Camping in Wales

The summer holidays were coming to an end. It had been weeks packed full of activity but two tasks I had set myself at the start had been completely neglected. One was to do some work on the exterior paintwork and the second was to take the little ones away on vacation. I felt guilty about the paintwork but guilty doesn't even come close to describing how I felt when 5 year old Addy looked at me with such longing and asked "When are we going on holiday mummy?"

I shared the exchange with my husband whose guilt meter also registered off the scale. We decided that whatever happened, we would squeeze in a couple of days of adventure for them.

With our sixteen year old about to head off to boarding school, finances had been stretched to the limit. There was never any question that the shape our holiday would take would be 'wet weekend in Wales' rather than 'exotic luxury'. We made our plans.

My husband has wonderful memories of camping trips with his family as a child: a resourceful grandfather who fashioned a cool box for the butter out of a biscuit tin lined with polystyrene and ever more elaborate solutions to the practical problems arising from living under canvas. It isn't something I have much experience with but I am always willing to have a go.

And 'have a go' we did.

With the aid of the internet, we found a perfect campsite in Cardigan. It was very basic - a field on a farm by the sea with a toilet/shower block. The friendly, laid back owner rode around on his quad bike to make sure everyone was happy.

It was Wales but it wasn't wet. In fact we had one gloriously sunny morning that saw us head off to Mwnt (got to love the Welsh names with no vowels) to the beach with our swimming gear. It was a beautiful sandy beach nestled between high cliffs with steep steps leading down to it. The kids loved it and I was very excited to see a dolphin. Addy clambered on rocks reminding me of my own childhood holidays spent in Barry Island.

They played in the sea and ran over the soft sand.

It was all very carefree until a huge wall of fog began snaking its way into the bay blocking the sun. Moments before, people had been enjoying the warm sun on their skin. Now they were huddling under towels and blankets to protect themselves from the chill whilst waiting for the icy fog to pass. It didn't pass. It was the sort of fog that I could imagine harboured the souls of men lost at sea. It was ominous and bone chilling. We eventually retreated back up the steps to the car park via a small reasonably priced kiosk that sold all your beach essentials and snacks - and most importantly for me, coffee.

My husband was fabulous with his car boot cuisine which was just as well because we were not within easy reach of pubs or restaurants. Our diet was limited - but nobody went hungry.

There was a lovely walk down to the cliffs from the campsite through a wheat field. I love how the ripe wheat brings out the colour of Addy's hair.

Three year old Dylan is a lazy walker. He prefer to ride on dad's head, steering him by his ears. It is cute but does limit how far we can venture.

The farm had a few animals that the children were able to feed, in particular donkeys. A baby donkey was born during our stay. Adorable.

The children also had the opportunity to ride bareback on a donkey which we lead around the field (probably in breech of all known health and safety regulations!) I think Addy imagined herself as a horsewoman but Dylan held on tight and kept repeating with his little lisp Iths a long way down!!

There were a few incidents I'd rather forget.

I took Addy with me to the toilet block to clean her teeth before bed and told her to wait for me. She didn't wait. I assumed that the lure of the donkeys was too much and that she had gone to say goodnight to them. She hadn't. I looked up and down the road. No sign of her.  I scanned the field. Nothing. I asked fellow campers if they had seen her. They hadn't. I was starting to panic but before mounting a full scale search I ran back to the tent to tell my husband what had happened. There was Addy. Sweet and innocent, changing into her pyjamas. I admired her for finding her way back to the tent on her own in the dark but I was also furious.

Then there was the time when the owner turned up on his quad bike to see if we needed anything and dared to call Addy Princess. She stamped her feet petulantly shouting I'M NOT A PRINCESS. DO I LIVE IN A CASTLE? NO! I was mortified.

Overall I have more good memories than bad and as the sun set on our holiday, I'd happily do it all again.

