Quiet Rainy Day

We woke to rain today. It didn't stop. My wet weather Australian wet weather curse has still got a hold of me!

Oh hum. We are on holiday, so we WILL make the most of it and that we did. Lindsey and Stuart had requested a quiet day today to recuperate, we thought it a good idea, so we decided to do our own things. In a perfect world we would have spent the day on the beach, but it poured down all day. The rain varied from light to heavy but it didn't stop.

Roaring on the ferry

We spent the first part of the morning planning our mini trip from Sydney to Brisbane - we have decided to spend 3 x 2 nights in places: 2 nights in The Great Lakes (not been there before), 2 nights in Nambucca Heads (location of one of my best travel stories from Australia last time I was here) and 2 nights in Byron Bay (I've been before but it has been recommended to Matt by various people and he wants to go) each time we are staying in a cabin in a holiday park meaning we can cook (eating out here is astronomically expensive), we have more room than at a hotel, more facilities (children's play area, swimming pool etc), more chances of Tom meeting a playmate and it is cheaper than hotels - a no brainer really. Anyway, I had no trouble booking anything - the woman in the tourist information centre obviously was clueless (oh and having an ipad is wonderful - I did it all by email).

Around 10, we decided to brave the weather and headed out to Manly. We got soaked but managed a fairly successful trip: a quick trip to a coffee bar for coffee and cake, some Christmas present shopping, and a fab towel poncho thing for Tom - he'll now be an Australian pirate when he goes swimming! Then a quick bit of groceries shopping - replacing what we have been using at the flat. We then had lunch at the apartment - Lindsey had got in lots of cheese and condiments (she has made friends with a lady who makes condiments and sells them at the market each weekend and now is in the awkward position of feeling she has to buy something each time she goes to the market - they are great though. I would happily have gone to her stall and bought some as presents for Martin & Vanessa but the market was cancelled because of the rain (Aussies are true wossies when it comes to bad weather - they want bad weather they should see the brave people of Kirkby Lonsdale market in the Winter!))

Lindsey with her Snap, Crackle and Pop Pie

So after a pound or so of cheese and chutney (diet has gone out the window) we all had a little rest - Tom went to bed (his idea), I finished up the bookings, Matt did some work. The 3 of us then went for a return trip on the Manly ferry - ferries apparently are better than trains right now! We even had a look around Circular Quay for some sort of ferry momento - but none was to be had!

We came home, Tom had dinner - the rest of the lamb from the other day. He then went to bed. I went out for dinner with Lindsey and the boys stayed at home for a film and a takeaway. Had a really lovely night out - helped by the fact that we got a free pudding each because the till didn't put our original order through meaning we had to wait a while for it (we didn't really notice as we were gassing so much!). Oh and the pudding was amazing as you can see by the pic. So not a very interesting day, but a useful one.

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Location:Manly

Rainy Day in Sydney

Double decker!!!!!

Steam Train!

Lindsey took the day off work today to spend some time with us. We had planned a day out exploring the National Park around here, but the weather has taken a turn for the worse - it is rain, rain, rain and it looks like it is here to stay.

So, we changed our plans and decided to go to the Powerhouse Museum - described as the best museum in Sydney. So we got the ferry to Circular Quay and as it was still raining got the train to Town Hall (trains here are double deckers and therefore very exciting - we were instructed to go upstairs). From there we got the monorail (a treat for the boy and very much the last chance for any of us to do it as they are closing it down for ever on Sunday).

It was at this point everything went wrong. We decided to be a little naughty and stay on the monorail for a lap and a half so we could do all of it. Once we had done one lap the train came into a station and waited, and waited...and waited. Just like being on the underground, no information was available, no-one knew what was going on! We waited with it but eventually our rumbling tummies got the better of us and we asked to leave and were given some tokens to let us back on later in the day. We headed out and found a food court, so got ourselves some Japanese (of course) and then went back to the monorail - it was still stuck, so we had to walk. It was a real pain because we were exactly at the wrong end of the city for the museum!

All Aboard!

Driving the Wiggles Car

However, it had stopped raining. We walked down there - somehow going the wrong way even though we followed the signs (it was one of those days!) and eventually arrived. We got ourselves tea and a bun and then looked round. It was quite different to my memories of the place - seemed a lot emptier, but Tom had fun - there was 2 steam engines to see - one of which you could play on, a penny farthing to ride, a play ground and a Wiggles Exhibition (Aussie children's TV programme) - very bright and loud exhibition but with lots of things for children to do - in fact Tom got quite sweaty here running around it all.

