The last two weeks have been wonderful and busy. We have packed in so much and finally returned home, I had thought about going away later this month but I think it would be best if we didn't for everyone's sanity.
We discovered lots of wonderful new music at the festival we attended over the bank holiday weekend. We were really looking forward to seeing one of our favourite bands play, Afro Celt Sound System, they did not disappoint. The children managed to stay awake for the whole set and loved hearing live versions of the tracks that they dance around the living room to, it was a great start to the weekend.
I spent an evening laughing out loud to the bizarre and funny, Colvin Quarmby who played beautiful music with haunting lyrics with mad chatter in between. We were introduced to new musicians such as Tim O'Brien, Barnstar! playing their UK debut and the wonderful Be Good Tanyas. We listened to old favourites such as Heidi Talbot, Luke Jackson and Capercaillie.
Alongside all the music was dancing, ceilidhs, workshops and more. The children made lanterns in a workshop and on the last evening joined hundreds of others, at dusk, for a parade headed up by a wonderful drumming and percussion band Sambassadors of Groove.
We were not sure if we wanted to attend this festival again as we were disappointed last year but after this year I think this will be a permanent fixture on our calendar. It is the one time of the year when I do what I want, I love live music and stay up late and listen to it all, my husband takes the children to bed!
We sandwiched the festival between a few days of visiting friends who live nearby this meant we were away for a week. We arrived home late on a Tuesday and had two days to sort out the camping stuff, which thankfully was dry, do a mountain of shopping, get clothes washed and more kit out before heading away again. Thankfully I did not have any cooking to do in preparation this time, before heading to the music festival I precooked all our lunches and suppers!
This time we headed to Northumberland with a group of eighteen teenagers and three other adults for a summer camp. We stayed in a delightful village, Ford from which we headed out to activities. We had two groups completing their D of E expedition at Silver and Gold level which I was assessing. We had a third group who did an overnight expedition, a days canoeing on the Rivet Tweed and a day climbing on a local crag. We finished the camp with an extended lunch on Bamburgh beach a beautiful long sandy and mostly empty beach.
It is always a pleasure to be in the company of these teenagers, this is the fifth summer camp we have helped out with and we love doing it. It is immensely hard work but such fun, which is why we do it. Our children always come with us and have great fun spending time with some older children. On the last evening after we had eaten we were sat round a campfire celebrating the achievements of the camp with the owls hooting around us and the sky black and full of stars it was a fitting end.
I spent a great deal of time driving around whilst on camp to meet the d of e groups I was assessing. I listened to the radio on these journeys and it was a real treat to listen to an entire programme without any interruptions. One in particular is worthy of a listen, Frys English Delight a very interesting look at the evolution of our quirky and bizarre spelling.
I have returned home now and we are mostly unpacked. I have a mountain of laundry and it is raining.... I have a garden bursting with veg, yum yum. I have two happy children who have played together all day and who have been asking if we can stay at home for a while and do you know I think we will, as much as I love to go away, home is good for me and no pictures again I was too busy having a good time!
Showing posts with label climbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climbing. Show all posts
Climbing
21 August 2012
We visited a climbing area this weekend. I had not visited this area for a long time, since university nearly twenty years ago. I did not get to climb on this occassion but the children were both keen to have a go somewhere less busy. I did not want them to feel under any pressure to try out something new but am glad that they would like to try it some day.
Whilst we were at the crag I had lots of time to sit and soak up the beautiful area that I was in. It made me realise what a beautiful country I live in and how lucky I am that I am able to spend time exploring it. I love where I have chosen to settle and bring up a family but there are also other parts of my country that are lovely too. I have not been out of the area I live in much this year, I have not felt like it, so it felt good to return to somewhere that I enjoyed living many years ago and still appreciate it as a beautiful place. I fell I will return again sometime soon.
We have been mainly.....
20 August 2012
this week we have been doing a variety of things and keeping busy as always.
We started the week with our usual trip into the local town for food shopping and a visit to the library. I picked up a ball of yarn this week too, to knit a scarf for a Christmas present. I needed a small knitting project to take camping over the weekend. One of my current projects is from a 1kg cone which is not very portable! We picked up a great story sack from the library on caterpillars. It had some lovely books in it and a great game that my youngest and I played many times during the course of the week.
On Tuesday we joined our friends for our regular playdate. My youngest once again spent most of our time there on the trampoline. I did not see my eldest much during the day until he asked me late on if one of his friends could come home with us for supper. We returned home with an extra child for a few hours they played upstairs with Lego coming down only to eat supper before returning to their play.
We joined friends again the next day at their house for shared lunch and play. The afternoon disappeared really quickly and the house looked like a whirlwind had been through it. We helped to tidy up before we left as we had helped to create the mess. After a really early start to the day, my youngest woke me at 5.30am and I could not get back to sleep, I was hoping to get to bed early. It was not to be, I needed to get to grips with a route card that I had been sent for a Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition. I had suspected at first glance a few days ago that it would not meet the requirements and it did not, it took me a long time to go through it all and make notes to explain to the group what they needed to do.
