Christmas 2015

On to the next catch up post, this time Christmas 2015.  There were the usual festivities around Christmas including the school Christingle at the local church - an event that in theory should be very enjoyable. However, due to the large number of people jammed in, the cold and the length of time it goes on for, it can be a bit of an ordeal.  At least this year we could just about see Beth and again she got to play the flute so we got to hear her too.  In some ways I'm glad we didn't spot Toby - with bare flames I'm always on edge that he could be at the front and centre of any 'incident'!


Christmas was a family affair again both sets of grandparents and Auntie Jane coming for Christmas lunch on Christmas Eve.  Everything was very relaxed with good company and good food.

Both kids were very happy with their haul; Toby got his much awaited laptop and Beth got a sewing machine.  The rest of us didn't do too badly either.  As per growing tradition, we walked to the pub in the next village for a bit of Christmas cheer with a few friends joining us.

One of the kids presents was a trip to the climbing wall with Auntie Jane.  They enjoyed it so much last year that Jane thought it would be a good (non-plastic) present to give them this year.  Steve and I took the opportunity to have a day around our old stomping ground in Sheffield.  It was very pleasant and the kids had a great day too.

Apart from a couple of walks from the house (usually incorporating a coffee shop or pub), we spent probably rather too much time sat in front of the fire watching back-to-back Bond films - isn't that what Christmas is all about??

Autumn Half Term 2015

I'm only just realising how long it is since I posted so I thought I'd better try and do a bit of catching up!  This first post is from the half term holiday in October.

We had planned, as normal, to go over to Holme in Norfolk with our friends.  Unfortunately I had to work the first Saturday of the holiday so our friends kindly offered to take Beth and Toby over on the Friday and I go and join them on the Saturday.

It worked pretty well.  The kids went to the beach on the first day and had a great play in the dunes.  Not wanting to miss out, I asked if we could go again on the Sunday.  Although the weather wasn't as good as last year, it still wasn't too bad and at least it wasn't raining.  We took a picnic and the kids spent ages in the dunes making dens and even ventured in for a paddle - safe to say that I didn't join them!

On one of the days we went to the car boot sale in Hunstanton.  Each kid got £1 to spend on whatever they wanted (!).  We came away with clothes and a ceramic bird . . .  There's a good playground in the grounds of the school where the sale is so the kids migrated there once they'd spent up.  After that we went down to the seafront and had a hunt for fossils at the bottom of the cliff.  We didn't stay doing that for too long as it looked like there had been a rock fall during the night and we weren't sure if more was going to come down.  We also had a play on the sea walls and, despite my dislike of them, had a go on the penny slots. 



In the previous two years visiting we hadn't managed to fit in a visit to the RSPB reserve just down the road.  Titchwell March is pretty well known for bird watching as it has both fresh water and salt water marsh areas.  It joins directly on to the beach where there is the remains of both a WWII coastal defence building and a tank.  You can also just about see the remains of a forest.  The kids had a great time jumping on all the shells (they did make a very nice noise!) and clambering over the defences.

On the way home we decided to break the journey with a stop at Castle Rising Castle.  It has a very impressive moat and we caught it just at the right time for a lovely sunset.

It was a really lovely break and the only thing missing was the company of Jill, Tara's mum, who would normally be with us.  Unfortunately she lost her battle with cancer in June but Tara did come along as normal and keep alive her mum's sense of fun!  Here's a photo of Jill, with Bonnie the dog, that I took last year.