Holidays - Week 5

Oops - got majorly behind again - so this is going to be a short summary.

Saturday, Tom as usual had cricket training.  He then hung around the field playing with the others.  In the end we suggested Luca hang back and spend the day with Tom, so Julie headed home and we had Luca for the day.  When I say we had Luca for the day, what I really mean is that Tom and Luca were playing cricket on the field all day.  They came back to the house for lunch, and then went back to the field again.  This summer has certainly been a summer of cricket.  We took Luca back around 4pm as he had a trampolining zoom meeting, otherwise they would have been over there until they collapsed!

Sunday was a quiet day.  We had a calm morning and then Matt played cricket for Ingleton in the afternoon so Tom and I went over to watch.  Always a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, wrapped up in a blanket on a bench overlooking the Dales, watching men in white throw a ball around.  Also means we have mushroom pasta for tea, which is a winner for both me and Tom.

Monday
Today was supposed to be Tom's first ever cricket match for South Lakes.  It was in Whitehaven and we had to be there for 9.15.  Ouch.  Whitehaven is 90 miles away, and not a quick 90 miles.   We were up mega early, and were out of the house by 7.15!  We zoomed up the M6 and as we got to Penrith I got a message saying the match had been called off due to bad weather.  What to do.  It was 8am.  We decided to find a cafe in which to have a second breakfast.  We walked all around the town centre, nothing was open.  Quite a few shops had closed down which was sad to see (haven't really visited a town high street since the pandemic struck - we have used all the local shops to us as much as we can).  Most cafes weren't due to open until 9 or 10, we had an hour to kill for those.  Luckily a google search sent us to a cafe that was open on the edge of town, so we headed over there and managed to get a bacon sarnie / avocado on toast etc.  By the time we had finished, the regular shops were open.  We had passed an Aldi on the way in, so I made a beeline for that to stock up on cake ingredients whilst the boys went to find the car and bring it over.  Tom and I then headed to Sports Direct to get some football boots for school whilst Matt went to get a slow puncture in one of the car tyres mended.  So, all in all a useful morning.  We were back in Ingleton before lunch! Shame Tom's match was cancelled, but can't control the weather.

Tuesday
Another really gloomy, rainy day.  What has happened to summer?!  We decided to use this day wisely and equipped with Tom's equipment and uniform list from QES we headed to Kendal resolving not to leave the town until we had EVERYTHING we needed.  

First stop was Clarks for shoes...I had looked on their website and they said they preferred you to book an appointment before arrival.  I do so, we turned up exactly on time and found complete chaos, there was no queuing, no social distancing, people everywhere, children running around and no organisation.  It was awful.  Took a deep breath, got Tom's feet measured - they said he was a size 5, no way, he was size 5 a year ago.  We looked at the styles, there was one slip on, one velcro, two with laces.  He didn't want slip on, didn't want to be faffed with laces.  So, we found a pair of velcro ones in a 5.5, got someone to do the squidge test on him: they fitted well.  We queued up to pay and got out of there as quickly as we could.  Quite simply the worse shopping experience since the pandemic struck - I was quite shocked at the lack of organisation.  Some shops quarantine shoes for 3 days after trying them on, this Clarks just had shoes everywhere, people trying them on left right and centre, lots of hands and feet touching them.  If we could have gone somewhere else, we would have done!  After that experience, everywhere else was a breeze.  

Believe it or not WH SMITHS didn't have any sensible pencil cases, but we picked up all stationary needs in Asda, along with socks etc.  School bag was chosen quickly and was half the price on the label so that was a success.  We tried to go to Brew Bros for lunch, but it was full with a queue, so we went to Greggs for a sandwich / sausage roll instead. And that was Tuesday done.  

Wednesday - Tom met up with Ethan and Luca for 3 hours and played cricket nets for the afternoon.  This meant that I could make choccies for Gingerbugs.  

Thursday - South Lakes were down to play Barrow at Burneside and Tom was playing.  

We had to borrow Luca's whites as we didn't have any and didn't think we would be able to get any in Scotland.  Turns out that Barrow are leagues better than the other 3 districts in the area.  They all looked about 2 years old and physically strong.  OMG.  Obviously Tom had never played a game South Lakes before, he didn't know much about how the others played, and we didn't even recognise most of the other South Lakes players - where did they come from?  None of them were from training - all very strange.  The South Lakes coach wasn't there either - so a bit of a shambles, but at least Tom was there and able to play.  He got to bowl at the first change and got the first wicket of the game with his second ball.  Dad was understandably very proud, especially as the guy had been hitting 4s and 6s all over the place.  In fact his first over was a wicket maiden - which was much better than the bowlers that went before him - Matt was very quick in pointing this out (rightly so!).  

It was a lovely sunny day (bit windy) and we enjoyed sitting out in our very comfy chairs taking it all in.  Tom did us proud with his bowling.  He also took a good catch but unfortunately it didn't count because it was a no-ball.  Batting, he scored a 4, but then got out.  Doesn't sound great, but he actually scored more runs than most of his team mates!  For a first game he did well, and his score card showed him to be a valuable member of the squad.  Matt was very proud.

Friday, I had to go to Settle Tourist Info office to restock my choccies, so took advantage of the fact we were in Settle and popped in to see Grannie and Grandpa.  Tom and I attempted to teach Grannie and Grandpa how to play cribbage.  Grandpa picked it up pretty quickly, Grannie decided that sorting out lunch was more important (she has a point) and before too long pizza and salad were on the table for us.  

Saturday I'm afraid I can't remember what we got up to.  Most likely that Tom did cricket training and probably hung around the cricket field for the rest of the morning and I'm assuming we either had a quiet afternoon or went for a walk?

