A Big Easy Adventure

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As we’re beginning to look forward to our adventures this summer I’ve found myself reminiscing about everything we got up to last year – our first summer as a family. The flip side of all the hard work Leigh is slogging through in term time as he trains to be a doctor is that he gets some pretty awesome holidays. We’re under no illusion how tough things are going to be in the first few years after he actually qualifies, but for now we’re determined to make the most of it.

We spent lots of last summer in the UK enjoying the incredible weather, but in the middle of it all we took a trip to the US and Canada – and it’s not one I’m going to forget in a hurry!

It all started when we were watching Big Easy Express for the umpteenth time. Of all the adventures my brother has had since his career in music has taken off, this was the one I most wish I could have been a part of: a vintage train full of extremely talented musicians travelling through the US countryside stopping off to play gigs along the way. When their plans for last summer started to come together – a series of Gentlemen of the Road festivals in out-of-the-way locations across the pond, with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show along for the ride again too – I began to think that just maybe this was our opportunity to get a taste of that adventure.

Fast forward a few months and we were off: flying to New York with tickets booked to take us by train to Halifax in Nova Scotia, stopping off at Simcoe, Ontario on the way for a weekend of music and festival fun.

We were in New York for a week, spending some of it catching up with Ben and Jemima who had moved out there at the beginning of the year and the rest seeing the sights and soaking up the rhythm of the city. Arthur was quite happy to hang out in the sling, looking around or dozing as we explored. We barely scratched the surface really of what New York has to offer, but there was certainly plenty to keep us entertained!

From New York we got the Maple Leaf train to Toronto: it was a twelve hour journey but actually went way quicker than we expected.

Arthur was excited to be doing something new and different, and stunning views kept us all entertained.

The most tedious bit was at the Canadian border when we had to get off the train with baby and luggage in hand and walk through customs only to get back on the same train an hour or so later!

Toronto was awesome. Smaller and more manageable than New York, but still lots to see. The CN Tower was particularly impressive: both from the ground looking up and the spectacular view from the top.

We had friends to catch up with when we got there too. Arthur’s Oddmother, though she lives in London, was in a nearby town visiting her family, and a mutual friend of ours had recently moved back to her hometown nearby. It was great to see them both on their home turf – and Arthur loved the opportunity we had for a bit of lake swimming too…

Then a few days later we were off to Simcoe. We rented a car, picked up my brother Greg and his wife on our way – they’d flown in for a long weekend – and headed out to the countryside. The festival had completely taken over the town – it was pretty surreal to see images of Ben everywhere, but brilliant how completely the locals had embraced their British visitors.

The music was of course the highlight of the weekend, and we found some pretty fantastic vantage points where we could watch and listen without getting caught up in the crowds. Arthur was fascinated by the bits he was awake for – but also showed a remarkable ability to sleep when he needed to, whatever else was going on around him!

Then it was back to Toronto ready for the longest journey of the trip: thirty hours on a train to get to Halifax where Leigh’s extended family live. This was actually the bit I’d most been looking forward to, but as the dream became a reality I did start to get a little nervous about what our increasingly mobile baby would make of it all…

Turns out I need not have worried. Our cabin was cosy, but Arthur was happy to snuggle up with me in a bunk (I did put him next to the wall when we actually went to sleep!)

We spent a lot of our time in the vintage observation carriage – just like the one in the film! We got chatting to the host there and said we’d been inspired to make the trip after my brother and his band did some gigs on a train. He was very excited to hear which band we were talking about and said he often held screenings of Big Easy Express which was one of his favourite films. Arthur of course had no idea about any of that but certainly seemed to enjoy being on the train whilst the world sped by outside the windows.

When we finally got to Halifax it was brilliant to catch up with Leigh’s family and to introduce Arthur to them for the first time – especially his Great Grandad.

All in all it was a wonderful adventure, full of friends, family and new experiences for all of us. Our plans this summer will keep us closer to home, but I’m sure it won’t be too long before we’re off exploring the world again!

Shoalstone Pool

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Some of you might remember a couple of months back I wrote about Brixham’s amazing seawater lido. It’s a stone’s throw from our house, and I’ve been looking forward to spending summer days there with Arthur splashing in the water and looking out over the bay. And now it’s open! And looking even more beautiful than ever before.

We were there for the official opening last weekend when the pool was decked out with bunting and stripy deckchairs and the committee who have worked tirelessly to get the pool ready for the season were celebrating with local residents and our local MP Sarah Woollaston who cut the ribbon to declare it officially open.

