Category: Days Out

At the end of the school term, a flyer came home advertising a local Wildlife Trust day, it looked interesting so was pinned to the noticeboard as a possibility for today.  With no plans other then to go out for a long walk we headed to the Wildlife day and what a day it turned out to be.  I was expecting a few planned walks but there was a wealth of activities available.  We walked first, participating in the family walk, although there were 6 and 13 mile options too.  Our guide was not simply a route but it detailed the animals, birds and plants we might see and provided an interesting commentary to the walk.  When we returned to the base there were lots of fantastic nature activities for the children to do, they made hedgehogs from sticks, berries and clay, a windmill from paper and watched a highly entertaining puppet show which really explored the art of story telling, I was rapt in the tale and the children sat enthralled and amazed, happily joining in with the story.  It was such a lovely experience and a perfect way to end the school holidays.

Today was one of those impromptu days which ends up just perfectly.  Last week, I was thinking of an old friend who recently lost her Dad after a long illness.  Sadly these days, we are no longer living around the corner from each other and it is now more than a 100 mile difference between our homes, yet I really wanted to see her and let her know I was thinking of her.   So, I typed out a quick email along the lines of I know its unlikely and really short notice but do you fancy meeting up during the holidays  and amazingly today we managed it.  It was wonderful to see her and her two boys, how did us teenage girls manage to mature into mothers?  In the nicest possible way, thirty years later we still seem to have the same friendship we shared as teenagers, no matter how much time has passed I feel relaxed and myself in her company.

We chose a venue half way for both of us, a fantastic motor museum and after the initial shyness and hesitation the children got on brilliantly and played happily whilst we were able to catch up.  The museum was one of the best I have visited with the children, there were lots of activities for them to try, brass rubbings of the cars, motor bikes and cars to sit in, spray painting a mini and an Easter bunny hunt which meant they had to really carefully look around the exhibits.  There was also a really impressive outdoor play area and with the perfect weather today was one of those really happy days.

Sadly we don’t have a permanent ice rink in our neighbouring towns and cities, but one of the newer Christmas traditions has seen a rise in temporary rinks to allow ice skating over the festive season.  Whilst most of these are outside and located near Christmas markets, the one local to us is inside at a large conference centre and rather than closing at the New Year, remains open until the end of the February half term holiday.  This gave us an ideal opportunity today to introduce the children to ice skating in a quieter session.  I love ice skating, from my childhood memories of Torvill and Dean dancing the Bolero to the best  student job I ever had as a receptionist at our now demolished ice rink, ice skating has always seemed a special activity.  Today’s visit to the ice rink only emphasised my delight for the sport.  The hall with the rink has been decorated beautifully, blue lights sparkle against the snow white ice and a great play list only enhances the experience.  The little ones took their first tentative steps in the mini rink and supported ably by the penguins (such cool names including Barry and Mark) they were soon whizzing around the ice, I think Daddy could have done with a penguin too as he clung to the side, adults don’t have the fearlessness that young children possess.   Once our confidence and skills grew we progressed to the main rink, which was lovely to skate around.  Our session was for an hour and I was so impressed by the children’s enthusiasm and interest in ice skating, nobody noticed the time and we were all a little sad to come off,  full of ideas of what we would try next time.

After the New Year’s Eve revellers have all returned home, January is a ghostly month in our town.  Many shops and businesses shut for the month or only open a few days a week or with much reduced hours.  It is essential to plan shopping for daylight hours in January!  The town is full of road closures too as the authorities choose our quietest month for essential works. It is a quiet and eerie month.  However among all the hush and stillness, the local drama company put on the annual pantomime which provides much needed laughter and sparkle.  This afternoon, Little Miss and I went to the pantomime which this year is Cinderella.  It is amazing how a small town like ours can put on such a professional and quality show purely from talented volunteers.  It is not simply the actors who are talented, the scenery, lights, sound, costumes were all stunning, Cinderella’s carriage was so breathtakingly beautiful and it was clear to see how much work had gone into it, yet it was only on stage for minutes.  The level of attention to detail was so impressive in all areas of the show.  The play itself was excellent, a traditional pantomime full of humour, songs, witty asides and lots of audience participation and a perfect way to spend a Winter’s afternoon at the theatre.  I hope that as the children get older they will participate in some way to the richness of our community life, clubs, societies and activities are so integral to our town.

I love the simple pleasures in life and today was one of those fun activities which brought us all joy.  We decided on a walk around town, an unusual route for us as we normally explore the local countryside or beach.  However this route meant we were able to visit two play parks and finish off at the station café for coffee and cake.  The highlight of the walk was searching for conkers at one of the parks, we met friends here too so there was a nice social element too.  Collecting conkers from Horse Chestnut trees is a highlight of Autumn, even before children I would pocket the odd conker on walks.  I love the deep colour, the beautiful patterns on the fruit and the childhood memories of conkers games.  Well perhaps it was more the memories of trying to make a hole in the conker to thread through string and various suggestions on how to make them stronger, baked in the oven, soaked in vinegar etc..  It seemed that despite all the preparation, games of conkers were over pretty quickly with one spot on hit smashing the conker.  Today we didn’t use the conkers to play a game, simply using them for decoration and keeping some nice ones for painting in the coming weeks.  Little Miss did distribute conkers around the house, having heard the old wives tale that they scare away spiders, I hope she won’t be disappointed when our little friends scuttle around the house.