Sunday, Matt and Tom bike did a bike ride to Sunderland point whilst I stayed at home and put together a cake for Grandma Jan.  It was Phil's 70th birthday: Rolling Stones themed with the iconic tongue on the top and chocolate guitars around the edge.  Matt and Tom didn't quite make it to Sunderland Point, the tide was in and the roads flooded.  They had a good time though.

Scotland

Tom having a dip

Saturday we started on our Scottish odyssey so of course the weather was just beautiful - clear blue skies - a sign of the week to come.  We weren't expecting to pick up the motorhome until 3pm, but we got a call saying it would be available from 11, so instead of a calm day of packing it was a little bit manic, especially as I had to deliver some goodies to Gingerbugs, but we did good, got away on time, purchased some sandwiches from Seasons, headed to Cornvale to pick up our goodies for the trip (they are based in Melling - the same village as the motorhome so it seemed sensible to stock up with them on the way in) and then to the motorhome.  We hired the home from a newish company, basically a family bought a motorhome and realised it was unused most of the time, if they hired it out, it would pay its way and more.  It has worked he has 3 now and is looking to expand further.  The hand over of the vehicle was much more lax than in Norway where it took a good hour, and every scratch, scuff etc was pointed out and detailed in the paperwork.  It was so lax that he forgot to point out a huge crack in the back end of the vehicle, meaning that Matt and I thought we had done it (although neither of us could work out how - on sending him a message with photo etc he wrote back to apologise for not pointing it out initially!) and he forgot to show us how to turn the gas on!

Al Fresco dining in Ullapool

So we filled the van up with our luggage - it is much more luxurious than the Norway one and (believe it or not) bigger and headed on our way up the M6.  Matt drove to the services where we stopped to have our lunch, the services was manically busy! so we were happy to be able to eat in the home.  I then took over the driving up to Moffat where we did a quick circuit of the town so we could buy our holiday whisky.  Matt then drove the rest of the way to Dollar where we spent the evening with the Blezards.  We started out in the garden in the sunshine but finished up inside for tea.  Then we went for a walk around the village which involved walking along a river...the boys (Tom and Lewis) couldn't resist and ended up walking in the river...then sitting in the river!  All fully clothed of course.  The adults didn't go anywhere near it!   An alcoholic evening ensured (as usual) before we headed to the van for our first sleep.

Ullapool sunset

Sunday
We slept really well, the street we were on was quiet and inside the van it was very very dark, meaning we slept in - yay!  On finally awaking, we got up and headed to the Blezards for breakfast and then headed to the A9 and Ullapool.  Once again Matt and I shared the driving.  It was pretty easy driving, the road was free flowing, the sun was shining and the scenery magnificent.  We stopped for lunch in a lay-by overlooking a river and then carried on.

The Stornoway ferry arriving

We arrived in Ullapool around 4pm, stopped at Tescos for beer and breakfast supplies and then headed to our campsite in Ardmair - right on the sea.  We quickly found our pitch and settled in.  A good thing about having a motorhome is that it takes all of 5 mins to get set-up.  Just put the van up on blocks, attach electricity and turn the gas on, that's it you are ready to go.  Now Covid rules and regulations are slightly different in Scotland than in England and they only came out of lockdown recently meaning that they are a lot more nervous than us.  So much so that we had to wear masks in the toilet blocks, only being allowed to remove them for showers, we even had to wear them at the pot wash.  There were posters absolutely everywhere telling us what to do so you could be in no doubt as to what you had to do.  To be fair everyone I saw did as they were told and it all made sense - made us feel safe which is what you need.

Handa Island

Once we were set up, we went for a walk along the beach, it was a pebbly beach, so a lot of skimming had to take place.  The sea was as still as anything but there was a light breeze which was just as well as it was pretty hot.  After an hour or so we headed back and got the BBQ out.  Matt was on duty to cook burgers, I was on duty to cook potatoes and Tom was on salad duty.  It took a while, mainly as it took about 30 mins to get the potatoes to boil, but we had a lovely tea, sat outside, watching the sunset.  Can't ask for better than that.

Very friendly pig!

Monday, we woke up to grey skies and a bit of rain.  No rush to get up then, so we had a leisurely breakfast.  We then drove to Ullapool, reacquainted ourselves with it, did a little bit of shopping (Tom got a whale with his holiday money - thanks Granma and Pop Pop).  Oh the grey skies had cleared by now and it was hot hot hot - just as well we brought plenty of sun cream with us.  We got to the Seafood Shack in time for lunch.  We have been dreaming about this place since last year - it has the best fish ever, all freshly caught - the menu changes according to what the fishermen bring in and it is all cooked really well.  We were all excited.  Matt managed to get his place second in the queue: haddock goujons with salad and redslaw for both the boys and sweet cured herring with potato salad and bread and butter for me - was absolutely delicious.

 After lunch we headed up the road to Scourie - for a mini road trip.  We weren't sure what to expect, but we were looking for some beach to play on and some lovely scenery to enjoy.  (Our initial plan was to go to Loch Inver to the pie shop but we discovered it was closed on Mondays!).  We weren't disappointed - the scenery was amazing (hills, mountains, ruined castles, magnificent bridges, lochs, heather) but no beaches.  We got to Scourie and looked in its two shops, which were pretty mediocre, so we headed back to where I saw a sign for a beach.

Storming moat!

We were in luck - we came across a harbour with a lovely sandy beach with about 4 people on it.  We parked up and were greeted by some lovely piggies.  We had a nice chat, the friendliest piggies I've ever know and we didn't have any food for them.  We settled on the beach with buckets and spades.  Tom had a dip in the sea (I'm not brave enough) and we had a game of beach tennis.  It was just lovely and hot too!

