Wye Valley camping Day 2

The first morning at the campsite started very early. That is the thing about camping in these northern latitudes around the summer solstice -- there just isn't that much darkness! The troops all woke up around 6am and were outside playing by 7am. There was a "Magic Tree" (not the one with the tractor seat) which they were convinced would listen to their secret wishes. It had big roots to climb around and a deeply grooved trunk to whisper into, and they kept running over to tell it things.

Tryfan and Gabriel at 7am by their 'Magic Tree'

Morning shadows over the Wye

 After breakfast, we went on an Expedition to the Brockweir village shop, which was allegedly a 15 minute walk away. We set off through the woods...

We went down a steep hill and could see our destination across the valley (the blueish roofed building in the middle left of the photo to the left of the distant field), but we took the wrong fork at the junction and ended up elsewhere...

Because of all the rain we've been having, the path was really slippery and little Valentin on Cris' back wasn't too stoked about it.

 Eventually we made it to this AWESOME village shop. I am so inspired by this place. I wish our village could put together something like this.

We had snacks and coffee and played in this amazing space for a few delicious hours.

The spider play structure and slide/ sand area in front of the village shop/ cafe and garden

Our kids made friends with the other kids who were playing here and everyone had a grand time sliding, climbing, jumping, digging and swinging. This is the best playground ever.

We spent most of the morning at this place and then got back to camp sometime mid-afternoon. That's when Nia and I set off for a walk out to see Tintern Abbey and the Devil's Pulpit viewpoint, which were both allegedly a mere 30 minute walk from the campsite (in slightly different directions).

View of Tintern Abbey on the north side

Nia and I were surprised to see this very serious plaque about the invention of brass. So here is Nia looking VERY serious

The western side of Tintern Abbey, with a field of cows in the middle ground (between Nia and the Abbey). Some farmer sure has prime real estate and doesn't want to give up his field for tourism.

Self-take with the cows and the Abbey

As you could probably see, we didn't actually pay to go into the Tintern Abbey but we walked nearly all the way around it and the day was warm and sunny enough for us to build up quite a thirst. So we stopped at a pub by the river for wine spritzers before walking back up the hill to the campsite.

Here is Nia after her 10 second rest on the bench

We crossed the Wye River on the bridge in this photo and went back into England to walk up the hill to the Devil's Pulpit. From this spot there is a lovely view looking north with the Abbey nicely framed.

As we approached our campsite, we saw that Auntie Sioned, Helene and the kids were playing games on the picnic table in the lovely afternoon sun.

We started celebrating in earnest at this point by popping open the first bottle of the Elderflower Champagne that we had made a couple of weeks previous. We gave Auntie Nia the birthday presents we had brought and everyone had a grand time.

The Birthday Girl showing off the bracelet, wrist warmer, the plastic champagne glasses and picnic glass holders.

Auntie Sions brought masks for everyone and the troops started doing their Ninja moves

Ninja moves

We made a lovely curry dinner on the fire and the kids got to have hot dogs and marshmallow.

The scene of our firepit, hang out area, and tents with Helene supervising

Marshmallows are sort of mandatory on a camping weekend

Gabs doing a Super Ninja move in the waning daylight

Tryfan had his own Ninja moves that he was doing with this stick.

We stayed up late around the fire and enjoyed the gorgeous full moon

As it turned out, the night was a long one. Tryfan got an earache around 01:30am and then Rhiannon puked around 02:30am all over her sleeping bag. So the morning came around too early and then we were up for the day.... But all in all, it was a fantastic birthday celebration for Nia!

Wye Valley camping Day 1

We set off for a camping weekend today - it is Auntie Nia's 40th birthday and she wanted to celebrate this way, so we happily agreed. We went to this campsite... where Nia had camped before and she really wanted to go back. It was like a green infinity pool that stretched out ahead of us and dropped off into sweeping views up the beautiful Wye Valley. And as we got there Friday afternoon, we were able to lay claim to the best spot on the farm - right next to the tree with the tractor seat.

Our trusty lavvo, the edge of the infinity pool and the Wye Valley beyond.

The tree with the tractor seat, our cars and tents, and the infinity pool of grass

 Helene helped me make a quick pasta dinner and then we sat in front of the lavvo on a tarp.

Helene, Cris, Rhiannon, Rhodri w/ Valentin, Gabs, Tryfan (wearing the caterpillar neck pillow he got in the Caribbean) and Nia during our first dinner together.

Tryfan having a quiet moment on the tractor seat before climbing into his sleeping bag.

The 3 big cousins just before bed, on the tractor seat.

Our first night of camping turned out to be very LOUD because of the fierce winds and pouring rain. But we all stayed dry and warm inside our respective tents and eventually got some sleep!

