It’s the last day of January, and I thought I had better reflect on whether my attempts at being frugal worked, or not…..
On the whole, this has been a financially low stress month. I managed to get a great deal on my digital camera. I bought the best model I could afford, and managed to get 6 months interest free. I shopped around, and the price I paid was cheaper than elsewhere, as sometimes I think interest free options are not always at the best price. I have made and baked wherever possible, even making digestive biscuits which were so successful that my eldest son ate all 30 over two evenings! Making more stuff from scratch and resisting fresh goods 3 for 2 or BOGOF offers has made us waste less, although if it’s tinned or dried stuff with a long shelf life, I’ve still bought them. I think I’ve probably annoyed several shoppers by standing working out which is the most economical product to buy – especially when it comes to cat food that seems to come in so many different sizes!
My sewing box is no longer gathering dust in a corner, but is where I can get it to mend where necessary. Jumpers have been repaired and I found some material in a sale, so bought that to make some cushions rather than buy them – 2 silk cushions for under £10, what a bargain!! However, I have drawn the line at repairing a pair of socks that don’t really fit our youngest son any more, even though they are ‘my favourite socks’.
The bottom line with all this rambling, is that on the day before payday, my account is still in credit, and the credit card has stayed in my purse. I think that considering it’s January, the month after Christmas and the month of sales and bargains, I’ve done really well. January has been an almost frugal month, spending when I needed to, and saving when I didn’t. Healthier eating, mended clothes, a happy family and money at the end of the month…..long may it continue!!
Our friend Emma looks back on the hardest financial month of the year…and is smiling. Well done you!
Best foot forward into 2011. Welcome back Emma!
Christmas has come and gone, the New Year has been toasted in, the decorations are down and the house looks a little bare. Maybe too much was eaten or drunk, hopefully the presents were a big success, and perhaps the bank account is a little low, and the credit card bills a little high.
We decided to do Christmas on a bit of a budget this year, as I mentioned in an earlier blog. Budget is probably the wrong word; the idea was to buy the right presents for people rather than worrying about spending £X on each person. I think it was a success – I certainly got an amazing priceless present from my husband and the boys, a silver necklace with two heart shaped pendants each with an impression of the boys’ finger prints. It is wonderful, unique and precious beyond words. Although it wasn’t a low budget present, it wasn’t as expensive as you might think, and was the right present, which is what this Christmas was supposed to be about.
I intend to carry this ethos on this year. How? I have spent this evening mending. A body warmer had a rip in a seam, but not anymore, and our sofa has developed a hole over the Christmas hols – too much playing on the Wii maybe? Only one cushion (the seat nearest the TV) has a hole, and the other sofa and armchair are fine. Do we take advantage of the amazing never ending sofa sales with interest free credit and nothing to pay for at least 6 months, or do we fix the hole, find a throw, and get another couple of years out of it? It’s mended, and the throw is in place.
I hope we can keep this philosophy going throughout 2011 and beyond. If we need to buy something (at the moment I’m after a digital SLR camera for work projects and home use too) I want to buy the best value for money item I can. Not the most expensive, or cheapest, but, a bit like Christmas, the right item at the right price, the best we can get within our budget, something that will last, and can be repaired rather than replaced if it goes wrong. I’ve resisted buying things we don’t need in the sales – all I’ve bought are some shoes that I needed (could have done with them a month ago, but waited until the sales!), some socks for my eldest son, and some half price Christmas cards (which will only be a bargain if I put them in a place where I will be able to find them next November). There were definitely more bargains to be had, but if we didn’t need them, were they really a bargain? I decided they weren’t, and saved my money.
Food is another area where we can make cut backs without losing quality. I work part time. I teach one day a week, and then another two or three days flexi- time working from home, so I am lucky that I do have time. By making and baking things from scratch, you get better quality for less money. We got the River Cottage Everyday book for Christmas, and Micro son and I made the most amazing pizzas last week – we each had the toppings we wanted (mushroom, cheese, ham, pepperoni, egg (!!)). There was more than enough for four, and it cost a fraction of the price of shop bought or take away pizzas. It took longer to make, but not as long as driving or walking to the shops, and I bet it was healthier. I just hope we can continue this through 2011 and beyond too.
Hopefully if we stick to our plans, we won’t need to be frugal or on a tight budget this January, or at all in 2011. We can mend what can be mended, cook as many meals as we can from scratch using fresh, locally sourced, seasonal ingredients (which will also save money, reduce our carbon footprint, and support the local economy), buy the best that we can afford, but only buy what we really want, and, more importantly, what we need. Fingers crossed!!
