Legoland 2008

I have been intending to tell you a bit more about our trip to Legoland last week. Originally the plan was that Embee would take a days holiday and come with us as he was very upset we didn't take him last year. However, since we returned from our trip to Portugal his asthma has been troubling him and he decided that he was not well enough to come!

Plan B was to see if I could get Beccy put on my car insurance so that she could drive~ this was not to be and to cut a long story short, the company I am insured with would not do it because she does not hold a UK driving license. The fact that she held one from the age of 17 until she moved to Ireland and then had to change didn't make any difference.

Plan C was that I had to drive and as Embee usually does all the long distance driving, together with the fact that since I retired I hardly drive any distance and it was not something I particularly wanted to do. Beccy assured me that once off the motorway she would navigate so no problems I thought!

The first little blip was that poor Ben had a nose bleed while we were driving on the motorway, we were nowhere near an exit or a service station so Beccy dealt with it best she could from the front seat. Ben was so good keeping all the blood contained with tissues and eventually it stopped.

Once we got off the motorway the traffic was practically stationary going into Windsor so we decided to take the alternative route across Windsor Great Park. It is longer but a much prettier drive and a lot less traffic..my navigator only missed one turning and we realised immediately and were soon back on route!

Once we were parked and into the grounds...Ben was busy choosing the order for the rides and his first choice was a new ride in the Land of the Vikings called River Splash. This was being built when we were there last year, it was great fun and I got very wet...Ben wanted to know why my trousers were see through...I hoped he was joking!!! While we were queuing I tried to get a shot of Windsor Castle which you can see beyond the trees. It was a bright day but the distance was hazy so it's not a good picture As we were walking away from this poor Ben got his second nose bleed of the day. He somehow feels them coming on so again we mopped him up and it soon stopped. We then headed for the Knights Kingdom for a ride on the Dragon (roller coaster). Ben then parted with some of his money in the shop to buy lego. It was soon after this that he had a slush puppy and after a couple of sips he felt yet another nose bleed. I think this one really frightened him as it was quite heavy and he wanted to know if he was going to die ( poor little chap he must have been so scared). We found a seat in the shade to rest for a while and generally have a chat about nose bleeds, which is quite common in boys (Dillon suffered when he was younger) but they usually grow out of it. Ben actually knows boys at school who suffer so we were able to reassure him. At this point he said he wanted to go home as he had done the two rides he wanted and done his shopping! We actually persuaded him this was not the best idea and he came and watched while Beccy and I went on the Pirate Falls (another wet one).
By this time he'd perked up a bit and decided he wanted to go to Boating School, he was delighted when he steered the boat around the course without getting stuck or bumping anyone else. We thought he did really well.

Close by was the Balloon School and as you can see below he put a lot of effort into getting the Balloon to rise! It was such hard work he needed a rest!
He reluctantly went on a boat ride through the Enchanted Forest but does this look like a child who is not enjoying himself......he was busily pointing out all the characters he recognised such as We actually spent more time queuing than going on the rides as one always does in a these places. At the end of the day we did manage to squeeze in a short 4D film which was great fun, with everyone ducking as missiles appeared to be coming straight for the audience!

The last little blip to the day was another wrong turn at a roundabout, again I blame my navigator, and we ended up getting back on the M4 via a short section of the M25 (this is a very busy motorway), we even passed an overturned lorry on the slip road. We finally arrived home at 10:30pm after stopping for a meal. I think Ben enjoyed the day so we did the right thing by staying..............

in case you are wondering there have been no more nose bleeds for Ben. When the family return here next week they intend to go to Alton Towers...not yet sure if I'm going!

Archives:
2007: How do you slove a problem like...

Witty Wedneday # 58 Smile

I hope these pictures make you smile they come via Publog; what would I do without him for my Wednesday posts! thanks John :)

'Aggghhhh! Someone dial 911, I'm being mauled by a troll!'

