Very Surrey

We really wanted to get away for a week in the campervan this summer, preferably to Devon or the Wye Valley, but money is short and although we could probably scrape enough together to pay for the petrol to get us there and back and to pay for the pitch, we would not have enough money to do very much and would not enjoy constantly having to worry about how much things cost. So, we decided to stay at home this year and do some jobs around the house (mostly tidying) and have a couple of trips out to visit people.

Yesterday, we took a trip to Hersham in Surrey to see my Aunty Di. It is only an hour or so from here and we have been saying for a long time that we should visit her, but she was very ill last year with breast cancer and was not particularly keen to have visits from family so we didn't go. She is in her 70s so it is pretty impressive that after lots of treatment with some fairly unpleasant side effects, she has made a good recovery and is now looking very well indeed.

We arrived about 11am and had a short walk around the retirement village where she lives. We then went out of the village and walked about a mile and a half down the road to a garden centre for lunch in their restaurant. It was a lovely walk and the children enjoyed it, although Big J is not too good at walking very far as he has always been taken everywhere in the car and has never had to walk far. Unfortunately, when we got there the restaurant was closed due to no water supply and so we had to turn around again and walk back to the village. We were all worn out after the walk back, which was slightly uphill (why is it always uphill on the way back?!) and so were relieved to get to the club house back in the village where Aunty Di ordered lunch for us all. Little Z and Big J had immaculate table manners as usual (for an ogre). After lunch we had a look around the church and then took a walk to the lake where Big J warned a man to be careful of the dinosaurs. Then it was time to drive home.

We will definitely visit again and hopefully next time we will take my mum with us as she would love the village.

After this week, I feel exhausted. I need another week off school just to rest. I had wondered if it was such a good idea going away for the whole of half term. I had reports to write and it was not giving me much opportunity to get any planning done and I would not have the chance to go in to school to tidy my classroom ready for the new half term. However, I am glad I did go away. It was good not to go into school all week. My classroom is a mess and will need a couple of hours one evening to get it sorted, but it is worth it.

We had a fantastic week away. We went to Elvaston Castle camp site again and visited Sarah, Ben and Toby. Toby hid under the sofa most of the time (Z & J were too noisy and lively - I almost got under there myself!), but Sarah and Ben managed to stay out from under the sofa so we had a lovely catch up albeit for only an hour as we had to be at the campsite by 7pm.

From there we went to Seany's. We stayed at a campsite down the road from him for a couple of nights and then camped on his drive for the other 2 nights. He was happy for us to stay at his house, but we like sleeping in the van and it made more sense than Seany having to move furniture around to accommodate us. It worked out really well at the campsite. We were able to put the awning up for the first time and so we had more space. That also meant that Seany & my mum could come and visit us and had somewhere to sit. There was a large grassy area for the children to run around and so there was no need to worry about whether they were touching something they shouldn't.

The main reason for the visit was my mum's 70th birthday. She had a fantastic day. Actually the celebrations sem to have lasted a whole week as various people have taken her for a drink or sent special gifts.

At the end of the week was Larry's birthday. He's not 70, but I think he feels it sometimes. He enjoyed his day and we spent a lot of it playing Seany's Nintendo Wii.

I managed to get 5 reports written while I was there (although had a day off for Larry's birthday!) so I did not feel like I had loads to catch up on when I got back.

So there it was. Half term break came around quickly and was over almost as soon as it arrived. How long till the next one?

Happy Campers!

We have just got back from our first proper holiday in the campervan. We have never been away for more than 2 nights in the van before, but decided it was time to do it properly. As members of The Caravan Club we get preferential rates at some sites and exclusive access to members only sites also at very good rates.

We started our holiday in Somerset visiting Larry's family as it was his mum's 60th birthday. It didn't cost us anything to camp there as we were on their drive! While we were there, we visited Minehead and Cleeve Abbey. From Somerset we went to Combe Martin, where we stayed at a commercial and rather expensive site. Combe Martin was nice, but nothing special, however, we did meet some lovely people on the campsite and there were loads of children for Little Z and Big J to play with. As newcomers to this campervanning game it was great to talk to people who had been doing it for quite a while as we picked up some helpful tips. We also quickly found out that it is almost impossible to eat your breakfast in peace and that if you want the other kids to go away from your door, you have to tell them straight!

The following day we headed for Woolacombe. On the way to Woolacombe we were driving through Ilfracombe and decided it looked so lovely that we wanted to park up and have a look around. After being given a ticket by someone who had paid to park all day but was now leaving and didn't want it to go to waste, we phoned a local farm campsite and booked in for the night. We spent the rest of the day on the unusual Tunnels Beach.