Having fun

Spinning

Fast Asleep on the Ferry

We then headed back to the ferry - trying out the monorail again which was working but crammed full. We eventually got on he second one that came. Then back on the train (downstairs this time) and the ferry home. Tom fell asleep on the ferry again but got to ride on his Daddy's shoulders on the way home. Lindsey and Stuart went off to get us a take away - Aussie Burger with the lot and chips - yummy, reminded me of 12 years ago - a burger with the lot was a real luxury then.

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Location:Sydney

Crossing the Bridge

Walking on the bridge

Arty photo of the bridge

A very bad night sleepwise - when is the jet lag going to wear off?  We went to bed around 9.30 and woke with a start at 11.00 thinking that we had slept a good 6 hours.  Tom was very unsettled, so he ended up in bed with me whilst Matt took Tom's sleeping bag and went to sleep on the sofa.  Tom slept most of the night, but he spent from 11pm to 3pm thrashing around like a boy possessed.  His eyes were tightly shut, but he moved what seemed like every 10 seconds, turning from side to side, banging his arms and legs about - I got thumped in the head, the mouth, the stomach, my legs, arms everything! This obviously made it impossible for me to sleep.  He finally became still around 3am, but it was too late - there was no way I was going to sleep so I just lay by him and waited for dawn to come.  Oh hum, Matt fared better on the sofa.

We didn't really have many plans for today, but Tom said he wanted to ride on a train, and Matt having only just realised that the Harbour Bridge carries trains as well as traffic wanted to add this to his list of memorable train trips.  We also read in the guide book that you can walk across the bridge, so a plan was set in motion - get the ferry to Circular Quay, walk across the bridge and get the train back.

Tom on the bridge

We got ourselves better prepared for a day out - packing spare clothes, a towel, snacks, sun hats etc and got the 10.45 ferry to Circular Quay.  We expected to do battle to get through the ticket barrier with only 2 real travel cards and the written card that the bus driver had given to Matt yesterday, but we sailed through.  This happened to our amazement all day (until we tried to get the Manly ferry back in the evening, but that's a separate story).

A view of the Opera House

and yet another view of the Opera House

On arrival to Circular Quay we did a spot of souvenir shopping and walked through The Rocks trying to get ourselves on the right road for the bridge.  We went via the tourist information office where I popped in to get some advice on accommodation between Sydney and Brisbane for our road trip next week.  I was just wanting advice on what's best: hotels / motels / budget chains / B&B / hostels etc, but the woman a) looked clueless, b) made me feel as if I was completely irresponsible.  It is Aussie school holidays next week which I wasn't banking on and she says every hotel will be full.  I understand it will be busier, but surely not every accommodation provider will be booked up. She wasn't able to give me any advice as to what sort of accommodation we would find, so I gave up - I think we will rock up in a town, find tourist info and get them to book us accommodation there and then.  Tom had a moment in the shop - he had to climb some steps to get to the shop but the stairs had holes in the them and he cried his heart out - he had every mother in the shop running to his aid and ended up with stickers and stamps galore to try to calm him down.  How very strange.

Tucking into a sushi roll

We then found the walkway to the bridge and walked over.  It gave us great views of the Opera House and of the bridge itself.  A very pleasant experience, even though there were 6 lanes of traffic and trains rattling the bridge as we went over.  Tom took it all in his stride - looking the proper Aussie with his new sunglasses on.  Once on the other side we sat in a park and ate our lunch (onigiri and sushi rolls from Manly Wharf - yummy)  We then got the train back across the bridge to Town Hall and headed to Hyde Park for a rest.  We then gave Tom various options on what to do in the afternoon: Powerhouse Museum, Australian Museum, Maritime Museum or play in the water park in Darling Harbour again.  He chose the water park, so we headed there.  Stopped on the way at Woolworths (yes it still exists in Oz, but it is a supermarket here) - I bought dinner for Tom and I as Matt, Lindsey and Stuart are all out tonight: Matt meeting up with an old friend from Japan and Lindsey and Stuart going to a concert.  I bought some lamb as it is still cheaper than any other meat - although it is more expensive than I remember.  With the £ now being very weak we are finding Australia very expensive, this isn't a surprise as we were warned before coming here that we would be shocked.  When I was here in 2000, there were over $3 to £1.  Now it is $1.5 to £1 - everything is at least double the price I remember.  Lindsey and Stuart were telling me that accommodation prices have gone bonkers here recently, they pay an astronomical amount for their apartment (basically they pay per week what we were paying per month in Lupton!) the worldwide recession hasn't hit Australia yet, so property prices are still rising.

