Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
A few years ago we went to Barry Island on New Year's Day and it was the most glorious day; the sun was shining on a perfect, blue-sky Winter's day. When the 1st January 2015 dawned in a similar style, it was absolutely our destination for some fresh air to blow away the previous year's cobwebs.
The weekends lately have been hectic, not enough time for us as a family to actually do something and be together enjoying each other's company. Saturdays are dominated by running from here to there via everywhere, and Sundays have seen me panicking about school work and ending up with no family time. It's not great, we need to re-address the balance.
Last weekend we nipped down to see my sister and her family in the next town, and knowing she wouldn't be home for another hour we wandered down to the beach. She lives one street away from the coast and their beach is dominated by rockpools galore, perfect for Winter exploration.
There's one activity that The Boy has been desperate to do all Summer; make a minibeast hotel!
Last week we were playing in the garden when he spotted his old and battered wheelbarrow, went in search of a trowel, and decided that he'd had enough of waiting for me, and started doing it himself.
I don't do camping. Just like I don't do the dishes.
Anyone who knows me, knows this.
There needs to be a bed, a toilet, a shower, a mirror, a floor! I like walls, windows, doors, etc. and the thought of camping scares me quite a bit. However, I have a small child and, while he has never mentioned camping, I knew it was only a matter of time before the concept of sleeping in a tent raised its head.
So when Aldi challenged me to try camping and offered to send me some equipment to fulfill this task, I decided to bite the bullet.
We're incredibly lucky to be able to nip to a beach whenever we feel like it, and in south Wales there is a massive selection of sandy, pebble or rocky beaches to choose from. The local sandy beach is Barry Island and fortunately it's a gloriously wide expanse of sand deemed worthy of a blue flag for cleanliness.
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When we first visited Cefn Onn Park last year, The Boy's first question was about the playground. At the time he still had in his head that every 'park' was of the suburban template consisting of various flora, a set of swings, see-saw, slide, climbing frame… you get the picture. It's taken him a while to realise the point I explained to him then; that there's play equipment wherever you go, you just have to work out how to use it.
53. Partners in Crime (This is one I had hoped to add by the time the post went live last week, but I had no chance so have added it into this week's batch. We went away to Coombe Mill for a few days with my brother and his family, and this is The Boy and Fiery Cousin – from Wild Family Fun – exploring the grounds.)
54. Simple Things (It doesn't matter what time of year it is, give children a spade and sand and they can ask for nothing more to make them happy! While the adults were making a fire and cooking hot chocolate, the children started digging to Australia.)
55. In Training (The Boy adores driving the tractor with Farmer Nick, and as we were the only people there this week he had plenty of opportunity.)
56. Natural Childhood (He couldn't be happier than one of the pigs in the muck behind him in this photo; he just needs the outdoors and freedom to explore and he is content beyond all measure.)
57. The Wonders of Nature (On the last day of our holiday we called into Boscastle for a few hours before the drive home. It's a beautiful little village, but the plaques showing the flood damage are shocking. We walked up to the point on the edge overlooking the harbour, climbed over the crest and saw one of the most amazing natural sights I've ever viewed. More in tomorrow's My Sunday Photo.)
58. Heston and Jamie (The Boy's friend from school came over to play and have tea, they decided to have fun with his play kitchen. Not sure who was more disbelieving; The Boy's friend or his mum; free play with baking powder, vinegar, shaving foam, flour, lemon juice, alka seltzer, lentils, etc.)
59. Just Chillin' (A busy day rushing around trying to find somewhere, anywhere, that we could get The Boy's holiday photos printed out for school resulted in a fraught mummy. We descended on the park for a calming ten minutes grounding and relaxation.)
60. Dough (The only time we've tried to make pizza in the past ended up in a rush and me not having enough time for it to prove, the result was a gelatinous mess which just wouldn't cook properly. Today The Boy and Mr. TBaM made the dough this morning, kneaded it good and proper, and we left it to prove for an afternoon. I don't think we're going to be buying pizzas again!)
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One of the must-does for our break this week to Coombe Mill in Cornwall was to visit the beach and cook on a fire. Luckily we had the wonderful Wild Family Fun with us, whose job as an outdoor activity facilitator means she's a bit of an expert at starting a fire with vaseline and cotton wool.
So while I explored the rock pools with The Boy and his cousin, Mr. TBaM and The Boy's aunty set to starting the fire up in order to boil up some hot water using the Kelly Kettle she'd brought with us. A Kelly Kettle is an ingenious system which requires a fire to be lit in the metallic base, and then the 'water-jacket' kettle is placed over the top. It ends up with a fire chamber which creates an upward chimney draft ensuring efficient and rapid boiling even in windy or wet weather. And it was very windy that day! [Read more…]
Last weekend, we ventured down to the south coast of England for my sister-in-law's wedding in Highcliffe Castle. In the morning, prior to the ceremony, we decided to check out the venue and discovered that beyond the raindrops pooling into miniature lakes in the car park, was a small woodland which offered some steep steps down onto a beach. Hoping for dry weather the next day so we could further explore, we went off and did 'the wedding thing' like dutiful family.
The next morning was one of the most beautiful days of this Autumn so far; brilliant azure skies with wispy clouds, sunlight glistening on a turquoise sea, and diamonds sparkling in the golden sunlight. We raced down to the castle's car park, debated wellies and donned them in case of squelchy mud, and then headed through the woodland where we found the best climbing tree we've seen in a while.
Locating the steps down to the beach, we trotted down them and discovered an astounding view across the English Channel from the Needles to Hengistbury Head. This is when we discovered that the wellies had been a good decision.
As we walked along the water's edge towards the beach huts of Friar's Cliff, dogs raced around us picking up pebbles and balls thrown by their owners, excited to be allowed on the beaches again. The Boy hunkered down and decided to build a sandcastle, digging down with his bare hands to his uncle in Australia. He didn't get very far, mittens aren't the best tools for sandcastle making it seems.
At Friar's Cliff, the beachward drift has been haltered with groynes which are perfect for little boys to practise their balancing arms!
It was a magical hour or two, really refreshing after the excesses of the day before. We've been so intent on finding trees for climbing and collecting conkers from, that we've forgotten how magical the beach is at this time of year; the tourists have gone, leaving the locals to enjoy what's on their doorstep.
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Linking to Country Kids.