'I swear a Big Doberman busted in and just tore the place up....'

How to tell when its time to make your kids sleep in their own bed....

'Ahhh, the fresh, relaxing aroma of feet.......'

'Harlem Globetrotters here I come'

Par-tay, Par-tay, Par-tay!

Uh, cat? What cat?'

There's no explaining Love.

'Helloooooooo'

Peace

'Hi! Will you be my friends?!'

Mad Skills....

The good thing about working here - If you need assistance smiling, there's always help!

Life is short! Break the rules!
Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly!
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably..
And never regret anything that made you smile

Archives:
2007: Fun Monday 27

Fishworks Café Bath

You could be forgiven for thinking that this little café looks a bit on the shabby side from the outward appearance. However, if you are looking to eat delicious good quality fresh fish this is the place to visit. At Fishworks Seafood Café you can watch your shellfish being prepared at the fishmonger’s counter, and see all the fresh fish laid out. The specials change daily, and everything is cooked to order which does mean you need to give yourself plenty of time to enjoy your meal. You can see from the photos below we did just that!


Remember this post from a couple of days ago when I asked you to name the fish, you came up with some good ideas. I would call him Mick (I'm sure I don't need to tell you why!) and he is a Gurnard. John and Debs clearly know know their fish, so well done to them.
These are sold as meals for two, and we had a choice of Monkfish, Brill or the Gunard. Beccy and I decided to share the Gurnard, and then realised we had actually tried this fish at Rick Stein's fish and chip shop in Padstow.
It did look quite big and we worried that we wouldn't be able to eat it all! However, when cooked it was not as much as we anticipated. It was a very light fish and we both commented that we did not feel stuffed. We had spinach and new potatoes with it. It was cooked to perfection and we agreed it was a delicious meal. Ben was not so convinced, as of course his fish fingers were not what he is used to! They were certainly the best FF I've ever tasted.

I've talked a lot about fish lately, you'll begin to think we don't eat meat but I assure you we do!


Archives:
2007: What me clumsy-never

Fun Monday # 76 Rulers of the World Unite!

Mommy Wizdom has come up with a little gem of an assignment this week she says......

If you were ruler for a day/week/month/year (your choice on the time) you would...

ex...make coffee free to all citizens. Or you'd abolish the penny. You may also specify if you're ruler of the world or just your country. Have fun with it; be creative.

If you like to dress up, you may also choose to take pictures of yourself in your "ruler" outfit(s) and post them up with your entry.

The Ruler!

I wasn't quite sure if I would be able to join in this week because I've been out enjoying myself and consequently have spent very little time blogging. My visitors are on their way home so I have just thrown this together, I managed to find 12 rulers! I can hear the groans.....not very imaginative but do I get points for trying?!?

I would really have to make my day of ruling the world count, so I would be working on plans for world peace and harmony, banning all weapons, making sure everyone had enough food, water and good health. A tall order but I can dream!!!

I'm sure everyone else's ideas will be much more original!...so hop over to Mommy Wizdomto see what all the other rulers have in store for us!

Archives:
2007: Victorian chimney pots.... + update

Can you name me!

I have very little time to do a long blog so I want to leave you with this picture to see if you can identify the fish. Beccy and I shared it for lunch today, at the Fishworks Seafood Cafe, in Bath and I will be telling you more about it on another day.

Archives:
2007: Open letter

Prince Caspian

I wonder if you have seen the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian. Beccy, Ben and I went this morning and really enjoyed it. I have to say it did seem rather strange going to the cinema at 9:30 on a Saturday morning. The film is based on the second book in the series, and in my opinion is every bit as good as the first. It was a very long film (movie) lasting two and a half hours and I would recommend it if you haven't already seen it which I expect you have! For those who have seen it, I'm interested in your verdict!

Archives:
2007: Niagara on the Lake

To busy to write a post!