We then decided to follow a footpath to the sea proper, turned out to be a lovely walk (if a bit longer than we were expecting), got wonderful views of mountains in the distance, islands in the sea and no modernity in sight.  Time was heading on and we were getting hungry so after some emergency doughnuts (a holiday essential) I drove us home.  Can you believe it, on the way out of the village we came across a herd of Highlanders - how did we miss them on the way in.  Unfortunately there was no-where to stop, so no photos!  The boys also saw golden eagles on the way back - spotted by Tom.  On arrival back we got the BBQ out for sausages whilst I fried up the remaining potat

Scourie beach - very lovely

oes from yesterday.  

Small problem tonight...midges.  There was no breeze at all, meaning the midges were out in force and I mean in force, they we out in their thousands, which meant that being outside was no fun at all.  Such a shame because the sunset was amazing.  Lots of people were walking round with midge nets on their heads, but we hadn't planned that well, so we did the midge dance every time we left the van and then spent a good hour squidging any midges that got in when the door opened.

Oh well, they didn't spoil what was a really lovely day.

Bob the seal

Tuesday dawned a beautiful day again.  We packed up and then headed out on the road as today we were heading to Applecross.  We didn't quite know what we were letting ourselves into as the last road to the village was an unclassified road - so we weren't sure how we would get on in our huge wide motorhome.  We had to drive down some pretty beautiful roads to get to the village.  Once again we shared the driving, stopping off at various viewpoints at the way.  At one stop, Tom spotted a sea otter and a seal balancing on a rock - he's very good at spotting - I dissed him straight away with the seal, thinking he was looking at a rock, but he was right.  I guess that is a result of my eyesight taking a nose dive this year!  The unclassified road to Applecross was a little hairy - I made Matt drive that bit, but he did very well and luckily there were loads and loads of passing places.  It still took 1hr 20 to drive the 24 miles and most of that was the first 10 miles which were very narrow, very steep and very very bendy.  The boy did good.

We arrived in Applecross campsite around 4pm, set up, had showers and then headed down to the bay  for dinner as we had booked ourselves a table in the one pub.    I had booked a table inside just in case of bad weather, we needn't have worried about that, but it did mean that we were away from the midges - which was a relief.  We decided to spoil ourselves as this would be our one meal out for the holiday - so we all had 3 courses, mainly seafood.  It was good, not amazing, but good and it was very lovely to have some food cooked by someone else and to sit inside and not be bitten by midges.  We even made friends with the people in the table opposite us who were from Eversley.  Unfortunately the pub wasn't taking part in the Help Out to Eat Out scheme, meaning we had to pay £100 for the meal.

Stirling the stag

After dinner we decided to go for a little walk.  Applecross is on the coast, it has a huge bay with pebbles and sand.  From the coast you can see the isles of Rona, Raasay and behind them Skye, so it is a pretty magical place.  We walked to the next hamlet and back again.  On our way back to the campsite we came across 3 huge stags, grazing under a tree.  They seemed quite tame, and weren't fussed that much by us.  Matt got some good shots: we named them Stirling, Steven and Stuart.  We headed back up to the campsite, and shut ourselves in our van away from the midges, played cards and watched the most incredible sunset until bedtime.

Wednesday dawned beautiful again.  It was very very hot today - way hotter than would be expected of the Highlands, even though it was August.  Midges were still around, so we had to keep moving whatever we did.  We decided to go for a walk, we had noticed a footpath sign behind the campsite so followed that and to our surprise came across a recreation of a round house and storage barns, so we had a look around.  They were lovely and cool inside.  We continued on, hoping to find a bird hide as we have a new interest in birds these days.  We found the hide, but it was closed due to Covid.  Oh hum.  We then decided to try to find the local shop which was two hamlets across from Applecross.  This we did.  It was very small.  We were hoping to find lunch in it as it advertised itself as selling sandwiches, no luck but we did find some sausage rolls and pork pies so we had those instead, and took them down to the hamlet where we found another bay to sit and eat.

Applecross beach

After lunch and throwing stones and watching the Tesco man try to find an address driving up and down the road (couldn't quite believe that Tesco would deliver here as it is at least 2 hrs drive to the nearest store - had a look when we got home and they charge £4.50 delivery - a true bargain, as I said the local shop was very small and didn't sell that much, there was no co-op / spar or similar anywhere near, so the Tesco man would be invaluable.  We walked back past the shop on our way back and experienced a very angry lady who was very upset at a motorhome owner for hesitating to park in the very narrow car park.  She was on her horn in seconds and then got out and started ranting at the owners.  Wowzers, I know that there has been a lot of anamosity between locals and tourists everywhere including Ingleton, but I don't know anyone in Ingleton who would have a go at a motorhome owner for that!  They think they are over run with tourists but there weren't anything like the number of visitors that we are getting.  Covid has certainly got everyone nervous!

It was hot, hot, hot, so we retuned to the campsite.  Tom wanted to play cricket, so we did.  But we got hot, so we had an afternoon siesta in the van.  We then played more cricket, got hot again and went for showers to cool down.

We then decided that rather than cook, we would have fish and chips from the caravan on the bay.  On the way down, we found the stags again by the campsite entrance, once again very friendly.  We got to the caravan exactly at the right time, no queue and fish just out of the fryer.  It was the best fish and chips I have had in a long time, so much so that I ate all the batter which is normally unheard of!  Matt came across a bunch of motorbike journalists on a testing assignment and chatted for a while. However, the midges started to attack so before too long we were doing the midge dance again and decided to head back up to the van to escape them and watch yet another lovely sunset whilst playing cards.

Stags on the Beach

Highlanders!

Thursday we were up early as we had to drive to Lockerbie (a good 330 miles).  The first roads were very slow roads - we had to drive back down the unclassified road we arrived on as motorhomes are banned on the only other road out.  This time it was much quicker as it was much quieter.  On the way out of Applecross we came across 7 stags all sat on the beach - wow!  Unfortunately we didn't have anywhere to park, but we got some pics.  They looked magnificent.  Around the corner we came across a herd of Highlanders and were able to stop to get some pics - it was a good day already and barely 9am!  Once we were on A roads again we shared the driving.