Christmas is coming….by Emma Salt
Emma Salt kicks off our festive families season on the familiesrecommend blog with her thoughts about the run up to Christmas.
It amazes and amuses me how supermarkets start marketing Christmas as soon as sales of suntan lotion begin to decline at the beginning of September. Once we’re into autumn, and Hallowe’en has been and gone, it seems you can’t turn on the TV without being bombarded by toy adverts – or sofa adverts guaranteeing you can have your new sofa by Christmas! My youngest son came running into the kitchen at the beginning of October shouting “I’ve found it, I’ve found it!” I asked what he had found, expecting him to answer a lost toy, but no, he’d found the Argos catalogue, and spent the following hour marking all the toys he wanted for his birthday (in November) or for Christmas.
Maybe I’m turning into a grumpy old woman (though perhaps less of the old, I’m still in my 30s!), but I can’t remember Christmas starting quite this early when I was little. I also can’t remember my Christmas lists being quite so expensive, either, although I can remember marking the different toy catalogues with an ‘E’, and I usually added a puppy or a pony to the list. Father Christmas visited me in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, which predated the digital age by a few years. We thought we were very technical and ‘with it’ because we had an Atari and a video player, but there were no MP3 players, mobile phones or I-pads on my list, and even if they had been around, I think they would have been well beyond my parents’ means. As we struggle out of the worst recession in living memory, it can be very hard for parents to explain that Father Christmas can’t bring the latest gadget, or a walking, talking robot. At least my parents had the reasonable excuse and logic when they told me a pony wouldn’t fit on the sleigh, or down the chimney.
So, what are we to do? We are lucky that our youngest son’s birthday is 5 weeks before Christmas, so we can refuse to do much about Christmas until his birthday has been and gone. Both our children go to church schools, so they do know the true meaning of Christmas, and they also have a very good understanding of other religious festivals that occur at this time of year. When my youngest started telling me all the presents he wanted, I had to stop him and tell him that was a bit too greedy. He pulled a face, but I asked him if he thought Jesus would have complained that he had Frankincense, gold and myrrh instead of the latest MP3 player, and he burst out laughing and said no, of course not. Point made, perhaps. He then asked if Father Christmas could bring him the presents, and I got out of that one by saying that Father Christmas only brings presents to good boys and girls, and that if you were greedy, you weren’t being good. Touché!
I think that as parents we need to set an example, and show restraint, if we want to, and stick with it. I am going to go for quality over quantity this year – to try to buy or make presents that people will really appreciate, and am going to try to get the boys to make lots of presents too. I’m quite good with a sewing machine, and the boys and I make a terrific trio in the kitchen, so handmade biscuits and sweets from the boys will go down a treat with close friends and relatives, and will help them to appreciate that Christmas is about giving as well as receiving, and not just about a huge pile or presents under the tree that will be forgotten or discarded a week or two later. That’s the plan at least!
Unlocking the potential in our school children
Regular Guest Blogger, Emma Salt considers the stereotypes in education and how we need to unlock the potential in every child
There have been a few articles in the press recently about a study that found that children had adapted stereotypical views of boys’ and girls’ abilities as young as seven. Apparently primary school teachers fuel these opinions by the way they interact with the children. As a parent with two boys, and as an FE lecturer, this made me stop and think both about the boys’ education, and the way I treat my students.
My eldest son has definitely found formal education challenging. He’s bright, articulate but is in the bottom sets, mainly because of dyslexia, but also because of preconceptions by teachers, and himself. At parents’ evening last year a science teacher told us that she obviously didn’t teach the lower sets as much as the higher sets. Why not? I think I probably go too far the other way, and see too much potential in everyone, and I certainly expect much higher of my son. I know what he is intellectually capable of, and expect him to achieve this regardless of learning disability, or learning style.
My youngest son is about to go into year 1. As parents we are a little apprehensive as he cannot sit still, he has to fiddle, talk, fidget and may appear not to be listening or concentrating. However, if you make him sit up and sit still, he will be concentrating on that rather than the task in hand. He had a fantastic teacher in reception who very quickly understood what he was like, and let him fidget with his bottom and legs when he was keeping his arms and hands still for writing, and she also let him answer lots of questions in discussions because talking is what he’s very good at. I hope we can quickly build up that same rapport with the new teacher as I would hate his self belief and self worth to go down.