Just in case anyone happens to wonder (bet you haven't even noticed) why I have not, until now, produced today's post, I have been having fun with Beccy and Ben. Today, Ben chose to go shopping; quite unusual for a boy but he wanted to go to the Disney Store. It took us a while to get there.....we started off by going to the post office for my mother and on the way Ben had a nose bleed. This is his third epistaxis in two days poor little chap (he had several yesterday, more about that when I tell you about Legoland). It turned out the form I was handing into the PO had not been completed in black ink so it needed to be done again. This meant we returned home to clean Ben up and get my mother to sign another form. Then it was back to the local Mall where Ben bought himself several Wall.e toys. After seeing the film on Tuesday evening he just loves Wall.e. I do think he is rather cute don't you!
So you can see why I'm so busy at the moment, it's because I'm out having fun (and before Beccy comments on this statement, I love having my days occupied) I haven't managed to do Willowtree's quiz for several days, or Robin's Friday 40PC.
I have lots to tell you and lots of pictures to share but I need time to get my fingers typing and my thoughts in order which I'm finding difficult to do. Any odd moments I have grabbed on the computer seem to have been taken up with plurk, and I'm still trying to discover which of my blog buddies are plurker!
So until I have a bit more time I will leave you with a picture of my cute little grandson who jumped at the chance to clean my car as soon as we got home today~me thinks the hose was an attraction! I might add he did an excellent job~ so thank you Ben. This was taken when we out on a walk on Tuesday; he is busy looking over a bridge to see if his pooh-stick is winning!

Archives:
2007: Witty Wednesday #14

I should be so lucky...

as the song goes because I have some lovely blogbuddies like Alison who has made her own award and nominated me for this pretty little prize. Now where is my acceptance speech....don't worry I won't gush, blush and thank the world....but just say a big thank you to Alison for including me in her list.

Remember this post from last year well that's where I'm off today...wish me luck I'm driving.....and embee tells me there are road works which might slow us down...what's new...there are always road works everywhere in the UK especially as the holiday season begins!


Archives:
2007: Briam

Witty Wedneday # 57 Speech Therapist and Visitor update

Just an update on my visitors. Some of you were 50% correct it certainly is Beccy but she has my youngest grandson, Ben, with her. My son-in-law (Joules) is back in Dublin as he has to work. This week is Ben's treat while his brother and sister are away at scout camp. I'm not sure any of them got much sleep last night they were up at 3am to get to the airport by 4am. Mollie and Dillon were flying to Switzerland around the same time as the Beccy and Ben were flying to Bristol. So you can imagine by the time we actually arrived back at my house they were exhausted. After a quick snack they crashed out and slept for three hours. I think you can see from the photo they have both recovered. Thank you to everyone who asked me to pass greetings to Beccy, I will of course be passing on the messages.
Now for the joke of the day...

The Speech Therapist

A very pretty young speech therapist was getting nowhere with her 'Stammerers Action' group. She had tried every technique in the book without the slightest success. Finally, thoroughly exasperated, she said, 'If any of you can tell me the name of the town where you were born, without stuttering, I will have wild and passionate sex with you until your muscles ache and your eyes water. So, who wants to go first? '

The Englishman piped up, ' B-b-b-b-b-b-b-irmingham ', he said.
' That's no use, Trevor ' said the speech therapist, 'Who's next?'.

The Scotsman raised his hand and blurted out, 'P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-aisley'.
'That's no better. There'll be no wild sex for you either afraid, Hamish.

How about you, Paddy? 'The Irishman took a deep breath and eventually blurted out, 'London'.
'That's Brilliant, Paddy!', said the speech therapist and immediately set about living up to her promise.

After 15 minutes of exceptionally steamy wild sex, the couple paused for breath and Paddy said, 'd-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-erry!