In the water park (again)

We then went to the water park and spent a pleasant hour or so watching Tom play with everything, he even befriended a little boy - they worked together to turn some of the heavier equipment.  We then got a bus back to Circular Quay and the ferry back to Manly.  We had trouble for the first time using Matt's written ticket here.  The lady at the gates told us that there was no way she would accept the ticket and let us through.  Initially we thought we were in for a fight with a jobs-worth, but luckily she wanted to help us - she had seen us arrive this morning and believed our story (especially as the missing ticket had the middle serial number of the three - complete luck - oh and yes - we have to pay for Tom's transport here - they start paying at 4 here!!!!!!) hurray.

She personally took us to a Sydney Transport Office and asked for us to have a paper ticket issued for us.  The first guy she spoke to did the usual 'I can't help, it's not my job' which we have received from everyone to date to resolve the issue.  Luckily there was another man in the office overhearing the conversation who told us it wasn't a problem, he got out a pad and wrote us a replacement ticket - why oh why did everyone else tell us is was impossible.  We missed our ferry, but it didn't matter, we now have another ticket and no more stress when we try to use any transport.

Night-time view of Circular Quay

We got the 5pm ferry back to Manly, Tom fell asleep on me.  Oops, he had been very good all day and he had run and walked a long way.  Bless him.  He cried all the way home - poor thing.  Instead of his nice lamb dinner he had cheese on toast and went straight to bed afterwards.  I went to check on him after a minute curious to see how quickly he would fall asleep - he was already asleep - he must have been so tired.

So I made lamb dinner for me (very nice too) before settling in front of the computer for an evening catching up on emails / facebook etc for Lily Pad Bakery.

A Hot Winter's Day in Sydney

Interesting Tree

Sorry folks, we just experienced a hot day in Sydney - and it is exactly mid-Winter here, when I say hot, I mean the sun cream came out, we striped down to T-shirts and I wished I wasn't wearing jeans!  Yep, it is official - mid Winter in Sydney is hotter than mid Summer in the UK!

Fig Tree

So we had mixed fortunes with sleeping last night.  I did OK, Matt and Tom didn't.  We all woke up at 1.30am convinced it was about 7am and we had had a good sleep - fat chance!!!!  We did all fall asleep again, but Matt and Tom were up again at 3.30!  Tom didn't go back to bed until 7.00 and then Matt went back to bed at 9.00 - so we weren't ready to start the day until 10am ish.

The beginning of the day didn't look good - howling gail, rain etc, but we were determined to get into Sydney City proper so we got our weekly travel pass and hopped on the ferry to Circular Quay.  It was a little choppy - so much so that those sitting outside got a drowning in sea spray.  However, it calmed considerably as we rounded the bay and got our first glimpse of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge - yep we really are in Australia now.

White Ibis (scary beaks)

The weather had cheered up so we decided to do the touristy thing: Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Botanical Gardens (Mrs MacQuarie's Point and Mrs MacQuarie's Chair).  The Botanical Gardens were great - full of weird trees and birds.  I was hoping to see lots of bright green and red lorikeets, but they eluded us.  However, there were plenty of birds with evil looking beaks, and lots of amazing trees - including some of my favourite - fig trees - with their roots twisting and turning over and over.

We hunted down a cafe and were once again shocked at the prices of food and opted for the cheapest thing we could find - pies (we think a significant number of people from Wigan must have settled here!)    They were nice enough but my diet has gone right out of the window!

After lunch we headed onwards to Mrs MacQuarie's landmarks and took the must have pics of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House - at this point it was scorching hot - we had to get out the suncream to stop us burning.

Guess where we are?

We then carried on round the headland and sheltered in a convenient rocky overhang for a cloud burst, we then carried on to a road where we planned to get a bus towards Darling Harbour.  We got the bus, but disaster struck: the bus ate Matt's travel card and would not give it back.  The bus driver didn't have a key to the machine and therefore couldn't retrieve it.  Great - it cost over $40 and he had only used it for one ferry trip and one bus trip.  The next hour was spent trying to get someone in authority to re-issue the card - no - go, everyone passed the buck and said it was someone else's problem - yes our problem - $40 down the drain.  It didn't create a happy mood.

Water Wheel and Soggy Tom

Almost falling in!

However, we had to draw a line and carry on with the day so we walked over to Darling Harbour.  I was hoping to find the Outback Centre where they have free live performances of aboriginal music - I went many times when I was here last.  Darling Harbour has changed significantly in the last 13 years - I hardly recognised any of it.  I went to tourist information to ask - but was told that it had closed because the owner had died and aboriginals can't pass business down the family line???  Sounds a bit strange, but it isn't there anymore which is a real shame as it gave you a really good flavour of the outback and aboriginal culture.  However, we did find a very good children's playground with loads of things to climb up, zoom down and a huge water feature with dams, sluice gates, wheels, rivers etc etc. Tom loved it - and went off to play without us.  I think we were there a good hour before we were able to drag him away.  We then headed for the Darling Harbour Ferry back to Circular Quay and then the Manly Ferry back to the flat.  Luckily all the ticket operators took pity on us and let us on without Matt's ticket.  Once again though no-one would take responsibility and issue us with a new ticket.