Summer Reflections

The Summer Holidays are all but over and tomorrow, my little girl has her first day at school. Brand new uniform waits on its hangers for the big day and shiny new shoes are ready to take little feet on some big steps. She is eager to learn and excited about the new adventure. For me it will take some adjusting - driving to school each day instead of  the pleasant walk we had for her Nursery and then the whole day without her instead of collecting her at lunchtime. I am looking forward to more one-on-one time with my two year old son and maybe even the opportunity to accomplish some of the things on the DIY to-do list that hasn't seen much crossed off it over the last six weeks.

When I finished University nearly three decades ago, I didn't have the slightest clue what I wanted to do next. My daughter Ivy found herself in the same situation after graduating this year. She came back home to take stock and make a plan. I thought I was fully aware of all the potential pitfalls of having a child used to independence returning to the family home. There were problems with her not having a space of her own and the inevitable depressing feeling that coming home is a backward step. Being aware of the problems did not make them any easier to deal with. Ivy has always been highly strung and emotional and we have had a really tough time trying to help her make sense of her life. It has been a huge drain on everyone's energy. We had a mammoth house change around so that Ivy could have her own room. One of the upshots of this was that my little boy has swapped his cot for a single bed. He loves it. The cot is packed away in my newly boarded loft (one of the DIY projects that I can cross off the list) just in case any of my older children should decide to make me a grandparent. Ivy now has a job in a lovely country pub (in the same village where my little girl's new school is) and she is saving up to go travelling.

This has been an important summer for my daughter Taylor as she anxiously awaited her A level results upon which her future hinged. She did exceptionally well, securing herself a place at her first choice University to study maths. Up until the firm offer of a place, the idea of University was simply that - an idea. Suddenly, it was a reality. Her worries about leaving home, leaving her boyfriend and taking on the huge challenge of University are plainly evident. I know that once she settles in she is going to have an amazing time but I also suspect that initially, there will be some tearful goodbyes. We are doing all we can to help prepare her, including setting her and her boyfriend the task of cooking a three course meal for the two sets of parents (and themselves). They planned it, shopped for it, prepared it and served it - working together with efficiency and good humour. Apart from a timing error with some basmati rice that turned into basmati blancmange, the food was fantastic and they were both relaxed enough to be charming hosts too. The starter of vegetable potato cakes was absolutely delicious.

We made the decision not to go abroad on holiday this summer but we did enjoy some unexpectedly fantastic weather during a short break on the south coast which made up for it. We visited some beautiful places, spent time with family and friends and I fulfilled an ambition to dance at the glorious Tower Ballroom in Blackpool - all things that make it feel like time well spent.

Wasdale - The Lake District

The Summer Holidays are all but over.  I can't help but feel a little sad.  As for tomorrow - well tomorrow is a whole new day.

Snapfish Canvas Review

We have been in our current house for about 6 years now. We have done a lot of work to it to get it how we want it and still have a few projects yet to do. One of the little things that we have never really got round to is hanging pictures. This is something I want to rectify because it is such an easy way to turn a house into a home - a home that reflects who you are.

When I was offered a canvas to review from the online digital photo printing service Snapfish, I thought it would be an ideal way to get started.

I have thousands of digital photographs stored on my computer, many of which I have used on this blog. There are some that I love and some that even have some technical merit that would have made good candidates for the canvas. However, rather than trawling through the library of images, I decided to create something brand new. We were about to go on holiday which would no doubt present a  photo opportunity or two.

We were so incredibly lucky with the weather. Beautiful clear blue skies against the golden sand dunes at Camber Sands in Sussex made a fantastic background for a photograph. All I had to do was add my subjects - two adventurous little children - point and shoot. Ideally I would have liked a photograph with both my little ones in it but it didn't work out that way. The image that I fell in love with and knew was going to be the one to make into my canvas was this one of my boy.

I love the colours and the way the dried grass seed heads are the same shade as the sand. I love the way the curve of his little body is mirrored by the curve of the grass. Most of all I love how, to me, it captures a truly lovely day at the beach.