Every child has a gift, something they can excel at. Some may be excellent at sitting still and getting on with their work; others may need to be taught a little differently. Some children need to do, to get their hands involved, and not just boys – I always took things to bits when I was younger, and only did well academically when I was learning practical, applied sciences rather than sitting still learning theories. Teachers need to find the key to unlocking the potential in every child, but also need to accept and nurture the fact that some children are very academic, others more practically minded, not stupid.
When I first started teaching, we had an inspirational manager who told us all that we were in the most privileged position imaginable. We had been invited into the lives of young people to educate and inspire them. We therefore had a duty of care to do just that, and that is something I have always tried to take into the classroom. I am there to educate and inspire, and I think that should be a mantra taught to all in the teaching profession regardless of age taught.
Education and Learning, Emma Salt, Guest bloggers | 
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Choosing a school
Guest blogger, Emma Salt tells us of her decision to send her child to an independent school.
After 9 months of pregnancy, 3 years of watching a tiny helpless baby grow into a wilful but fun toddler, it’s finally time to decide where he or she will go to school. If your local state school is a good primary school with above average SAT results and a high league table position, there probably isn’t much of a decision to make. If, however, the local school is the wrong side of average, and it feeds a secondary school that has been in and out of special measures for the last ten years, there are lots of discussions and decisions to make.
We found ourselves in this position 11.5 years ago when our eldest (and only at the time) son was 2.5. He was already at a day nursery while I went to university, and in addition to the description above, our local school could only offer full time, mornings or afternoons. With my uni course, I needed 3 full days a week, but as Macro would only be 3 when he started school, I wanted to spend my days off with him. We looked briefly at other state schools in the area, but, to be honest, they weren’t much better. We then looked round a private school that’s only 3 miles from where we live. The school was amazing. The head teacher knew all the children by name, there were no more than 20 in a class, the children were all incredibly polite and confident, and after looking round, we knew that’s where we wanted him to go.
Neither of us had been to private schools, although my parents had moved when I was 11 so I could go to a state grammar school, and my mum won a scholarship to a private school when she was little. My parents were supportive of our decision, although worried about the long term financial implications. Hubby’s parents were a little more hesitant. His mum was the first to come round, and shared my parent’s concerns over cost. His dad took longer to accept our decision. His attitude was that you shouldn’t have to pay for a decent education, and that the more parents like us who deserted the local school the worse it would get. I agreed with everything he said, in theory, but was not willing to sacrifice my son’s education.
We discussed and discussed the pros and cons, but the only con that we kept coming up with was the cost. Nursery vouchers would help until I graduated, and I had student loans that had paid for a year in a day nursery so far, and could top up the nursery vouchers for another 2 years. At the time, we only had one child, and had no immediate plans to have any more, so the plan was that after graduation whatever I earned had to cover school fees and holidays!
We have had ups and downs over the last 11 years. Macro was diagnosed with severe dyslexia when he was 7. I had challenged the school for two years, and finally had him assessed during the summer hols. After a several teething troubles with how to deal with his dyslexia, the school became very supportive. They also do lots of sport and music, and Macro became a regular in the rugby and cricket teams, and played trumpet in the school orchestra.
When Micro came along, we were obviously going to have to find the extra fees when he was 3, because, to be honest, we couldn’t send one to the private school and the other to the local state school, so we tightened our belts even more, and now they are both at private school.
I wouldn’t say it’s a struggle to find the fees each term, but it’s not always easy – especially when the bill for the Easter term arrives just before Christmas. Macro has won a sports scholarship from September which will be a huge help. We have made lifestyle choices that allow us to keep the boys at school, but I definitely wouldn’t call them sacrifices. We usually holiday in the UK before the state schools break up, saving money but also beating most of the queues, and where we holiday is beautiful and would be very hard to beat. Our house is lovely, and plenty big enough for the four of us, but isn’t any more than we need. We do lots of things together, have takeaways more than we go out for meals, but we don’t go without. Macro has less pocket money than most of his friends, but has learnt the art of saving and budgeting.
We have never regretted our decision to send the boys to private school. It was right for us, and for them. Macro is about to start year 9, option year, and the flexibility of private schools means that he should be able to take all 3 sciences, but as he has dyslexia he can drop a modern language so that he can have learning support. Micro has just finished reception, and because of the rapport we have with the school, and because they have specialist staff, he has had some sessions of one to one tuition to help with phonics as we think he may be dyslexic too.
