Star Trail

December 10th, 2012

Christine was off to Germany for a conference on Sunday so I decided to take the children to Mottisfont to do this season’s attraction: the star trail. It had taken us so long to get out of the house that we had start with lunch though. Emma went for the bacon in a roll and Duncan the burger in the bun. That was exactly what they got – no frills – but it all got eaten and no-one seemed to complain (perhaps that was down to the chocolate brownie that followed).

We then made our way round the sculptures on the trail (with the occasional detour for impromptu toilet stops). Emma was remarkably good at following the map so perhaps the orienteering is sinking in and both children enjoyed plotting the constellation on their trail guide and the craft activity. One large star (the sun) even came out for the last hour we were there although I’m not sure it justified Duncan’s decision to dispense with his coat.

The visit was punctuated with calls from Christine whose flight had been cancelled due to snow, its replacement postponed, and then the replacement also cancelled. The Lufthansa check-in desk closed before she’d reached the front of the queue of people trying to rebook for the following day and she eventually arrived back home after midnight having spent the whole day at Heathrow.

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Blue at Matley

December 10th, 2012

On Saturday we went to the club’s local event at Matley on the outskirts of Lyndhurst. I went out first on the blue and got off to a bad start, wasting nearly four minutes on the first control. I’d failed to appreciate that, although a nice example of runnable New Forest terrain, unlike most events, it did also require a degree of navigation. I wasted a bit more time at 7 and 9 before I settled in to a reasonable rhythm for the rest of the course. Perhaps not surprising though that I was nearly six minutes down on the winning time and only just added of Christine in the results. I then took over from Christine who was making slow going on the yellow course with the children (taking bikes round did not make for faster progress!) All in all a very enjoyable event and we even picked up a Christmas tree in Ashurst on our way home (we bought it – we didn’t just dig one up in the forest!).

20121208 Matley Blue GPX

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Ho Ho Ho

December 10th, 2012

Friday was the annual pilgrimage to the clubhouse at work to see Father Christmas. Emma was fairly sure that this was just some man dressed up but did periodically have to check with me that we weren’t going to see the real Father Christmas! We timed our arrival for a short queue and, although short, it wasn’t moving all that quickly. The children were in good spirits though and bore the wait well.

When the time came, the children were as wary of strange men in fake beards as they should be! Emma received a book (London – See Inside) which was a welcome gift. I’m withholding judgement on Duncan’s Farm Carpet Croquet (it was at least in a large box)! The DJ was winding up as we arrived in the hall so with mince pie and mulled wine consumed, we made for a quick getaway.

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Proctor wedding

November 7th, 2012

From Monmouth, we relocated to Buckland Hall for the wedding of our university, orienteering friend and one time IBMer Hedley Proctor to Lisa Dawe. Buckland is a suitably imposing country house on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and the following morning we woke to beautiful views across the River Usk to the snow topped hills beyond. In keeping with the bride and groom, the hall is a vegetarian establishment. Thankfully it was vegetarian food done well and we were well catered for throughout the weekend.

As best man, I was privy to the big secret for the weekend. The rings would be delivered to me during the ceremony by barn owl! The owl had its own plans once freed of the rings and took a tour of the room, taking in the photographer’s head amongst other stops. After the photos, we were then treated to a display outside included the owl, a hawk and a falcon courtesy of Hawksdrift. I particularly enjoyed the part where Hedley was chased down by one of the birds. There was, of course, the small matter of a speech to give as well. It seemed to go reasonably well although it remains to be seen whether Hedley will talk to me again!

Hedley and Lisa made a lovely couple and we wish them the best for their future life together.

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Family fun at half term

November 7th, 2012

It was half term last week and we started by heading down to Cornwall to see our new niece: Isla Ashton. The journey down was as slow as you’d expect at the start of the school holidays. We were staying at the nearby Premier Inn to give Ian and Sarah a bit more space. We dumped our bags there and headed over for a Halloween party which the children enjoyed immensely. Emma particularly enjoyed ‘pass the pumpkin’ (anyone would think she didn’t get sweets at home) and the doughnut on a string competition! It was great to meet Isla although, at only three weeks there wasn’t much interaction. I’d forgotten how light young babies are, until you’ve held them for more than five minutes!

Unfortunately Duncan was then sick in the night (nothing to do with the doughnuts – he hadn’t eaten any!) and proceeded to sleep for almost the entirety of the next day. In the morning, Emma and I went swimming with Ian and Megan and then, in the afternoon, Christine went out with them on their bikes. Duncan rallied at dinner time, shortly after we hadn’t ordered him any!

On Monday, we headed to the beach at Porthtowan in the morning. In the afternoon, as the rain arrived we headed in Truro and, whilst I went shopping, the others went to see The Enormous Turnip at the Hall for Cornwall theatre which was a hit with the children.