We got back to the flat around 5.30, so I made dinner for the workers (they arrive at 6.20) managed to get Tom to eat with us and then put him to bed, he was asleep within a minute of saying goodnight to him.

Rainy Winter's Day in Manly

Crashing waves on Manly Beach

We woke to a gorgeous morning, but unfortunately it didn't last long. By the time Lindsey & Stuart had left for work, miserable weather had set in and it was raining hard.

We gave Tom until 8am to sleep in and then had breakfast whilst enjoying the view from the apartment - we can see over the sea and best of all watch all the ferries coming and going - Tom strongly approves of this hotel!

View of a beach from the Walkway

Banksia

Matt did a couple of WASAs and then we decided to head out, so we walked down to the town centre, visited tourist information got given loads of flyers and then went for a stroll. The rain cleared up so we were able to enjoy it. Had a quick look in some souvineer shops, found a shop with a train play table and a suspended railway in it (were there quite a while!), then we watched the surfers playing on the big breaking waves on the main beach. We then had lunch - we decided on Japanese, but unfortunately didn't choose wisely - was very average.

On the Manly Scenic Walkway with a flowering Aloe

By now the sun was trying to break through so we decided to do some of the Manly Scenic Walkway. We were lucky, it didn't rain again, but both boys were beginning to flag so we made our way back. Funny, as always seems the case when you visit an English speaking country you don't feel immediately if you are in a different country. Clues here: the dawn chorus, the birds here sound very different to those back home, and the flora: huge Banksia trees (bottle brush trees as I call them), Aloe, Birds of Paradise - all plants that live in exotic glass houses at home.

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Location:Manly

Long Journey

We made it - frazzled round the edges, but can't really complain.

Dirty Boy

Had an easy (but very rainy) journey to Manchester airport, whizzed through baggage check in, passport control etc, even had a good quality lunch at a pub by the gates. Someone got very messy here - and it wasn't Tom!

We boarded our first A380 and were very pleased with the room - extra wide seats, huge individual screens. Unfortunately it was full so no spare seats for Tom. The 7 hour flight to Dubai was event free and we arrived on time.

We then had 2 hours at Dubai - where Tom went nuts running laps around the seating area - travelling up and down the moving walkways, in fact he was a bit of a trend setter - there were 3 of them doing it at the end. Still it tired him out as he fell asleep almost immediately on the second flight. Luckily the second flight wasn't completely full and we managed to convince the guy sat next to us that he would be better off sat somewhere else. This meant that we had a spare seat and Tom was able to lay down. Matt and I of course didn't do so well - I managed the odd 10 mins / half hour whilst Matt managed about 3 hours.

Sleeping (jealous!)

After 6 hours we woke Tom up and spent the rest of the 12 hour flight entertaining him - this is a time when a liking of the television would be good. I tried to get him to watch something, but had limited success - he managed 30 mins of Monsters Inc, 10 mins of Cars, and only 5 mins of Mary Poppins. In the end I gave up, and we reverted to Lego, drawing, stickers etc.

We arrived into Sydney early - Lindsey & Stuart were only just arriving as we came through 'the door'. We then headed straight outside to get a taxi. My Australian weather curse still seems to be with me - it was raining and 10 degrees - although I
welcomed it as we hadn't experienced fresh air for 24 hours.

Got to Lindsey & Stuart's in Manly around 11.30pm and after a quick show round had showers and straight to bed - you would think we would go straight to sleep - nope! Jet lag is a weird creature. Finally got to sleep around 1, only to wake with a ding at 2.30am convinced that we'd had about 6 hours sleep and were ready to get up. Took a while, but we got off again and woke up around 5. Tom did better - but even he had trouble sleeping in the middle of the night - as he said in an incredulous voice, "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep!" He was well behaved though because he didn't wake us up (we are in the same room)

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Location:Manly, NSW

A day at the seaside

Hello!