Bull!

It was a long old way, but the scenery great and the roads easy so not so bad, just a long way.  We stopped at the Scottish Commando Memorial for lunch in the van and at House of Bruar for tea and a bun.  We eventually arrived in Waterbeck (just outside Lockerbie) at 6pm.  Here we were staying on the drive way of some friends who used to live in Settle.  When I say friends, they were more associates.  Carol and Tony are wildlife photographers, so Matt knew them when they lived in Settle.  I had met Carol for about 5 mins in Country Harvest and neither of us had met Tony.  We needed have worried, they are travellers, they spend a lot of time in South Africa providing photography safaris and were the warmest, most hospitable people.  We were made instantly at home and spent all evening chatting away to them and their B&B guests.  It turned into a lovely evening.  Tom did us proud - he was the only child there but was able to chip into the adult conversation with ease (it was about wildlife and travel - two things he likes).  We finished the evening feeling as if we had known them for years.  What a lovely way to end the holiday.

The master bedroom

Friday we were up early again as we had to get the motorhome back to Melling for 11am.  We drove down the M6 to Meadow Falls where we emptied our grey water and then parked up at home to empty it into the house.  Matt then returned it and picked up our car.  There were no problems, so we got our full deposit back - phew.  The rest of the day was spent clearing up, 3 loads of laundry and chilling out.  The evening saw Tom playing cricket for Ingleton against Netherfield girls.  Once again it was a pleasant evening, but it was windy meaning that the light balls were being thrown all over the place making bowling and batting quite hard.  Also it wasn't just girls on the team, there were boys on it too.  In cricket a girl can play 2 years above the age category, so Under 11 girls means they were playing 13 year old girls.  All very well until you take into consideration that most of the players in Ingleton Under 11s are 9 so that is actually 4 years difference, not 2 years difference.  Needless to say Ingleton lost, but it was still a good evening.

Summer Holidays - Week 3

After the ride

The weather forecast for this week wasn't great!  Monday was looking good so we decided to make a day of it.  Matt suggested a bike ride and Tom requested we went to Gisburn.  So...deep breath and we agreed.  We went before in 2014 but it was a disaster: Tom ended up refusing to ride his bike, I had to drag him crying and his bike and my bike down a long narrow downhill bit with cyclists zooming past me as Matt had gone on ahead - one of the most stressful days out ever!

As I said it was quite a few years ago so it should be better this time round.  It was!  In fact Tom was fine, I was scared and Matt was injured, so Tom did the best out of all of us!

The downhill bit where Tom had his tantrum last time was much longer than I remembered (funnily enough).  Matt did it fine, Tom did it fine and I did it fine but was scared for most of it.  I am not a natural Mountain Biker, and if I hadn't have had lessons with Jill a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have had the slightest idea of what I should do (ie lean back, don't sit down and use your breaks a lot!)  Luckily her training worked and I made it without any drama.  We then had a couple of miles of easy gravel tracks (made my wrists vibrate like mad and made Matt's shoulder which was stiff from cricket feel much worse!) it was much harder work than I expected.   We then had another section of lumps, bumps, wooden bridges etc that we didn't do last time and I surprised myself again by being both more scared than I thought, but also more able than I thought (although my foot went down plenty of times).  We survived and were quite tired, hot and sweaty by the time we got back to the hub.  It had only been 6 miles but it had been 6 quite tough miles.  Luckily the cafe was open and selling ice creams and lollies so we sat down and cooled down.  Then we had a go on the skills loop (I had one go on the blue run, the boys both did multiple runs of the blue and red runs) and then another downhill loopy bit back to where our car was parked - although we over ran somewhat and had to ride back to it.  Anyway it was a success and we may visit it again more frequently.  Guess the only way we can get better is to keep going!

Shower needed!

Tuesday - back to grey and rainy weather.  As a result we did very little.  I was surprised in the morning by Mark Woolly who popped by with some flowers when I was still in my PJs.  He had heard on the grapevine that the school hadn't recognised me and Anne for all our efforts with the PTA over the years. To be honest we weren't expecting to be recognised - it was such a strange year and management had much more pressing problems to sort.  His youngest left last year and he was recognised by the school and felt bad that we hadn't, so he bought us both a bunch of flowers to say thanks.  How lovely is that?  The morning was spent doing the small amount of homework QES had requested, and then the afternoon spent playing Ticket to Ride and Monopoly - I won them all - oops, think Tom may have had a little sulk, he made up for it in the evening though as he beat us in cribbage.

Wednesday - another grey and rainy day.  Spent the morning sorting out chocolate for Gingerbugs with Tom's help, then we went to Knight's Table for lunch (50% off) which was very good and then an afternoon catching up here!  The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow - fingers crossed.

The family Hondas

Thursday - a sunny day - hurray!  The morning was spent in Settle - Matt had to take his little bike for an MOT but it got cancelled at the last minute, however, we still went as Matt wanted to bring the little bike home as we now have the garden furniture out of the garage.

Friday we didn't do that much.  I started getting ready for our Scotland holiday - we are in a rented motorhome, but we are collecting it and heading straight off, so we need to remember everything including bedding etc.  So the day was spent trying to think of what would be needed and making piles, then beginning the packing of the car - including the under boot so we could get as much in as possible because as usual we would have a lot of soft toys with us taking up so much room!  The evening was spent in the sunshine watching Tom play cricket whilst drinking Prosecco - how civilised.  He was against Netherfield boys.  They are the hardest team to beat, and although they tried hard, they still lost by about 20, but when you think about it Netherfield have the whole of Kendal as their catchment area meaning that their team was made up of 11 year olds, whilst ours is one 12 year old, 2 11 year olds and the rest are 9 and below.  So really they didn't do that bad at all.  Certainly was a lovely evening out.