We are lucky that the school is so close. I have friends from school who drive an hour each way to take their children. I think if that had been the option open to us – a good private school an hour’s drive away – we would have chosen state schools, but I would encourage everyone to trust your heart and gut instinct, and choose the right school for your child, whether state or private, single sex or co-ed.
Education and Learning, Emma Salt, Guest bloggers, Pre-School | No Comments »
A huge thank you to Emma, Craig, Macro and Micro.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Emma, Craig, Macro and Micro for taking the time to blog about their fantastic holiday to Cornwall. It really has been a pleasure to read and this shows in the comments that we have had about it. Thank you all so much for sharing your holiday with us. It really is very generous.
Lee
Last day and then home (only 351 sleeps until returning!)
Wednesday
Isn’t it great when the weather forecast is completely wrong?
The forecast today was for sunny spells until mid morning, and then heavy showers for the rest of the day. We went for a walk along the coast path and onto the beach at the far end of the bay in sunshine. We found a way down onto the beach, and found an arch, a stack and other geographical features I remember from Macro’s revision this summer! Lots of climbing, playing and then skimming stones before we saw grey clouds on the horizon and decided to head back to the flat and off to Padstow to buy the bits we forgot yesterday, and also so replace Micro’s logsber toy that had broken last night.
Padstow was really busy – and really wet, it had obviously been raining. We found a parking space, and Micro and I went to the Logsber Hatchery, and Macro and Hubby went shopping. Bits and pieces bought, so we came back via Padstow Farm Shop.
After lunch, the sun was still out, so we all went down to the beach for a play, not a swim. However, once we were down there, Macro decided that he wanted to go boarding, so he walked back up to the flat to get his board. Micro then saw Charlie and Ed and started playing with them. When they went in the sea, Micro decided he wanted to go in too, so I went back to the flat, got changed and then went back to the beach with his wetsuit, board and two towels.
Back on the beach, Micro didn’t want to board in the sea, but instead played for ages in the pools left when the sea went out. He was still playing when Macro came out of the water, and kept playing in the water while Macro and I played bat and ball.
Eventually with the sun beginning to go down (and still no rain), we left the beach and walked back to the flat, one last time. Tea, and our final walk to the pub, last drink and last games of pool. Macro and I walked back along the beach, took some last photos, and back to the flat for a good night’s sleep before tidying and going home.
Thursday
Up early, breakfast and coffee then tidy tidy tidy – and load the car!! The original plan had been to leave late on Thursday, we then thought we’d leave mid afternoon, but as the weather wasn’t great, and as the boys wanted to see grandparents when we got home, we decided to leave when we were ready (which could well have turned out to be evening!!).
Packing, loading and tidying went smoothly, and, surprisingly, the car was ready soon after 10. We had one more walk down to the beach, a last spend in the shop, a last try in the toilet (for all of us!) and then keys handed in and off.
Micro has never been a brilliant traveller, but is getting better – the proof would be the nonstop conversation all the way from home to Exeter on the way down. However, 20 minutes into the homeward journey, he started complaining of headaches and feeling ‘really really ill’. We tried encouraging him to play, have a sleep, have some water, none of which worked. Hubby was beginning to get a little cross, telling him it was probably in his mind and he just had to pull himself together and try a bit harder. Then we heard the dreaded retching sound, and Micro was sick. Macro screeched a ‘Mum’ sound, and I emptied one of the plastic bags I had in the front with me, and Micro finished being sick in that. Half an hour down, at least 5 hours to go, and there was sick on Micro’s shorts, on his car seat, and in the bag that was now by my feet.
We encouraged him to have a sleep, and half an hour later when we stopped for petrol, he woke up and said he felt a little better. I put the bag in the bin – but as most plastic bags have little air holes in, the bag wasn’t as full as it had been……… Micro dozed for a little longer, then we heard crunching sounds coming from the back, and he was munching his way through a packet of cheesey crisps. Then he asked for an apple, more water, and when we stopped for a sandwich for lunch, he wanted a hot child’s meal. Torn between glad he was feeling better and worried the nausea would return, we eventually decided to let him have what he wanted, and keep our fingers crossed.
A fairly uneventful journey after the initial drama – lots of surface water on the motorways at times, some strange drivers, and lots of lorries, the vague smell of sick, but nothing too bad – and we got home soon after 5. Mum and Dad brought the dogs back, and life went back to normal. After 14 days away the garden was wild, the ironing fairies hadn’t been, but it was nice to be home, but a little sad to think it was probably 351 sleeps ‘til we were back again……
One more thing…..