We didn't really do much on Saturday.  Spent the morning in Bentham getting keys cut for the house (we have two volunteers to be key holders for the alarm), Tom managed to walk straight into a lamp post - came up with a huge bump on his head.  It would have been funny but it really did look like it hurt.  Then lunch at home.  Then Matt went off to play cricket somewhere in Kendal leaving Tom and I to our devices.  We didn't get up to much.  Luckily the weather cheered up (it rained in the morning) so we went for a walk across the moors and then to the park afterwards for a play.
Sunday - Father's Day - Tom delivered some presents to his Dad - a book about Land Rovers, some chocolate and a Camper Van bookmark which were well received.  We decided to go to Morecambe for the day as they were holding a sandcastle competition.  The weather didn't look particularly promising, but we packed hopefully and by 11am were down on the beach building sandcastles (not in the competition mind you - more of a hap-hazard variety).  When I say we were building sandcastles, what I really mean is that Tom and I were building sandcastles, Matt was sat on the beach looking very uncomfortable and groaning (he was aching all over from cricket yesterday).  I was quite pleased with the end result - managed to get some ditches going and a number of castles to stay standing up - shame that Morecambe has such a weird tide, as it meant that our ditches would never get full.  In the end Tom smashed all the castles.

Tom and Trigger

There were donkey rides happening on the beach, we offered Tom a go and to our surprise he said yes! Matt took him over, he stroked a resting donkey and then happily sat on his designated donkey and held on to hand rail.  I can't say he smiled the whole way, but he certainly enjoyed himself we were both amazed.

By now it was lunchtime so we packed up and Tom got back on his bike and we rode / walked to the Stone Jetty for lunch.  The weather was beginning to get better - blue sky was on the horizon, so we decided to amble back.  We came across a fire engine and a couple of rides which Tom had a go on.  We then found a tent that was holding magic shows.  Tom went straight in and sat down to wait for the next performance (we were surprised, we weren't that sure what was going to happen at this point)  Tom sat still for a good 30 minutes - completely enthralled by the show.  The magician to be fair was very very good and held the children's attention.  At the beginning when he asked for helpers, Tom didn't put his hand up, but after he saw what helping involved he volunteered himself willingly - he didn't get chosen though, I think he was just a little too small.  At the end of the show, each child had to bring in their grown up (Matt in this case) and they both had to dance to Gangnam Style - this I really enjoyed - Matt dancing is one thing, but being made to do Gangnam Style was hilarious, especially as the best duo were going to get a prize (they didn't get a prize).  I could feel him squirming - but to be fair to him he did do it.

Fireman Tom

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 - here's the Gangnam Style video for those of you not in the know)

By now the weather had got out really good - so good in fact that Matt had to sit down after the magic show whilst I went to find him an ice cream to cool down.  We all stripped down to our T-shirts and put on our sun hats (we didn't have any suncream with us - ooops).  We wondered back past the finished sandcastles (some interesting ones:  a cupcake, pyramid and Sphinx and many traditional sandcastles).  Tom rode back to the bike whilst Matt and I walked briskly.  We then headed to Hest Bank to watch trains, dig shells and play cricket.

Round and round

When we looked at the time we were shocked to see it was 5pm, too late to go home and have dinner (and anyway Tom would fall asleep and then it would be difficult to get him to eat) so we decided to have a curry at 'Far Pavilion' in Bolton-Le-Sands, somewhere Matt has always wanted to try, having driven past it for 35ish years.  It was very very good, lots of curries we haven't seen before, quick service and spice levels perfect for Tom.  We all ate up well and then we continued home.  Tom fell asleep as predicted, but was happy enough to have a shower before bed.

A great day out.

Sleepy Tom

You can tell Tom had a busy weekend last weekend.  Today we decided to get out of the rain by going swimming.  Tom fell asleep almost as soon as we were out of Ingleton and stayed asleep for 1hr 45 mins - that's a record - normally I get 40 mins max sometime over the weekend.   He was asleep so long that we couldn't go swimming, went to Booths, got some beer for Daddy and came home.

Let's hope he's back to his usual cheerful self tomorrow as a result - he's been grumpy all week.  He really can't go without his sleep!

Weekend with Vera

This weekend Matt biked down to Nottingham for a weekend translator's do.  I contacted Vera to see if she wanted to come up - which she did.  So on Friday evening Tom and I went to Oxenholme to pick her up (she managed it without getting on the wrong train this time - well done her)

Tom had had a busy day - including a long afternoon on the beach at Hest Bank - digging shells, playing cricket and tennis and going for quite a long walk - all in the heat (yes heat! - we had to put suncream on to stop burning).  I gave him his dinner, dressed him in his pyjamas and then put him in the car to the train station, fully expecting him to go to sleep.  He didn't - he was all fired up for seeing some trains.  He didn't fall asleep on the way home either.  Then he didn't go to sleep immediately after getting home (I checked after half an hour and he was still awake).  This means he didn't go to sleep until around 9pm - not good.

