Family Making Celebration

What a wonderful weekend it has been and the sun has shone the entire time too. The morning was relatively calm ahead of the celebrations to come but we still needed to get a shift on in getting to the Ancient Technology Centre as tents were to be put up, last minute items delivered and the food and drink to sort out.

The children looked fantatsic and I love the photos of Maria and Joseph. They were so excited to get dressed up for the wedding and took it all very seriously. 

There is a lovely 32 minute long video of the ceremony online for those who were unable to attend to watch and it is a great reminder of the symbolism of the event, the setting and the joy shared by Joe and Kate. 

The partying went on late into the night and our part of the family seemed to take over the round house with the large fire which we had blazing all evening and late into the night. As a consequence, I felt pretty rough yesterday morning. However, Evie really enjoyed her 7 birthday party at the ATC as well which rounded off the weekend well.

Here we go

We spent the evening getting things ready ahead of the big family celebrations today. What a place to have to ourselves over the weekend. So much history, so many places to enjoy on the site right in the heart of Cranborne Chase and wait until you see the fires later on!!!!

Italian heritage

 You'll have to take my word for it but we have been enjoying some Italian food and it was lovely. More of that in a moment but first, the car is back and passed MoT with the emissions sorted after a new filter and some other tweaks. Good news but it will be being used less in future as we have just bought Alison an electric bike. It will keep her supported for up to 30 miles and we pick it up from Halfords next Tuesday. I am looking forward to getting out together, particularly in the sunshine that is forecast.

I also got out for a run for the first time apart from dragging the children round Junior Parkrun at the weekend. It's been a while because of the pain behind my left knee following the walk earlier in the month I did 1.25 miles and in an ok slow time. Now to build up again.

Tea was pasta with aubergine and lentil in a tomato sauce, celery and carrot with onion of course, plus plenty of garlic. It was rich and full of flavour from rosemary and sage plus some balsamic vinegar. I'd done some couscous too as maria enjoys that and a green salad. It was undressed for a change to encourage the children to eat it but I did a pesto to go with it and that was lovely.

The pesto had garlic, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, a little water, ground nuts (instead of the very expensive pine nuts) and plenty of nutritional yeast which provides the vegan alternative to parmesan cheese. Once it had been through the blender I put it out and it went down very well, especially with Joseph who loved it. 

Charity walk 8th May - the story

 I was asked to write something about the recent walk for Small Hearts Matter and here it is!

The idea came to me as I wondered how to celebrate my 58th birthday. Last year, affected by lockdown, I had decided to go for 57 challenges, a list to keep me busy for the coming year. Some were relatively easy, not leaving the tap running whilst brushing my teeth, others took a little more time like learning Spanish or going for a 100km ride.

With my birthday falling on a Saturday I thought I would do something for the day and came up with the very ambitious target of walking from midnight to midnight to cover 50 miles. It was going to be just me enjoying the spring sunshine but after a few days I thought it would be worth using the walk as a fundraising opportunity and contacted an ex-student of mine, Joe Crook. 

Joe is 28 and I had been on a charity bike ride with him riding from Southampton to Paris in 2014 along with Luke Newman who I had also taught. They are brothers in law these days and Joe has had two boys who have suffered heart conditions leading to extended periods of time in hospital. He suggested the charity Small Hearts Matter and I signed up with them on Just Giving within a few minutes.

It was then the reality of what lay ahead began to dawn on me. There was now a sense of responsibility and I had to face up to the fact the furthest I had ever walked or run was 17 miles, a walk I did in the run up to this challenge. It gave me confidence I could manage a marathon but what lay beyond that? And the weather forecast was frustratingly consistent, rain and wind. The glorious May days of recent years had gone and I realised I was going to be experiencing a very different test from the one I had envisaged whilst sat at home a few weeks earlier.

To my delight Luke got in touch to say he would like to start the walk with me and so we set out on the stroke of midnight, my birthday with miles and miles of walking ahead of us. We walked down to Shirewood and cut across the trackways to Slough Lane and then across the Horton Road and up the paths to Holt, arriving in Wimborne at 3.00am, ahead of schedule but soaking wet. The first hour was a delight, the novelty of the adventure and the adrenaline of setting out, giving us a real impetus that meant we barely noticed the rain start until the lights of Wimborne showed rods of rain, coldly silver, heaving themselves earthward.

