Family Visit - Andrew, Amy, Joe & Molly

It has been a while since I updated the Blog so here goes.

A couple of weeks ago we had the first of our Family visits, with Andrew, Amy, Joe and Molly arriving for a week. Molly, Amy's niece, seems to have adopted us as extra grandparents, which we find very pleasing. Over the week, the weather was pretty appalling, which made trips out very hazardous. Even playing in the garden and fields was a recipe for yet more wet clothes and feet. We did spend a day at Cornwall's Crealy, which was OK until fairly late in the afternoon. We still got wet but that was self inflicted on the water slides and log flume. Unfortunately, late on the rain came when we were at the far extremes of the park. Of course, the little train back to the entrance was not running so, hidden under cheap(?) plastic rain covers, we did manage to make it back to the cars. The four of them did manage a couple of trips out, including Padstow but what a shame that they saw Cornwall in this weather. I suppose that, when they came in February, they were lucky in that we spent time on the beach and the children even got into the sea.

Because they were leaving on Saturday, and Nick and family arrived on Friday, I asked Andrew to take a Family photograph on Saturday morning, the result of which is below. It is not often that the opportunity arises when the whole of my current family are all in the same place, so thanks to Andrew for organising it and for Clive who came along especially before dashing off to another engagement.

Left to right as you look

Standing at back:

Amy, Andrew, John, Karen, Nick, Clive

Standing Middle:

Charlotte, Connor, Curtis

Seated:

Maria, Annette

Front:

Joe with Brandy and Tia

March Visitors

Saturday 8th March saw the arrival of friends Sue and Mick Mepham from Crowborough in East Sussex. Having stayed with them on a couple of occasions, it was good to be able to entertain them for a change.
Rather than cook on their first night, we decided to book a table at the "Two Clomes" at Quintrell Downs. As usual the food turned out to be good, plentiful and reasonably priced. The evening ended with a twist. Although we had regularly eaten there, we had never been on a Saturday before so were surprised when someone appeared at the table with a piece of paper and some Bingo tickets asking whether or not we were playing Bingo and entering the quiz. We decided to have a go and duly bought a couple of Bingo sheets and later some raffle tickets for the "Meat" draw. The Bingo turned out to be a washout from our point of view and we got absolutely nowhere so it was on to the quiz. After 40 questions we were not very happy about our answers but swapped sheets for the marking and ended up with a creditable score of 31. Meanwhile the raffle took place and one of Mick's tickets won some Gammon so not a total waste of an evening. When the results of the quiz were announced, we were pleasantly surprised to hear our names called out as the winners. A bottle of Red Wine was given as a prize, which was very acceptable since there was no entry fee for the quiz. As a team, we will now retire undefeated!

On Sunday the weather was a mix of sunshine and squalls, however we went out to show our visitors the sights of Newquay, during which we had coffee at a very blowy Fistral Blu cafe. This might be the last time we can afford to go there if Rick Stein gets his hands on it! We then drove up the coast, via Trevose Golf Club and Padstow to end up for a sandwich at Trelawney Garden Centre at Sladesbridge before heading home to batten down the hatches in preparation for the big storm that was forecast for the Sunday Night / Monday Morning. Maria and Sue provided an excellent Roast Beef dinner and Mick and I managed to finish the bottle of wine won the previous night.

It was certainly stormy on Sunday night through into Monday, and, as our visitors were leaving at lunchtime, we decided to relax, have cooked breakfast and watch the garden shrubs get blown about.

Despite the poor weather, I believe that the visit counted as a success and we look forward to seeing them again in October for the 89th Entry Reunion at Tunbridge Wells.

February Visitors 2

The house has seemed quiet over the weekend after the departure on Friday of Karen, Nick, Charlotte, Curtis and Connor who had been staying for the half-term school holidays. They were blessed with good weather for all but the last day and this allowed them to get out and about every day. Amongst the list of places visited were Lusty Glaze Beach, The Eden Project and the "Britain in the Blitz" and "Victorian Britain" Exhibitions at Flambards. In addition they managed to find a number of GeoCache locations at Cardinham Woods, Roche Rock and Loe Pool.