Anyhow, once in bed, Vera and I had dinner and then stayed up chatting until past midnight (very very late for me).

The next morning wasn't good - Tom can not cope with lack of sleep and it showed.  He refused to eat breakfast and we had one of his worse ever displays over refusing to eat it.  It got to the point where I really didn't know what to do.  There was no reasoning with him.  He wanted to have lemon squash to drink and I refused him saying either milk, hot chocolate or water.  This apparently was the worse thing I could have done and caused him to scream and cry uncontrollably.  I took him upstairs until he calmed down and then we tried again.  He was better and in the end ate a huge breakfast of bacon and egg and 2 slices of bread and butter and jam!  He cheered up after this, phew.

As it was such a lovely day I decided that we would go for a short walk and gave Vera some options - she decided on Ribblehead circuit with lunch afterwards at the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes.  It took quite a while to get round the Ribblehead circuit as Tom stopped every few meters - he wasn't overly naughty but was quite stubborn in wanting to do what he wanted to do and stopping constantly. I think it took a good 2 hours in the end to do it - but it was a lovely day and the scenery there is good, so its not a hardship.  We only saw one train which was disappointing, but at least we saw one.

Tom and Vera in Hawes

We got to Hawes at 3pm - yes 3pm!  Our usual schedule had been blown right out of the window - due to the late night and early morning hysterics and constant stopping during the walk.  Luckily the creamery were still serving lunch so we sat outside in the burning sunshine (yep - more suncream and sun hats all round) and ate.  Jam sandwich for Tom (I wasn't going to force him to eat anything healthy in his fragile state), cheese ploughmans for me (diet starts again tomorrow) and a salad for Vera.  It was really good, but then we have never had a bad lunch there.  Tom was even brave enough to play with another little girl and her parents - which was a nice surprise - he is getting better.

This time the cheese room was empty, so Vera and I indulged ourselves, and helped ourselves to samples of everything and then both managed to spend a fortune on the cheese (they really have done a good job here to make sure you spend loads!)

Tom fell asleep as soon as we got in the car and slept all the way home.  Unfortunately when we got home it was 5pm, so I had to wake him up.  I gave him a plate of fruit for dinner as it was only 1.5 hours since he had lunch and then bath and bed.

As I was lowering Tom's blind I noticed Vera outside holding a rag to her head.  I called out if she was ok and she said that she had fallen over.  She removed the rag and I saw an horrific bump on her head (and that was from Tom's room).  We quickly went down to see her - she had the biggest bump I had ever seen and was also complaining of her wrist and nose hurting.  However, she hadn't blacked out and wasn't feeling queasy so she thought she would be ok.  I quickly put Tom to bed and then saw to her.  I gave her some peas and then went round to the ambulance station next door to see if I could find anyone to help.  The station was completely closed up (typical - although it was 3 peaks day today so they were probably busy up in the Ribblehead area).  I then called the out of hours Drs and registered her for a call.  A Dr called us back within an hour and spoke to Vera who put her mind at rest that she hadn't done anything too bad to herself.  It was a shock though.  Apparently she was on her way to the field at the back of the house to admire the buttercups and didn't notice the step and fell head first onto the paving slabs.  Ouch.

Is this usual breakfast attire?

We retired inside and I made her go to bed at 10pm - which is the middle of the day for her!

The next morning we were all a little late starting.  Vera had slept well and was feeling ok - although her hand was giving her gip.  Today we had been invited to little Fergus's party.  It's the first 'village' party we've been invited to, so thought we should go along, Vera didn't seem to mind.  It was a "no presents but please bring some food along" party - I whole heartedly approved.  However, it did mean than I needed some food to take along.  I had decided to make some quiches.  Unfortunately I had run out of eggs, so had to get some, which took longer than expected due to our local Co-op being closed for a technical fault, anyhow, eventually I got them and got the quiches in the oven and relaxed.  Once they were cooked we went for a wander around the village: usual circuit - play park, swimming pool, Neptis where we met Matt (he had got back from Nottingham early) and had drinks and a piece of naughty cake.

They were having fun - honest!

We then headed out to Clapham for Fergus's party - there were surprisingly few there and a HUGE amount of food.  I felt a little sorry for Fiona and Stuart as they had obviously been working really hard.     Anyway we had a good time and Tom got stuck in playing (there was a ride on dump truck so that was him sorted) and it had a really good atmosphere about it - no manic-ness at all around it.  We had a nice relax.  Fiona had made a brilliant cake for Fergus as well - I'll have to be careful - it wasn't far off professional!  After the party we went for a quick walk around the village - it is very pretty so thought Vera would appreciate it.   Tom had a play in the park and then we came home.  Once again this evening Tom had to eat dinner by himself as we weren't even close to hungry around 5pm.

