We had a busy half term which kicked off on Saturday with a trip to Wigan to meet up with the Francis's and the Milburns - all of them. This is the first time since Tom was a baby that we have all been together. Unfortunately it was a bit of a flying stop as we didn't meet up until 1pm (Adam was on a night shift last night so needed time to sleep and the Milburns were coming up from Warminster so had quite a journey) Got there right on 1pm to find the Milburns already there. Tom was immediately at home - he was so excited about seeing Luke again, as soon as he saw him he was off. Great, that meant I could chat. Felt a little sorry for Jacob and Laura - they are 10 and 11 now - the age gap between them and Luke (6) and Tom is a little bit too big now. However, they are well behaved and polite children so it wasn't a problem. We have known each other now for over 20 years, and although we don't see each other very often when we do get together, we are straight back to being best of friends as if we last saw each other last week. Everyone was on good form and we had a great couple of hours. Before we knew it, it was time to leave. I made them have their photo taken before we left - as it is a rare occasion.
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| Derby Crowd in Wigan |
We headed on down the M6 and M5 to Strensham services where we had booked a hotel for the night (there was no point returning home from Wigan to drive right past on the way to Devon the following day). We had a motorway services dinner (5/10 - good for a services!) and then early to bed. Took Tom ages to get to sleep - far too exciting for him - ended up having to give him a right good ticking off before he finally succumbed.
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| Bang! |
We didn't have the best night's sleep and Tom was up very early! We got up, had a very expensive Costa breakfast and then headed back down the M5. We stopped off at Trago Mills in Exeter. Haven't been there for a long, long time. The shop wasn't much to talk about, but it was very very big and we managed to get some craft supplies there, ready for thank you cards, then we had an average lunch, then went for a walk around and found signs to a model railway, we followed them and to our surprise found ourselves in a huge room with an amazing model railway layout. It only cost £1 to enter - great value for money. I was blown away by it, so you can imagine what the boy must been have thinking! In the end we had to drag Tom away - Granma and Pop Pop were waiting after all!
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| Lego |
We got to Crapstone without incident - in fact the roads were clear the whole way down, we couldn't have asked for better (although there were loads of pot holes on the M5). Granma and Pop Pop were in good form and Mum looked and was walking a lot better than I was expecting. We settled in quickly, Tom was spoilt from the start - with a hamper full of birthday presents. What a lucky boy.
Lego collection
Monday - Matt worked for the day so the rest of us headed off to Royal William Yard for lunch at Serco. As lovely as ever. Tom, Granma and Pop Pop shared tapas, and after a little word with him he was really well behaved. It was a very horrible day - rain, grey and yucky, so after lunch we went for a car ride around Plymouth and then headed to Tavistock so that I could buy some cake stuff. When we got home Pop Pop was sent into the attic to retrieve the box of lego that Mum and Dad saved from our childhood. It was quite exciting opening it up - there were some models still made up which must have been over 20 years old. There were loads of wheels, bases, windscreens, windows etc so a lot of potential to make crazy vehicles, so we did. Monday evening, Matt and I headed into Plymouth for dinner out - back to Royal William Yard and after looking around the various offers decided on Spanish / Mexican and had a selection of lovely tapas. We then headed back to Serco for a couple of drinks before heading home. Lovely.
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| Donkey |
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| Grooming |
Tuesday the three of us went out to a Donkey Sanctuary as recommended by Granma. It was only x miles away (as the crow flies) but a bridge was closed, meaning that we were diverted an extra x miles to get there. Oh well, the donkeys were happy to see us. We bought some food so we could feed the sheep, goats and donkeys. I thought Tom would be too nervous to feed them, but he was straight in, although he was a bit spooked out by a goat that followed him around. We made the best of the dry part of the day and stayed outside for as long as we could, when it started to rain we headed into the huge play barn, Matt and I sat down and Tom played. After an hour or so, we did one more circuit of the farm and said goodbye to the animals, we then headed back to Crapstone - but this time via Plymouth rather than the windy country roads.
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| With Granma |
Wednesday we headed into Plymouth via the park and ride and double decker bus and did a shop in the 'big city' - getting all those things that we can't get in Ingleton - a shop at Primark (Tom is into skidding big time at the moment, meaning that the knees in his trousers are going before he grows out of them. This is the first time I've had to buy more clothes the same size for him. We then met up with Granma and Pop Pop at their favourite cafe for lunch on the sea front. They headed home whilst we walked back into town and then got the bus back to the car. The evening for us was spent on another date - this time in the pub at Buckland Monochorium. We were back early though - we were both yawning and needed bed.
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