It looked fantastic, and it was so lovely to see the local community coming together – a community without whom it’s likely the pool wouldn’t have opened at all. It was a shame that the weather wasn’t quite as glorious as it had been the week before, though the looming clouds made for a very dramatic scene and there were still a handful of people who braved the chill to welcome in the pool’s new season with a dip in the turquoise water.

I have to admit we haven’t yet made it in. I’ve been telling myself it’s because it would be irresponsible to take Arthur into the cold water without at least some sunshine to warm him up, but to be honest he’d be in there like a flash if I let him! In fact it’s been all we can do to hold him back…

So I don’t think it’ll be long before we take the plunge: I know full well that once the initial shock of the cold has passed the pure exhilaration of swimming in such an iconic pool and glorious location will soon take over. For now though we’re just admiring it from dry land, full of gratitude for the people who’ve worked so hard to restore it for another year and full of anticipation for that all important first swim of the summer!

To find out more about the pool and how you can help support it go to www.shoalstonepool.com.

Just a matter of time

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Time is a weird thing. On one level it should be pretty straightforward: seconds and minutes and hours and days that are clearly defined, easily comparable and impossible to argue with. Except it never quite works like that.

There are days when time seems to stretch out endlessly before me. When it seems to bend to my will, allowing me to squeeze out extra drops of possibility long after the well should have run dry. Those days were especially frequent when I was teaching. I’d look at my to do list in the morning, scrunching up my nose with the conviction that this would be the day that had me beat. And yet I’d find myself in the evening, exhausted with a glass of wine in hand, marvelling at all I’d managed to achieve. And I’d get up the next morning and do it again, continuing on repeat until the end of term finally appeared. Those days still happen now that I’m a work at home mum, though they’re coloured by the knowledge that not for a long time will I have a real holiday to collapse into. I’m wary when I feel myself straining against my limits as I know I cannot afford to break.

There are other days when time seems to eat me up. When everything seems to take forever, and the simplest tasks balloon out of my control. There have been more of those since I’ve been a mum: having a baby in hand makes rushing almost impossible, and the fog of sleep deprivation has much to answer for in its ability to mess with the very fabric of the universe.

My least favourite days are when time scares me. When it looms up out of nowhere and laughs at my dreams. In many ways I think I’m still extremely sheltered and naive: I haven’t yet had to cope with loss on any grand scale, and I’m only just surfacing out of that teenage belief in invincibility to realise that my time on this planet is not in fact infinite. I look at my son, think of all the things I want to show him, to experience with him, and sometimes I am filled with a sense of dread. What if there just isn’t enough time?

I chastise myself for the hours and days and weeks I wasted when I was younger – time spent on trying to make time go faster, to get to a place where I would be happy, where I didn’t have to try so hard any more.

Because now I’m here, and I want to savour every moment. I know that I can’t really change the amount of time I have left, but I also know that if there are days when ten minutes can feel like forever then I want to strive for that rather than let them pass in a flash. Everyone says that time speeds up when you have kids, but I’m not sure I’m willing to accept that.

So I will continue on my mission to bend time to my will, to see it less as a set of shackles I must comply with and more as a challenge to be overcome. The Doctor put it well when he spoke of ‘wibbley wobbley timey wimey’: certainly nothing to be taken too seriously, not when there’s just so much to do.

Thank you to Sara at Mum Turned Mom for inspiring this post with her prompt: ‘I wish I had more time…’

Silent Sunday: 1st June 2014

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All aboard!

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It’s been a decidedly grey and drizzly week here in Devon, making getting out and about that little bit more challenging. However it did give us the excuse to revisit one of our favourite local attractions: the steam train that runs between Kingswear and Paignton.

This train will always have a special significance for our family. It was on a day out just after Christmas in 2012 that my waters broke and I began to go into labour with Arthur. We began what I’m sure will be an annual tradition with a trip on the steam train for his first birthday, but haven’t actually been back since. This time round he was much more aware of what was going on: he responded excitedly with ‘choo choo!’ when I told him about our plans in the morning, and his excitement increased tenfold once we were actually on the train.

We travelled in the Devon Belle observation carriage for the first time – it’s one of only two left in operation in the whole world, and gave us a fantastic panoramic view of the countryside as we chugged along. We were right up by the engine for the first leg of the trip, so the steam enveloped us whenever we passed under bridges giving everything an otherworldly aura that just added to the sense of travelling back in time.

The stations decked out with their vintage signs added to that too, as did the engines in the sidings and the trains that passed us on the other track.

We travelled along the river and through verdant woodland, though the best views were reserved for the stretch of track alongside Torbay: even with clouds shrouding the headlands it looked pretty spectacular.

When we pulled into Paignton we watched as the engine refilled with water before being moved to the other end of the train to pull us back towards Dartmouth.