Monday Vera came down to breakfast and I had the shock of my life - her eye had changed colour to bright purple - I have never seen anything like it.  Once again I offered her a visit to a Dr, but she said she was ok.

Have you ever seen such a purple eye?

We did our usual Monday thing of Enjoy-a-Ball (the last ever :0( ), then a quick trip into Kendal for Vera to buy some luggage and straight to Settle for swimming.  Tom slept the whole way from Kendal to Settle and I thought we were going to have trouble waking him up, but he came too and I bought him a kit kat to give him a sugar rush and he seemed pretty happy and took a good part in his lesson.  We then came home and once again he had dinner by himself (that's 4 nights in a row poor thing).  He then went next door to Sam and Ben's for a bath and play so that Matt and I could go to the new parent's evening at the school (thought we should give Vera a break).  So we met Mrs Pickard - Tom's new teacher and learnt about what Reception pupils do at school - lots of play and fun as far as I can see.

Tom was then straight to bed after having a great time at Sam and Ben's and we had dinner.

Tuesday Vera and I took Tom to school and then we went for a walk round the village before heading back to Oxenholme.  I put Vera on the train and then got back just in time for Tom coming home from school.

As is usual we all had a good time with Vera - fantastic company - plenty of laughter, plenty of chat, plenty of debate.  It was a shame she decided to beat herself up, but apart from that it was great - let's hope she isn't put off coming back up for a visit.  Thanks Vera for the company x

Sports Day

On Saturday it was Ingleton Village Sport's Day - in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Coronation.  Knowing how much Tom likes his sports we thought he should take part so we entered him in for every race for his age group.

The day started off well with blue skies and heat, but unfortunately it clouded over and that evil cold wind was back giving us all goosebumps.  Tom didn't seem to mind and put on his England football strip ready for the games.

Sack race champion

He had quite a few races:

1) Obstacle course - he came second
2) Sack race - he came first
3) Egg and spoon race - he came second
4) Sprint - he came second
5) Backwards race - he came second
6) Long jump - he came third
7) Throwing - he came third

Sounds very good doesn't it.  Problem was that there weren't that many in his class - some races there were only 2 of them and some there were 5, but 5 was the maximum.  Such a shame, we were hoping to meet more people from his class, but it didn't happen.  He mainly competed against another boy who was in Reception.  Oh hum, Tom loved it though - he was so excited about it all and came home with a sheaf of certificates.

Video of Tom racing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCnrWRr8cZA

In the evening the village had organised a disco and party tea for everyone.  Wow, we really weren't expecting so much and all free.  It took Tom quite some time to get into the dancing so I had to mum dance with him (sober so for me it was quite painful!) He really wanted to dance, but he didn't know anyone to dance with.  However, there were a couple of games of musical hats / bumps / chairs and after that Tom was fine racing around the hall by himself meaning I could get off the dance floor.  All in all a great day - Tom really had fun.  Thanks Ingleton.

Glorious day by the Seaside

Digging

Friday dawned beautiful - we had clear blue skies and no cold wind - hurray!  Tom went off to nursery in the morning for a half day, the weather held, so I packed the car with stuff - bike for riding, swimsuit for playing in the splash park and bucket and spades for playing on the beach.  I picked up Tom and asked him what he wanted to do - he didn't hesitate - playing on the beach.  So off to Morecambe we went.

Tom has been short of sleep for the past week or two, meaning that he hasn't been the best to be around - we get sulks, refusals to do things, grumpiness etc.  As he had a sleep on the way home yesterday and a 13 hours sleep last night he was in good spirits.  In fact he was an absolute pleasure to be with yesterday afternoon - we were on the beach for 3 hours, and it just flew.

Having fun

He was bossy:
"Mummy fill the blue bucket with sand... stop, put stones in it now"
"Mummy tap the bucket three times...with the blue spade not the green one"
"Mummy make me 3 sandcastles"
"Mummy make a sandcastle and put it by the wall"
"Mummy dig my feet into the sand"
"Mummy find me some stones"

etc, etc, etc - I was certainly kept busy.

Carefully transporting sand

At one point Tom managed to get a lot of sand in one of his eyes.  I don't know how he did it, but his eyeball was completely covered, I've never seen anything like it before.  He obviously knew something was wrong and very calmly said "Mummy I've got sand in my eye".  He came over and sat still whilst I flushed his eye with water, then took a tissue to dig out as much as I could.  I then asked him to cry to flush out the remainder - which he did.  I couldn't have asked him to be any better and it meant that what started out as quite a horrific situation was dealt with quickly and without any raised voices or hysteria.  Once I had finished he gave me a huge hug and said thank you for making him feel better.  He then went back to playing in the sand and continued to flick it in the air (he hadn't learnt his lesson!)

