So after a false start our holidays began - yay!
On Saturday Tom went to Skipton with Rebecca to watch the Railway Children, they had a great day out, but said the film wasn't very good. Oh hum. Matt and I went to Hawes to deliver some choccies and eat cheese and then went for a walk around the Ingleborough nature reserve to see the lily pads which were in flower.
Sunday saw Matt and Tom playing cricket for Ingleton on 20:20 finals day in Arnside - they had semi finals in the morning and if they got through, a final in the afternoon. Unfortunately they didn't win the semi finals, so they were home early. It was a warm day, so in a way they were pleased they didn't have to hang around all day.
Monday saw us heading to Wast Water in the Western Lakes to go for an Alpaca walk - a birthday present from Matt. It dawned lovely, blue skies and it looked promising for a sunny day. It takes an age to get to Wast Water - there are so many mountains (Scarfell is at the head of the lake) that you have go around them all which takes ages as there aren't any main roads. Anyway we got there in good time, so much so that we had a leisurely picnic on the shore of the lake and enjoyed being in the sunshine.
We then drove around to the base of the lake where we found the farm with the Alpacas. They had recently been clipped so were looking quite comical with their mop tops. It was just the three of us and we were assigned an Alpaca each. Matt got Charlie who was the alpha male and had to go first, Tom got Scooby Doo who was pretty well behaved until the end when he started to spit! I had Rapha, who kept refusing to move and had to be encouraged! It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon, they are so soft to touch and don't mind being constantly stroked. We took them for a short walk - probably about 1½ miles, and quite gentle (considering the hills around!). We ended up in the lake which was very pleasant - the water was surprisingly warm, but because it is so calm and still at the moment, the water isn't moving much meaning that it is beginning to warm up. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
We said goodbye and headed to the Inn at the head of the lake and had a much needed drink and sit down. Tom played in the river going past (he fell in when he tried to get me wet - karma!) We then headed slowly back home. We stopped off at Broughton in the search for a pub and were directed to the Kings Head where we had a very pleasant meal in the garden - one to return to in the future.
Westmorland were batting first, Tom was number 10 which is fine - he isn't a batter. The first two batsmen got out for 2 runs, not a great start, but the next batsmen did better. When Tom came to bat, my heart was in my mouth. This is a division higher division than he has played in before and Tom was playing with mainly county players. All good for him, but the problem is that the county players don't know Tom which makes things a bit difficult. Anyway, he had his first ball and he hit it almost to the boundary - scored 2 runs. The next ball he got a 4, and again. Yay, well done Tom. Unfortunately the next two batsmen got out so Tom was left as the not out player and didn't get a chance to show anymore skills - we were really pleased for him. They then went to field. Tom was on the boundary and did well - not much got past him. We were waiting for him to get a bowl. Eight of his team mates got to bowl and then they started to repeat - they didn't ask Tom. This is the problem with it all being county players that don't know him - he asked to bowl, they ignored him. He stayed on the boundary line and Westmorland lost! Some of the bowlers were quite weak (even I could see that) Matt and I were very frustrated and disappointed - it was a very long way for us to take him for him to face a couple of balls and not get a bowl. Barely a word was spoken on the way home we were all upset. We had to write to them to find out what was the deal, the email we received from them prior to the match was that everyone would have a chance to shine, it wasn't about winning / losing but showing off skills. That absolutely didn't happen for Tom. We don't want to be the complaining parents, but also we don't want Tom to miss out on opportunities. We decided to sleep on it and write tomorrow when it wouldn't be so raw.
He showed us how we should sit for landing and then we were up, up and away. It was very very gentle. We didn't even know we had taken off. The lack of wind made the flight very comfortable, but also it meant that it didn't travel very far.