As well as being pretty awesome to watch in itself this left us with an unobstructed view for our return trip – just the line disappearing behind us as train made its way back along the coast.

Arthur was keen to make the most of the view from every possible angle, enjoying the freedom of travelling without being confined to a car seat!

I’m not sure there are many more perfect ways to appreciate the beautiful place we live in than by trundling along in a steam train. It gives me a little thrill every time I see the plume of steam rising up across the bay, or hear the whistle echoing in the wind. I’m very glad that Arthur seems to share my enthusiasm, and I’m already looking forward to our next trip!

Word of the Week: Oddparents

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Today the word that sums up the week that was is:

We had two very special visits this week, from two of my very best friends. Two out of the three people in fact who we chose to be oddparents to Arthur.

You may ask what an oddparent is, exactly. We were keen to have significant adults in Arthur’s life from outside his extended family, but as we’re not religious godparents didn’t seem quite right. He has guardians, but they are separate – much more of a legal, worst case scenario role. Rather his oddparents, Bez, Sue and Ryan, will hopefully imbue his life with some of the passion, creativity and uniqueness that has made them our friends for so long.

I think it was that spirit that has made this week so much fun. When Bez arrived with Huw, we threw ourselves into BrixFest – the 1940s themed festival that took over the town for the second May bank holiday weekend.

It was awesome to see them both, but fab to have an extra pair of hands too: someone Arthur enjoys hanging out with so Leigh and I could remember what it’s like to hang out with each other!

No sooner were they gone than Sue turned up. Arthur was very excited to see her and to show off his ukulele skills…

Unfortunately our earlier visitors seemed to take the sun away with them, but that just made us even more determined to make the most of her stay. We took the ferry over to Torquay, which as it always does made me wonder why I don’t do it more often. Beautiful as the bay is from the land I always get a bit of a thrill from actually being on the water.

We went to see the penguins at Living Coasts, and ended up getting mesmerised by the fish in the aquarium. I’m not sure who enjoyed the underwater bubble more to be honest!

We even managed to squeeze in a trip on the steam train, travelling in the observation car which was pretty exciting for all of us.

So all in all a brilliant week, though it was sad to say goodbye. Hopefully it won’t be too long before more oddparent adventures!

When Only Paper Will Do

C is for Cadgwith

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A captivating cove in a hidden corner of Cornwall, Cadgwith has hardly changed in the thirty something years I’ve been visiting my family there. Thatched cottages nestling in the hills that roll down towards the shingle beach, fishing boats pulled up high on the pebbles out of reach of the sea or battling the waves to bring in their daily catch. C is for Cadgwith.

Joining in with The Alphabet Photography Project over at PODcast.

Kynance Cove

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Continuing the themes of exploring and beach fun that ran through our trip to Cornwall last week, we spent a fantastic afternoon at Kynance Cove. It’s not an easy beach to visit. To start with you have to get the tides just right: at high tide there’s no beach at all, just the waves crashing around the serpentine rocks. Then there’s the walk down from the car park – incredible views but steep and slippery. There is a route that’s apparently suitable for pushchairs but I was very glad of my Connecta! Once we made it down, though, it was clear it had been worth the effort: turquoise waters, white sand, and dramatic cliffs rising high above us.

The timing of it all meant we were well overdue lunch when we arrived – there was no doubt Arthur was hungry but it was definitely a challenge getting him to sit still for long enough to eat a sandwich…

He was much happier once we’d stripped him off and put him in his little wetsuit – raring to go and explore!

Another layer to protect him from the sun and he was off – running towards the sea with us following in quick pursuit.

He loved sitting in the sand with the water swirling around him, but even though I was right there this did begin to make me nervous – there are some pretty vicious rip tides at Kynance at low tide, and even in the shallows things looked a little unpredictable.

We managed to distract him for a while with the pools that formed by the rocks. He was curious about the seaweed strands that hung down and tickled his toes, and spent ages flicking sand onto his legs to watch the patterns that it made.

When he was ready to head back towards the sea we managed to divert him into a larger pool that had formed in the sand. He loved splashing around at its edges, and a couple of times tried to fling himself in for a swim!

After a while even Arthur began to get chilly, but soon warmed up with an impromptu game of football. He loved chasing around after the ball, and even managed to kick it a couple of times! He hasn’t managed that before, and was almost as impressed as me with his new skill.

He was less impressed when we told him it was time to go – I swear my little boy would happily live his life on the beach if we let him! But he soon began to realise the appeal of being warm and dry and was all smiles again before too long.

Silent Sunday: 25th May 2014

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Sophie is…

on a journey of (re)discovery in a brave new world.