The thing to remember about choosing a photograph to be made into a canvas is the the picture needs to be cropped quite generously to allow for the canvas that wraps around the wooden framework. If I could have this moment in the sand again, I would have allowed a little more negative space on the bottom margin so my boy's feet could be included in the finished print. As it was, I had to make a small compromise.

I am always filled with a sense of dread whenever I use online digital printing services. It can be quite a mission to upload the photographs from your computer to their site. In this instance with Snapfish, it was completely painless - very quick and efficient. Maybe that was because I was only uploading one image. Choosing the right sized canvas and cropping the photograph were also very straightforward. There was a very good 3D effect product view feature that gave a sense of how the canvas would look.

I chose a 16x12 inch canvas that would have cost me £34.99 plus £6.99 p&p. As soon as I had sent my order, I received a confirmation email so there was no anxious wait to see if I had done it correctly!

I placed my order on the Saturday before I left for my second holiday and the package had been delivered by the time I returned the following Thursday. It was securely wrapped in protective packaging and strong cardboard  and it did feel a bit like Christmas as I opened it!

The quality of the product is superb - sturdily made with a true colour reproduction.

It is no doubt more expensive than buying off the shelf canvases but this is original and very personal to me which I think makes it excellent value for money.

Now I just need to decide where to hang it!

Getting the Summer Holidays off to a Good Start - Part II

Some time ago I won a Blog Competition - the prize being four tickets for the Tower attractions in Blackpool. As one of those attractions is the Tower Ballroom and my husband and I are keen ballroom dancers, I was really quite stupidly excited about going. My husband also had a plan to meet up with his best friend in the Lake District, where he was taking a walking holiday with his young son. We decided to combine the two trips.

Firstly, we travelled to Blackpool. A couple in our ballroom dance class had recommended a hotel to us. Unfortunately, that hotel was fully booked on the dates we wanted so we opted for a couple of rooms in the Hotel next door. I'm not quite sure what qualified it as a 'Hotel' -  it was a guest house. It wasn't at all what I was expecting but the 'hotelier' was very welcoming and friendly and cooked a very good breakfast!

In contrast to the previous week, there was considerably more need for jumpers than suntan lotion but as most of the things we had planned were indoor, it wasn't a problem.

We got really good use out of our free tickets. The little ones loved the Sea Life centre and my 15 year old daughter gave me the first of many hilarious moments when I paid £1 for a small cup of stinky fish bits that could be fed to the big fish. She pulled on the rubber glove provided with scientific precision then proceeded to dangle the fishy offerings in the tank. The big fish were disappointingly disinterested until out of nowhere came a huge gaping piscean mouth that snatched at the slimy treat and would probably have taken Charis's fingers too had she not jumped with cartoon exaggeration complete with comedy squeal.

Later that day, Dad took the little ones for an ice cream and a play on the beach while Charis and I enjoyed the Tower Dungeons experience. The combination of dark and not knowing quite when the resident actors were going to jump out and shout at you was all quite scary. Charis is a girl of nervous disposition but she held it together well, even when the idea of escaped leeches was suggested and something brushed past your leg in the dark. She held it together well, that is, until the finale of the terror trip which was a ride - Extremis: Drop Ride to Doom. It was a simple row of seats that raised up in the dark then dropped you. At the moment of dropping, bright lights flashed in your face for the obligatory 'ride photo' which added to the shock as the seat fell away from beneath you.

As we were waiting to see our ride photo with the group we had been a part of for the Dungeon tour, there was polite giggling as the unflattering images appeared on the viewing screen. The politeness was forgotten when my poor daughter's face appeared. The room erupted with laughter at the face so contorted with panic and terror as to render it barely human. Charis made it very clear that I was forbidden from purchasing it! Instead, I bought a souvenir mosaic mirror in the shape of a skull from the Gift Shop. It is now hanging in my downstairs loo and has already become something of a talking point.

