Despite these sunny photos, the summer of 23 has been pretty grey and wet and the final days of the holiday were again huddled under umbrellas. This summer I used a one page holiday planner to help give us focus and organisation and really appreciated this as it gave me time to fit in all i wanted to do. With the exception of one day during the weeks, we had plans, some big, some small every day.

On our first day back from holidays, my son and I enjoyed a coffee with his old primary school TA, they were paired up for all his primary years and there still remains a very strong bond. When our son started school. he was a tiny little dot, due to being a summer baby and a development delay because of a really tough start to life. Today he towered over his TA in a photo we took. He didn’t stop talking, again he spoke very little when he started school and hearing him describe his school, friends, football was wonderful for us all. I am so grateful we have kept in touch and that his TA gets to see the impact of all her hard work over many years on a young person’s life.

This summer has been the one of £2 bus fares and extra routes and we have enjoyed lots of days out. We live in such a rural location that we get lots of value from the £2 fare, none of our trips have been less than an hour’s travel time. Pre the £2 fare, a single was £5 with no return reductions, so at £10 per adult, public transport was prohibitive in cost. The routes we have taken this summer are all open top buses as they are notable for their scenery. We have seen some stunning views and visited lovely local places. Our most regular has been to the big town but this week, we went to a local beauty spot where after a walk to a beach for lunch, we ended up in the bar and sipping on our drinks in warm sunshine and nibbling on chips on the beach. Life is all about simple pleasures.

Later on this week, after the first home football game of the season , we met my parents at a midway point for them to take the children for a couple of nights. This was the first time in 13 years that we had a night away from the children. In all their time with us, residentials, family visits, sleepovers, cub camps etc.. we have always had at least one child with us and it felt so odd (but also rather nice) to be a couple. As it was bank holiday weekend, we had simple plans. We popped into a ‘big’ town on our way back from the rendezvous point to purchase school uniforms and then picked up fresh ingredients to make a special dinner (we had looked for a restaurant but were left uninspired by the menus so headed home) Even prepping dinner relaxing to some music and the luxury of a late meal seemed exciting! The logistics of the final week of the holiday meant that I had to go and stay with my parents for the final night as we had a 7am departure for our next adventure. Rather than rush down, I went to Clark’s Village on the way. However it wasn’t quite the occasion I had hoped for, the weather was awful and the stock in the shops was summer clothes when I was looking for more seasonal attire. However I did like the Lindt and Haribo shops and bought some treats for supper for us all. I also popped in the Emma Bridgewater shop, and got a bowl for Halloween, which I felt showed remarkable restraint! I will return to Clark’s village, its a lovely setting, just not for me on the day. Our early start was to allow me to get the children to an adventure day near home, kindly organised and financed by the Masons. Whilst my son is always up for action and adventure, my daughter was more hesitant, however they both loved the day and could not stop talking about all the activities they had done and the people they had met. I am always so grateful for the time and effort given by members of he community to provide amazing opportunities for young people.

This summer has been one in which we have had to adapt to the weather. Initially the last day of my holidays (I went back to school on a Friday?) was to be spent at the air festival but the weather was so poor we postponed this to the weekend and headed to the cinema. We saw the film Gran Turismo and it was excellent, I enjoyed the true story. This was a great decision as when we headed to the air festival (of course on the £2 bus) on Saturday the weather was amazing and we had a spectacular day. I always get great pride when I see a spitfire flying wondering if that was one my Gramps had worked on. There was such a variety of aircraft flying and there was so much to do on the beach and prom too, a prefect finale to out holiday.

Due to the change in my job, this was the first time in nearly 20 years I had six weeks summer holiday (in my previous job we got the same 13 weeks’ holiday but more equally shared) It was also the first (and likely, only) time that all four of us had all the time off together. It was the coldest, wettest summer for many years but amazingly on the days when we had outdoor plans the weather was perfect. We had great days out and I really enjoyed exploring North Wales and the North West in our holiday. There are so many lovely memories of our holiday but my favourite times include my 50th birthday breakfast and trip to the pier, Liverpool – the Beatles bus tour, Ferris wheel, the boys joy at Anfield, the Blackpool Tower and Pleasure Beach, a cycle ride in North Wales, the Lowry Collection, the Fashion museum and Air festival. Summer 2023, you may have been soggy but you were fun.