A taxi driver stopped to offer us a lift, no charge, to wherever we were heading and the temptation was great but we were on a mission. By 5.00am we were in Upton Country Park, dawn was hesitantly appearing and the birds had begun to chorus their appreciation of light, if not the rising strength of the wind. Holes Bay proved very exposed and we began to speed up in order to arrive at the Asda superstore on the outskirts of Poole to stop for coffee and a rest break. To my surprise, and our disappointment, it was closed and we weren’t able to get any shelter until near Sandbanks but what a coffee we had! 

I am sure anything hot would have been memorable but this was a magical cupful of warmth and hope, raising the spirits and reviving us ready for the long trek along the seafront. Turning to Bournemouth Pier, the wind blasted us and forced the driving rain into any parts  that were exposed, the wet weather gear working up to a point but having to yield to the blasts of nature. 

This was where it became very hard. Neither Luke nor I had walked this far before. I had expected to be in sunshine and ready to enjoy the distractions of runners and cyclists and holiday makers who would be crowding the walkway but there was no one. Our eyes were focused on one thing only, Bournemouth Pier and there was nothing to take our minds away from the slog the walk was becoming. We walked but the pier appeared to be receding into the distance, taunting us. Worse still was seeing that beyond that was Boscombe Pier and then Hengistbury Head, miles away but checkpoints on our journey. The only option was to keep pressing forward and that we did.

Blessed relief came in meeting family members under the flyover next to the pier in Bournemouth. We were out of the rain and able to change socks and grab some welcome food and a flask of coffee. Even better, we were just under halfway and the worst was behind us according to the forecast in terms of weather. However, we were becoming aware of blisters and muscle fatigue and there was still so far to go. Most daunting of all, I was now going to be going solo, Luke planning to take a train back to Southampton having hauled me round 24 miles in testing conditions.

Luke returned from a comfort break and casually told me he’d made a couple of phone calls which meant he could now join me for the rest of the day! It was fantastic news. Luke is less than half my age but he had done no preparation at all for a walk of such length and yet he was prepared to continue knowing it was just going to get harder and harder. People are truly wonderful.

What helped even more was being able to see messages of support from family and friends and then people we didn’t know but who had seen what we were doing and they were giving money to the Just Giving website incredibly generously. We were getting close to £500 and it gave us the push we needed to hobble off towards Boscombe but with a metaphorical spring in our step. 

The journey to Hengistbury Head continued to be a real slog, flat and grey, the view unchanging and that was the one real disappointment of the day. I love the sea front we are so fortunate to enjoy close at hand and would have loved a sunny day with plenty of visitors, maybe even the chance to cool our feet in the soothing waters. It simply wasn’t the sort of weather for it.

Through Christchurch we strode and the rain finally ceased its assault. We were well over 30 miles into the challenge but the pain was growing and we started to plan a stop mid afternoon for a rest as we were making good time. We settled on The Woolpack at Sopley and took the Avon Valley path which was stunning. I would heartily recommend walking this path which is easily accessed from Ringwood and takes you alongside the River Avon with its mute swans, great crested grebes, kingfishers and swooping swallows. Were you to walk the entire length of the path you would find yourself starting from Christchurch Priory right the way to Salisbury Cathedral, a challenge for another day perhaps.

Luke and I enjoyed a pint at The Woolpack and were seriously discussing whether we should keep to the 50 mile target or push on so we walked for 24 hours. If we had done the entire day, 60 miles would have been the mark we set and we were genuinely unsure how to play it. In the end that decision was taken from us when we pushed on to Ringwood and onto the Castleman Trailway to Moors Valley. Incredibly the donations were still coming in and we were at almost £1000 and keen to press on still further but right at the entrance to the country park a searing pain shot up my right calf muscle. I couldn’t believe it as all my aches and pains to that point were in my left foot and leg but it was a clear signal that this was becoming very tough indeed. 

Imagine trying to cross fields separated by stiles after 40 miles of walking, having to keep hydrated and having to keep walking in gear which has been thoroughly soaked, not having slept for hours and hours. That pain reminded me of all of these and it seemed clear we would just do the 50 miles rather than keep walking until midnight.

The walk to Potterne where we were able to get a lift home took quite some time. We had been very consistently walking 20 minute miles since the very start of the challenge but it was now over 25 minutes due to my having to tread with great care to avoid any further pain. Eventually we made it to the end of our trek, 51 and a bit miles of wonderful Dorset having been covered and in dimming light 20 hours after setting out.

It had proved far harder than I had expected. There is no question about having under-estimated what I had set out to do and it was made all the more difficult by the weather.