Where would I be without John keeping me supplied with jokes. But I'm only giving you one this week as I'm a bit occupied with other things!! Enjoy your day :)

Archives:
2007: Fun Monday #26

Special visitors and a conversation

First I apologise for not visiting as many of my Fun Monday friends as I normally do yesterday. I will try and make it over to you...however if I don't I know you will forgive me when you know the reason it's because....

I'm off to the airport really early today to collect some very special people who fly in at 7:30am. I'll give you a clue they live in Dublin but only two members of the family are coming...two others are off to Scout camp in Switzerland, and one will be working! So any guesses?

I'll leave you with this conversation I had with Embee on Sunday afternoon.....

MB "I think I'll go and get a replacement for the 'thingy' that's broken"

Me "what 'thingy' is that?"

MB "If I could remember I would tell you"!

Me "How will you know where to go if you can't remember what you need"

MB " where I went this morning"

Me "Oh you mean B&Q (DIY store)"

MB "yes"

Me "OK".... and I started going through the different areas of the store......when I said garden....

MB "yes"

Me wracking my brain for inspiration I suddenly remembered he has mentioned several times the grass trimmer was not working......."would that be a trimmer by any chance!"

MB "yes"

Me "why didn't you say so in the beginning"

MB "I would have if I'd remembered what it was called"

Me "this I must tweet about" After all it's not like I'm telling the world just a few friends!

MB "I'm glad I give you plenty of material"

I then realised I couldn't fit it all into a tweet so I thought I'd better blog about it! You must admit it's quite funny. What with Embee and my mother I'm getting very good at guessing games.....I wonder how we'll manage when I go the same way!

Oh you maybe wondering did he come home with the correct implement! Well here it is..... Blogging for the rest of the week might be a bit hit and miss but I do have some draft posts in the pipeline!

Archives:
2007: My 300th Post

Fun Monday # 75 Day dream to reality!

Irish Coffeehouse tells us that she had so many different ideas for FM's theme that she really had a hard time narrowing it down. She finally settled on one that she thought is easy and daydreamy fun for everyone:

Careers- Then and Now

THEN: As a child day dreaming of what your future would hold for you, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you ever pursue or achieve it?

NOW: If you could be trained and placed in any career beginning tomorrow, what would it be?

So to my childhood dream.......

This is actually pretty easy for me because as a child there was only ever one vocation for me. I can't think what made me so determined to persue a career that was long unsocial hours (including nights), poor pay, unflattering uniform and rarely a weekend off. I expect you have guessed by now I wanted to be a nurse... I wonder if it was because I watched the very first fictional hospital series called Emergency ward 10 which started in 1957 when I was 13yrs old. Around the age of 14, I joined the British Red Cross, we met every week at the cottage hospital for training and we even entered competitions. The type of thing we had to do was assess a situation (like a car accident) and deal with it. I really enjoyed doing this but I lived a country village and after a couple of years the numbers attending the Red Cross meetings dwindled and the people running it gave up. I can remember being so upset.
However, fast forward another couple of years, during which time my father had a serious motor bike accident. You can imagine visiting him in hospital, every week, for months on end gave me a really good insight into the job (or so I thought!) and I was still determined to become a nurse.
OK I may also have dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer after reading 'A dream of Sadler Wells' or working with horses after reading 'A stable for Jill' (I still have both these books) and I do recall I once threatened to become a hairdresser when my father failed to support me going to London to complete my nurses training. It was around that time Dr Kildare came to our TV screens and at 17 nursing seemed very glamorous!
In the end, when I realised my father was not going to help me get to London, I made an application to a Bristol Hospital and did not even tell my parents until I got the interview......and the rest as they say is history...... and I became a nurse.

The training was much harder than I anticipated, some of the sisters were b*t***s and Matrons really ruled back in those days. Where were all the handsome doctors....none looked like Richard Chamberlain aka Dr Kildare!!
You didn't argue and you had no human rights and there was little compassion for the staff.....I remember the ward sister would not change my day off to go to my grandmother's funeral, just because it was a Saturday and the rotas had been done. I was 19 and very upset and in the end one of the other nurses agree to swap shifts so I was able to go. Imagine if that happened in this day and age!
In hindsight I think my nurses training made me quite strong and independent and it helped me get through some very tough periods later in life...but that's another story!

