I knew there was something I kept forgetting yesterday. I remembered Lisa's card, cuddly flower, special artwork, secret gift and gourmet meal (Goat's Cheese & Red Pepper Girasole, if you're wondering), but something else completely slipped my mind. Apparently I've got a mother too. With hindsight, I probably should have spent some time on her. Oh well, there's always next year. If she lives that long.

In the meantime, here's an idyllic domestic scene from yesterday afternoon. It features Lisa admiring her silver photo frame on the sofa, while Amelie sits quietly in the background eating the gift-wrap...


And here's the scene thirty seconds later, when Lisa was forced to stop admiring her photo frame, and start removing paper from Amelie's throat...


Sometimes I think it would be easier to do without the child and just have a picture.

So with that very much in mind, I decided to give Lisa the ultimate Mother's Day gift yesterday afternoon: a couple of hours without Amelie. I'm obviously something of an animal lover, and Amelie speaks their language, so the two of us headed down to the Wild Planet exhibition on the seafront. It's an outdoor display organised by the Natural History Museum which showcases eighty photos from past Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions. It opened on March 12th and runs until September 26th, but we thought we'd get in early in case it gets vandalised.

And I have to say, it's well worth a visit. Amelie said 'miaow' to the leopard, 'woof' to the fox, 'quack' to the penguins and 'bear' to the baby gorilla (which did look a bit like a teddy), but personally my favourite was the elephant...


... but only because it explains this photo of the Loch Ness Monster...


I like to think of it as Nessie the Elephant.

The whole exhibition was remarkably impressive though. They've erected a temporary shop on the seafront to sell Wild Planet souvenirs, which is a very canny move. The photos are so stunningly gorgeous, I'd have spent my entire month's wages on the spot if I could have squeezed through the crowds with a buggy. Not that I need to buy the pictures. The exhibition's on for six months within walking distance of my flat, so I can take Amelie down there every weekend and pretend I'm in my living room.