Summer Holidays Week 2

Galloway Princess at Appleby

Monday, it was still raining.  This weather is really getting annoying now.  Still think the government should change the school year so the kids get May / June off as that is when the good weather is these days.  Could then do 2 terms before Xmas and 2 terms afterwards.  So, we didn't do much - played Ticket to Ride in the morning, made up some gingerbread medals for Gingerbugs and played with lego in the afternoon (we are so close to finishing all the models)

Tuesday - the boys went for a ride on the Dales Tourist Train for the day, whilst I stayed at home and did some chocolate work ready for the 'summer rush' at Gingerbugs.

Yes, today was very much a boys day out, so we left money in Ingleton.

All through the summer, a charter train company are running the so-called “Staycation Express” between Appleby and Skipton, using vintage diesel locomotives (37s and 47s) to haul a rake of recently retired first class Intercity coaches. As soon as I read about it, I knew it would be Tom’s sort of thing, so I booked tickets.

We drove to Skipton, stopping only at Keelham Farm Shop to buy ourselves lunch, and then settled ourselves into our big leather reclining seats on the train. Very comfortable too. We left Skipton bang on time, pulled by a class 37 that made a terrific racket as it pulled out. It was very pleasant ambling through the Dales in such comfort. We caught a brief glimpse of a field full of highland cattle as we pa

Tom and 37521 at Skipton

ssed Hellifield, and we managed a brief chat with Grandpa during our short stop at Settle on the way north. There was a trolley serving all sorts of nice-looking snacks, but we learned the disturbing news that the lady who makes the delicious shortbread has retired, leaving us with a bit of a headache as to what we should now consume on journeys to Leeds and Carlisle.

The train was actually pretty full, much fuller than when we’d seen it line side on a few occasions the previous week, so I’m guessing the service has been something of a success. We had about an hour to kill in Appleby, so after we had watched the train pull into the sidings there, we need to cross the road to the Midland Hotel, signing ourselves in like responsible citizens, had a swift half while watching a bit of test cricket on the TV, and then wandered back to the station for the journey south to Skipton. We had a brief chat with Grandpa again, although he told us the sad news that Freddie had died that morning. He was a lovely cat, and will be much missed.

And that was that. We had a very slow drive back to Ingleton thanks to a whole variety of slow vehicles being in front of us, but it was a very pleasant trip, especially given how difficult it is to engage in leisure activities these days.

Wednesday

I had a scan at the hospital in Kendal first thing (the Kendal hospital is the Covid free hospital for the area)  It was eerily quiet - no-one in the corridors at all.  I was called in dead on time and was out 10 minutes later (why can't it always be like that?).  It was just an ultra-sound scan on my side as I've been having a little pain there, and was worried about re-growth of those cysts.  I got the all clear - phew.

I then went to Asda to pick up some bits and pieces.  I realised that I am completely over shopping in a supermarket now.  It was very very quiet, most people were in masks, didn't have to worry about social distancing, but I really didn't find any pleasure in it at all - I much prefer having people do the finding, packing and delivering and now I can't buy school uniform from a supermarket I think my visits will have reduced from 1 or 2 times a year to never!  

Birthday cake!

I was back home by 11, and as it was still dry we decided to get in a quick bike ride whilst we could.   We headed out on the bikes for the Cold Cotes loop - I did the easy loop and the boys did the hard loop. The rest of the day was spent not doing much (we have got much better at doing not much these days - used to not be able to stay at home for a day but we are much more able now).  Pat and Bob came round in the afternoon with presents for the birthday boy, then Tom, Luca and Ethan played at the cricket nets for 2.5 hours then a quick tea before a another long video call with Florrie.  Quite a busy day in the end.

Thursday

Happy Birthday Matt - a spritely 51.  We had presents in bed as is traditional (think he was happy with everything he got), then breakfast and an early lunch before heading out to Rydal (between Ambleside and Grasmere) for a quick romp up  Loughrigg Fell,  a Wainright which was the request of the birthday boy.   We managed to find a parking spot which was quite frankly amazing, got out of the car to discover that it was super muggy.  Just as well it wasn't a high walk, as it was we sweated our way up the hill.  First stop was Rydal Cave which I had heard about - didn't realise how big it was, had stepping stones across the water in the bottom, all very nice.  Bit crowded though.

Grasmere from Loughrigg Fell

Funny, as soon as we got on the path which went up the hill, the crowds disappeared and we had it to ourselves.  It might not have been the tallest of hills, but with the humidity we were pleased it wasn't any higher.  From the top we were rewarded with a wonderful 360 degree view of lakes and mountains, we spent a good half hour just drinking it in - we really are lucky to live so close to scenery like this.  We headed down, dunked our heads in river water to cool down and returned home via The Struggle in time to have showers before heading to The Highway Man for birthday dinner.  They have only just re-opened but they were full and the food was as good as we remember.  Very nice day out by all accounts.

Friday - wowzers at last a sunny day.  In fact it was very very hot.  Too good to be inside, so we headed out again.  Packed a picnic and drove to Malham Tarn to do a short walk (Tom has a cricket match again tonight so didn't want to tire him out too much).  Got a parking space easily (surprised again) and headed out - it really was very warm indeed, but the walk was quite gentle so we were fine.  We found ourselves a lovely view of the cove, all to ourselves so settled down, had our picnic and watched the 'ants' walking along the path and up the steps to the top.

Malham Cove

We saw a Peregrine Falcon diving and hovering looking for prey which was good. We then finished off the circuit back to the car, via a stream to paddle in and cool down.  A perfect walk for such a hot day.  The afternoon was spent lazing around (so watching cricket / sumo / snooker etc) before we headed out to Sedgwick and another cricket game. This time Ingleton WON!  Capital letters because they never win because their team is so under age.  They won by over 50 runs, but mainly because the other team was inexperienced and kept running each other out - felt like Ingleton had a massive advantage this time and that's the first time we have been able to say that!  So we all returned in a good mood.

