Fun in the Half Term Holidays

Half term holidays in England.   A well earned one week break away from school for pupils and teachers, at a time when the weather is still miserable.   However it is also a time when one knows the winter is nearly over, and spring is around the corner.   

As Steve and Emma went to Cologne for a few days, a birthday treat for Emma, we were in charge of Jackson and Isabel, plus Bobbi and Jezzie, the dogs, and Jeff, the lizard.    We had a lovely week, very busy, but also very enjoyable.

In the photograph below, Bobbi and Jezzi are sound asleep on the sofa after an active day outside, coping with the mud.  Jeff remained tucked up in his avarium, lovely and warm under his heat lamps.   I forgot to take a photograph of Jeff, but he has grown into a very large lizarrd, who now eats giant locusts.   At least they look gigantic to me, especially if they escape, and I have to grab them.   But to Jeff, they are just a delicious and substantial meal.     

We spent a day at Colchester Zoo, which turned out to be a surprise, as far as zoos were concerned.   An extremely well thought out, and roomy, zoo, both for people and for the animals.   There were plenty of viewing points, mostly through large glass windows, and each enclosure contained an outside area and a warm inside area.   Plus covered walkways for the people.   There were plenty of signs and simple explanations too.   The animals looked very happy.   As did the people.

Although we took a packed lunch, the pizza deal was just too irresisible, so we included it as part of our lunch, which we ate in a very comfortable lunch area.   I am not sure why Walter 

was wearing his hat inside, perhaps his head was still cold from being outside.  Or he just forgot it!

A giant giraffe?   No just a very arresting giraffe sculpture.

A fantastic playground is included in the zoo.   Jackson having fun on the slide.

Yes, monkeys do read books, in this case, a study guide for a GCSE subject.   Enthralling or irrelevant?   We did not get a chance to ask it.

This tiger, closely viewed through the glass, was looking happy and relaxed after its dinner.   It had plenty of bamboo, to walk around in, and make tracks.

On another day we travelled into London, early, in order to visit the Science Museum, which at 10.30 in the morning was packed with people.    And it got worse, with long queues to see some of the exhibits.   We managed to look at the 'inside homes' section, which had a good number of interactive displays.   We also spent some time looking at the 'people' section, but struggled through the space part.  

We then decided to go to the Natural History Museum, which was next door, but the queues outside all entrances were horrendous, so we wandered across to the Victoria and Albert Museum, in order to eat our packed lunch in a patch of sunshine in the central courtyard.    Not the most successful day.

In between child minding and pet minding, I travelled down to Ashford with Kathy and Pat to visit Denise, who lives on a lovely house on a small farm.    The setting is idyllic, to say the least, with green fields and narrow lanes surrounding the property.   Denise and her husband, have small ponies, sheep, two goats and an array of hens, all rehomed from a local animal sanctuary.    Such an interesting day, and great to catch up with Denise, Kathy and Pat.

The fat, and happy animals, seemed to have disappeared from the photograph below.

Now for the tales of mud, and more mud.   It has obviously been a very wet winter, by the amount of mud around, in the woods, in fields and on the side of the roads.   Plus in our street.    Wellingtons are definitely needed, as soon as one steps out of our front gate.   The white carpets in our car are no longer cream, but rather a brown and muddy colour, and we have currently given up cleaning them.

Bobbi and Jezzie were not happy dogs this week, as they were dragged out for walks in muddy and soggy wooded areas.  They tried to tippy toe around the worst of it, but often had to take the plunge and get their little white paws wet and muddy.   Luckily their coats kept them warm and dry around the middle.

However Jackson and Isabel loved being out in the fresh air, and clambering around on the muddy paths.   We travelled to Shorne Country Park one morning, which looked an amazing place on the internet, but proved to be full of reluctant people trying to keep their children active, and out of the mud, for a few hours..   However I was impressed with the facilities for disabled people.   There were wheelchairs and motorised scooters for hire, and plenty of smooth paths to use them on.

Although there was a strong emphasis on looking after the wildlife, and woodland, it was lacking in providing opportunities for children to explore, and generally use their imagination.   After having visited other countries where such parks also include an area where children can paddle in streams, build dams, make huts out of branches and generally play freely.  Too much health and safety regulations to overcome, no doubt.  A pity.

We decided to take some of the side paths, in order to get away from the frustrated and tense people.   These paths were certainly more challenging and exciting to use, although I seemed to have lost a lot of agility over the years, and found scrambling not so easy anymore.

