Christmas celebrations

Various images from Xmas day.
A day spent doing the usual xmas day stuff: church, presents, eating and drinking, talking and watching tv.
Alex and Elisha joined us for dinner. Very tasty beef and chicken with all the trimmings.
Main TV was Dr Who. Have to say that mainstream free to air tv has deteriorated to the point that there is very little worth watching. Good job we got lots of DVDs and vids as well.

Christmas in Lancashire

Two posts of pictures coming up. Here are the first ones. Grandma had made a lovely crib on the windowsill and the boys moved baby Jesus in on Christmas Eve. You also have the dog Tara being stroked by Eric. Tara is a lot calmer than either Zephyr and Burt. She was a bit freaked out when we all arrived but has gradually come out of her shell.
The other 2 pictures are nothing 2 do with xmas but everything to do with Lumb. We went for a walk up to Wheathead with Granddad and the dog on Xmas afternoon. The weather cleared up after morning fog and the sun came out. I used to spend a lot of time at Wheathead when I lived with Mum and Dad. There used to be Little Owls on the stone walls. Things change ... many more people are living in the farm houses and the footpath I used to walk down seems to have gone. In its place barbed wire and fences. I walked it anyway for old times sake. There are more footpaths in this area than in any other part of the UK I have been to. Does it matter if one path goes? What about 10 paths? Who shut the path down? Lots of questions but perhaps no answers.
The other pic is of a new development that is going to change the skyline for the next few decades. A big wind farm is going up on the moors between Rochdale and Waterfoot. I used to tramp those hills in days gone by (starting to sound like an old man!). They are pretty empty places, very few people use them. A few walkers, some trail bikers and the few farmers who run sheep up there at very low densities. As you can see from the pic the wind farm is going to change the view big time. Lots of local opposition to it. Some from the Bernard Ingham(?) camp in Hebden Bridge who oppose all wind farms and who are paid for by the nuclear industry, so no conflict of interests there! There has been opposition from David Bellamy to this particular development. I have always been pro-windfarm up until now. Having seen the first turbine go up I am uncertain whether or not I agree with the siting of these 30 turbines. They will massively change a view I am fond of. On the other hand the hills have always been sites of industrial activity. Huge turbines would be an in your face reminder of the need to conserve energy. And I would rather have turbines than nuclear.

North Yorkshire

From Lincolnshire we headed up to the North Yorkshire coast to experience some bracing pre-Christmas weather. We had expected it to take ages as the papers were predicting mayhem as everyone finished work and headed off.
As it happened we made very good progress and were installed at Middlewood Farm in Robin Hoods Bay by 2pm. The site had views towards the sea and certainly got a good breeze. Very pretty. Good enough site, with heated wash-blocks and a kids play area. Marked walk down to the beach through the fields. My only gripe about this place (and Orchard Park for that matter) is their habit of playing very loud local radio in the wash blocks. Not quite sure what the reasoning is here - is it that people cannot cope with silence or maybe people don't like to listen to each other's bodily functions. I myself would rather have the occasional interruption of the latter and then have the peace of the former so that I can read the paper whilst I get away from the pressure cooker atmosphere of The Van!
We went down to Robin Hood's Bay beach on the first afternoon and it was cold. No birds of any note on the sea which was a surprise. I have been keeping track of what is around and may even write the whole list up here at some point. Was hoping for a gannet out at sea, or a kittiwake or maybe a chough on the cliffs. Saw a possible raven fly over but the only sea birds were black headed gulls.
We retreated to a pub right on the edge of the sea and it was hot chocolates all round (plus a pint of Theakston's Best Bitter for me mmmmmm!!)
On the next day whatever that was ... Wednesday? no Thursday ... no it was Saturday because everyone was out Xmas shopping and we headed for Whitby. Last time I went there was for a summer holiday as an 8 year old kid. I remember fishing for crabs off the pier and walking to Robin Hood's Bay along the cliff top in the fog as the horn boomed out every few minutes.
We had a look round the town and went for another hot chocolate at a quaint little cafe called Sherlocks. We established that the Captain Cook museum was closed for the winter which was a bit of a shame. It would have been appropriate to have visited the museum of one of the first NZ emigrants. Instead we went up to the abbey and had lunch in their car park. That is one of the advantages of the van; you can stop in any carpark or roadside layby and get a brew on, have a little nap and chill out before going off again.
Eric, Stuart and I elected to walk down to the pier for a fish. It was very picturesque and also quite cold. Saw a couple of male eider ducks close up which was a bonus. Eric did not catch any crabs but we all enjoyed the walk.
Writing this from the warmth of the family seat in Lumb on Christmas eve. Updates on Christmas to follow. Seasonal greetings to all the readers of this blog. Have a peaceful day tomorrow.