We also played cricket (one session where he hit the ball every time) and tennis.  But generally we were playing in the sand and having fun.  Daddy didn't want to miss out, so got out his motorbike and met us at a very nice pub in Hess Bank for dinner.  There was a garden at the pub, so we sat outside and Tom played with some other boys who were roughly his age - this is a first, as he played with them completely off his own back something he has never done before AND he really enjoyed it.  Let's hope he does that again.

Anyway it was a really lovely day.

Simon & Clare get married (at last!)

Simon & Clare's Wedding Cake

It is half term this week.  On Tuesday Tom went to nursery for a half day whilst I organised and packed the car.  We then picked him up at 1pm and we headed straight down to Aylesbury as finally Simon has agreed to get married to Clare.  It wasn't a big event.  In fact it was kept secret from all their friends, only family were invited - close family, so it was the 3 of us and Mum & Dad from Simon's side and a couple more from Clare's family - making 21 in total.

We had quite a tough journey down.  It was torrential rain on the motorway meaning it was impossible to go over 60 due to spray and there were quite a number of incidents due to the weather.  In all it took 4.5 hours to get down there - and that was without a break (other than a stop to change drivers).  We met up with Simon, Clare, Jake, Amber, Mum & Dad at the estate pub for dinner and a drink.

We had a quiet evening, the kids went to bed OK - Tom and Jake sharing a room, which went fine whilst Matt and I were downstairs on a blow up bed.

The 3 of us all dressed up

As I said this wedding was very understated, they really didn't want any fuss.  I offered to make them a wedding cake, which Clare generously accepted (Simon did his usual wrinkle of the nose and couldn't see the point at the suggestion).  The only direction I got was for it to be chocolate cake as that is the only cake Simon will eat.  I had no direction at all regarding decoration, which in a way is difficult, because I really didn't know what to do.  In the end I finally had a brainwave on Bank Holiday Monday and came up with this design.  I got the turquoise colour from their house - there is a lot of this turquoise colour in their house and as the reception was taking place at their house, I figured I might as well make something that fits in.  The design was very simple but I figured that as it was a no frills wedding that it shouldn't be too fussy.  I was quite pleased with the result.

Mum, Dad & Simon

Unfortunately it didn't dawn bright - it dawned with rain and the rain stayed for pretty much the whole day - but we were stoically British about it.  The wedding was at 1.30, the plan was to take the kids out to the park in the morning to get them out of the way, but the rain had other ideas.  They were a little bit hyper, running round and round, getting in each other's way, banging into each other.   It came to a head with Tom when Amber 'stole' his pram, he cried and cried.  Not great, so he ended up in bed for an hour to calm down.  Then it was time for the wedding so we all got dressed in our glad rags and headed to Aylesbury.

The wedding took place at the Registrar's Office, as I have said before it was understated.  Unfortunately it wasn't Clare and Simon that stole the show, it was Amber.  First of all she refused to sit  whilst the ceremony took place, and sat on Simon's knee instead.  When they announced that the most solemn part of the service was about to take place Amber piped up 'I need a wee' - everyone laughed and the Registrar had to stop the service whilst Clare's sister took Amber for a wee. Something I think she isn't going to be allowed to forget - such a shame it wasn't being filmed!  

Cutting of the cake - as I said Amber stole the show for the day

So, he went through with it, so there is now another Mrs Branch (something my Mum found quite weird - as she was the only one until now (Dad has 2 sisters).  We all headed back to Simon & Clare's house where we had a BBQ.  About 30 minutes after we arrived it started to rain, and then it stayed raining for the rest of the day.  Such a shame.  However, we were able to get most of the photos done - including some of the 3 of us.

(As you can see I don't have any of Simon & Clare, that's because Matt was official photographer for the day, meaning I was on 'keeping Tom quiet' duty and didn't get a chance to get my camera out.  I'm hoping Simon will send some my way, then I'll put some up here)

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating - there was quite a spread, and even though we all tried hard, we didn't manage to eat it all.  Everyone got on well and the kids were brilliant, playing with each other with hardly any tears or fights (there was a spread from Amber at 2 to Ella at 9 and an older girl - Sam 24, who made it her job to entertain them - fab - at her age I would have run a mile from children).  In fact I got to relax and hardly saw Tom - fantastic.

The party finally ended around 9pm, by which time we were all shattered, it didn't take long for us all to be back in bed.  Although the weather was rubbish we did manage a good day, everyone enjoyed themselves.