On the other hand, the memories, the knowledge that we had done it, the views, the conversations, the hot coffee and soup, the camaraderie, the reaction of others and, most importantly, the amount raised. To date donations of just over £1500 have been made and that is way beyond what I had imagined when I thought it would be nice to celebrate my birthday with a walk.

Luke was immense and I am so grateful to him for supporting me all the way. We will be planning something to test us again I am sure but for now we are just so proud to have been able to help, in a small way, a wonderful charity and, through them, families of young children who are experiencing challenges every single day that put what we did into context. That they meet these challenges with such fortitude, hope and love is incredible and reminds us all that despite our faults, people are wonderful,generous and loving.

Sunshine Thursday!!

Early in the day to post but it is lovely and sunny, so much so that I am in shorts and t shirt, which is excuse enough to write an early entry.

The car is back down in the garage for re test on MoT and I walked back across the golf course via the copse which is where the photos were taken. Things just look stunning after so much poor weather and I am excited for the summer!

More book sales and sorting out things for the celebrations over the weekend including one off event insurance. Plenty going on.However, smart meter installation did not take place as it is too complicated with our set up. I'm quite happy with that to be honest. Not sure how helpful it is and I don't mind providing a reading for them now and again.

Allotment - the sequel

It was back to the allotment for the second consecutive day to give some areas a further strim and to get some additonal planting done too. It is now looking good up there and I can focus on weeding and watering for the next weeks, although the children's plot is yet to be planted up. That is something for half term.

Planted climbing French beans, peas, carrots, beetroot and radish today with lots of seed being used up now to save it going to waste.

At the moment it is all looking good but we shall see how it develops from here.

I drove home and then walked to and from Joy's house to spend a bit of time in her garden. I got peas and French beans in, as well as more radish and beetroot, similar to the allotment. The soil is lovely and warm today and you can almost feel it crackling with the energy to burst those seeds into lovely veg for us later in the summer.

The walk home took me along Horton Way and the banks are still covered with bluebells. They are looking lovely. The view in the front garden is also beautiful and I thought it worth capturing the clematis now running over the porch. The cotoneaster is a mass of bees under the dining room window. It is such a lovely sound standing there listening to the buzzing of so many bees.

And busy again!

Monday was a busy day again with a visit from Amelia the main focus. There is all the build up now to the family making ceremony at the weekend and that meant Kate's mum came down from Herefordshire yesterday evening and spent the night with us. I was so pleased with the tea I made, the roasted cauliflower and curried stalks, an aubergine curry and basmati rice, curried roast red cabbage and a red onion dip. Self praise is scant praise but it really did hit the spot.

I was out in the car soon after the school run to take it for MoT and went for a haircut whilst waiting. That went well with an appointment made via their app but the real standout was walking through the copse through Verwood where the bottom two photos were taken. It is surrounded by buildings but this space was stunning in the sunshine. Late bluebells were still prominent.

The car needs to go back in again to have a little bit of work on the emissions, something it has struggled with for the past three years. Otherwise everything was fine which is good news and the result is we won't have too much to pay out.

From there I got out to the allotment and had a few hours just getting things back up to speed, the poor weather having curtailed visits of late. I strimmed the grass, put netting up round the runner beans to protect them from marauding rabbits, weeded, earthed up and sowed some more seed. The plot is looking good with plenty of stuff coming up to go with the well established garlic, braod beans and potatoes. I used the time to get a further row of carrots in, some more spinach, radish and bbetroot too.

Getting back to Cranborne for the afternoon pick up was fine and I had time for a good walk round the fields where I came across the huge chair in the field as seen above, and walked through rows of broad beans, all the while listening to On The Road on Audible, having enjoyed In Our Time earlier as a podcast.

The rain is back on now but it was good to get out and feel a bit warmer before the greyness descended again.

And a quiet Sunday

I wonder if what I mean by quiet is wet? The weather is having quite an effect on our days. It feels a lot nicer being indoors wrapped up against the damp and the cold. Regardless of that, we were out and about early for the Junior Parkrun, a 9.00am start after Amelia and Evie had a sleepover. The ligaments behind my left knee still hurt and I had intended walking the 1.25 miles but Joseph, who had also come along, and Evie were barely walking the course at the start and I had to almost literally drag them into a run. It was a much faster run as a result, a fastest of the year for both, but it did hurt my leg. No running still.

On our return home it was time get the Sunday dinner ready and it was lovely. Roast potatoes, roast red cabbage, roast onion and mushrooms, cabbage, carrots and a nut roast with gravy. 

