On Our Travels

We have been planning this week for a long time. This was the week when I would categorize, collate, collect or purchase missing things, contain then all within bags and finally blag a lift from a friend to the train station accompanied by two overly excited small children and meet a less frazzled husband. Yes, this week has been planned and anticipated for two years, ever since my brother Steve and his now fiancee told us they were going to work in Uganda for two years. 

Building up to this week has been somewhat fraught. It so often is, though, isn't it as things frequently don't quite to plan: we all found out that Angus cannot pursuade himself to sit still and have a vaccination despite an awful lot of planning on his part and ours (problem as he needed three jabs); the GP got the malaria prescription wrong - twice and eventually we ended up having to pay for about three months' worth of the stuff (they know and we have it in hand) but that added a whole lot more anxiety to the week; then there is the extra stress of trying to ensure that Isla can have some guaranteed dairy-free food on the plane - not as easy as it might sound as we have ordered vegan meals before and found milk in them. But, despite missing the train and being delayed an hour and a half by bendy rails or something like that, we have got here. We are on the plane, all packed, vaccinated eventually, anti-malarialed and incredibly excited. WE ARE OFF TO UGANDA! And the school don't even mind as they reckon this trip will be "educationally worthwhile." Good on them. 

A short reflection on yesterday though. As the children were walking to school what became increasingly evident was what exactly they were excited about. Travelling to Uganda was such a BIG thing for them that it was hard to grasp. The two things they were talking about mostly, the things which they could visualise and anticipate were the imminent stay in a hotel that night and... wait for it, ,,, they were having school dinners and not a packed lunch. That was the highlight of their day. Small things. Not always the dramatic. 

Sadness

I am sad right now. I have a deep seated darkness lodged in my heart like a lump that is just not going away. It is not actual depression: I know when that comes in stealing away my joy, my motivation, my love of life. No, this is a reluctantly resigned sadness that my life is about to change and I don't want it to. I don't. Really, I want it to stay the same way that it has for the last eight years. I know that those eight years have been lived in differing places; homes have come and gone, some more gladly than others, and I know that friends have visited our lives and then moved on but the one constancy in all that has been my children. First one and then two. At home. With me. 

I never thought I would enjoy being a "stay at home Mum," I thought I would find it tedious, dull, uninspiring. I thought young children would be tedious, dull and uninspiring, after all, everyone else's were. I never expected that with every contraction I was not just pushing a baby into the world but pushing an unfathomable love into my heart that has deepened into an unwavering delight in being with my children. Just writing this is bringing to my mind their smiles, their love of playing with each other and being in each other's company, pictures of them as toddlers stumbling in the garden, Isla feeding Blue, Angus and his cello, a jumble of memories and feelings, days spent nurturing them, watching, smiling, running errands, being in their company. 

I know that it hasn't always been bliss. They argue with me, each other, themselves. They can be stroppy; I can be grumpy. Some days drag on devoid of the stimulation I crave; some days have more stimulation than my brain can process and I long for quiet but my abiding memories are the joy I have had watching then grow and change into confident young people, articulate, kind, interesting to be with and with a remarkable bond with each other.

Isla starts school in two days. 

There, I have written it down, in black and white. The contrast of the colours illustrating the contrast in my heart of what life will be like after Wednesday. White and black: joy and sadness. I shall miss these days with my child at home. I already resent the call the school is making on her time and she hasn't even lined up on the school yard. I want to teach her. I want to be there when she reads her first word. I want to see her learn to write and count. I want to discuss things with her when she is ready and not when the curriculum decides she ought to be. I want to take her out when the days shout to be walked in, when the sun wants to honoured for daring to show up. I want to make jam and bread and biscuits with her and not just crammed into a weekend. I don't want to have to portion up the weekends prioritising what we do this week and what will have to wait until the next.  I haven't even tried her school uniform on: I dread seeing her in it, a finality I am trying to avoid and deny.

So I am sad. 

Hurray - got my computer back! And LOTS of stuff has happened...

I left my computer in Macclesfield by mistake in early August and SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN! Now that I have it back I have this huge mental pile of news to unload. By now my mum will be saying to her computer as she reads this, "But you got your computer back two weeks ago." Yes, I know, Mum, but that is all part of the news.

In summary:
Summer holidays

Warm, sunny, in Macclesfield, then home with a scary amount of sorting, throwing, recycling, work, and gardening.

Visitors (could there be some connection with the previously listed activities?): Great Granny Dorothy, Grandma, Grandpa, Jo and two of her boys.

Climbing.

Masses of veg from the garden.

Play.

Scotland with more climbing, play, Jo with husband and all four boys (young men), Grandma and Grandpa and some sun.

Angus started year 2 and Isla moved into morning nursery.

Angus turned 7. Oh my goodness.

Angus ran the Great North Mini Run again this year.

Angus became a Beaver

Isla ran the Great Scottish Mini Run as she couldn't get in to the North Run.

They have so far raised over over £250 for St Clare's hospice..

Masses of veg.

Chutney making due to the masses of veg.

Jam making due to the superfluity of fruit.

Freezer overload.

We grew a monster in the back garden.

