Weekend with Granma and Pop Pop

Racing Finn

We had a busy weekend even though the weather was terrible.  It all started on Thursday afternoon when Mum and Dad arrived for their 'Christmas Weekend'.  Unfortunately it rained the whole time they were here, but we made the best of it.


Tom is doing 'China' as his topic at school at the moment.  We have been asked to bring in any nik naks we may have.  Although Matt has visited (and I have been to Hong Kong) we don't have nik naks - just photos and hard copy photos at that!  Mum and Dad, however, have a whole house full of nik naks and pretty much brought the whole lot with them.  So, on Friday morning, Mum, Dad and I walked down to the school with bags full of stuff, having school Tom in what they were all and written a comprehensive list for Ms Middleton.  We then left him to it and headed home.  It was a dreadful day weatherwise so we stayed in the village.  Went to Daleswear looking for Black Friday specials but didn't find any.  Spent the rest of the morning in a tea room, nattering and avoiding the rain.

At the summit

At 3pm Tom had his school assembly so we all headed out and got the best seats in the house.  It was a pretty comprehensive assembly: everyone had at least one line to say.  They sang a song in Mandarin, did a ribbon and fan dance, and acted out the Willow Pattern Story (Tom had one of the starring roles in this - playing Chang who fell in love with Koon-she (Caitlin) and had all sorts of adventures escaping unhappy parents.  This was a complete surprise, Tom hadn't told us about this at all - what a Romeo he is.  Anyway, it was a good assembly and we all learnt something - the kids have really got into China and showed real enthusiasm for it all.

Saturday Tom had a birthday party engagement at the climbing wall in Kendal.  Matt took him whilst the rest of us had a nice slow breakfast.  We then all met up at Hawkshead Brewery for lunch.  We then headed into Windermere - as it was still raining.  Tom, Mum and Dad went to The World of Beatrix Potter whilst Matt and I had a potter around, we then all headed home.  When we got home Tom was pottering around fine, but then burst into tears saying his eye hurt.  He was inconsolable, in the end he had a bit of a lay down whilst I finished off dinner.  Within 5 mins he was fast asleep (quite strange).  We had to wake him up, make him have some dinner and then he went straight back to bed again - all the while being quite miserable.  Not sure what was up with him, but he went straight back to sleep and stayed asleep the whole night.

With Granma and Pop Pop

Sunday morning Tom came into our room and the eye which he said hurt yesterday had completely blown up - we were both quite shocked!  So something was wrong with it - but Tom said it no longer hurt.  It was still raining, so after a lazy morning we decided to head out to Carnforth for lunch at the station.  We did our usual mooch around, then had lunch 4 x soup and 1 x smoked salmon sandwich (can you guess who had what?).  Then back home, for a play on the model railway and cuddles with Pop Pop.  We then left Mum, Dad and Tom behind for dinner at home whilst we went for a bit of a pub crawl and dinner out in Kirkby Lonsdale - the best use of a bad weather day.

Monday morning Mum and Dad took Tom to school and then packed up in the rain and headed home.  Was lovely to spend time with them, we all had fun despite the weather.  Maybe next time we will be able to go outside somewhere nice with them.

The three fearless leapers

Matt here. The party at the climbing wall in Kendal was quite a revelation. Tom tried every single climb there was, including several that were just too big for him - his arms and legs simply weren't long enough. He really gave them a go though, and he got to the top of every climb that was his size. I think being in the company of a dozen of his good friends gave him the confidence to try anything. It was a joy to watch - they're such a terrific bunch. The real surprise came at the end, however. The instructor asked asked who wanted to do "The Big Jump", without explaining what it was. Only 3 of the 12 put their hands up (Tom, Finn and Matthew), and they were led to a special area, where they were kitted up. They were then told they would be jumping from the 3rd floor straight down to the ground floor (attached to an auto-belayer). I was 90% sure Tom would get to the edge and think better of it, but no, straight down with almost no hesitation. I was stunned, and very proud. I really didn't think he had it in him. You can see the plunge here: https://youtu.be/WhRvNHa3uEU