Daredevil Stunt & Monster Truck Show

How could we resist anything which was called that!! Our friends Cat, Lee and Bruno told us about the Daredevil Stunt Show and Monster Truck Jam which was going on tonight at Plumpton Racecourse, so we decided to go for it! Gates opened at 6:30pm which is pretty close to bedtime actually, but the following day was no school (Inset Day), so we figured it was alright.

We secured some prime real estate in the middle of the arena so that we had a view of everything.

 The comic relief part of the show was "Bobo the Clown" who did stunts in little miniature cars and got in the way of the real stuntmen, etc. This type of humor was right up Tryfan's alley. My goodness was he ever laughing hysterically (the kind where he nearly pukes and can't breathe for a second or so) at this stupid Bobo-the-Clown's antics! It was pretty funny just to hear Tryfan laughing.

There was a lot of this type of stunt - relatively impressive at first, but does get old after a few laps of it! The MC kept going on about how wet and slippery the ground was, and how it was so difficult for the drivers to do this stunt. But our little contingent wasn't hugely impressed.

 But then they busted out the big guns and these guys started doing big jumps. I was pretty excited by then and did some loud whooping and cheering noises that frightened my posse! I think they were embarrassed to be standing near me! But I was impressed.

Ramp jumping action by a Daredevil.

Ramp jumping through fire action by another Daredevil

We entered the raffle drawing to win a seat on the other Monster Truck as she drove round the arena, but sadly didn't win. Tryfan really wanted to win!

Here is Tryfan with big teary eyes and a whiney voice saying that he wanted to go on the Monster Truck

Bandit, the Monster Truck, driving over smaller cars.

 It eventually ended and the evening was finished, and not too soon either! The most gorgeous evening in the month had turned pretty cold and windy and we were glad to get back into the car and drive home.

Me, Helene, Lee w/ Bruno, Rhiannon, Cat, Rhodri and Tryfan

It was a great evening though!

Hair cut like Dad's

Tryfan's hair has gotten really long and shaggy. Even though its not been too warm of a summer yet, we figured it was time he got a serious hair cut. So Rhods got out the clippers and shaved it all off.

Action shot of hair being shaved off

I don't have an "after" photo yet but I will put one on as soon as I can.

Paris!

I took the Eurostar train from London to Paris, and it was so great!! I arrived about 10pm and the sky was beautiful. I took a taxi from the train station to my dear friend Flo's flat in Balard area of central Paris.

Sunset, lights and the River Seine

The taxi driver drove me right past the Eiffel Tower! We even got closer than this but I was too busy looking out the window rather than trying to take a picture with my phone's camera...

 Flo and I had a good catch-up chat on Sunday night when I arrived, then Monday I took the tram to my class and back again at the end of the day. We had an amazing dinner at her neighborhood bistro. Then we did the same sort of thing on Tuesday, but we went for a walk and a bit of shopping first, then had dinner. 

Flo and I somewhere near Place Monge

 We had dinner at a Greek restaurant which was a bit special, then we visited her Mum who read my tarot cards!

Flo, Flo's Mum and the tarot cards.

 I can't reveal what the cards said to me/ about me but it wasn't all bad ;-)
 It was a really special evening actually. Flo was my flatmate at Leeds University in 1994-5 and I've come to visit her (and her Mum as well) several times in the 18 years that have passed. Thank you Flo!  On Wednesday (yesterday) I went to my class and then straight to the train station to take the Eurostar back home. It wasn't as exciting leaving Paris as it was arriving, but I was happy to get home just a few hours later.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, the kids and I got up early and made a nice breakfast of Huevos Rancheros for Rhods, then we went for a walk. 

Crossing a field of sheep - Bentley on a tight leash

Pretty waterfall from under the road

I love this kind of forest with perky bracken poking up through an open floor

Later in the day we went out to lunch at Khan's in Forest Row. It is SO nice having a good Indian restaurant close to home.

Giant pappadom for Rhiannon

Giant pappadom for Tryfan

Daddy and kids

In the late afternoon, I left for Paris where I had to go for a 3 day training course, so it was nice to at least have most of the day together to celebrate how wonderful a father Rhodri is.

Elderflower Champagne 2012

I really did not want to miss this year's crop of elderflower so I could try the Elderflower Champagne recipe again.  When I noticed that all the blossoms were out and then had a look at my calendar, I knew I had to act fast!

In fact this particular harvest was done using elder trees in two locations: the car park at SLB house at Gatwick Airport and across the street from the Red Lion Pub in Chelwood Gate. I read that the flavor of the champagne depends upon what time of day the blossoms are harvested... "If you pick the flowers in the morning they should smell slightly of bananas; if picked in the afternoon/evening there will be an aroma of cats piddle!" so I harvested half in the morning and the other half in the middle of the night.

 

Although I had been collecting 2L plastic bottles from my supply of fiery ginger beer (which I love), Rhodri had accidentally put them all in the recycling bin so that meant we had to go back to the dumpster at the Village Hall and do some diving. Fortunately Tryfan was game for going inside the dumpster to get the goods!