On the charge

Saturday

Tom had 1:1 cricket training first thing which turned into a bit of a social.  He wasn't due on until 10.45, but the Ellwoods were there at 9am so we headed over and Tom basically got to play cricket from 9am to 11.30am with various friends as well as have his 1:1 training.  Turned out quite a social morning (luckily most of the cricket parents are nice parents).  After lunch the boys decided to head out on their bikes to do the Chapel le Dale route which is up a really tough steep hill - I didn't even attempt to do it - deciding to do the Cold Cotes loop instead - I was very happy with that.  Afternoon was spent packing choccies whilst the boys watched the FA Cup final.

Sunday

Tom and I headed over to Bentham in the morning to pay tennis with the Ellwood boys.  Started off a little awkward with 3 boys and Harry and Charlie arguing and Tom ignoring them but in the end they managed to find a way to play together in a sort of harmony.  Tom did fine, considering he had never played tennis before.  They play half court tennis which is in fact really difficult as you have to mind the way you hit the ball as it is very easy to over hit it.  In the afternoon we watched Matt play cricket for Ingleton, they lost but Matt did fine - got 3 wickets so he was happy.  And that was that, another week to tick off.

Summer Holidays - Week 1

The Staycation Express

So it is officially the summer holidays and lockdown has more or less eased now. Just a couple of things left to re-open (swimming pools, spas etc). Social distancing has more or less ended - people just don't touch each other anymore. Life goes on, the only major change to life is that we will have to wear masks in shops from Friday onwards.

We had our first house guest on Monday, Jude came to stay. I spent most of the morning cleaning and disinfecting - the problem with not having any house guests for ages is that we don't tidy / clean as much as we probably should. If no-one is coming in, there is no pressure to be tidy. None of us are naturally tidy. Whilst I was tidying, the boys headed up to Ribblehead to see a new tourist train which is using a 37 - Tom's favourite.

Fine horns

The view from Storrs

Jude arrived at 2.30, we headed up to Ribblehead for a walk to get some fresh air and to train spot (of course). The evening was then spent on the cricket field for junior cricket practise which went really well - loads of children turned up (few are going on holiday this year). Everyone was as friendly as usual - no booze this time!)

Tuesday we did a quick circuit of the Cheese Press stones with Jude, had bacon butties outside at home in the sunshine. Jude then headed home. Tom went down to the pump track but came home immediately too many people and too many teenagers, so Tom and I went for a Cold Cotes cycle ride instead. In the evening the boys went back up to Ribblehead to watch the train again?!

Wednesday we spent the day with Anne and Lauren. We made a packed lunch and then headed over, we then got in one car (as I said social distancing is more or less over now - I will share cars etc with people I trust but only people I trust) and headed over to Clapham. We then walked to Wash Dubs above Austwick where we had our picnic and the kids played in the river (both of them fell in!) it then started to rain so we walked back. Was a lovely day - Lauren and Tom aren't best friends but they happily spent time with each other.

Thursday - it rained all day. I got Tom to make tea: Spaghetti Bolognaise. It took him an age to chop up all the veg but he did it 100% himself and it was tasty. Anything not made by myself is a dream!

Friday we headed to Goat Gap for lunch again - become a 'thing' now - it is much easier to have a big lunch and small tea on a Friday with a cricket match at 6.30 - especially as they all take place in the Lakes so take a while to get to (taking into consideration the heavier than normal traffic on a Friday).

Tom on the attack

Tom, Luca and Ethan then met up on the cricket field for some nets practise in the afternoon, before we headed to Netherfield for their first cricket match of the year. Netherfield are the team to beat because they are the Kendal team - so have a much bigger population to draw on. Basically they have a full team of children who are 11, whilst the Ingleton team has 1 x 12 year old, 2 x 11 year olds and the rest are 9 years and below - so never a fair contest. However, saying that they only lost by 20 runs, so they could be proud. Tom was captain for the match and did a pretty good job of organising them all when fielding. He did good with bowling and batting. In fact the whole team did really well considering there has been barely any practice at all. Oh and today face masks became mandatory in shops etc.

Saturday we had a slow morning - it was yet another grey day. We had a take out lunch from Bernies (trying to support different local business) and then we headed to Helwith Bridge where we did a short walk around the quarry and finished off on the riverside terrace for a pint - very nice too, made even better as the tourist train trundled past us.

Herdy at Helwith Bridge

Sunday, another rainy day, so we had another slow morning (we are getting good at these) and then headed to Keelham for Sunday lunch. Very nice it was too. We also went shopping and couldn't quite believe how empty Keelham was - normally it is packed with people, but it was pretty much empty, meaning it was a pleasant experience. Wearing masks in shops feels better too - don't feel so exposed as before and pretty much everyone was adhering which was good to see. The rain cleared up on our return to Ingleton and as we were all feeling stuffed (we all had 2 courses) we went for a quick once around Storrs Common to try to get digesting...

Week 17

This was the last week of school.  We have been winding down for weeks now there has been no pressure to do any work, but this week Mrs Clements didn't set much at all - she just set 3 competitions: 1: draw a summer themed picture (not a chance), 2: write a summer themed poem (not really Tom's thing), 3: bake a summer themed cake (no contest - it will have to be that!) 