Basically we did laps of Kirkby Lonsdale - we went around it high, low, very low and high again. It was interesting though seeing the place from above, so many more buildings than we realised, some swimming pools etc. When we did the very low pass, we were able to say good morning to people on the ground, we even woke up some people in the campsite (must have been a little surprising to see a hot air balloon almost land next door to your tent?! The higher we went the flatter the land looked, but we could see to Blackpool Tower, to the Lake District Mountains, the Howgills and Ingleborough.
One of the other passengers was a crafter from Sedbergh so we spent a while chatting about shops / websites / webshops etc etc. Tom was out climbing with the climbing club for most of the day and when they finished he went straight back to Annabel's to immerse himself in their paddling pool to cool down (it was high 20s today). Matt and I spent the day cleaning and tidying the house ready for some guests arriving tomorrow.
Thursday we had a quiet start to the day - another hot one! We discovered we didn't have any breakfast items in the house so went to Inglesport for breakfast. We then finished off the tidying etc, made beds, flapped wings, played snooker etc. At 4.30 Dylan, Risa, Harry and Jack arrived. Now I've met Dylan but not the other 3 and Matt hadn't seen Risa for 20 years and not met Harry or Jack. They live a different life. Dylan lives and works in Japan and Risa and the two children live in Ohio. Dylan works for a university so has long holidays and spends them in Ohio with his family. He's originally from Wales and they were over for a week to attend a wedding. Tom and I have met Dylan in Japan a couple of times. Well, they were wonderful guests. Harry is 19 and Jack 13 and both so polite and helpful. Risa and Dylan so easy to chat to we just all slotted in with each other, felt like they were old friends. We chatted in the garden for a while and then we all went to La Tavernetta for dinner which was lovely, even more so as Dylan wouldn't let us pay for it!!!! Harry and Jack decided to sleep in the van - exciting for them. In the morning we all had bacon and then headed up to Ribblehead to do the short circuit walk - stopping for a dip in the river. It was very very hot but we had all creamed up so were good. We parted our ways at Ribblehead - they were heading up to Berwick across the Dales. We were only together for half day, but we all got on really well, we felt like good friends by the time they left. We then spent the rest of the day hiding from the sun. It got to 32 degrees today! In the afternoon Tom went for a dip in the river whilst Matt and I faffed around and then Bob came round for a BBQ in the evening.
AWAITING PICS OF DYLAN AND FAMILY
Saturday - another roasting day. Matt was off to play cricket for the 1st team in Coniston. I had laundry and a cake to make so Tom headed off to Burton river with the Bickerstaffs for a dip, then in the evening, Tom and I went with the Mannings and Bickerstaffs to a part of the river we haven't explored before. It was lovely but very cold. I did eventually get in, and it was glorious. We got home just before Matt returned, had tea and then to bed.
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| Adam Rossington |
Sunday - an exciting day, we went to Headingly to see the 100. Oh my it was a very very hot day! We drove to Conningly and then got the train to the stadium.
We got there around 10.30 in time to see the lady's game. We, being from Yorkshire, support the Northern Super Chargers. They were playing London Spirit - boo, hiss! We got our seats - wowzers we were only 3 rows from the front, no shade for us for the day, but a chance to see the ball. Luckily we had packed a huge picnic with loads of drinks, so we were ok for fluids. We got ourselves comfortable and then suddenly got roasted from some flames - we were sat directly infront of the flame throwers which went off everytime scored a 4 or 6 - oh joy! It made your skin sing each time it happened, as if it wasn't hot enough. Oh well, it was a great atmosphere in the stadium. We bought Tom a Northern Superchargers top as a reward for trying hard at school and at the cricket camp, which he was very pleased with (in fact he has had it on ever since!)
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| Glenn Maxwell |
The girls put on a great show with the Northern Super Chargers winning on the last ball - nail biting stuff. The men, however, didn't do so well, they struggled to bat and then when the opposition came on they hit the ball all over the place! We did get to see lots of 6s and 4s which was good, but it was a shame they were from the other team. However, as I said the atmosphere was good, we had a good time and we have never slapped on so much sun cream on in our lives. It did a good job, none of us got burnt and we were sat in our seats for 7 hours! It was a very good day out, but we were very pleased to get home and have a shower.
