Another Christmas

The tree looks smaller than ever compared to the children this year. There were many willing and able hands to help put it up though, something that has changed over time.

Angel!

For his part, Oscar quite enjoys playing with the baubles on the tree, as well as with Daniel's Lego advent calendar that he bought himself.
We have been trying to take some photos of the children to hand out as gifts. Not all were successful, but some were....

It has been quite a good year on the Lego front for Daniel......

 
Zoe is growing up fast. She got a laptop for her birthday, and is really pleased as it is purple!

New laptop!

Hannah has decided that she would like to have a Gecko as a pet. So instead of just saying "no" outright. I suggested that she find out how she would look after it, what it would eat, what care it needs, what would she do when we are on holiday, what would Oscar think? etc etc
The aim was that she works out for herself that she doesn't really have room in her life for a Gecko at the moment.
Instead, we now have an 11 year old with an encyclopedic knowledge of Gecko care!

Decoration

We (actually mostly Lynda) have been decorating Hannah's bedroom. We started about six weeks ago, but as ever, it took longer than we had expected.
Hannah wanted a "red" colour scheme, but agreed to neutral walls and just red for the accessories and curtains.
So in six weeks it has gone from blown plaster walls with a Pooh Bear border, to a much more suitable looking room for an 11 year old.

Even Oscar seems ok with the new look. This is a relief, as he hasn't been well for the last week. He had picked up some sort of virus it seems. After several trips to the vet for check-ups and blood tests he is a lot better, and back out roaming the neighbourhood.

Fourteen!

Fourteen!
Zoe had some friends round on Saturday to help celebrate her birthday. As it was also Bonfire Night we threw caution to the wind, and let them wave sparklers around and cook marshmallows over the firepit! A good time seemed to be had by all.

Time to sparkle!

"Take your shoes off before you go upstairs"

Hannah was 11 as well......

It was obviously Hannah's birthday too. She had some friends round to do some arts and crafts themed activities, which included each girl colouring a pair of white plimsolls. It was really nice that they all sat in the dining room chatting away to each other about all sorts of things. You have to observe in stark contrast to the boys at Daniel's party, who couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes!

Go Karts with Daniel

For Daniel's 11th (how have those years gone so fast?!) birthday party this year he took some friends go-karting.  A great time was had by all.  I did the "responsible adult" thing, and kept an eye from the side-lines.  It was most people's first time ina petrol kart, and I was quite relieved when they all exited the pits and made it round the first lap!
Daniel is keen to have another go.  Mariokarts will never be the same again......!

 Daniel exiting the pits

They seem so grown up!

World of Adventures

Went to Chessington a couple of weeks back with Zoe. As it was an inset day, the queues were very small, so we went on pretty much every ride. I have to say that I didn't realise that the rides all span round and round quite as much as they do. A queasy day for me, but a good one.

50 feels like a big number

We had some friends over to celebrate my 50th a few weeks back.  It was great to catch up with a few faces that we had't seen for a while.
Zoe had made some birthday cup-cakes at Elayne's which were very tasty, and looked fab.....

In my defence - it was quite late :-)

I was quite tired by the end!......

Cornwall 2011

We all had a great time near Bude last week.  The weather was ok and we managed to get to the beach most days.  Everybody went bodyboarding, we had fish & chips at Padstow (a town seemingly dominated by Rick Stein), had a look around Boscastle, went crabbing in Port Isaac, and went for a couple of good walks.  The Coastal Path gives some great views and winds around some dramatic scenery.
I managed to pick up a rib injury whilst bodyboarding.  A visit to the local Minor Injuries Clinic diagnosed bruising rather than any break which was good news.

All set!

On the beach

Crabbing

We caught one! (several in fact)

Roadblock

There was even time for dancing...

...playing cards

...and watching the sun go down

The Lakes in August

Had another great trip to Cathy's last week. I had taken on board the customer feedback after last year's walk up Coniston's Old Man. So this time we did a shorter walk from Grasmere village to Easedale Tarn. Having a Tarn as a destination seems like a good idea, as the children do like to paddle and attempt to skim stones across the water. It does provide a good spot to have a rest before heading back down.
There were some people swimming in the tarn, but I didn't hear any of our party asking about this.

 

On a sunny afternoon, our children did don wetsuits and have a swim in Grasmere which was good to see. I was tempted to have a swim myself, but the water really was quite cool, and sadly I didn't have my wetsuit with me. Phew!

Another highlight of the trip, for Hannah especially, was the discovery of a "Herdy" shop in Grasmere. This sells a range of goods based on pictures of sheep. Very nice, but also as I found at the till, quite expensive when impulse buying gathers pace unchecked!

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Camping with no rain!

Bit of a gap, but we had a good camping trip in the sunshine(!) near Lymington in June...

Breakfast

Zoe and me

Where are we now?

Scene: breakfast in Swiss hotel restaurant.