Maria, John, Charlotte, Curtis & Connor at Eden

Around the garden Nick and I managed to trim the tops of our conifers at the bottom of the garden (mostly Nick as he is taller)and re-pot some Cornish Palms and a large, and very prickly, conifer, which, last year, acted as our outdoor Christmas Tree.

There is a ladder there somewhere!

On Thursday, Nick, Karen, Annette & Clive went off for a day by themselves leaving the children and dogs with us to amuse ourselves. We started with a walk up to our "mountain" and beyond to help wear out the dogs (and us).

The Children posing with the Cornish Flag.

Back home, I had promised the children that they could have a ride on the Mower and fortunately the grass was reasonably dry and the sun shining so, after drawing lots to establish who should go first, we set off around the top field paths before coming down to the bottom field which we managed to completely cut. All in all, we had a pleasant day with no upsets.

Unfortunately no photos were taken of the children on the mower so on Friday morning I decided to get it out again and record the occasion. This time, having established that they could all reach the brake, I got them to drive it by themselves, something that I think they thoroughly enjoyed.

Charlotte.

Curtis.

Connor.

February Visitors 1

Andrew, Amy, Joe and Amy's niece Molly, the first set of our February visitors arrived on Saturday 9th Feb and what a week of weather they had. No rain, little wind and blue skies for the whole of their stay.
We managed some time on the beach at Lusty Glaze on one day, where the children got very wet and an afternoon at Trevone Bay, where it was almost Springlike. Molly even went swimming in just a swimming costume, which gives some idea of how pleasant it was. Below is a short video of Amy doing a Back-Flip in boots - not often seen in gymnastics!


During their stay, we also found time to fly a kite, play rounders, climb our local "Mountain":

Clive, Joe, Amy, Molly, Annette & Andrew.

and do a trial run on the tractor with the children. Below are Molly and me navigating the paths in the top field and Andrew and Molly not really navigating the paths at all!

Finally, a couple of photos of the children with Annette's dogs.

On Tuesday, Amy and Molly drove back home so that Molly could, with her Mum, accompany her Dad to Buckingham Palace so that he could be presented with an MBE from Her Majesty, The Queen. Quite a day out for a 6 year old.

Andrew and Joe stayed on until flying back to Stansted on Thursday evening. We then had a day to change beds etc before the arrival of the next visitors on Friday.

JDT

Visitors – Andrew & Joe

In October, Andrew and Joe came to stay for a few days over half-term. It was a real pleasure to entertain them in our new home and we were mostly blessed with decent weather.

Maria, John & Joe at the Boating Lake

We spent time around the Boating Lake in Newquay feeding the pigeons but mostly we stayed at home; Joe was happy ‘exploring’ the field looking for animal tracks and deciding that the waste tips that are visible from the side of the house were Volcanos. We walked around the bottom but decided not to climb up it, although I have several times since – quite a view.

Without doubt, Joe’s favourite was to drive the Sit-on Mower whilst we cut the fields. Mind you he does need to look where he is going – see photo!

John & Joe cutting the grass!

We spent some time building a wooden dinosaur, which Joe enjoyed as he knows much more about dinosaurs than I do. I believe that he thoroughly enjoyed his stay and would have been quite happy to stay longer.

JDT

New Year Update - Part 2

22 Dec 2006 - Newquay

Andrew, Amy and their German Shepherd, Jasmine, arrived for the Christmas period; Jasmine is one large dog with a wagging tail capable of destroying anything at the 2 foot level; she also has incredibly large feet so steel-tipped shoes are the order of the day! The only real trouble we had was that she desperately wanted to play with Annette’s two Shelties; unfortunately, they didn’t want to play and there was a lot of posturing, growling and snapping and we had to keep them apart until the last evening when they all laid down in the lounge together. We did spend a couple of days on Lusty Glaze Beach with them and they were fine as can be seen on the accompanying photograph. I have included an extra photo of the Old Folks!