Last Sunday, I spent much of my marshalling time looking down on a medieval castle.  It is a stunning ruin and one which defines the local area, its on the main road out of our town and I am always bewitched by its beauty, I believe it looks completely different every time I see it, different angles, different coloured skies etc.. Despite having such an impact we rarely visit the castle, we are often close by and enjoy views of it on various walks but its rare that we go in to appreciate the beauty and history of the site.  However, today we were thinking of a family trip and given the excellent weather and quieter tourist period decided it was a great opportunity to visit.

I was really pleased we visited as it was a fantastic trip, there were lots of new features.  We followed a nature trail which led to a natural, recycled play area beautifully set off by a stream with stepping stones, the children loved this and I really appreciate a play area which complements its environment.  In the castle, there were lots of activities for children, there was a castle quest where the children found 6 shields and answered questions on the information given, they received medals for this task and are so proud of them, they’ve both gone to bed wearing the medals and I’ve promised they can take them into school tomorrow to show their teachers.  They were also given a booklet which allowed them to make rubbings of key pictures around the castle, another really enjoyable activity.  Another interesting addition was market stalls showing arts and crafts of the time and aspects of everyday life.  Little Man made a bee line for the soldier with his wooden gun and was fascinated how it worked, he also showed great enthusiasm for the cannon.  To finish the morning we stopped at the castle café which must be one of the prettiest tea shops in the country, an old country cottage with a garden filled with British flowers and a menu reflecting local produce and specialities.

Each weekend we always make time for a family treat, whether it be a walk, trip to a local attraction or simply quality time together in the garden. Time together is so precious and creates those warm, fuzzy moments.

 

Whilst many neighbourhoods may have a dog or cat home, we are rather different and have a monkey sanctuary in our community.  It is an amazing facility, one man’s dream and vision to rescue and nurture primates subjected to cruelty and exploitation.  By each enclosure there are introductions to the animals with their names, characteristics and history.  Their stories can make for difficult reading as you read of animals in small crates found in labs for testing, used as a prop for tourist photos, locked away as a pet in appalling conditions, you do question people’s humanity until you realise the teams of people rescuing and looking after these animals, I do believe that the good guys outnumber the bad guys and there is evidence at the sanctuary that education and communication are changing attitudes and the living conditions of animals.  Personally I am uncomfortable with the concept of a zoo with cages yet this is my compromise as I know that its purpose is not to entertain the public but simply as a rehabilitation centre which attracts visitors.  In their literature, the centre makes no apology for the mix of animals, arguing that it reacts to need and not a paying pubic.

The Monkey centre is a great day out.  I find it fascinating to observe the primates and the grounds are lovely to walk around.  It caters really well for children and has a number of play parks, we enjoyed the ape park today, so much climbing and scrambling in nets.  I hope that by our frequent visits the children will develop an awareness of animal cruelty and proactively oppose such practices.

 

The last few days have been turning more autumnal; cooler days peppered with heavy rain showers.  As this week coincides with the end of the school Summer holidays it has seemed there has been a definite shift of season.  However as one last treat of Summer, we have had a rare hot and sunny day today, one last hurrah, the perfect day to go to the Air Show. 

There was a fantastic atmosphere at the festival, it felt like everyone was enjoying the bonus Summer day and the planes on display were spectacular.  I have seen the Red Arrows many times before and the show is always amazing but to watch them whilst paddling in the shimmering sea just felt a little bit special.  No matter how many times I watch their stunts, the Red Arrows always look so fresh and slick and I always have to look through the fingers covering my eyes when they have their ‘near misses.’

In addition to the Red Arrows, there were lots more aviation opportunities at the festival.  We went inside a grounded Chinook helicopter and had a good look around, the children went into the cockpit and then imagined parachuting out the back.  There was also another excellent acrobatic display but for me the most moving spectacle was the fly past of a Lancaster Bomber and a Spitfire, planes with so much history and tradition.  The soundtrack only added to the event and it felt emotional and poignant, a privilege to see such important planes. 

Today really was the perfect end to the Summer holidays, a happy family day. 

Today was one of those rare days this holiday where we had no plans.  Its a nice feeling sometimes just to see where the day takes you and after some household chores, we decided on a trip to the skate park.  This necessitated that our first job was to fix Little Man’s scooter, it only needed a few adjustments and a screw to be tightened and once I had found the correct tool it was quickly done but to my son my skills brought me near super hero status.  It’s refreshing to play super hero Mummy rather than firm but fair Mummy!  On arrival at the skate park, there was great excitement all round, for the children two new jumps have been installed and for me, it finally has a bench, no more sitting on the tarmac.  When you visit the park as often as we do, the bench is a big thing; comfortable seating and I now have a great view of all the park, rather than having to jump up and down as I used to so I could see the children behind the jumps etc..

The park was empty when we arrived so lots of time and space to play, try a few tricks and generally act cool. No matter what the age, it appears you need a bit of a swagger to walk into a skate park.  After a while, a friend of Little Man scooted in too and with his siblings and my two they all had a fantastic time riding, jumping and twirling.  It was so nice to enjoy a relaxed chat with their Mum, she is just such a happy, positive and bubbly person and you can’t help but feel inspired and excited about life.  As we left the skate park, the children a little more practiced with their riding skills, me, happy and refreshed, what more can you ask for from a morning?