The next attraction we visited was the Madame Tussauds waxworks. I didn't think the little ones would enjoy it much but Charis really wanted to go and I felt I owed it to her after her humiliation over the ride photo. The little ones did indeed look completely lost and bemused... at first.

The last time I went to Madame Tussauds, the exhibits were behind rope barriers, to be admired from a distance. Not so any more. With the exception of a Brittany Spears doppelganger cavorting on a pole, all the exhibits were interactive. Little Addy soon warmed to the idea of posing with the models, although she had no idea who most of them were. Charis was also very willing to pose for photos, giving me many more of the comedy moments that I love her for.

Addy posing with Hilda Ogden

Charis posing with - "Who are these two?"

Charis just hanging around

We also saw the Tower Circus, played in the Jungle Jim and went to the top of Blackpool Tower. Dylan loved the new glass skywalk at the top of the tower. He lay down on it pointing out all the cars below that looked as tiny as his toy cars.

The one thing that we spectacularly failed to achieve was to dance in the Ballroom. We did make it as far as the balcony to briefly watch the dancers twirling and gliding on the dance floor below us. It has made me even more keen to put on my dancing shoes and join them. My husband and I have a half formed plan to return without the children before our free tickets expire and do exactly that. 

No sooner had my husband got used to ducking to avoid the low ceiling in our 'hotel' bedroom, we were on our way again. Geography has never been one of my strong subjects but I had the idea that Blackpool was not all that far from the Lake District where we had planned to meet up with my husband's best friend. I wasn't entirely wrong. Had we been going to Windermere it would have been a fairly straightforward journey. What I had not been made aware of was the fact that my husband's friend favours a somewhat remote location on the West Coast of Cumbria. The difficult cross country trek and the lack of supermarkets to stock up on essential supplies was all but forgotten as we allowed ourselves to relax and enjoy the spectacular unspoilt scenery.

Our friend was booked into a holiday apartment in Wasdale and our plan was to set up our tent in the small campsite occupied by seasoned walkers and climbers. The weather did not make this easy but we managed. The tent survived the winds and rain thrown at us during the night and provided a cosy, if slightly muddied, shelter.

The following day we were blessed with sunshine. Whilst my husband and his friend satisfied their adventurous natures by climbing one of the peaks that Wasdale is nestled amongst, Charis and I stayed with the kids and played on the lakeside.

The colourful plastic playthings from our  Sussex holiday were replaced here by sticks, stones, pine cones and plant life. The tawdry glitz and glamour of Blackpool was replaced with nature at its most glorious. With the simple addition of the imagination and enthusiasm of children, we had an absolutely wonderful time.

I have loved the hectic start to our summer holidays but I was not at all sad to get back to my own little home and most importantly, my own bed. There certainly is no place like it!

Getting the Summer Holidays off to a Good Start - Part I

It had always been on the to-do list for the Summer Holidays to spend a week near Brighton where my husband's parents live so that the children could have the chance to see their grandparents and start making the sort of memories that will stay with them for a lifetime. After consulting our diaries it transpired that there was only one week that would actually work for everyone (my in-laws have a fairly hectic social life centred around their shared love of sequence dancing) and that was the first week of the holidays.

My husband booked the accommodation and I hurriedly organised the packing. The weather was abysmal and my mum rolled her eyes heavenwards as she wished me a happy holiday and hoped we might get a little bit of sunshine. Neither she nor I could have imagined what an amazing transformation there would be from grey miserable skies to clear cloudless blue. I have never had a holiday in Britain where the sun shined constantly.

Clambering in the sand dunes at Camber Sands under a beautiful blue sky

I had packed jumpers and raincoats. We had to go shopping once we were there to buy suntan lotion and shorts. I also bought a whole lot of outdoor toys at sale prices that would keep the children amused.

We stayed in a very comfortable holiday cottage on a farm in Herstmonceaux, East Sussex. The children took a liking to the horses in a nearby field ( I had wanted to write 'neighbouring field' there but thinking of it as a neiiigh- bouring field of horses was becoming an obstacle!)