We spent the next day on the beach at Woolacombe where I got very sunburnt despite having put sun cream on. Big J spend most of the afternoon in the sea with Larry and Little Z stayed with me on the beach after attempting to go into the sea, getting scared and then wandering off by herself through the thousands of other people on the beach. I'm just glad I had "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" to take my mind off what could have happened had Larry not caught up with her in time.

Having passed through Lynton & Lynmouth on the way to Combe Martin, we wanted to stop there again on the way back so after spending the morning shopping in Ilfracombe (we hadn't had time to see the shops when we had been there the first time as we had spent all day on the beach) we spent the afternoon in Lynton & Lynmouth including taking a ride on the cliff railway before travelling back to Somerset to see Larry's family again. We stayed two more nights on their drive before driving home to Southampton.

Glad to be back? Well, yes, I suppose so, but Larry & I are thoroughly hooked on campervanning now and I don't think it will be long at all before we go away again!

Did I finish Harry Potter? Yes, I did. Did J.K.Rowling finish Harry Potter? You will have to read the book to find out or cheat as "some" people have suggested!

News & Opinion update !!

I haven't blogged for about 3 weeks, but it always seems to be that if you have time to blog, you don't have anything to blog about and if you have something to blog about, you are so busy doing it that you don't have time to blog about it (?? What a load of nonsense!?). So, I have tried to organise my post into some kind of order, although this is not what I am best at so it will no doubt stray from the point every now and then. Here goes...

Purchases:
The most exciting thing I (we) have done in the past 3 weeks is buying a campervan to replace the one we have already. The one we had (and still have actually) was about 27 years old and needs quite a bit of work doing on the body (don't we all?). We decided rather than keep ploughing money into the old one, we would look for a new one. It is, of course, not brand new, but it is considerably newer than the last one and in much better condition. We have not yet been off camping in it but intend to very soon having been (or about to be) given joint membership of the Caravan Club for our birthdays.





Opinions:
I don't often watch the news, which means I don't usually know what is going on (anyone who knows me does not need me to tell them this!) and so do not usually formulate an informed opinion about current events. Sometimes I happen to be in the room when Cartoon Network has not automatically taken control of my children and so am able to watch some grown up stuff. After watching the news, I pondered to myself, 'since when has it been acceptable to leave a 3 year old in their bedroom while I go out for a meal?' and 'does it make it okay to leave your children alone if they are locked in and if you are only a few hundred yards away?' and 'If I had spent thousands of pounds on IVF treatment, would I not take a little more care over where I left what I had paid for?' I know, you might say that doesn't necessarily make the child more precious, but I think, from experience, it means I would be more protective.

Complaints:
I received my Driving Licence back this week endorsed with 3 points. I was pleased to note that they had decided (for whatever reason) not to fine me. Under normal circumstances I would have been satisfied, however, the letter was dated 20th April and it had arrived on 10th May with a yellow sticker on the front telling me there was £1.24 to pay as Her Majesty's Courts Service had failed to put a stamp on it! I was lucky enough to have been let off the charge with PP working in the office, but decided to phone HMCS to complain anyway as they had sent an important document without paying postage, risking losing it altogether! They did apologise and offered to send me a stamp (how generous!). I accepted the apology but declined the offer of a stamp.

Work:
I have done a lot of work at an inner city primary school in their reception class. It has been chaotic but lots of fun. They even let me take Little Z on the trip to the farm as her school was closed for polling day (We are trying to raise standards and every child matters so lets close lots of schools for a day so we can use them for polling!) I have now been volounteered by a friend to do supply at her (scary!) school in year 5. I will be team teaching with a very experienced teacher, so should learn a lot, but am a bit scared as I generally turn down schools like this. I am looking at it as professional development and think I am actually going to enjoy the challenge.

Jobs:
No, I don't have one yet. Stop asking!
I applied for two jobs I really wanted and didn't even get interviews. Stupid schools. I am not going to take any old job though (or any for that matter if I doin't even get an interview!) I am sticking to my decision to be picky about where I apply to. I want to do my NQT year in the right school and with the right support.

Diet:
I am still doing weightwatchers. I have lost 10lb so far. It is hard but am trying my hardest to stay with it as I know it works.

Birthdays:

Big J will be 3 on Tuesday. My Birthday is the following Tuesday and then PP's birthday is the following Wednesday. Poor Little Z always feels a bit left out at this time of year and so we do our best to involve her in the celebration of Big J's birthday and to play down the adult birthdays as much as possible. We do notice her behaviour get considerably worse though at this time of year and have to try really hard not to make matters even worse by getting angry with her.

Well, I think that is about all for now. I am sure I will edit this a few times over the next few days as I remember other things that have happened over the last 3 weeks, but I don't suppose anyone will notice.

Bye Bye Campers!