For us Harlyn is THE place to go on holiday. We are an active doing family, but we do things together, Macro spends all his time in the sea, Micro plays imagination games on the beach, Hubby reads, boards and goes out on his boat, and I walk, board and swim. As a family, we beach comb, go rock pooling, climb the rocks, talk, laugh and just spend time together. However, if you like lots of organised activities, restaurants, shops, things to do, kids clubs etc, there are lots of places in Cornwall that would suit you, but it wouldn’t be Harlyn.
Shopping, rain and logsbers!
Tuesday
What an unusually soggy but fun day. I don’t do shopping. At home we live about half an hour from Meadowhall shopping centre near Sheffield, and are about the same from two outlets, but I can’t remember the last time I went to any of them. However, for a family that don’t do shopping, we seemed to spend a lot of time today at shops spending money on ourselves, and on gifts for family and friends. As forecast, it was raining in the morning, so we packed Micro’s waterproof, and headed off to Padstow, arriving just before 11. We went to the different shops we needed to go to, and some we didn’t. We looked at lots of sale stuff in different shops, and Micro got a T-shirt that, apparently, is really cool and just what he needed. Hubby had been into on of the shops earlier in the holiday and seen a shirt in their sale, so went back in to day to buy it, but they didn’t have any left in his size. They do, however, have a shop in Rock, a ferry ride across the Camel river. While we were waiting to see if there was the right size in Rock, I tried on a shirt, and a pair of trousers. Shirt fitted, but I had a choice of right size wrong colour/ right colour wrong size. By luck, the Rock shop had the right size and colour for both of us, so the plan was to have a light bite to eat, then ferry across to Rock, have a look round, buy the clothes and then ferry back and look round the Lobster Hatchery.
On the ferry, the heavens opened, so we had a wet walk through Rock trying to find the shop. Hubby asked at a pub, to be told it was just up the road on the right. We walked as far as ‘just up the road’ should have been and with no sign of any shops and the boys getting wetter and more fed up, I decided to take them back to the RNLI shop, and let hubby carry on with the clothes hunt. The RNLI shop was great, and we were allowed to look round the lifeboat, as long as we didn’t touch anything as it was ready to go out to see, if needed.
Macro spent money on all sorts of things, from a folding cup to a multi tool, and Micro bought a pad and pen, and poster. We then sat outside under shelter waiting for Hubby who turned up quite soon after. Apparently the shop was another half a mile from where we left him. Think we made the right decision.
Back over the ferry and round to the Lobsters. Macro and I went to buy some fish for tea, and let Hubby and Micro go and see the lobsters, sorry, logsbers. However hard we tried to get Micro to say ‘LOBSTER’ he said ‘LOGSBER’, so the name stuck! We looked round two years ago, and when we came back to the flat Micro had a nightmare about a giant logsber, but this time he really enjoyed it, understood what was happening with the baby logsbers, and got lots out of the look round. He spent his money on a couple of souvenirs, and then they met us at the car.
Home for tea, and then the boys and I went down to the beach for a walk and some stone skimming, and then met Hubby at the pub for the now compulsory drink and pool. Back to the flat for a bit of TV and sleep! A strange but good day.
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Boarding, rock pools and the beach
Monday
Possibly our last sunny day of the holiday if the weather forecasts are right, so we spent the day on the beach, making the most of the sunshine. After his initial excitement and confidence in the sea, Micro went off the sea very quickly after the rainy day last week. It seemed such a shame that he’d got like that, so I decided to get him happy to go in again, even if it was just paddling and playing rather than boarding.
We started by going down the edge of the sea, filling up the bucket, and then Micro dipping his toes in there – which he found quite funny. Then, as Hubby took his boat out, we went and took some photos of him, standing at the edge of the sea. We then walked to the edge of the bay (the tide was in, so we couldn’t walk all the way round) in the surf, and back again. His confidence was returning, so back to the beach tent for lunch – ice cream and crisps!
After lunch and more playing Macro went back in the sea, so Micro and I went for another walk along the beach to see how far we could get now the tide was going out taking his net so we could go rock pooling. We played all the way along the beach, finding ‘islands’ that were either patches of sand still surrounded by sea, or rocks that we could climb on and call ‘Island Mum and Micro’. We could get much further, although not still right round the bay, but we investigated caves, found fish, limpets and shrimps (not shrinks!) in rock pools, and had a really good ‘together’ time.