Robin Hood Country

Some more pics of our trip. We went to a pleasant site just outside Tuxford called Orchard Park. It was on the site of an old orchard and must be lovely during the Autumn when the trees are fruiting. There was an adventureplayground to keep the boys happy and WiFi to keep C and I happy. Also see pics of van life - watching telly and the spacious interior.
I have been trying to get the boys interested in chess. I have a chess club at school and believe (along with a lot of other people) that it is a good game for kids to play to learn transferable life skills. If your opening and preparation is not up to scratch, then you will lose. If you move without considering the consequences, then you will lose pieces. You have to probe your enemy for weaknesses and use strategy to win. And lots more.
Anyway, the boys have been reluctant to embrace the beautiful game up until now. The enforced boredom of being in a van for 17 hours a day has helped. Patrick does not like to lose so he will only play himself while he learns the moves. Stuart and Eric are occasionally up for a game and I took a pic while play was going.

We visited the Great Oak at Sherwood Forest on a grey day. Pleasant walking through the rides and some amazing trees.

Leicestershire

The England tour continued as we travelled to Hill Top Caravan Site near the village of Thrussington just north of Leicester.
What to say about this place that is complimentary? Well there was a hook up and water and a level carpark and an electric gate and somewhere to dump the toilet. We had no contact with the owners and all management was done by signs - no entry to the interesting looking ponds over a small fence - no entry to the house. A sign told us to put our money in a box if no-one saw us. Now perhaps the owners were busy or had the flu, but we did see a bloke on a tractor on the first morning and a load of shooting people were dropped off next to our van just after we arrived, but no-one came to say hello. A tad impersonal ...
It was freezing as well on an exposed hilltop (maybe that accounted for the name?). We walked down to the local village for some exercise and local flavour. There was a general shop that is only open on Friday mornings, and a beauty shop. The pub apparently did not have a kids licence and was just about to close so we walked back to the van ande holed up for the night.
Tuesday dawned milder and we headed into Leicester to check out the Space Museum. It was in an amazing bubble building 3 storeys high and had lots to interest us. The boys were taken by the Dr Who exhibition. I liked all the interactive games especially the one that simulated orbitting planets.
On Wednesday we carried on North just up to Tuxford in Notts. On the way we went to the Newark Air Museum which was interesting to the family plane-spotters. Eric found a sit in flight simulator. There were some good bits on social history from WWII when the area had numerous airfields. One display board had a sequence of letters from a squadron to the mother of an airman who was lost in action. He did eventually turn up - it was not explained how. The Language of the letters was very RAF - wordy and bureaucratic.
Our home for the next 2 days was Orchard Park. The owner was much more friendly than the last lot, showing us round the site and giving us maps of the local area.
More on what we got up to here next time.

Cambridge

We spent the w/e in Stretham. Visited Jimmy's Farm outside Ipswich on Saturday on our way back. It features on a tv programme that had just started in NZ. We went in the shop which had lots of yummy food. Did not see the man himself, but bought some bacon and sausages. The bacon was very fatty and strong and melted in your mouth. The sausages were very meaty and tasty. Essex pigs ... very rare apparently.

On Sunday the boys and I went into Cambridge to meet Walter. He took them off for a tour with some of his friends leaving me with 3 hours to look around. The place was heaving with Xmas shoppers. The market was in full swing and has gone upmarket. Got some lovely bread and organic sprouts. Onto the Fitzwilliam to look at their art. We dont see much of Picasso and Matisse in Kaitaia. My favourite was a village scene by Peter Bruegel. It was great walking slowly along the backs looking at all the architecture. It is a very carefully laid out place - manicured. I did not really appreciate it all when I was a student there.

