Buttercups and daisies

After a stunning cliff walk from Nash Point lighthouse and a stroll through the rose gardens of Atlantic College, we arrived tired and hungry in the lovely little village of St Donats. With an hour to kill while Robert set out alone to fetch the car, my two exhausted mini-hikers and I decided to stay put. And staying put was really not so bad, you know. We'd settled at the village green - a perfect example - complete with trees offering dappled shade, a lovely wooden bench on which to eat our sandwiches and the springiest, greenest grass on which we whiled away the hour. First there was snoozing, listening to the distant hum of a lawn mover and not much else, then very gently we started to play. It was so wonderful to have that pocket of time to just see what would unfold. Childhood memories of times spent lazily lolling on grassy banks gradually came back to me, and Buddy and Daisy were happy to let me introduce them to the classic games as I recalled them.

Of course, there were daisy chains to be made, and we had several rounds of Do you like butter? - flashing buttercups at each other. This resulted in tickles, giggles and plenty yellow pollen left under our chins

Then I entertained them with my grass-blowing talents; Mr Punch's 'That's the way to do it!' line did break the peace somewhat. It was restored however when we searched quietly for a four-leaf clover until daddy returned.

We became wonderfully immersed in the timeless nature of the grassy meadow. For me, it was sheer nostalgia; it took me a while realise that Buddy and Daisy hadn't known any of those traditional little games. I feel lucky to have been able to pass them on.

And, no we didn't find our four-leaf clover on this occasion. But we did discover that everyone in our family likes butter, that's for sure.