This picture
is one I posted as part of the second Fun Monday post way back in January 2007, when the topic was pictures from our childhood!

Now if I was younger and could train for a whole new career......I might just consider teaching because at one point I very nearly went down that route!

Now I'm sure you are going to find many interesting careers waiting for you over at
Irish Coffeehouse.


Archives:
2007: Beautiful Painting

A Partisan's Daughter

I had fully intended to write about the health assessment I had yesterday, but I got rather side tracked when my mother (who most of my regular readers will know lives with us) called me tell me that she was reading a very 'dirty' book.......
....I wonder if any of you have read it! My mother said she was not sure if I would like because it really was awful. I asked her...why, if it is that bad, was she continuing to read it! Her response was...it is quite a good story but not what she has imagined when she ordered it, and she had nearly finished it!

She then said she was going to give it to Rebecca (Beccy) to read when she visits next week.
Hmm, so it's OK for her granddaughter to read but not her daughter. She then said that I could read it afterwards! This from the woman who I remember having a copy of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' when I was a teenager~ yes she did. I sneakily found it, and read bits, but someone at school also had a copy so it was no big deal. But why would my mother want to read it, parents shouldn't enjoy this sort of thing!!!

I then decided to look for a review of the 'dirty' book and found this one from the Independent newspaper. I actually think it sounds a good read so we'll see if Beccy thinks it's suitable for her mum to read!!!

Archives:
2007: Gifts from France

Portimão Portugal # 6

We drove into Portimão across the new bridge that majestically spans the River Arade. It's actually quite attractive and you get views of the river but it's not easy to take photos in a fast moving car!

It's a pleasant enough little town but the main attraction for us was to see if the little restaurant that served sardines was still there (I know I keep on about sardines which many of you don't like so sorry about that!)
We parked and walked along the marina, there were lots of touts trying to get you to book one of the many boat trips that are on offer. Last time we were in Portugal we had a disastrous trip where nearly everyone on the boat was sea sick so we decided to give it a miss this time~ much to Dillon's disappointment!

Below is the view across the river. There are always a lot of boats to be seen and some fairly large boats still use the river.

We passed a statue of the poet but I haven't been able to find out anything about him! Found a link It was then time for an icecream Mollie enjoyed hers as you can see from the picture. I'm not sure what Dillon is explaining in this picture!
Ben decided he didn't want to pose! The shop in the background is the one called 'Miscelania'.However, he couldn't escape me for ever.
Close to the square is a pretty little shaded area with trees and seats where you can sit and watch the world go by or just enjoy the scenery.
Or you can capture a few shots of the family enjoying themselves! Just a short walk from the park is the entrance to the restaurant under a little archway (it was a lot smarter than on out last visit). Everyone must have been anxious to eat they didn't want to stop and pose for many photos!The restaurant itself had not changed at all. We got there early because we had remembered how busy they get later. This was the scene as we left when people were queuing to be seated. You might just manage to pick us out below! I haven't included any photos of the food. This is where Sam tried 'Cuttle fish" I wish I had taken a photo they are ugly little things and tasted a bit bland...she should have had sardines like Beccy and me! Someone had clearly worked very hard to create this piece of art that was on display just outside the restaurant!
As we left to walk back to our cars the sun was setting. You can just see the old bridge that is still in use to the left of the picture. If you walk under the bridge there are many more restaurants situated all along the river.
One thing I didn't mention was that there are a few nice shops and some of us did buy dresses and shoes~not me though as the shops only seem to cater for ladies who haven't piled on the pounds...such is life!

Archives:
2007: We're all going to the zoo today + Enjoying good company