Ken has started running a cub group hence I haven't been able to get on my computer. He has been hogging it for a couple of hours each evening to produce emails or paperwork, or he has been trying to figure out why our printer has spontaneously stopped printing black. Then magenta. Last night the yellow didn't work.

I have been running around finding stuff for the cubs.

Somewhere in all that I had a birthday and was given a groovy new camera by my Mum - thanks Mum!

Okay, so you want pictures. Here they are - if the internet works. That is yet another reason why I haven't done anything in the last two weeks: it keeps shutting down again, usually just when I have the time, inclination and access to the laptop. As a village we are trying to do something about it. Honest.

Isla in Glasgow having finished the Great Scottish Run: 1500m in 12 minutes.

Being invested

Not many Dads have the privilege of investing their own son and passing on the tradition. Third generation Scout in the making.

Me and Angus in the Great North Mini Run. We are there...

First day back at school. Better front door than the picture last year!

Masses of veg and Isla's favourite activity: picking mangetout. She cried today when I dug them out and she realised there wouldn't be any more until next year.

Great Grandma Dorothy visiting.

We all had a wonderful few days at the Great Dorset Steam Fair helping run Douglas's engine and Dad's roller. Angus and Isla got filthy, oily, happy, and made wonderful memories.

With Graham and Liam exploring our Roman heritage.

Not very fierce or scary. Quite cute for a Roman Soldier really.

The marshmallow eating in Torridon went better this year. More experience clearly.

Angus finally worked out how to climb. But we did have problems getting him down again...Hence the back rope! 

 

 

10 feet tall, still growing and still flowering. Our monster sunflower (and Angus) last Sunday.

 

 There, catharsis. That does feel better. Not so much detail but then that is probably better, right? Are we all up to date now?

Good.

Angus and Kate

Last night at a farm near us, Kate Humble was doing a book signing. In case you haven't heard of Kate Humble, she is a British explorer and naturalist. Find out about her here.

Angus has only seen Kate on two programmes which are extras on a DVD he has about the world's oceans. They were made ages ago (2001) but have really captured his imagination: Kate diving in the Amazon. Kate going in a submersible to the bottom of a ravine and seeing a six-gill shark.When we heard she was going to be a few miles away I wondered if Angus could meet her. I knew he had lots of questions and would be inspired by talking to her. He does, after all, want to be a naturalist!

Off we went in the car after school yesterday. We met a thoroughly lovely car park chap who said, "Wait a minute and I will see what I can do" in reply to my request. A couple of minutes later we were interrupting Kate eating her dinner! The poor lady was so gracious and Angus was desperately nervous seeing her in person but Kate obviously knows nervous boys: Do you think I might be dangerous and scary? Silent nervous grin Can you play thumb wars? Silent shake of the head No? Well you play like this...

Giggles, smiles, relaxing.

"Can I ask you some questions?" asked Angus. Summarized replies

"What was your most dangerous thing you have done?"
We try to reduce danger but diving in a submersible.

"What was the most exciting thing you have done?"
Seeing a six-gilled shark and swimming with Basking Sharks off the West Coast of Scotland.

"What do you most enjoy about your job? What makes you happy?"
Waking up early in the morning, going for a walk and hearing the birds wake up; feeling that you are in a private world. 

"How can I train to be a naturalist?"
Join something like the Wildlife Trust or the RSPB, volunteer, get your hands muddy and dirty and find out exactly what you enjoy the most. Then do more of it. 

"Have you ever met David Attenborough?"
Yes, I have worked with him, met him several times and even had dinner with him. He truly is a lovely person: charming, polite and a gentleman.  (Angus nearly died with excitement hearing this bit as David Attenborough is his real hero.) 

Kate signed Angus's wildlife spotting book and we went away leaving her to finish her dinner in peace.

Thank you Kate, you made a little boy very happy.

The Grand Reveal...

I have been hassled and emailed and asked in phone calls to show what we did to the front of the house and have stalled. I must admit that I was reluctant for two reasons:

Firstly, after I came back from Africa I was embarrassed? felt uncomfortable? felt guilty? I am not quite sure, but the amount we spent on repairing the front of a house that could have sufficed although did need some repairing seemed immoral. I knew that in a British context it was justifiable, but on the grand scheme of things, I wasn't sure that I could justify that amount of money to someone in Senegal.

Secondly, I wanted to wait until the garage door had been fitted which took ages as they ordered the wrong springs. And until the gravel driveway had been restored (thanks Ken and Chris - it looks great!)

Anyway, enough philosophising, here is the house history:

What it looked like just before buying.

In February showing the new roof, smaller window upstairs, brown cladding temporarily replaced by render from the first work in 2011 but minus the porch.

Finished with only a bit of brick work around the porch to be completed. What do you think? Much better isn't it? We also removed the original external wall within the garage which meant it was divided into the original garage and a small triangle thing to the left. It is now all one space and a lot more useful.

To the right of the house you will also see that we are making progress in the front garden - we had to remove the decking in the back garden as it was causing damp. This has now been reassigned to raised beds in the front which are growing veg and fruit. Unconventional but they look fine and are proving to be productive.

So, only one important thing left to do: replace the patio doors in the back as the damp has rotted them. But for now, peace, weeding and painting the porch.