Amy, Andrew, John, Annette & Clive. Jasmine, Brandy & Tia

Maria & John

The Christmas period was a most enjoyable time; in addition to Lusty Glaze, we visited the rather splendid cafe at Fistral Beach; this trip included some shopping in the Surf shops, which had a Sale starting and some purchases just had to be made!!

Annette and Clive provided a splendid Buffet meal on one day but we left poor Jasmine at home to avoid more confusion. Christmas morning we all went up to Trevose where Clive was working. I had too much to drink and slept most of the way back - it is nice when someone else drives!

When Andrew, Amy & Jasmine left, the house seemed really empty but we were left with some lovely memories and a lot of beds to change and washing to do!!

Family Visit 3 - Paul, Bev, Ryan & Kris

On the Monday following Nick and Karen’s departure, Paul, Bev, Ryan and Kris were due to arrive and Maria arranged to meet them at Trelawney Garden Centre for lunch at 1 o’clock. The morning was spent washing and cleaning etc; I think that between Saturday and Sunday, there were ten loads of washing! We thought that we left in plenty of time but the traffic on the A39 was horrendous so we took a few back lanes and finally arrived about 5 minutes late with Paul arriving just before us. We go to Trelawney quite often but it was Paul’s first visit and I think that he was pleasantly surprised at the standard of lunch. It is always good value.
Once again, I was working so didn’t get to do too much with the family during the days. As usual we talked a good deal about cars in the evenings. They went out and about visiting Falmouth (and looking at cars). They also went off to Newquay Zoo and the Boating Lake but this time just for Kris to feed the birds. They didn’t have a great week for weather but it wasn’t a total disaster either.
On the Friday evening we all went out, including Annette and Clive, to the Two Clomes at Quintrell Downs for a splendid meal - highly recommended.
Saturday saw their departure for an overnight stop in Tewkesbury. Their progress was horrendously slow and they finally made it to the hotel after 7½ hours on the road and a distance of only just over 200 miles. We hope that their journey from Tewkesbury to Whitby is much better - JDT

PS - Arrived home at 16.15.

PPS - I forgot about the trip to Padstow so here goes.

The trip to Padstow was uneventful and, as a boat trip had been decided upon, everyone boarded the Jubilee Queen for the trip out to Puffin Island via Rock and Daymer Bay. Once out of the harbour, everyone found out how rough the sea was and how hard the wind was blowing. The passengers at the front got covered in spray and people were sliding off the seats when the boat pitched and rolled. They passed a little fishing boat on the way and it kept disappearing from view, showing the height of the waves. No special sightings were made; the basking sharks were not in evidence and there were probably Gulls and Cormorants on the islands rather than Puffins. The trip lasted an hour or so I believe that the whole family enjoyed the experience and no-one was actually sick.
Once back on land, a wander through Padstow ended at Rick Stein’s Fish and Chip for a late lunch. The food was generally disappointing, especially to Paul, who has a lot of experience in the trade.

Family Visit 2 - Karen, Nick, Charlotte, Curtis, Connor & Joe

Maria spent a hectic day changing beds and then Nick, Karen, Charlotte, Curtis, Connor and Joe arrived on Monday so the house was now really full and quite chaotic. The weather was a little mixed for them for the week, but overall was pretty good. I think that they all had a good time with visits to Lusty Glaze, Crealy, Trevone and Trenance Boating Lake amongst various other trips. They all got wet on the trip to the Boating Lake when it rained in addition to the splashes from the oars but they all had a go at rowing and didn’t manage to crash into the islands too many times. The children enjoyed feeding the birds; as usual, the pigeons were particularly friendly and would sit on people’s hands as long as there was food around.

The day at Trevone started badly with the drive up the coast road to Padstow. As those of us who live here know, the coast road can be a nightmare, especially when there are any buses on the road. Nick managed to get stuck behind a bus on one of the narrow sections with a couple of brewery delivery lorries and umpteen cars coming the other way. Joe kept on wanting to know where the sea was! After considerable manoeuvering, the situation was resolved and Trevone was finally reached. A splendid day ensued with the weather probably as good as it was any day. The children enjoyed the rock pools and caught a number of crabs which were safely returned to the sea at the end of the day.