The holiday worked out perfectly. We were able to spend lots of time with the Grandparents as we'd hoped and also managed to visit beaches, take a bike ride along the cool, leafy Cuckoo trail and spend a day at the Bentley's Wildfowl and Motor Museum featuring two things that my little boy loves - duckth and carth (yes, he has developed a very cute little lisp!)

With only a couple of days at home to unpack and pack again for our next week away, I was glad to have done some of the laundry already. As lovely as it was to enjoy the sunshine at the beach, I was especially appreciative of how useful it was in getting the washing dry!

The pebble beach at Eastbourne

Silent Sunday

Hola! Do you speak English?

It was an early start to catch the Easy Jet flight for our holiday to Spain. I really love getting up before the sun rises and seeing the part of the day that I usually lose to sleep. It wasn't quite such a good experience, however, when shared with two grumpy little ones who didn't really understand what was going on!

A series of errors including miscalculating the time we needed to leave, being diverted in Liverpool and my failure to check the hand luggage our Charis had packed for herself for non-permitted items meant that we only made our flight by the skin of our teeth. It took all of my husband's best delaying tactics to stop our checked in bag being unloaded from the plane as Charis, myself and the buggy containing a somewhat startled nearly 2 year old made an epic dash through the terminal from baggage control to the boarding gate. I was glad that I had recently restarted my running training and that my Life Line Screening had detected no abnormalities with my cardiovascular health! Although there were no audible disapproving tuts, my frazzled mind certainly imagined them as we walked the walk of shame along the central aisle of the aeroplane, past the unsmiling faces of the delayed travellers, to our seats.

Once on board with seat belts fastened, I dared wonder what would have happened if we had been denied boarding. Not the best start to my 'relaxing' getaway!

We flew into Alicante airport, picked up our hire car and headed for the villa we were renting for the week.

Our villa was up in the mountains in Tibi on a small development made to appeal to the leathery skinned ex pats hoping to enjoy their retirement in the sun. Unfortunately, the Spanish developers went bust before completion. Many of the villas lining the unadopted roads in various states of completeness were displaying "se vende"signs. The value of the villas had plummeted from the initial purchase prices, undoubtedly leaving some people's financial security in ruins. It painted a grim picture of shattered dreams. For us, though, we had the use of a lovely villa with beautiful views of the mountains from the roof terrace (although it was mostly a little too windy to benefit from that).

Near to our villa there was a small herd of goats that were driven for milking by their gnarly goatherd on a daily basis. We were only there once when this happened but it was a memorable moment for me hearing the tinkling of their various sized bells making an eerie discordant sound as they walked obediently over the rugged terrain to their familiar destination.

We had two separate agendas for our trip to Spain. One was to get the little ones on a warm, sandy beach and the second was to give Charis the opportunity to practise her Spanish with the natives. We achieved both objectives with the bonus of my personal objective to sample plenty of Spanish wine.

Rioja on the terrace of our villa

We organised our days almost like a Spanish language text book: Shopping at the local Market, At the Beach, In the Restaurant. Charis coped really well - even when she inadvertently asked for 5 kilos of oranges rather than 5 oranges and had to quickly back track. (Incidentally, the oranges were delicious). I'm ashamed to admit that my best attempt at speaking the language was a confidant "Hola" followed by "Do you speak English?"

We contributed to the struggling Spanish economy when we were ordered to pay a spot fine for speeding by the rather intimidating Guardia Civil. We were incredibly vigilant after this when it came to watching the speedometer, even if it meant crawling along and being overtaken in the 60km/h stretch of road which we became increasingly certain was only put at a 60km/h speed limit to catch out poor unsuspecting foreign drivers.

I had another personal objective that I wanted to achieve during our vacation. At Christmas, I couldn't help feeling disappointment with my husband's choice of present for me - namely a bottle of suntan lotion with a 10 euro note taped to it. I was determined to use that 10 euro note for something amazing to somehow make up for his unimaginative gift. I succeeded.

