Turn on the dark

December Nov« »2007

And it is here again - Christmas. I swear one minute it is months away and then suddenly you have three days to buy and wrap all the presents. This year I was done with a couple of days to go; a bit tight.

No snow but my parents join us for a lovely day and great traditional food. We had a nice Christmas cut short by my need to go down south on a work training course.

Weather has served up wind and rain rather than frost, not nice. Can we please have snow? We like snow (when we are on holiday that is).

decorating xmas tree

Arthur

We have been building him for months. He now has all his bones and his upper body muscles - you may say he is "buff!"

We have waited ages for the second lower leg and foot but now they are here. He is lasting well and I must say we have learned a few things. We know where the metatarsal bones are! Any foot bone between the toe and the ankle apparently.

Yes, there is a brain in there and the major organs; excluding those that define the him or her nature of the specimen (though his name implies male).

From small beginnings grows everything!

Fancy one of your own? Then why not have a look at the De Agostini website.

Arthur - a real gut full!

November «previous next»

It is dark, miserable and wet. But fireworks night brightens things. We take the young man to the one on the local green. Too much waiting around and not enough running around seem to be verdict. The sparklers in the back garden appeared to be a bigger hit! The rest of the month means some whinging about school for small man; so soon!

October «previous next»

This month usually brings the joys of fireworks; not a joy for us because it means people letting fireworks off at all hours and not as part of any display. Given the power of modern fireworks these can be very disturbing. They also set the neighbour's dog off barking; scares the poor thing witless I shouldn't wonder.

We enjoy a break at half term and in particular a trip to the 2008 european city of culture, Liverpool. We wandered around the many floors of the World Museum and dozen rooms in The Walker Gallery. The city is looking good and worth a visit. And just to remind us it is supposed to be autumn we get a near frost for a change from the rain.

And with school you get nits. Not nice for anyone but you get through it, eventually.

September «previous next»

Back to school! And some sunshine returns - typical British weather say I. The month ends in rain and celebrations, well we had a party for David's fifth. The in-laws came up to help out - many thanks. Besides a massive slide and bouncy castle we played pass-the-parcel and hoops onto the pig.

The calves in the field behind are getting big, and smelly! As the rains arrive in force the ground under their feet is getting very brown and muddy - mootiful. We still find frogs and toads hiding in the shadows of our garden.

This month is always one that flys by and all too soon we have gone from summer long nights to darkness when you come home. I know that it only gets darker by half an hour a week but it still seems to rush. I guess it is because at this time of year it is happening around tea time!

August «previous next»

Early on we went holidaying in Scotland, nice! We return to England and unbelievable, it has not stopped raining! The wind is furious and so too are many holidayers - where did the sun go? For most of the time it seems more like autumn. At least the plants are enjoying the water.

July «previous next»

It is too hot. I know we are never satisfied but personally I am consistent - I do not like anything above 25^oC. The grass and several plants are with me and not coping well. We may have lost as many as 2 or 3 in this mad hot summer spell. Where is the rain?

David had an emotional departure from his nursery school, the teachers not David. Claire had an excellent school report at the end of the year in high school. And Elizabeth also gets a certificate to crown her achievements. My achievements are not important.

The frogs have hopped off. The cows have calves. The sheep are elsewhere. Our broccoli did not flower but the lettuce was lovely. My trees are too young for fruit though there is one plum and an apple reached half an inch in diameter before dropping! The trees are losing leaves too. A defence against the lack of water.

We all trained it down to London for a hot weekend. And then as July leaves us - a deluge of water!

June «previous next»

And we get some very hot weather and then as soon as I put the gazebo up - it rains! Here comes summer. David is having football training at Nursery school and is to play in a tournament! There are cows back in the field and our tadpoles have legs. Claire got en excellent school report - so proud!

May «previous next»

The English weather is surpassing itself at present. One week we had temperatures in the high twenties and now we are back to heavy rain and twelve degrees. Thanks to some thirty year cycle the south of England is suffering water shortages. Not so around here, there's buckets of the stuff!

The fruit trees I have planted are doing nicely. Claire is doing some serious horse riding and has her mucking out badge. They are due to head off for a three hour trek soon.

David continues to do well at his swimming. We went along to an evening for new parents at the school he starts at in September.

April «previous next»

You hope that the arrival of easter means some warm weather. Well, a little warm weather and some more snow in parts of the country. Mostly here it is rain, rain, rain. In between David has enjoyed getting out again. He has managed to puncture his bike tyres twice. Claire is still horse riding.

And he is swimming! The stuff they put in the water isn't nice for his eyes hence the goggles but he is enjoying swimming and going under the water. He is ahead of me. It was secondary school before I went swimming often enough to actually learn to stay above the wet stuff.

