Skip to main content

Family Reunions

It's half term and the clocks have gone back so we are currently all over the place with our routines. I've also got a few days (2 to be precise) off and so I'm making the most of not having to be up at the crack of dawn. I will freely admit that with the changing of the season and the knowledge that I soon wont have to do the 2 hour commute into Victoria, I'm finding it harder to get motivated to go into the office!

This weekend we had the much anticipated reunion where at least part of the family managed to meet up again after decades of no contact. This was instigated by me and then became a bit of a band wagon, somewhat to my surprise. I made the decision after 30+ years that life is too short and so got in touch with Becky who I last saw I think when I was about 14 years old. It occurred to me a few weeks ago that this was simply daft - so much water had passed under the bridge that there was no need not to at least reach out and say hello. This turned into a plan to meet up which, much to her initial horror I would imagine, grew when both Amanda and Emma decided they would come too. I think for someone who has no kids, and hasn't seen some members of the family for years, to find you suddenly have 7 adults and 6 kids coming for lunch is a bit of a panic moment! In the end it all turned out brilliantly so she needn't have worried.

We decided to make a bit of a weekend of it so left Glenn babysitting dogs and guinea pigs (they've
come in handy more than once!) while we set of for Wales on Saturday morning in torrential rain with wide scale flood warnings - perfect for a trip to somewhere where most of what you might do is outside. By the time we got to Abergavenny, the rain was easing just a bit, so we had a mooch around. I showed the girls where I was born (Nevil Hall Hospital which they said "needs a clean") and then tried to remember my way around town which to be fair wasn't hard as its's not that big. We then set off for Crickhowell where we had booked to stay. On the way in we hit a long line of traffic which was essentially as as result of the fire brigade having to be brought in to direct cars across a number of very flooded roads. We smugly raised the height of the Range Rover and sailed through, unlike the Porsche which had risked it and failed, much to the shame of the driver and the amusement of the kids! Crickhowell was awash with the pub on the bridge being pumped out and cars being washed away. Biblical rain! It stopped around 4pm and I went for a walk to survey the damage - really quite impressive flood water all around. I went back to our hotel room to find Abi having a long bath and Izzy in a face pack and PJs - in their element! We watched a bit of Netflixs (currently obsessed with a series called Stranger Things - more about that another time) and then went for dinner in the bar where I immediately bumped into some friends who I used to work with in Bristol - small world! I hadn't seen them for about 10 years so that as another long overdue catch up - small world!

In the morning Abi and I had a lovely long walk along the river to see how much it had gone down, before digging Izzy out of bed and breakfast. We then set off to Becky's along the scenic route so that I could try and find Croft y Cwm which we eventually did after taking a wrong turn initially. We couldn't see the house but it's a rental cottage now so at some point I plan to stay there. Onwards and upwards with Abi declaring she was definitely going to live there as soon as possible and then we got to Becky's which did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm. It's basically her perfect set up - dogs, sheep, horses, flagstone floors and wood burners. Abi was in heaven! Amanda and the boys were already there and Emma arived soon afterwards so we had a quick coffee and then set off for a walk in glorious sunshine - such a change from the day before. The kids went on ahead (until somehow they got left behind but not for too long) and we walked through the valley and then along the canal before coming back via the old railway - it was beautiful and a perfect set up before lunch and games for the kids. We set off home (first to leave of course) at 4pm with promises of not leaving it so long again. I think a summer party is in order.

As we got in Abi headed straight for her bath (she does love a bath) with Right Move to look at houses in the Vale of Abergavenny - I guess she's not just her father genes then!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas...

I was sure I write the blog last week.... but, it seems another 2 weeks have flown by and now we are staring down the barrel of the Christmas holidays and the end of the year! Currently it's all about Doug and what a star he has proved to be so far. He has now been with us for 3 weeks and he is (so far, I keep thinking at some point it will change) a pretty chilled out puppy. As a second dog he has been thrown in at the deep end and has been to Sunday lunch with Alan & Sarah (which he loved), socialised at home with friends and their dogs, met babies (he loved Elsie) and started to go for walks. The walking has been a bit different to our previous approaches with new dogs. In the past we have ventured out carefully, making sure that our new baby only walks a short distance so they can experience all the new sights and sounds. Doug's first walk was after Sunday lunch last week, just him and 8 other dogs for bout 45 mins - he loved it! In our defence we didn't let him wal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome Albert James!

So this week has been full of new things - Jess and Chris have welcomed Albert James Wilkinson Rayner to the family, a tad early but all doing well apparently (and so cute!!), I started my new job, Abi has her new shed and Dad got sorted on a phone that wasn't invented before the kids were born!! I always knew this week was going to be full on and it certainly has been. The first thing I had to do was try and sort out my diary which had been filled from dawn to dusk by my predecessor with meetings. I decided to set out as I mean to go on and immediately took out those that started before 9am. While I can get into  the office for 8am , it's a pain and requires me to be on the 6:30am train which is just a bit much every day (stating the obvious). I then made it clear that we don't need to be joined at the hip for the next 4 weeks which is a sensitive process - even though he is retiring it's hard to let go and he is understandably keen that the team are looked after. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diary management!

This part of the summer is definitely typified by me trying to remember who is supposed to be where and when. Abi likes to be off doing something with someone while Izzy is happier to know she's close to home and so for the last week they've gone their separate ways. Abi has been down in Somerset making the most of Ben and Laurie being about. From what I can tell she's having a lovely time. Apart from the covert phone call one evening to tell me she was 'starving'  (Mum was cooking for the hordes and so it had been delayed), I've barely heard from her. The few calls I have had have very quickly ended in "can I go now" like I'm making her speak to me! Today she switches from Mum and Dads to a night or two with Kerrie - not sure who is more excited! Izzy didn't want to be away for that long so she opted not to go. She's very conscious that Abi and Laurie are joined at the hip when together and Ben has his own things he wants to do so she ...
Post a Comment
Read more