Duncan was sick again that night but ate his breakfast. Still, we decided not to risk the 45 minute drive over to the Eden Project. Instead, we walked/scooted to the local garden centre/pet shop/Xmas decoration outlet. After lunch, we ventured a bit further to Heartlands. There was a slightly bizarre exhibition in the art centre with stalls from lots of local health providers/charities all seemingly running activities completely unrelated to their usual work. For example, the children potted up some bulbs with a voluntary services organisation! The massive adventure playground certainly went down well even if it was busy.

By Wednesday it was time to move on. We dropped Christine off at Exeter St Davids (she was going in to work on Thursday) and continued on to Monmouth to spend the next couple of days with the in-laws. We had a fun day out in Pontypool on the Thursday. The location was selected by hospital appointment but we then went swimming and for a stroll around Pontypool Park in the sunshine. Friday was freezing but thankfully the rain moved on as we took the children out for a go on their bikes. Duncan wasn’t in the mood but Emma finally got the hang of getting herself moving. I finally went for a run before lunch as the sun was shining and then Sue took the children to the playground whilst I did some shopping. Christine was reunited with us before the next step of our journey…

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On your bike

October 17th, 2012

On Saturday, after a bit of indecision, we finally decided that we’d go to the orienteering at Dibden Inclosure and not the Hants Cross-Country at Farley Mount (or, indeed, both). It was a lovely day but the orienteering was decidedly average. Dibden is not the most exciting of areas with only the occasional squiggle of contours to break up the otherwise featureless forest and marshy, heather strewn, open. After the first few controls, I even found myself checking that I had actually picked up the blue course map rather than the orange!

Emma and Duncan seemed to thoroughly enjoy the yellow course though. Plenty of mud to squelch through and Duncan walked the whole way round without any bribery or complaining. At Christine’s suggestion, we’d put the children’s bikes in. Nine months on, Duncan’s balance bike actually fits him. He particularly enjoyed the off-road riding although struggled a little with balancing whilst traversing slopes! Emma has never spent more than a few minutes at a time on the stabiliser free bike that she got for her birthday (other than when hooked up to the back of my bike) but that was all set to change. She started just scooting without her feet on the pedals. Then she would cycle with me holding on to the saddle and it was soon apparent that I was doing a lot less holding than on previous occasions. Once we hit the open, Emma just needed to help getting started and then she was off… Hopefully it is just the start of many fun filled years of cycling.

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First at last

October 7th, 2012

It was not the best preparation for this year’s Clarendon Way Half Marathon- Emma was up twice in the night and threw up in the car just as Christine dropped me off at the start. My throat was also a bit rough (probably having burnt it on the previous night’s dinner though rather than illness!). Then I bought a gel, only to leave it in my bag that was going on the bus to the finish. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to settle in to second place in the first half of the race. I thought the pace was a bit fast but eventually calculated that it wasn’t going to see me back in much under my guesstimated target time of 90 minutes. As we approached the half way stage at Farley Mount, I started to wonder whether I might actually come first as the young lad I was running with needed a bit of a push up the hill. As on previous descents , he pegged it off down the other side but I reeled him yet again and we wound through the woods and finally broke him in the next muddy ascent. I felt surprisingly good at this point, not least for being out in front, and pushed it a bit harder, particularly on the climbs which seemed all too numerous in the closing stages. At 1:27:36 or thereabouts it wasn’t my fastest Clarendon Half but the other times all date back to when it was run over the Salisbury end which is definitely flatter. I’m not too worried about the time though – it was just nice to finally win a race. Mind, I shan’t be too disappointed if I have to stay at home tomorrow and look after Emma as my legs aren’t looking forward to the cycle in to work!

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Duncan reaches three

October 7th, 2012

Duncan had a bit of an extended birthday this year: cakes at playgroup on Tuesday, the day itself on Wednesday, more cakes on Thursday and his party on Saturday. Just as well that this year he seemed to have decided that birthdays were a good thing! Emma was still the first up on Wednesday morning, keen to give Duncan his present from her (a monster finger puppet from the newsagents!). My being locked in to John Lewis at closing time on Tuesday night trying to find a till that was still open, failing, and having to get one re-opened, paid off as the bus car storage went down well.

Having the party at lunchtime was definitely a good move as there was less time to get stressed beforehand and also time to go out and enjoy the sunshine afterwards. There was supposedly a bus theme which meant that yours truly’s cake decorating skills were once again put to the test. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the salmon pink icing but Christine refused to let me put any more food colouring in! There was quite a mix of ages with siblings making up a third of the numbers but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Even Emma seemed to have a good time although she was definitely sickening with something as she had to have a lie-down in the middle of it all. In fact, both of them were in bed by the end of the afternoon!

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