Monday, the Komorowski girls (and Teddy the dog) came to stay. Adam is in Bosnia with work. They came for lunch so morning was spent running around getting things ready, and Karen's cake finished (she is 50 on Friday, and she won't be getting a cake, so I thought I would treat her). It was supposed to be much cooler today, and although it wasn't roasting like yesterday, it was still quite warm. They arrived at 1, we had a picky lunch and then went for a walk around the village and Storrs Common before heading to the swimming pool for an afternoon session. Then a late dinner and bed with Tom and Rosa in the van.
Tuesday - we all woke up late, and decided to head to Ingleborough Cave in Clapham. So, after a late breakfast, we headed over to the village and walked up along the nature trail to the cave. Karen, Tom, Rosa and Leia went in whilst Matt and I looked after Teddy. He is so much calmer this year, last year he was a real handful and I wouldn't have been able to take him on the lead (he tugged Karen and Matt over when he came) but this year he is much easier on the lead. We had a good walk with him up to Trow Gill and back and then had an ice cream whilst we waited for the cave dwellers to arrive. 
We then headed back, had a late lunch and then another session in the pool - we won big time here as we ended up having the pool to ourselves for most of the session - the kids managed to play really nicely with each other (Rosa at 10 is at a difficult, contrary age at the moment which makes her hard to interact with at any level!). We were going to have a BBQ in the evening, but the weather let us down, it went cold, windy and some rain, so we had an indoor one instead. Oh hum. By the time we had eaten it was pretty late again!
Wednesday morning the Komorovskis headed back home. We cleaned up after them and then headed to the dentist in Settle. We haven't been since before the pandemic - so was expecting to get told off for plaque build up etc, but I got a clean bill of health. Tom got told that he can do better and Matt has a filling and (maybe) a wisdom tooth to be removed. We got back and had a quiet evening and went to bed early - we were all shattered.Thursday, Tom had a cricket match with Westmoreland District. This time it was at home which is in Carnforth. We got there at 10am and were the first to arrive. We had made double sure with the coach that we were meant to be there this time - we were. This game was against Wigan and District. On the Westmorland Team was a new guy - Tom Bentley. He was from Surrey, newly arrived in the north and looking for a team to play for. OMG, he was a master class of how to play cricket. He completely dominated the whole game and made everyone else (including Cumbria county players) look completely amateur. Westmoreland started the batting, they were doing ok, and then Tom Bentley came on and before you knew it he had made 100, - then he started to slog and slog he did, 6s flying here there and everywhere. He scored over half the runs of the team. Tom was batting at 10 and made 1 before getting out! Tom Bentley then opened the bowling, once again he completely dominated. He was bowling so fast, faster than Matt had ever seen! The first batsman got out for a golden duck and said that he didn't see it at all. He got 3 wickets in 2 overs, and knocked the stumps clean out each time. In fact he broke one of the stumps! The poor Wigan players were trembling in the changing room - not wanting to go out and face him. I don't blame them! He got one of the players with a bouncer off the helmet and almost knocked him out. In the end the coaches had to take him off, before their was a riot - it wasn't a fair game, it was a one man cricket match! I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him playing for England, he was so far above any of the other players there! They brought our Tom in to bowl afterwards, it didn't go well. I think he was trying to emulate the other Tom and started bowling wildly and then he got hit for sixes, four times. Not great. However, he did manage to get a wicket with his last ball, thankfully! So Westmoreland won the game, but they didn't really, Tom Bentley won the game. There was a scout from Lancashire cricket at the game, he was straight over to recruit him. Don't think we will see him at District level again! We came home a little deflated again, at least Tom got a chance to bowl this time, but such a shame it didn't go well.
Friday was all about packing for holidays - we are off tomorrow. It took all morning to pack, then lunch at Bernies, a game of Wingspan and then we met up with Bob in Settle for a curry. Exciting times...
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