Scene: breakfast in Swiss hotel restaurant.
American lady: "could i have coffee without caffein please?"
Waitress; "?"
American lady: "could i have coffee without caffein please?"
Waitress; "?"
Man at another table: "that's ok. Let me explain."
(At this point I'm expecting a fluent conversation in french)
Man to waitress: "s-h-e w-a-n-t-s a c-o-f-f-e-e w-i-t-h-o-u-t a-n-y- c-a-f-f-e-i-n."

Top way to start the day :-)

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Tuesday 28 June

Tuesday 28 June
Interesting day at the EBU Networks Seminar today. Had a wander through a park to the lake this evening. Geneva was quite busy with lots of people out walking and swimming. The fountain is quite impressive. I recall it being in the opening scenes of a TV drama series called "The Champions" when I was a lot younger. I walked onto a jetty on the opposite side to the fountain jetty for a closer look.

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Lakes Weekend June

Lakes Weekend June
A great weekend with Garry and Elaine, Dave and Dave. We arrived late on Thursday so had time for a good catchup and a gentle walk on Friday. Wansfell above Ambleside. Some lovely views across Windermere and the surrounding Fells and Mountains. A possible walk to do with the children when we go to Cathy's next month.

Windermere from Jenkins Crag

Top of Wansfell

On Saturday we walked and scrambled our way up Sca Fell. A route that we did a few years ago in mist and rain. This time we could see for miles around, including a crowd of walkers at the top of nearby Scafell Pike. The climb up was especially good. This was the route in Paul Buttle's "The Twelve Best Walks in the Lake District".

Sca Fell ahead

"Boulder Field"

Scrambling up the gully near the top

The summit!

Scafell Pike not far away

Bowfell and Crinkle Crags

Sunday was spent on a 10 mile or so mountain bike ride from Windermere. A great way to spend a few hours before heading home.

Sunday 15 May

Another good day's walking, although not quite as spectacular scenery-wise as yesterday.  Also the weather was pretty damp and windy for much of the walk, which does take the edge off things somewhat.  We have now walked over 100 miles along the Pennine Way.  It is quite satisfying to have done the distance and interesting to see the scenery changing as we go along.  North Yorkshire and the Dales could soon rival the Lakes for my favourite part of Britain.

Alan took some video of me attempting to fly my kite on Saturday.  Very droll.......

Saturday 14 May

Great walk today. We got a taxi to Keld then started walking back towards the hotel. This went via some spectacular scenery as well as Great Dunmow Fell which was pretty high and very windy. I did try and fly my kite, and for once it was windy enough, but I found that the strings were tangled. The spirit of Charlie Brown lives on! I will try to unpick the string and try again on Sunday.
Near the end of the walk we came to a pub called the Green Dragon. This was good on two counts. There was a folk music festival going on, and the pub has an impressive waterfall called Hardraw Force in it's grounds. I think that it is the highest drop for a waterfall in England.
The folk festival meant that there were lots of interesting characters around, and that the pub held a raffle. In which I won a bottle of wine!

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Friday 13 May

We had a good drive up without any delays, and sat in the pub waiting for everyone else to arrive. Matt and Jonathan came along. We then found out that the pub had stopped serving food. Jonathan went out and found Steve in the cafe where he'd been for the last hour or so. On reflection this shouldn't have been a big surprise as that is where we had planned to meet up!

13 miles today. Keld to Hawes. Hopefully not too wet.

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Daniel at camp!

Daniel is off for a couple of nights camping with the cubs.  It is very odd not having him around.  I dropped him off at the campsite and he seemed very relaxed about the weekend ahead.  I hope that he enjoys it.

That was very tough!

Well, I finished the 2011 London Marathon in 04:33:47.  I found it a lot more difficult that I expected, but this was probably due to pre-race over-optimism on my part.  With about 6 miles to go, my right leg was really sore and I was really quite worried that I might pull up and have to stop.
There were people seeming to collapse all around me the more miles that went by.  A stark reminder not to go for a big finish!  The weather was very hot and this probably made it harder work than it would have been otherwise.
Overall very pleased to have completed the Marathon.  The support from Lynda, Zoe, Daniel and Hannah and other friends was great.
I'm not sure that I will do another one.  It was a big demand on mine and the family's time.

But then again.  It is the London Olympics next year and the ballot for next year's Marathon opens before the end of the month!
Full times for each 5km..
Split     time             diff     min/km     km/h
5K       00:28:08     28:08     05:38     10.67
10K     00:58:40     30:32     06:07     9.82
15K     01:30:38     31:58     06:24     9.39
20K     02:03:03     32:25     06:30     9.25
HALF   02:10:06     07:03     06:26     9.34
25K     02:35:58     25:52     06:38     9.05
30K     03:09:18     33:20     06:40     9.00
35K     03:43:25     34:07     06:50     8.79
40K     04:18:15     34:50     06:59     8.61
Finish  04:33:47     15:32     07:05     8.48