from the log fire, which had so fascinated him last night, had no effect.  We decided to take him for a walk - back in the bear suit, back in the push chair and on our way up the hill, the volume and frequency reduced slowly.  Near the end of Cascade Way, we met mum and dad coming the other way - all is well for the rest of the night.