Day Ten: School Holidays

Another smashing grey rainy day in Glossop, and more of this beautiful weather predicted for the week. Today we chilled out this morning and did some baking. My hip muscle pain is now much better and should be entirely gone by the weekend. After lunch we headed out to the Library where the boys played, selected books and had a marvellous time. I tried to enrol the boys in a woodland explorers event but it was full. Much disappointment experienced by all. Afterwards we headed off to the Sandhole playground where much cavorting was had. We finally dragged ourselves home at 4:30. Then I received a call saying that another family had dropped out and that I could get the boys in. Much excitement ensued :) Tomorrow I shall take the boys swimming and enrol the boys in swimming lessons, and a trip to the Freetown playground in the afternoon. I have minuting work to do, but will crack on with that tomorrow when my back can take the strain :)

Day Nine: School Holidays

I took the book George's Marvellous Medicine out so that we could read a chapter each night to the boys. Big mistake. I obviously amped up the scary too much in chapter 1 and was forced to read chapter 2 to calm the boys down. Then we had to read chapters 3 and 4 at Kieran's insistence. He was so enthralled he read another couple of chapters on his own. My back is excruciatingly painful today. Right sciatic, which makes sitting, bending, and getting dressed oodles of fun! I cancelled the plans for swimming and took the boys to the library where Debbi Hedderwick, Maria Whatton and Gordon MacLellan were facilitating a melange of puppetry, song, dance and amateur theatre. Kieran made two angry bird puppets and we watched  a bit of brave-princess-defeats-angry-dragon theatre and chose a couple of books before heading back home. This afternoon we will work on Kieran's book on 'Agent P' and do some reading.

Day Eight: School Holidays

Our Monday morning tradition of heading out to the Scout Hut continued and this time we were painting the benches with a lovely grey undercoat. We will then paint these the colours of the sixers - red, blue, green and yellow and have the cubs decorate their bench. The last bench will be for the beavers to decorate. We worked hard and left the scout hut at half one. My back was twinging a bit from all the squatting and bending over while painting. Then we chilled at home for a bit and then cracked on with Kieran's summer reading challenge. So far he has read 3 books of the 6 required. The theme is Mythological Maze and the library have some lovely books for keen readers. I will contact the Pool tomorrow to sort swimming lessons for the boys. I have been doing a bit more reading myself. Can't say I was too impressed with Wuthering Heights, and despite Jane Eyre apparently being an exemplar of womanhood I disliked it intensely.

Day Seven: School Holidays

Sunday came to pass after a delightful night of rain. Sadly Chris is suffering from a bad case of catarrh so he was disincline to move. The boys however were clamouring for their promised treat of a swim with both parents. We made it to the pool and great fun ensued. Afterwards the boys and I repaired to Howard Park while Chris schlepped home to get the bagels boiled and baked. Once home the boys decided they were exhausted. The day was not without excitement however, as Chris embarked upon an ambitious knife juggling act while preparing lunch. The ensuing cut is not 'quite' deep enough to need stitches. Hmmmm. After I popped to the shops for more soda water, lemons and ginger I commenced baking. With my able sous chef by my side I was able to produce dried cherry, oat and walnut biscuits in short order. I then seasoned a chicken and threw it into the oven while I made pastry for the pie I planned to make with Cameron's blackberries. I am happy to report that biscuits, pastry, pie and roast all rated highly on the taste scale. We will be booking the boys into swimming lessons come payday as they are both keen to get in the pool, despite knowing that they have to walk there and back :)

Day Six: School Holidays

I think this picture perfectly describes our day today :) In the morning we headed off to Kieran's last gym class until September. Cameron was being moved up to a 9am class while Kieran stayed in his 10am one as there was no room for Cam. The teacher however asked if I wanted both boys together in the 12 noon class - and so they will be doing gym together. If it doesn't work out I can always split them up. After class we strolled home and Kieran put down roots. I nipped off to the shops to buy supplies. I had bought a delicious drink heavy on mint and lemon confident the boys would dislike it. Sadly, they took to it like a pack of wolves on a fat reindeer in the middle of a lean winter :( As a result Chris made mint syrup this morning and I brought home soda water and lemons. The resulting beverage is pretty yummy I have to say!! I then amused myself by applying for jobs and another trip to the local greengrocer for garlic and avocado. Basically, I walked MILES today, MILES I tell you :). Around 5 I put the chicken drumsticks in their marinade and took Cameron out blackberrying. He is a fantastic little gleaner, and filled a ziplock bag pronto. Once home we had dinner then took the boys up to the Freetown playground for a run around. On a Saturday, at 7:30pm  it is a less salubrious area I confess, but the boys still enjoyed themselves. Tomorrow, we swim!!