We all stayed at Nick and Karla's house on Sunday night. They have 2 dogs who were a big hit with the boys. Horace and Burt.

On Monday we started North to Leicestershire. Got about 15 miles before we hit the first traffic jam (actually it was the only one - but it did take us an hour to travel about 1 mile.

We will update about what happened when we got there tomorrow.

East Anglia ... in Winter

Let loose in East Anglia

Look out folks the Bryans are now roaming the country. Watch out for "The Beast" as they have named their campervan. If you look carefully you can see Eric in the upper window. We spent a few days at a lovely campsite in Hollesley called Run Cottage. Very clean site in a wooded area next to a woodland. A little egret was a regular visitor to the pond.

We were going to spend a day at my old stomping ground of Minsmere, but decided that the boys would probably moan the whole time and turn it into a miserable experience. So we went to Orford instead and enjoyed a tour of the 12th Century castle. It cost about 12quid for us all to get in and we were given little phone to walk round with. If you typed in numbers off signs on the wall, it would talk to you pointing out significant features. Much better than having to read lots of text and we saw things that we would otherwise have missed. My favourite feature were the toilets - basically long-drops from second storey all the way down to the ground. It must have got a bit wiffey round the base in the summer!
The next day we had a "free" day walking along the local beach from Shingle Street to a gun emplacement. It was quite cold and I was the only one who enjoyed the experience. See if you work out the sequence of 3 photos from the body language.

Now we are back in the warmth and civilisation of Stretham.
Blogger won't let me upload the pics at the mo so they will follow later.

Back2uk!

Sitting in Stretham in bright winter sunshine writing this. Freezing cold outside but clear. Couldn't ask for better weather on our first day.
Journey was more of a 'mare than I was expecting or remembering! Mind you, it was only the expected stuff, based on it being so long. Not like the plane crashed or anything bad. There was quite a lot of turbulence which became trying for Chantelle. For me the lack of sleep was worst, I catnapped for a few hours on the Melbourne to Dubai stretch, but there was not a lot of room. Rest of time watched loads of tv - the inflight entertainment was good enough for 24 hours - easy even for my weird tastes. Kept the boys busy too, endless films and Simpsons cartoons - that and lots of food. What more could 8,11 and 12 year old boys ask for?
We were delayed for a couple of hours on the tarmac at Dubai and it looked like we might have had to get off at one point,so Chan and I were mighty relieved when the plane took off. Taxied up to the runway just as Uncle Richard flew in on a Quatar flight. The views on the first part of that flight were stupendous. Not entirely sure of the countries we were flying over so will be going back on Google earth to check. Some interesting geological features including the pic shown which looks like a meteorite crater.
I shall post some pictures up and maybe do another update later. We are being put up in royal fashion in Stretham by Ian and Margaret. Chantelle and I stayed with Nick and Carla last night in their beautiful house. I swear I was asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

December happenings

Here are a few pictures of our happenings at the end of Term 4. Eric is looking smart before he went off to the Sally Army volunteers dinner at the Taipa Resort last Sunday. Eric helps after school in the shop shining shoes mostly. He and Chantelle had an enjoyable meal.
Stuart is combining his love of making things with his love of Dr Who by making a large scale 2-D Tardis. He also has his sonic screwdriver in his hand. He bought this with his birthday money.
Patrick is picking the peach crop. We doubled last year's crop, taking a total of 2 ripe fruit from the tree.
The pig has been visiting us from the wilderness next door. It is getting tamer and we may end up turning it into bacon one day.
Talking of which, the pan contains sheep offal from Sally and 2 of her lambs that were slaughtered last Saturday. That was a 6 hour epic that would take a page to do justice ... another time as we are quite busy tonight. Suffice it to say that as I had never dealt to a ram lamb before, I was intrigued to see what their specialised offal tasted like. There were 2 lambs and there are 4 pieces in the pan. Chantelle and the boys were not keen. I wouldn't make a big effort to eat them again - they did not taste like chicken. Spongy and soft .... nuff said. See some of you soon. Rest of you l8r.