Disneyland, Paris

So okay every family has been and knows it is best with kids of a young age. They believe the magic!

Take my picture mummy

The Disney castle does, of course, stand out for kilometres around and is, inevitably, the first image that proves you have arrived. No matter how you travel, and we flew, there is a sense of tiredness when you finally flop into your hotel room. However it doesn't hold you back long before you are off out exploring. For us the Disney Village was new. We also had passes for the Disney Studio complex.

It was still early evening so it wasn't much of a wait before we got a seat at the Rainforest Cafe. The walls and ceiling are covered with enough plants and animals to give a good impression of a rain forest. Near us was a low wall which, intermittently, was showered with water to promote that steamy atmosphere. The large Tree Frog clinging to a 'tree' nearby added to the scene wonderfully.

The cafe is littered with many animals: parrots, elephants, tree frogs and Primates of various kinds. The food, at least for one adult, the reason to be there was fine though lacking much in the way of roughage and vegetables, ironic really.

The Big Day

Where to go first? We were not in any great rush and walked up to the Fantasy Land in search of Dumbo and the first ride.

Actually it was the George and Dragon merry-go-round to start off the day. Mostly the queues were not very long, though there is suspicion that this is achieved by making the rides themselves on the short side.

I would also say that there are more staff on duty than at many other theme parks, and it shows. The staff are all courteous and helpful, and not phased by different the languages being employed by the various visitors from all around the world.

It's a small world

David dragged us off around a maze next. His sense of direction was admirable and bettered his elders so we did eventually get out! And as if proof that it's a small world that's where we headed next! The tune can really get into your head and stay, whether you want it to, or not.

The Studio

Studio effects

The most popular attraction was the trip around the 'behind the scenes' tour and not surprisingly it had attracted a large crowd. We queued for twenty minutes or more. As they had to take one train out of service a few extra minutes were added to our queuing but we hardly noticed.

Mostly the tour just reveals old props and some recreated scenes. Still worth a look and the earthquake scene that actually plays out in flame and water is fun!

The place is covered with the numerous Disney characters and autograph hunting seemed to be common pursuit amongst the younger element of the visitor population. Many of the 'characters' took great pride in their work adding pictures and words of their own above a mere character name. David liked Chip and Dale. He still comments on never seeing Donald Duck (we did see his Uncle, I think).

Chicken Little was a bubbly character and managed to scare one child when he pretended to steal her toy. Kids don't always understand. The park has official photographers around to take pictures but we were happy with our own so we can't comment on the cost.

Wow! Pirates

Finally we risked the Pirate ride; wild but mild. The journey included a couple of drops through water falls but we kept drier than earlier in the Studio. The little one enjoyed the scary scenes of pirate battles, skeletons and high seas adventures.

Photographs do not do the scenic rides justice as they either over light the dioramas or you see next to nothing. Also at the speed you go there is no time for any detailed examination. The kids like it and that is what counts.

Café Mickey

Stop goofing about Mummy!

This restaurant is very popular and we were lucky in getting in without a reservation. The advantages of being in a small party I guess.

We met Goofy (again), Minnie Mouse, Eeyore, The Genie, et al. Naturally there were two birthdays, each greeted by the gathering of the cast and crew coming together for some loud singing and dancing.

On the last day we used the hotel swimming pool and jacuzzi - nice. Then back by coach and plane (a small vehicle, very toy like on first sight) and finally the train and taxi to good old home. Double nice.

March «previous next»

With Easter just around the corner of course it's going to snow. We make a snowman. Mostly though we huddle inside out of the cold, wind and rain. All of us go down with colds and miss school or work. I managed to squeeze in one blood donation.

Feberuary «previous next»

It is definitely winter here. Not winter enough for snow but definitely cold and unfriendly when you go outside. We visited Beacon Fell on a lovely fresh but clear Sunday morning. After tramping through the trees, David acting as a Dinosaur, we enjoyed some hot food on the benches outside the visitors centre.

Becky came down with Claire for a couple of days. We went down to Martin Mere again, joined by my parents, for a nice day out and some gentle exercise.

January «2005 next»

The cold spells continue but still no snow. Unfortunately winter viruses have laid low David and Elizabeth. We have not managed to do much this month. David has taken to his jungle bike and even claims he could ride without stabilisers. This is a bold boast as he manages to topple the bike even with the extra help.

We went up to Fairhaven in the early new year. Boy was it cold. We were very glad of the warm and hot food provided by the cafe on the lakeside. And it was one of those episodes that proves the old adage - you can never gauge the joy of a toy from its price. We bought a toy train set for £1.25 and he is still playing with it to today! We are back to the wrapping attracting more attention than the gift inside it! Kids hey! don't you just love'em.