We spent most of the next two days at home preparing for a weekend away. We had to go out and food shop again to pick up extra food. I baked two big cakes, made 36 bread rolls and some mini pizzas in the afternoon! I also had to make a phone call regarding the route card. I ended up having to write an email, as I did not want to leave along and garbled message. A busy day lightened by my wonderful youngest child.
On Friday afternoon we all headed south in a minibus with two friends and eight explorer scouts for a weekend climbing. We stopped for supper on the way, by the time we got to the campsite it was getting dark. We have never put our tent up in the dark it was a interesting experience but we managed it. Over the weekend we spent the whole of Saturday and part of Sunday at Stanage a popular gritstone climbing crag near Sheffield. I spent two years as a student in Sheffield nearly twenty years ago, it was weird to be back there again after so long. I did not manage to climb over the weekend which was a shame but I am sure there will be time for this at some point. I spent the days assisting at the bottom and taking the children on walks nearby. There is a lot to see and explore around these crags including gritstone grinding wheels for mills that have been made, but abandoned near the crag. We had lovely weather over the weekend warm, but not too hot, as we got into the minibus to come home the rain poured, great timing. Climbing in the rain on gritstone is no fun at all!
We started the week with our usual trip into the local town for food shopping and a visit to the library. I picked up a ball of yarn this week too, to knit a scarf for a Christmas present. I needed a small knitting project to take camping over the weekend. One of my current projects is from a 1kg cone which is not very portable! We picked up a great story sack from the library on caterpillars. It had some lovely books in it and a great game that my youngest and I played many times during the course of the week.
On Tuesday we joined our friends for our regular playdate. My youngest once again spent most of our time there on the trampoline. I did not see my eldest much during the day until he asked me late on if one of his friends could come home with us for supper. We returned home with an extra child for a few hours they played upstairs with Lego coming down only to eat supper before returning to their play.
We joined friends again the next day at their house for shared lunch and play. The afternoon disappeared really quickly and the house looked like a whirlwind had been through it. We helped to tidy up before we left as we had helped to create the mess. After a really early start to the day, my youngest woke me at 5.30am and I could not get back to sleep, I was hoping to get to bed early. It was not to be, I needed to get to grips with a route card that I had been sent for a Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition. I had suspected at first glance a few days ago that it would not meet the requirements and it did not, it took me a long time to go through it all and make notes to explain to the group what they needed to do.
We spent most of the next two days at home preparing for a weekend away. We had to go out and food shop again to pick up extra food. I baked two big cakes, made 36 bread rolls and some mini pizzas in the afternoon! I also had to make a phone call regarding the route card. I ended up having to write an email, as I did not want to leave along and garbled message. A busy day lightened by my wonderful youngest child.
On Friday afternoon we all headed south in a minibus with two friends and eight explorer scouts for a weekend climbing. We stopped for supper on the way, by the time we got to the campsite it was getting dark. We have never put our tent up in the dark it was a interesting experience but we managed it. Over the weekend we spent the whole of Saturday and part of Sunday at Stanage a popular gritstone climbing crag near Sheffield. I spent two years as a student in Sheffield nearly twenty years ago, it was weird to be back there again after so long. I did not manage to climb over the weekend which was a shame but I am sure there will be time for this at some point. I spent the days assisting at the bottom and taking the children on walks nearby. There is a lot to see and explore around these crags including gritstone grinding wheels for mills that have been made, but abandoned near the crag. We had lovely weather over the weekend warm, but not too hot, as we got into the minibus to come home the rain poured, great timing. Climbing in the rain on gritstone is no fun at all!
Teenagers
19 August 2012
I have just spent a weekend in the company of eight teenagers. My family and two friends took this little group to Derbyshire to camp and do some climbing. We had a wonderful time and as always the young people were engaging company. I know that my own children are a long way off being teenagers themselves, but I do like being around them.
These young people are part of a local Explorer Scout unit. They join at fourteen and leave at eighteen. It is great to see the changes in them over this time, how they grow to be comfortable in their own skin. How they blossom and become more confident. Teenagers these days, as always, get a bad press. There seems to be little positive writing about this crucial time in life, when we are changing and getting ready to move on in the world to pastures new. Well I think they are great and will continue to volunteer my time.
These young people are part of a local Explorer Scout unit. They join at fourteen and leave at eighteen. It is great to see the changes in them over this time, how they grow to be comfortable in their own skin. How they blossom and become more confident. Teenagers these days, as always, get a bad press. There seems to be little positive writing about this crucial time in life, when we are changing and getting ready to move on in the world to pastures new. Well I think they are great and will continue to volunteer my time.
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