It stated that the entry had to be 100% the child's own work, the norm in these competitions is that the mums do it and enter it as their kid's effort.  I have never done that so Tom has always entered his own work, then we get to see the other entrants and see that there are 'professional' looking entries which have obviously never been near a child's hand!  It's impossible to stop, it is always going to be the case, but at least Tom can be proud of his efforts.  However, he was making and decorating a cake with fondant which meant that I had very itchy hands.  I directed but didn't do anything.  I showed him how to do things, then destroyed whatever it was so there wasn't any of my work for him to use.  I then took photos of every stage so it could be seen that Tom did it all.  He used past cakes of mine as inspiration but it was 100% his own work.  It took him 4 hours to decorate it and he stayed focus throughout.  He didn't win, but the cake that won was entered by a pupil who has a history of entering perfectly crafted items throughout their school career (and as a result has won pretty much everything).  Tom was proud of himself and rightly so - he was a winner in our eyes. 

Tom with Mrs. Clements and Mrs. Denby

Monday afternoon we went round to see Luca, he had some second hand school uniform for us.  They played cricket for the afternoon together at Burton astro turf.

Tuesday we had the Year 6 leavers picnic.  Normally the school do this all singing all dancing leavers assembly which is constructed to make everyone in attendance cry, that couldn't happen this year, so the school organised a picnic instead, inviting all parents but no siblings.  It was lovely, a relaxed atmosphere, everyone got on, the children played (it was the first time the whole class had been together since March) and the rain stayed away.  It was supposed to be for 45 mins, but think we were there for 1.5hrs (it was always going to overrun).  At the end, Mrs Clements did a lovely speech about the class and she presented them with a handmade brass keyring with their names and IPS on it (she used to be a blacksmith) and a booklet of memories - all tailor made for each child.  We gave Mrs Clements and Mrs Denby (her TA) some presents too.  We then got a lovely thank you email.  It was a nice way to end their time at the school, it was nice to leave with smiles and finally I felt some closure - that he had actually left school.  Found myself ordering all bits of QES uniform I haven't been able to get hold of.

The Year 6 boys

Wednesday we finally heard from QES with a form name and tutor for next year.  To be honest, I haven't been too impressed with the communications from QES.  They close this Friday and we don't know yet what day they are due back, if they are wearing uniform, how on earth they find where they are going to on day one when they haven't had an induction so don't know where their classroom is - etc etc.  Settle got all that info last week.  Also, every year the children have been able to say who they want to be in class with but that was taken from them as well, once again Settle managed to do this but QES didn't!  I was a bit on edge about it all, and then when the forms came through there was no indication as to who everyone is with, so the mum grapevine had to get going to find out who was with who.  Took a day, but Tom is in with Matthew from IPS.  He wanted to be with Caitlin but as usual the assumption is that boys want to be in with boys and girls with girls!  Out of the boys, Tom said Matthew was best.
There will be 20 something other children as well in his form, so he doesn't have to stick with him.  I've been asking around re other children who don't go to IPS, most aren't in Tom's class (there are 8 forms in total - so not surprising), however, I did find out that the other Gingerbug owner, Clare's youngest son, Isaac, is in Tom's form.  He lives in Ingleton but goes to Leck School - I didn't know of his existence until about 2 months ago.  We are going to get them together during the holidays so that they both know another friendly face when they arrive.  Anyway, his form tutor is Mrs Armitstead, she teaches French and Spanish, apparently form tutors do more than just take the register these days, they actually take an active interest in each child and are their first point of contact to resolve any problems.  The children will get taught in these forms (mixed ability) for the first year and then streaming will start to occur (normally they get taught in streams for English and Maths in the first year - but because there haven't been any SATS or even any formal teaching since March they can't do this this year)

Thursday - the leavers hoodies finally arrived!  Lots of excitement, we went up to school to collect them and gave Mrs Clements hers - she was overjoyed by it - never seen her so animated!  We finally got joining information from QES, they are starting on a later date than advertised (thought that might be the case).  Still not sure about buses etc, but they are going to place staff at selected entrances so they can direct children in to where they need to go (normally the children spend 2 days at school in the summer term so they get to meet others in their form, their form tutor, find their way around and know where their classroom is).  On the first day it is just going to be Year 7 at school, the second day Year 7 & Year 12 and then after that the full school.  Each year is its own bubble and given an area of the school that they can be in.  Teachers will come to them rather than they go to teachers.  Not sure what happens re science, art, home economics, design and technology etc as they all need specialised rooms.

Hoodie models

Thursday evening was spent at Meadow Falls, we always said to the Holmans that when they were allowed to open again, we would book a pod with them.  This was the first decent day to do so.  We booked the nicest pod and took our bbq and some lovely Cornvale produce with us for tea along with some potato salad and regular salad I made earlier, oh and some beer and wine.  We had a lovely evening, sat by the fire pit, chatting and watching the kids entertain us.  Didn't get to bed until very late and we slept well.  In true Holman fashion, they wouldn't let us pay them, so we had to go home the next day, look up on the website how much the pod cost, then send Tom in with an envelope of cash so we could pay them!  We like camping there, not far to get to / come home, really lovely site, very clean and the owners are a good laugh.  

Tom and Luca rehydrating

Friday I spent most of the day at home whilst lots of excited children arrived to collect their hoodies.  We went out for lunch at Goat Gap which was very lovely once again (had to queue in the rain but it was worth it) Luckily the rain cleared in time for cricket so we had another lovely gathering with some prosecco and cider (turns out that Tom likes Bulmers cider!) whilst the boys were trained.  

Then at 7.30 I headed over to Janine's for a gathering around a fire for her birthday.  It rained so we sat outside under umbrellas being stoically northern.  So, two parties in one night - was feeling very normal!

Saturday - Tom was supposed to be playing cricket but it rained so it got washed off.  Looking at the radar, the Lake District was better off, so we headed over to Windermere and Gummers How for a walk.  Spent a pleasant half an hour watching kestrels diving for food on the hills. We then returned to a sunny Ingleton.