On Saturday they all went back to Crealy for the day and took Annette with them. Maria and I went a little later in time for a picnic lunch and for the children to see how many funny faces they could manage whilst I tried my best to get a group photo.


As usual, I was inveigled onto the Log Flume, this time by young Joe, who insisted that I covered his eyes as we came down the drop. Also as usual, I seemed to be the only one who got really wet. The photo is not very good but one of my arms is just visible whilst the other is covering Joe’s eyes.


From the Log Flume, we proceeded to the water slides which have changed slightly since last year in that there seemed to be more water and smaller sides on the boats! Joe wanted to go on the straight slide rather than the bumpy one and I was again instructed to cover his eyes. We had a long queue here but finally made it. If I thought that I got wet on the Log Flume, it was like nothing compared to the drenching I got as we hit the bottom water puddle!! Joe seemed to enjoy it however and wanted to go again but, after the long queue, we decided to go and find something else to do.

Amonst the other things I decided to do was join the children on the slide into the Ball Pool. Well there is nothing like an old fool and I went straight under the balls ending upside down. When I climbed out, I realised that when I started I had a camera but where was it now? Nick and I climbed back into the Balls and, with children still coming down the slide, we scrabbled about in the mass of balls until I eventually found it, unscathed fortunately.

Nick and Karen’s children have been to Crealy many times and don’t worry too much about throwing themselves off death slides, but for Andrew’s Joe, it was a little different. He is also a couple of years younger than Connor so it was good to see him joining in and eventually tackling some of the slides by himself. The following photo has all four children on the outside bumps with one extra in the background.


A good day was had by all with a visit to the shops at the end for the children to buy some odds and ends; Joe managed to persuade Nanny that he ought to have a Triceratops so I think a little “sub” was made. Then it was time to leave and for the family to pack up ready to travel back to Hampshire later in the evening. The following photo was taken by Karen in the evening.

Family Visit 1 - Amy and Andrew

August has been a very busy time for visitors resulting in no update to the Blog for some time so I thought that I would update in three Posts whilst “cheating” with the dates.

Andrew and Amy arrived on Saturday 19th August; they were to photograph a wedding in St Ives on Monday 21st August so stayed with us for two nights and then with Annette on the Monday night, before travelling back to Warrington on Tuesday. I cannot remember what their itinerary was after that but I do know that they had to photograph another wedding on Anglesey later in the week.
On the Saturday night, the four of us went out to the Restaurant on Lusty Glaze Beach. It was incredibly busy and quite boisterous. I was going to take a photo of view of the beach from our table but right outside the window was a handwritten sign saying “Toilets this Way” with a squiggly arrow so the photo did not get taken - perhaps I should have taken it anyway!
I think that the menu is a little short on variety with only a couple of meat dishes, one of which included a cheese dressing which would not suit everyone. Amy decided on a vegetarian meal, which turned out to be not available; how on earth that can be is beyond me. Both Amy and Andrew had Mussels, whilst Maria had Chicken and I had Fish. For a sweet, I had the “Apple Dessert”, which included Baby Toffee Apples and this was very good indeed. Overall, I was a little disappointed with the meal but the evening was very enjoyable and the staff were pleasant with a very casual dress sense.
The highlight of the evening for me, considering my previous problem with Treliske, was being able to climb up those 135 steps to the car without too much trouble, so I guess the heart is still working.

Most of Sunday was spent with Amy and Andrew sorting out photographs from an earlier wedding. I know that wedding photographs are expensive, and I suppose people tend to think that the photographer turns up on the day, takes a few snaps, develops the film and sends the results to the married couple; the truth is that there is an anormous amount of work involved in the selection process to get the “right” photos in the album. In this particular case, the number of digital images were reduced to about 200 that were suitable for the couple to view. We did have a break and went to the Trelawney Garden Centre at Sladesbridge for a late breakfast. Now I believe that this is good value even if it is a round trip of about 30 miles. I was back at work on Monday and Andrew and Amy went off to St Ives where the sun finally shone for the happy couple.