Its never good to be blogging at this time is it?
I’m hovering downstairs, being kept awake by my 3rd ankle injury of the week. Dunno what i’ve been doing to myself, but i fear i might have to put it down to being unused to hills. If you can call a slightly sloping tarmaced path a hill 🙄 Yesterday i managed to step on the buggy wheel AGAIN and bring myself crashing down dramatically; unlike my previous attempt at this stunt, i’ve done myself a mischief and have a foot like a balloon. For sheer sick making pain, it was quite impressive. Even more impressive was that for the second time in a fortnight i’ve been stunned by the ability of the Great British Public to be able to walk past a mother and children sitting on the side of a road, mother sobbing in pain, children frighted and do absolutely nothing about it. What’s it going to be like to be old? How do we manage to be such an utterly rude and mindlessly uncaring country of people?
Round up of the last few days. Wednesday rained. Max needed a break from driving so we took trains along the coast to Paignton. Funny little town but a pleasant trip even so; kids enjoyed the ride and trains right by the sea are fun, if slightly scary! Found it took a surprising amount of courage to bf Josie in a cafe full of grumpy old men. Lol. Managed to end up chatting to the people opposite us on the train who lived in one of the next villages along from my parents!
Thursday started, after i’d parceled, with a trip to Killerton for Dragon Day with Sarah and co. It wasn’t quite as good as Pirate day but the kids seemed perfectly happy and we all had a nice time lunching, exploring and chatting. After that we took the girls out to Moretonhampstead carnival to throw 10p’s at people. I love that town, well i love all of it out there but i do feel at home in the town. I don’t know if its because i feel a connection to it through Max or whether it just appeals to me anyway but i can completely imagine living there. Its a strange thing to stand there and know many of the adults will have been at school with Max, strange to think that under different circumstances he could have grown up there and be married to someone without ever leaving.
The kids adored the carnival and the floats were lovely, i’ve got a few photos i think. By the time they had been transported home, covered in blue candifloss, they were happy as larry.
Which brings me on to yesterday, the day which has finally brought it home to me that i’m really, truly, utterly living the wrong life. First we took a trip out to Castle Drogo. I’ve never been before but Max and i just to walk the paths below it whenever we were down and would have again had i not managed to duff my ankle – its one thing i’m sorry not to have got round to, as Fingle Bridge is beautiful. I think i nearly cried as we walked up to the entrance and Fran looked at the up and coming events list and said wistfully “I wish we could live here, there is so much to see.” Fran has been utterly resistant to any idea of moving until now, she likes Pboro, so that was a bit of a clanging bell to me really. The castle was great, lots to see, could have spent ages more. Fran particularly liked the servant calling board as there was a Miss Frances on it 🙂 (Yep, in your dreams, girl!)
After that we made a short visit to the only remaining Dartmoor bit of family Max has, his stepmother’s parents. Girls managed not to say they couldn’t remember who they were, (grateful for small mercies!) although Fran did recall the house and then it was on to the next main event of the day.
A while ago someone bought beads from me and through the course of an email exchange, it turned out she had been in Max’s school year, her husband in his brother’s and yes she did indeed remember him well. So we took a trip out to visit them. They are HEers too, also on MP. I was slightly nervous about how it would go as they professed to be shy, and Max is fairly shy too really; i tend to over-compensate in those circumstances and talk WAY too much and i really didn’t want to hijack the event. I’d kind of planned to keep myself to myself and play with the kids but by that point i couldn’t really walk so couldn’t hide away easily.
Well we needn’t have worried (and hopefully neither did they need to!) as it was a lovely visit, the kids all got on beautifully and their eldest managed to get Maddy almost riding a bike; we saw their pigs and ducks and hens and everything and had a completely lovely time. And what an idyllic life, somewhat different to a main road house with postage stamp garden and a 1/5 of an allotment 🙁 I do love being able to find friends in any corner of the country thanks to MP 🙂
Edited to passworded area.
Finished up with tea with the TwoRedBoot’s; another excellent reason to move here 🙂 How i’ve loved having friends i can walk to 🙂 and friends that both of us feel really comfortable in the company of, never mind the kids 🙂 Its been a lovely few weeks. Thank you Sarah and Roger and Ruth.