Day Five: School Holidays

Well, we are five days in and the days stretch endlessly before me. Good thing I have my spreadsheet all filled in until September 8th. We had a vicious fight this morning over Kieran's desire to have a pyjama day. Alas for him my memory of the last one was still fresh and I managed to get the boys out the house for 11am. We strolled up to Shrewsbury bakery, Cameron picking raspberries and blackberries as we went and then whisked up to the library. The boys had a wonderful time there, browsing through books, playing on the computers and tinkering with the toys before hunger drove them to make strident demands upon me. We settled down for a snack, then strolled down to Tesco's to enjoy the myriad carnival delights awaiting us there. At 2 pounds a pop I restricted the boys to 2 goes on whatever they wanted. Oh, how they cavorted and thrilled to the bouncy castle and hall of horror! Oh how they wept and screamed when they were told we had to leave. Oh how I regretted taking them there in the first sodding place. Managed to get the walking wounded home as Cameron faceplanted on the footpath at a full run and Kieran ran through some brambles - in bare legs. The drama llamas turned out in force then, you may be sure. That boy has the lungs for opera! Once home I force ham sandwiches into them and collapsed onto the couch to read a book on Peak District walks, before beginning Pies and Prejudice. After a rather mediocre dinner (I contracted a severe case of can't be arsed) I took the boys off to the Freetown Playground for an hour and a half, where they made friends with some little girls. The boys had a blast and bedtime went like a dream :) Tomorrow is gymnastics and swimming - yippee!

Day Four: Summer Holidays

Another glorious sunny day in Glossop and I kicked it off with a spot of baking. I whipped up some cheese scones and blackberry muffins with Cameron's able assistance then chivvied the boys off to the Scout hut to do a bit of a tidy up. Once home at 12:30 we had lunch, chilled for a bit and did some reading and time on the IPAD. Cameron and I made some breadrolls and I served up chicken burgers for dinner. After dinner we headed off to Freetown playground. We met up with another mum and have wangled an invite to go see her pony and have the boys cop a ride on it. We eventually waved farewell and sought out the playground. The boys thoroughly enjoyed it and romped for ages! I have to admit feeling slightly knackered today, but will take the boys to the carnival tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon, who can say.....

Day Three: Summer Holiday

Another hot sunny day dawned and the boys and I sprang into action. We packed a picnic and headed off to Pye Grove playground, pausing only to discover, pick and consume some raspberries. On the way there we met up with another mum by the train station, and realised it was Cameron's last gymnastics session. After 'some discussion' we turned back and headed into gym. They had a bouncy castle up and Kieran was invited to play with the budding gymnasts - and they had a blast. An hour never flew by so fast. Afterwards we headed to Manor Park, where the boys cavorted in the stream, flung balls for some Scotty dogs, ate some sandwiches and threw themselves around the place for an hour or so. Then we headed to the lake and fed the waterfowl. Leaving pandemonium in our wake we headed through the formal gardens in search of the secret doorway on our way to Pye Grove playground. We went our secret way, over the hills by the cow paddocks, weaving between the rape and the thistles. Once there the playground was deserted and the boys went hard out. Eventually, at 2 we wended our way homewards and relaxed while I made spinach tagliatelle and pumpkin pie. My delicious dinner of chicken and bacon carbonara was spurned by the boys but the pumpkin pie was inhaled with great fervour. I must confess - it was amazing! After dinner we headed down to the fields and threw a ball around for some time. On the way home Cameron picked blackberries while Kieran sauntered beside him pretending that blackberrries don't exist. Tomorrow morning is a Scout meeting at the Scout hut, and then we'll hit the Carnival down by Tesco in the afternoon, or even on Friday - depending how the boys go.

Day Two: Summer Holidays

Change of plan for the day eventuated when Kieran requested a pyjama day. I am NEVER agreeing to this again. Lesson learned. The day went well otherwise with us working towards three Beaver activity badges, doing some reading, boardgames, writing a story about Perry the Platypus (Kieran) and The Doctor and the Naughty Dalek (me) and finishing up with a spot of baking. Cameron helped make the pizza bases and the chocolate and walnut brownies. He has become quite the accomplished baker. Kieran's shark teeth are coming along nicely. One of his baby teeth is quite wiggly, the other - not so much. He can't wait for the toothfairy to come - and we have been collecting welsh dragon emblazoned pound coins for the tooth fairy to give to him :) This evening I trotted down to Manor Park where there Glossop Heritage Society were organising a tour through Old Glossop, which was very interesting. Manor Park was donated to Glossop by the Duke of Norfolk, who was of course a Howard - the family of Catherine Howard, poor maligned wife of Henry the Eighth. Sadly the Manor was demolished in the fifties but traces of the outbuildings remain.