Jackson and Isabel loved the challenge, and getting lost.

They also found a stream in which to paddle in..

Our next outdoor walk was at a much more relaxed venue, Keston Ponds, on the edge of Bromley.   People who were walking in this area were relaxed, and happy.   Many had dogs with them, and happy children who were dressed in wellingtons and comfortable clothes.  Such a difference,

A very historic area, dating back to the Iron Age, and to Roman habitation. The ponds were constructed in the early nineteenth century to provide a water supply to Holwood House.    Now they are used for recreational fishing.

Isabel standing in Caesar's Well, a clear spring that is the source of the River Ravensbourne. which flows into the ponds before it continues on its way through Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich and into the Thames river.

We met up with Jackson and Isabel's other grandparents (Steve's parents), who were looking after three of their grandchildren.    It was lovely that the five grandchildren could be together for the day.  And we enjoyed walking with Chris and Dave.

A great spot, for lunch in the sunshine, beside one of the ponds.

And before I forget, we started the week off with a Sunday walk at Toys Hill with Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel and of course the two reluctant dogs.

Toys Hill is not far from Chartwell, Churchill's home, and on the Kent Weald.   An area of outstanding beauty, even in winter, and one where we used to often walk.   But not now, which is a pity really.    Afterwards Walter and I had lunch in a local pub, where muddy boots were ignored and dogs were welcomed, and we were not disappointed in the food either.   A return visit is a must.

And to finish off a week of activities and walks, Walter and I went for a walk in Beacon Wood Country Park, Bean, which is just off the A2, Bluewater exit.    It used to be an industrial claypit, then developed into a recreational area in 1991.  A company called LaFarge own the site  but have allowed the local councils to lease the land for a few more years.   A definite reason to visit the area as much as possible to ensure that it continues to be used for recreational purposes.

Except for our very muddy boots, we feel so much healthier for being outside and walking.   It has also been lovely to have shared our experiences with Jackson and Isabel too.    A really delightful week.

A little bit of gardening and a birthday celebration.

We are home again.   The first week dragged by, with us in a comatose state, due to jet lag and exhaustion.     The hours and hours spent walking in Singapore, plus the long journey back to Heathrow, fourteen hours in all, finished us off.   Altogether it was a fantastic trip, very busy, but great to spend time with family and friends in New Zealand and Australia.

It was lovely to be in our own bed again, and initially the weather was quite reasonable, to the point where it was a pleasure to sit in the conservatory, enjoying the late winter sun.    But now it is cold, about six degrees, grey and drizzly.   Oh for some warm Adelaide weather.   Not too hot though, temperatures in the high twenties or low thirties would be perfect.    Roll on summer time here.

Onto the garden, grass, weeds and evergreen shrubs have been growing merrily, due to a relatively mild winter.   Plenty of work ahead.

The mole has been busy, cleaning out its tunnels.   Three piles of dirt and stones on this patch of grass.   Usually moles dig deep into the ground during the cold of winter.   Not this year.

The fruit garden, bare twigs and weeds galore.

A few daffodils are opening up in the tub.   A good sign that spring will be here soon.   I think they have made an early appearance this year.

The hydranga, still with its dead flower heads on it, all ready to prune.   I read in a gardening book that it is best to leave the flower heads on over winter, in order to protect the new buds.   I am not sure if this is correct advice or not, but the bush is always covered in blooms, except for the year I pruned it, drastically I must admit, in October.

Ah, the hedge, now without its leaves.   I left the job of lowering the height, until I returned from the trip, as it was too difficult to see the branches in October.   Too many leaves.

Well, I have managed to reduce the height of the hedge by half, and cleared out some of the growth.   No doubt it will grow again rapidly but at least I will be able to trim the top of it, without dangerously balancing on a ladder.   I think our neighbours will be much happier with the tidy up.

Birthday time.   Emma and Donna have always celebrated their birthday together on the 5th February ever since Emma was born forty years ago.   But this year they were apart, Emma here, and Donna in Australia, which was very sad for them.   And I must say very strange for us, as we usually have a dinner here for them both, and their families.   This year it was only Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel, and their dogs, Bobbi and Jezzie.   Jeff, the lizard, missed out, as he was asleep at home in his avarium.

We had a lovely meal, and a wonderful extravagant cake, bought by Steve from Fortnum and Mason.   Luxury.

I hope the video, of us singing happy birthday, as Emma blows out her candles, uploads okay.  

Happy 40th birthday, Emma.   And a happy birthday to you, too, Donna.