We were visiting the harbour in Alicante. My brain could barely comprehend how many millions of pounds worth of yachts of all descriptions I was looking at. I had a brief 'winning the lottery' fantasy moment then got totally distracted by a magnificent sight. A pirate ship. I was kicking myself that I had left my camera back at the villa. Charis took some photographs with her phone. The pirate ship had been converted into a tourist attraction where you could dine or simply board and enjoy a beer or soft drink for the admittance fee of 4 euros. There was little hesitation. My 10 euro note (complete with sellotape that I had failed to pick off) was handed to the attendant and Charis and I spent a very happy time sitting in the sunshine on the top deck drinking our drinks and imagining what it must have been like to be a pirate (Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow did, of course, make his way into my day dreams!)

The beaches were everything you would expect from a stretch of coastline known as the Costa Blanca.
It was a little too early in the year to enjoy the sort of hot sunshine that has you stripping down to your bikini... but that was possibly a blessing!

The journey back to England was mercifully uneventful and despite the rainy welcome in Liverpool that made me long for the Spanish weather, it was good to be home.

Off to sunny Spain...

Tomorrow, my husband and I are taking our two little ones and 15 year old Charis to Spain for a much needed holiday. As well as an opportunity to relax and enjoy a sandy beach (and hopefully some sunshine), it gives Charis a chance to practise her Spanish and get a feel for the language to help her with her GCSE.

I am normally terrible when it comes to holiday preparation. I pack for every eventuality and throw in a few more things for good measure. I invariably end up bringing back a whole lot of unused things that would have been much better off left at home! This time, I am breaking the habit and using "Travel Light" as my mantra. I am convinced that the less burdened I am with unnecessary luggage, the freer I will be to enjoy my holiday. I have packed frighteningly little but am determined that I won't have an eleventh hour panic and start filling additional bags with 'just in case' items.

I will be taking our Peppa Pig Mini Sketchy Fun for Addy's amusement and we will be trying out our Kiddy Guardian Pro 2 car seat for the hour long drive to the airport at silly o'clock in the morning (full report on how we get on with that to follow).

I shall be going to bed shortly to get a few hours sleep before our adventure begins so I shall bid you Adios for now. Back in a week!

Leave mum to do the packing while we chase bubbles!

Reasons to be Cheerful

The fact that both my little ones are back to their normal naughty selves after such a long time of being ill with chicken pox and sickness, has made me incredibly cheerful.

We had a successful shopping trip to buy clothes and Dylan surprised us all with his penchant for modelling when we got home.

It may have cost an arm and a leg and a few extra limbs thrown in for good measure, but all the children and myself have had a long overdue trip to the hairdresser. For Addy and Dylan, it was the milestone moment of first haircut. Dylan sat beautifully while his fluffy, baby hair was trimmed into a 'little boy' style. Addy was less co-operative and considerably more vocal but we eventually came up with a strategy that worked. It was such a pleasure to wash and brush her hair last night compared with the usual battle with the tangles.

My husband has been away since Tuesday visiting his parents and his daughter from his first marriage. As far as I can gather, it is all going well which pleases me but I am missing him. I did, however, get to spend a lovely evening with him before he left, without the kids interrupting. I am always so grateful for the time we have together when the spark of magic, that makes me know I want to spend the rest of my life with him, ignites.

On Monday, we are off to Spain for a short break. Due to a mix up with dates, this trip falls in school time rather than the Easter holiday. Once we explained the situation, the kids' schools were really understanding and granted us leave of absence. Given that the first week of our Easter holiday was so completely consumed by illness, I am really happy that we are having this extension. It's actually more than just happy - I feel that I need it! Sunshine, relaxation and a goodly amount of Spanish wine should be just what I need to recharge the batteries ready to face whatever new challenges lie ahead.