The plan for tomorrow is to walk down to the playground with the helter skelter by the woods, then head to Manor Park for a picnic lunch and play before heading home to prepare spinach pasta with chicken, bacon and mushrooms. Then on Thursday a carnival comes to Glossop - woot!!

It's been a long time coming: Part 3 - Christmas Revelry

The silly season has arrived! I slashed 2 fingers open to truly bring the season into flower - traditional blood sacrifice and all that :P Sadly I did it at 3pm on a Sunday shortly after the Sunday bus service to Tameside hospital had shut down, and the local emergency rooms are not open on a Sunday. I leaped into a taxi and headed off to Tameside. It was my misfortune that Woolley bridge was closed, meaning a 15 minute trip took and hour and a half. I hopped into hospital, got my hand stitched up and called a local taxi to take me to the train station. It was much faster heading home via train, with a wee walk home at the end of it :) Chris had the delights of cooking and dishes and cleaning while I struggled to dress myself :) Luckily it had healed a bit by the time we headed into the Manchester Christmas markets. The boys were thrilled to see the lego store, but sadly their behaviour deteriorated after hearing we wouldn't buy them half the store. Then we headed into the markets. They were stunning as we strolled through them, first leisurely, then with 'le vigeur'. We eventually gave up and jumped back on the train to get home. The boys had their nativity plays - 2 of them -  and I had to pay to see both!! The unfairness of it still chaps my hide obviously. Post silly season the school shut for a fortnight and the boys and I jumped on a train to London. This was a glorious time as Kieran vomited profusely all over our (scant) bedding at 11pm. Bitter does not even begin to describe my emotions. We rinsed off bedding, and Kieran, and tucked him into bed then cleaned up the bed again and watched him finally sleep. Chris got to take a late night stroll to Tesco to pick up some carpet cleaner as Kieran managed to vomit over the duvet, sheets, library book and carpet. Despite Kirsten's fears that we couldn't travel we managed to make it to Londinium. I got to watch the countryside as we flew through it and saw the Olympic stadium too. Kirsten met us at a coffeeshop and whisked us off the lush surrounds of Fulham. We got to explore Bishops Park and meet Juno which the boys loved, as well as head into the South Bank where we saw Big Ben, the Thames, had a play and rode on a carousel. Sadly, the storms hit that evening and we saw nothing after that :( They were so bad trains leaving London were being cancelled all over the place! Kirsten found bus tickets for us to head out Dad's way, and he collected us and took us to Leominster. Chris travelled by train and missed all the drama!
The coach ride was lovely - we got to see some of the sights of London - Nelson's column, Cleopatra's needle, the outdoors ice rink, Boadica's chariot etc and then see the countryside as we travelled through. It's a lovely country.
Hereford
Leominster
Ludlow
Back to school and birthday

Day One: Summer Holidays

With 8 weeks of hell stretching out before me and very little moola I decided I needed to be organised. I created an excel spreadsheet and threw in as many activities as I could find. After I totalled the cost per week I screamed like a teen at a One Direction concert and slashed two thirds of the activities. I have decided the focus of the holiday is not to have fun and see the sights but to get my children extremely fit by making them walk every, up hill and down dale. They'll be desperate to return to school!!
So today's activity was having a swim at Glossop Pools followed by a picnic at Howard Park. It went swimmingly if I do say so myself :P It was a 'scorcher' of a day so we struck out for the pools, picking raspberries on the way. Once there we had a delightful swim, then followed it up with a cavort at Howard Park and a picnic lunched. We trudged home just before three, Cameron pausing to pick some redcurrants for his Daddy, and I made the boys some pikelets for afternoon tea while they rested in front of the tv. I popped the pork roast on and then we headed off to the fields at the end of Pikes Lane. The boys scampered through the massive hedges of blackberry brambles and I conducted an impromptu nature lesson, noting the deleterious effects of shade on the berry size and ripening rate of the blackberries. The boys were much affected by the brambles afflictions but a good session of chucking the ball around the field soon cheered them up. The plan tomorrow is a saunter to Manor Park, followed by a picnic lunch and a visit to the Library. Should be good!