Sunday, Matt was playing cricket for Ingleton in Ingleton so we stayed put.  It was a lovely sunny day, and the village got completely rammed, when I say rammed, I mean rammed - I couldn't even let Tom cross the road by himself it was so dangerous.  People who have lived here all their lives said that they had never seen the place so busy.  Not sure what they were all doing - can't imagine it was much fun to go round the waterfalls or up Ingleborough though.  I quickly nipped out in the morning to get some mushrooms from the co-op (Matt playing cricket means mushroom pasta for me and Tom for tea) before the village got busy.  We then spent most of the afternoon watching the cricket (they won with no bother - so we had a happy Daddy!)

Week 16

Got a bit behind again - been busy with things and also suffering from emotional roller coaster that is you only child leaving Primary school.

So week 16 - saw Tom deciding to do a poster about an animal in the rainforest and maths.  He chose a Hornbill for the poster.  Now Tom is the first to admit that he isn't a great artist, so drawing a hornbill wasn't going to be an option.  We could have printed one out, but I wanted Tom to be able to do something artistic, so we found a good vector image of a hornbill and used it to trace and colour in.  Get this - Tom has never done tracing before?!  I used to trace everything as a kid, I LOVED Asterix and used to trace him and his friends all the time.  So I spent one morning showing him how to trace (apparently school doesn't allow them to do it because they think children should develop their freehand skills - I think tracing is a very necessary skill - I wouldn't be able to do half of my cakes if I didn't trace logos / images etc etc).  He was pleased with the outcome and within an hour we had a lovely looking Hornbill ready to be placed in the centre of his poster.  He then spent a long time researching hornbills on the internet and found some interesting facts.  We then filled the poster with vector images of rainforest images.  

Maths was area and perimeter which Tom aced.  I didn't need to help him at all.

On Tuesday, Tom was supposed to have a Year 6 leavers picnic, but it rained all day so it was postponed to next week.

The rest of the week was 'normal'.  We did a Storrs walk on the Tuesday evening.  Wednesday we spent the afternoon at Anne's with Nicky and Florrie so the kids could do their virtual sports day.  Was a really lovely afternoon.  Weather was ok, kids got on really well and we adults sat down whilst the kids played.  We ended up inside Anne's kitchen as it was so windy.  Felt very normal, sat around kitchen table gossiping whilst kids played outside. The most normal we have been in 16 weeks.  Came home very relaxed and chilled. 

Blue tit

Thursday saw us up at Ribblehead meeting up with the Raddas again for an evening walk.  We went through a nature reserve which we had been in before, but had got a little lost in.  Was dense vegetation which normally would set me and Tom off, but we were both ok - is hayfever on the way out?  I hope so.  Anyway we had a lovely evening, Rebecca (as usual) was a bit of a motormouth again which always makes us giggle and we saw a deer which is always a bonus.

Windermere steamer

Friday saw Tom have his first cricket training of the season.  They are doing 1:1 30 minute sessions.  We had a lovely time - as we know all the cricket crowd quite well, there are 6 benches overlooking the field so we each had a bench each and we chatted - lots to catch up on.  The training was all very clinical - sanitise hands here, coach wearing gloves, only the trainer can hold the ball, 10 mins between kids to sanitise everything etc etc.  The kids not being trained were further over on the field playing cricket together not following the strict rules!  Should you stop the kids playing?  The coaches were fine with it - they would prefer the kids play as much cricket as possible, just that they are bound by strict rules as they are official coaches.  It does sort of make a mockery of the whole thing though!

Packhorse bridge

Saturday we fled Ingleton which was over-run with tourists and headed to the far side of Windermere.  We decided to do a short walk around Far Sawrey walk, which is on the mini peninsula from which the car ferry departs.  It was a short walk because we were all worried about hayfever, but once again both Tom and I were fine.  It was only a 3 mile walk but it took us about 3 hours as we had lots of stops en route.  It was a lovely walk, taking in woodland, lake edge (loads of wild campers) and then we came across a National Trust property which not only was free but had an open courtyard with a cafe.  A CAFE, we couldn't resist, we were lucky, they were about to close.  Matt went in and ordered some drinks and cakes and boy they tasted amazing.

Tom and Florrie

Anything not cooked by me tastes amazing at the moment.  We then looked around the property, Claife Viewing Station which is the remains of what was a lovely building where the well-off used to go for dances and balls.  Just a couple of walls and stained glass windows remain now.   We looked around then headed back to the car.  Now, we had parked the car, next door to a pub.  On returning, we had a look at the garden, there were some empty tables...it seemed rude not to support it.  The boys secured a table, I went in and got the drinks.  No-one asked for contact details?  But the server was wearing a visor and everyone was observing social distancing, so it felt fine.  We then decided to head to the car ferry to go back.  We timed it perfectly and only had to wait about a minute.  All the staff were wearing face masks and pretty much all foot passengers were wearing them too - those who had forgotten / been caught out put their heads into their jumpers in an effort to comply.  As we were in a car we didn't need to (I have a bag of disposable masks in the car in case we get caught out somewhere - don't fit Tom though!).  Got home exhausted, what a lot of new experiences for a day!

Sunday, we met up with the Wilkinsons for a walk around Thorns, taking in the packhorse bridge etc.  It was a lovely sunny day and once again we were glad to get out of Ingleton - as it was packed again.  Ribblehead was packed too, but the Raddas were happy for us to use their driveway so we did and we didn't meet anyone else on our walk - oh it is so good to know these little gems that are off the beaten track.  We had a lovely time looking around and no mad woman this time, which meant that we could take our time.  The Wilkinsons hadn't been there before and I think really enjoyed it.  They then came back to our house and we had the whole awkward situation with the house - I had cleaned and disinfected it incase they wanted to come in, but didn't want to make them come in, so gave them the option, but then of course they didn't want to offend / put us out so in the end they went round the back to the garden and we sat outside eating Tom's brownie (which he made in the morning) and drinking cold drinks whilst enjoying the sun.  It was a good afternoon with new friends thanks to Tom and Florrie's lockdown blossoming friendship.