Sixty-eight and a half...

Well the hobbits, Pootle, her boys and I, have just spent a lovely two days away at Legoland in Windsor.

Even more exciting - we went one better this time and stayed at the Legoland Hotel.

We were lucky enough earlier this year to find a good deal. The hobbits have been asking to stay at the Hotel for about two years now, and having spent most of the summer holiday working it felt like a compromise to spend some quality time with the Lord of Lego, and the tiny deity's of mini figures...

If you have never been to Legoland it is pretty awesome - lots of stuff for kids and for adults who want to be kids...rides, toys, build it areas etc etc...however the Hotel is really something else.

As you come into the foyer of the reception, there is a Lego carousel with a hot air balloon and a shark among other things, and amazing Lego constructions all around the hotel and of course, Legoland itself.
A giant Darth Vader, ships, characters from all walks of life;  Pootle and I wondered who built them?

I mean, do you think someone actually gets paid to put these things together or are they made by a robot? It could be a pretty awesome job couldn't it? One that my eldest hobbit would absolutely dream of doing...and I confess, I could possibly make a career move for.


We stayed in the pirate room which was just truly awesome in a big way...As we entered our room, I am not sure who squealed the loudest, the hobbits, Pootle or me... They had Lego sets in their treasure chest, a pirate bunk bed and pirate pillows - but it is their attention to detail that really sets the whole scene; even the headboard had little skull and cross bone buttons which would have made my step-mum green with envy - if I could have got them for you I would have done!

As part of our stay we booked the restaurant at the hotel for something to eat. An unlimited buffet which the the boys and we made the most of...finishing the evening with two Pina Colada's while we watched the boys run around and play on X-Box's...hard life eh?

However it is also funny what you notice in places like these...as I looked around the restaurant each table had a number and happy little Lego chef on the picture. It was the Lego figure on it that made me look twice at first. A little chef with his tongue hanging out, clearly enjoying his food.

I am not quite sure when I noticed it, but slowly it dawned on me when looking around the tables that there was a number missing. I thought I must be wrong, so I counted again...67, 68...70...nope definitely missing.

There was a young girl serving us, Jessie I think (I apologise Jessie if I have your name wrong) so I asked her...where was the number 69? Where was table 69?
"I don't know." she said a little bewildered and looked around, "I have never noticed that before."
She then asked her colleague, who informed her that the number didn't exist - neither did the number 13.

Now I can understand why the number 13 may be considered as an unlucky table to sit at, but the number 69 is not unlucky surely?
"As it is a family restaurant, it was considered inappropriate." Said her colleague.

Ah, really? T'was a shame really, as the happy little Lego chef with his tongue hanging out on the number 69 could have been quite fun. I felt like there should be one like in Harry Potter, an imaginary 68 and a half or something like that.

Alas - the number 69 does not exist in the Lego restaurants. I may have been the first person to observe it, but hey - there is always one isn't there....so although this photo doesn't quite prove it, the girls posing with the numbers does in fact prove that the conversation was had - and I thank both Jessie and Iris for being such great sports about it, and for being so lovely during our stay...

All of us are looking forward to going back again next year - in the meantime we will build the Lego we have purchased, play with the mini figures and marvel at the lack of numerical ordering of the head honchos at HQ...I wonder who even considered that 69 was a problem?