Tryfan and Helene getting plastic bottles out of the dumpster

The mistake I made last year was in not purchasing sterilising fluid ahead of time, and then trying to sterilise the bottles with boiling water (+plastic = not a good idea...). So I had that stuff and started a bucket on Friday afternoon so that Sunday afternoon I would be able to bottle up for the 5-day fermentation while I was in Paris. The ants loved the sugar in the brewing bucket, but in the end they were strained out... The plan was to drink the first bottle at Nia's upcoming birthday camping weekend!

London tour by playground

Today we had to all take a family trip into London so that we could get Rhiannon's US passport renewed. The law says that both parents and the child have to appear in person at the US Embassy, so we got Tryfan and Helene to come along too and made a day of it. The only appointment available (bookable online 8 weeks earlier) was at 08:15am so that meant we had a good early start and caught the 6:37am train from East Grinstead.

Here is the original Minx looking out the train window

 We made it to the appointment in time, spent a solid 2 hours in there going to various windows when they called our number and otherwise just hanging around. The interior of the US Consulate is so 1970's with brassygold bannisters and door handles. The kids were well impressed with this feature and kept saying what a fancy place it was!

After we finally finished, we found Helene and walked through Kensington Gardens. Our plan was to find the Princess Diana Memorial Playground (because its meant to be supercool) but instead we found the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which did not look so cool so we aborted that effort before we got too committed to it. We explored these rose gardens instead.

 We walked and walked and made our way to Buckingham Palace, where there was a marching band practicing for the Queen's Birthday the following day (though we didn't know this at the time). It was kind of a bummer because we couldn't get very close to the Palace so couldn't see the Guards and all that.

Somewhere near Buckingham Palace when quite a bit of whining was starting to happen

In front of Buckingham Palace, kids very grouchy now

 By this time, people were tired and hungry and starting to really get grouchy, especially since we hadn't found the Princess Diana playground. So we flipped a u-ey and found a really cute small playground in St James Park which was shady and sandy. All of a sudden, life turned good again. I think sometimes all we need is to take one's shoes off and wiggle them in sand while sitting in the shade. 

Tryfan spent at least an hour in this approximate position as he scampered around the rocks and made Transformer noises to himself. But then he found a friend and the two of them climbed around telling each other about themselves. It was very cute to overhear.

 After this little playground oasis, it was time to go for a bus ride. Didn't matter where the bus was going, we just needed to spend some time upstairs on a red double-decker. Rhiannon promptly fell asleep in Rhodri's lap, but Tryfan was still fired up.

Tryfan and I on the double-decker bus. Good times!

 We ended up switching buses a couple of times and then getting off at London Bridge so we could meet Annie for a coffee before heading home. Voila! We found another little play area just next to some ancient stone wall across the road from the Tower of London, and the kids played for another long spell while we waited for Annie.

Rhiannon found some new friends who were from Muscat, Oman. They had a great time together on this swing, a big bumpy slide, and a flat merry-go-round that you had to hold on really tight to.

 After enough playing, we walked across the road to the Tower of London and met Annie for a coffee and treats.

We had prime real estate outside on the patio overlooking the Tower and London Bridge.

 In fact while we were saying goodbye, the London Bridge opened up so a big ship (it wasn't that big actually) could go through. That was pretty cool.

It was great to see Annie, though too short! She is leaving London soon and we are going to miss seeing her :-(

Us with Annie in front of London Bridge

 From here, we took the Tube back to Victoria Station so we could catch the train back to East Grinstead.

The troops in Victoria Station, end of a long day

Conwy town

 We had a bit of an adventure today in Conwy town. It was a busy holiday Monday and all the car parks were full, so we found car park and climbed over a gate to get started.

Climbing over the gate to start walking up to the castle walls.

We climbed up on the castle walls and did this self-take

Conwy Castle from the walls of the city

Walking along the castle walls. It is just so cool to walk on the walls and see Conwy from a different perspective.

 We walked over to see some birds of prey that were on display near the castle, then we walked along the harbor front.

Tryfan and Rhodri gently touching this gorgeous owl

Nain Beryl and Rhiannon walking along the harbor front

 After having a bit of lunch in a strange cafe, we decided to go visit Bodnant Gardens which is a National Trust site (so it was free for us). Bodnant Gardens is famous for the laburnum arch, which only blooms once a year, and we were lucky to be there when it was in bloom.

The famous laburnum arch before we set off to walk through it

Helene took this photo of us in front of some beautiful wisteria

 So, all in all it was a great day of touring around the area even if it wasn't as stunningly clear as yesterday was. Tomorrow I am going to take the train back down to London first thing in the morning and go straight to work while Rhodri, Helene, Bentley and the kids stay in Llandudno for the rest of the week. Wish I could stay too but sometimes it is good to peel off and do our own things.