I got out for a walk before the rain really got going and ahead of the crucial football and managed a couple of miles without too much trouble and mainly listening to Alexei Sayle on Desert Island Discs.

It is worth mentioning that Alison and I watched Into the Wild on Amazon Prime last night. It was quite a shock at the end and the film has had quite an impact on us both. 

A Quiet Saturday

I am feeling tired after the vaccination yesterday and am aware I have a headache, not something I usually suffer from. That means having Evie and Amelia over for a sleepover isn't the most relaxing choice we've made in recent days but they have been very good including coming out for a welcome walk round the goat farm. You will see they have done the traditional thing of climbing the wall to walk along its length whilst enjoying the flocks of geese and ducks in the fields on the other side of the wall.

My lethargy has meant I have ended up watching cricket, County Championship game between Middlesex and Surrey, football, various play off games and the Scottish Cup Final plus a little bit of cycling and even a tiny bit of motor racing, qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. It was enough to see how tight the course is and how demanding the sport is without it ever grabbing my interest beyond that shallow insight.

However, I have also been listening to music and reading, this time a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, 'The Enchanted April'. It is one of the lovely things about library books in that they don't need to have convinced me before purchasing. There is a fair degree of pot luck involved. 

2nd covid vaccine

I am not long back from having had my second vaccination against Covid 19, the first having been administered on the 6th March. It's the astro zeneca vaccine again and I am hoping to escape without any noticeable side effects once more. The plan is certainly to take it easy and that is being made more simple by the fact that late spring continues as wet as ever.

It has been something of a habit to remark that every time I get the motorhome out, the weather seems to be offering up either rain or wind or both. It was both again today, the vehicle being buffeted by strong winds once more and it was just a week ago we drove home from Devon in torrential rain. Of course, it is under a fortnight ago Luke and I got soaked doing the first half of our walk. It is the most disappointing spring I can remember.

The reports this morning said that after the dry April which was spoilt by the cold with the most frosty nights on record, May is already likely to be the wettest on record. Temperatures have also been well below the usual average too and as a result, trips to the allotment and outdoor exercise have been more limited. 

The vaccination process was as straightforward and efficient as last time. I was in and out with no pause and it is amazing to think this has all been achieved with little fuss on the part of those who put the system together. Once again, the public sector has risen to the challenge in a way the private sector has spectacularly failed to do so. There are clearly times when the greater good is served by what is best for the public, not profit.

A highlight of the day was a good morning from Lauren Laverne on her Radio 6 show when she read a text I'd sent after a conversation about dedications being read out. That was very exciting.

 

Back on it

Having been for a swim earlier I did go for a ride on the mountain bike, 8.5 miles over the Horton and round the tracks to Smugglers Lane and over Remedy Oak golf course. The sun was out and I listened to Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode's film review podcast as I did the rounds.

As soon as I was back I took off for Cranborne to collect Maria from school and managed a 2.25 mile walk through fields of celandines or buttercups and huge nubers of dandelions with their sead heads all ready to disperse in the forecast high winds tomorrow.

Two birds of prey on my ride, a buzzard and a kestrel. 

It is nice to be feeling back to noral after the long walk but running is a way off still.

Alum Chine Beach

How misleading photos can be. The scene looks lovely from the road above the beach, West Overcliff Road, and yet the rain was falling yet again just minutes later. I was ok as I was in my wet suit by this time and had been in for a swim in the murky water. There was a plankton bloom or something going on and the sea was certainly far from its usual clear blue.

On the plus side - the sun was out and I got changed in the motorhome and enjoyed the swim with the new boots doing a great job in helping me get n with no trouble.

On the minus side - the rain began and I found I had a penalty charge for parking the motorhome in an unauthorised place. The signs do show cars and motorcycles but there is no explicit outlawing of larger vehicles and there have been no problems previously. Checking on line later it looks like it is hit and miss with several others having received a ticket. So £35.00 down the drain. 

I'll certainly be going again but in the car now I know I can get in and out the wet suit easily enough. The motorhome would be nice in terms of privacy for changing and for sitting with a coffee but they aren't necessities and in fact, you can make do on the beach itself.

Time for a coffee and then out on the mountain bike for a little jaunt. 

Another trip to the allotment

As was the case yesterday, Alison and I were straight off to the allotment after the school run, Alison to pop to the shops again and  me to catch up with some weeding but primarily, to strim the grass. I'd charged the battery overnight and it did most of the plot. However, I am going to have to go back and finish off later in the week.