We walked back along the beach, and it was just beginning to rain very lightly. Micro was OK with the rain – another sign of his improved confidence – and he ran to see if we could find Macro, and fell over with a ‘SPLAT’, and all of his body was covered in sand. We joked that he could climb over slippy rocks and climb up steep rocks and not even wobble, but on flat sand…….
We saw Macro still playing and boarding in the waves, so went back to the tent and Hubby. We told him what we had seen, and how one of our islands had sea snails, so could have lived on that one and eaten sea snail sandwiches (!!), and another had hairy limpets (sea weed growing on them), and about the hairy rock we had seen.
By this time it was nearly 3, and we had to pop to the shops before tea, so Micro took Hubby down the beach to show him our islands and rocks, and I went to take some pictures of Macro in the surf before coming in. We eventually persuaded Macro to come in, and then we packed everything up, and left the beach. With the weather breaking, it might be another year before we are boarding and playing on it again.
Shopping and then home to change, and to the pub for tea! We sat in the alcove that we were told last year was haunted, and had a lovely meal – everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. The boys got very sad before bed being torn between wanting to go home, and sad that there are only two full days left of the holiday. Micro doesn’t want to wait until he is six and 2.5 quarters before we come back (looks like we’ll be coming back again next year then!), and Macro wants to go home and see everyone. Oh well, lets see what tomorrow will bring.
Emma Salt, Family days out, Guest bloggers, Places to go, Staycation | No Comments »
Padstow to Bodmin Family Cycle Ride
Sunday
I write this with aching legs and a sore bottom – and it’s actually tomorrow not today. I will explain……
Two years ago we went on a bike ride along the Camel Trail which runs from Padstow to Bodmin and beyond. We didn’t do it last year because of the weather, and had promised the boys that we would this year, if we could. The weather forecast was that it would be dry in the afternoon, so after the boys were being particularly horrid to each other in the morning, then after being threatened with no bike ride or swimming and then turning it round and being particularly nice to each other, we decided to go.
We drove to Padstow, and eventually found somewhere to park, and then went to Padstow Bike Hire and got ourselves kitted out. Two years ago, Micro had been in a buggy type pull along, but this year we were going to try a proper tag along like we have at home. Hubby had the bike and tag along, Macro had a mountain bike, and I got a hybrid with a bag on the back for the puncture repair kit, pump and lock.
We set off towards Wadebridge, and managed the 6 miles in about 35 minutes, so decided to carry on towards Bodmin. The trail is all off road, except for cycling through Wadebridge where you have to travel on the main road through the town and negotiate two roundabouts. Hubby and Micro were in front, Macro was in the middle and I was at the back. We managed to get round the roundabouts without any problems (it helped that it was a Sunday afternoon), and were back onto the trail.
We kept cycling along the Camel Valley towards Bodmin, Macro zooming off in front, and then waiting for us, and the rest of us trundling along at a steady pace. Macro and I swapped bikes as his saddle was uncomfortable, but soon swapped back as it’s harder to go zooming off on the hybrid.
The tag along was different to the one we have at home, and each time Micro moved, Hubby’s bike wobbled, so with about a mile to go to the coffee shop, Hubby and Micro waited at a bench while Macro and I went on to get some drinks and biscuits to bring back. Nice plan, but I only had £5 in cash on me, and it took AGES to pay for everything with Visa, by which time Hubby sent a text saying that he would start to head back slowly with Micro, and we could catch him up. We did, and had a quick drink before heading back to Wadebridge where we could have our mini picnic.
Between Wadebridge and Padstow an ambulance had been called to help a small child – hope it was all OK. We went past the scene, and carried on to Padstow swapping bikes with Macro and back again.
Back at Padstow by 4.40, and we must have cycled over 18 miles in total. Ice creams, smoothies and then back to the car and back to the flat for a rest and tea. After tea, for some strange reason (probably because Hubby was watching the end of the Open on TV), I decided to take the boys for a walk along the coast path, then over some rocks down to the beach. We were then going to walk along the beach and meet Hubby at the Pub. Everything went according to plan, even though the rocks were higher and steeper then they seemed when I was on my own, and after skimming rocks, splashing through rock pools and slipping on seaweed, we met Hubby at the end of the beach, and had our habitual drink and game of pool before coming back to the flat, a little sore, a little achy, but happy after a good day.
Emma Salt, Family days out, Guest bloggers, Staycation | No Comments »