It was lovely earthing up the potatoes and then clipping the bed edges which tend to have grass growing over them, hence the  need to get the shears out and get on to the hands and knees to clip the grass down. Plenty of seedlings coming up strongly now and with the potatoes coming on, the garlic and broad beans looking good and so on, it does look like a proper plot.

I then headed to Morrisons for the weekly shop before ordering some wood for the Ancient Technology Centre which will need to be cut down to size to allow us to have the ceremony there safely. 

My mother has also contributed towards the charity hike and the total raised for Little Hearts Matter stands at:

£1203.00 donations

£234.50 gift aid

£90.00 direct donations

Total - £1527.50

Now to make some vegetable chilli and get on with cleaning the car and motorhome interiors plus sprcing up the conservatory and utility room.

Runner beans in at the allotment

It was a welcome sight to be out of the house without it raining with actual blue patches visible at times! We did the school run together before heading off to the allotment so Alison could plant some tomatoes and go into Wimborne for a bit of shopping leaving me to get the bean sticks in and the seeds planted, slightly later than usual but perhaps not a bad thing given the colder weather we've been having.

There are plenty of things to be getting on with later in the week when we return, strimming the grass, weeding, succession planting, pricking out and so on. I've als got to net some more items to provide further protection from the rabbits.

Lovely to be out again and to be getting muddy!

Once home, Alison was down at her mother's and I fed the birds before setting out on the mountain bike. It's the first exertion I have put my legs through since the 51 mile walk, walking aside, and it was fine. I could feel a little something in my left leg but nothing to worry about and managed 6 miles with some steep bits quite comfortably. That is a relief. I'm not going to be running for a bit longer though. The impact is going to be more painful than cycling and I just want to ease myself back in slowly.

Mount Folly Farm Camping Chrissie's 50th birthday

We set off just after lunch on Friday afternoon and had quite a long journey down to south Devon. There was a lengthy diversion which meant we missed out on the dual carriageway to Dorchester due to a sink hole appearing on the A35 and then there were multiple lights set up on the small roads on the way to Bigbury for the various roadworks greeting visitors to the south west. 

However, we got to Mount Folly Farm campsite not long after 5 and were able to set up quickly enough with the tanks filled with water and the electric hook up in place. That gave us time to walk from Bigbury to Challaborough, a good half hour for us with several photos in between. Burgh Island certainly looked the part and there were even patches of blue sky. These had disappeared by the time we left Chrissie's caravan, one of the static ones sleeping 8 people, and we got a lift home, very welcome it was too.

Chrissie was celebrating her 50th birthday and one of the standout gifts was the painting of the view from the back garden of the croft at Aird Tong. It is a fantastic piece of work. We are hoping to get some prints.

The rain continued into the night and there were heavy showers during the day too but we got together with family from Plymouth and had a good catch up before going for a swim. I had been looking forward to this for some time, using my wet suit for the first time and wondering how they actually worked, and whether it would feel ok to me in the middle of a cold May.

It was great. I felt shocked by the feel of the water on my feet and again when I plunged my head beneath the waves. My body felt good though amd it was sucha pleasure to be in and enjoying the sea at this early part of the year. There is no way I would go in otherwise and with Chrissie, Jamie, Charlie and Lily all in too, it was quite a gathering. I'm already excited about going in again but am getting some shoes for it too.

Back at the motorhome we had a curry and I got to watch the cup final before Maria got back and we fell asleep watching a film. All slept really soundly before we decamped and had a bit of a mare leaving the campsite due to the road works and the torrential rain. Yet the journey became a good one once we were on the A38 and knew our way back.

A lovely weekend away with family and just a fortnight till we sleep out again with the family making celebrations over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Bigbury on Sea

It's time for a weekend away with a trip down to south Devon where we are staying at Folly Foot Farm for a couple of nights. We are celebrating my sister, Chrissie's, birthday, a major one and will be meeting up with family.

It is lovely to be packing the motorhome having seen the forecast rain for tomorrow and feel happy enough knowing we will be cosy and dry come what may(There's a hostage to fortune, tempting fate and all that!).

All the little bits and pieces such as door pockets and hooks are really useful in creating space and a tidy environment, all of which help keep things calm and organised in the home. We will see what it is like once we actually start the camping.

Amelia day

 A busy day with Amelia and hopefully one she enjoyed.

You'll see we made beer bread, one of the gifts she and Evie bought for my birthday and it tasted very good actually, a little to my surprise. We also did butternut squash soup together before doing some wood staining. 

It's been a day when I have welcomed some further rest with the intention of maybe having a little bike ride tomorrow.