Birthday Boy

Myster C is now 10 plus a few days. How on earth did that happened. I'm sure last time I looked he was just a little scrummy, blond haired, blue eyed little nipper of a thing and much shorter.... like up to my knee or something. And now all of a sudden he's a scrummy, blond haired, blued eyed not so little nipper of boy 10 going on 5 and going on 13 all at once. He's grown up so much. He is wittier, lippier, cheekier, kinder, funnier and even more gorgeous than this time last year if that's at all possible, but hey I'm biased. Just indulge me.

Sore throat not Swine Flu and Camping

There has been a gap in transmission, so sorry. We, my friends and I, did our yearly camp at Swanage and before that I was ill with all over aches, utter exhaustion and an extremely sore throat. Yes it has been suggested to me by all and sundry that I sounded like a canditate for Swine Flu but I chose to ignore that factor and get better.

Camping was an eventful affair that included freak wild weather, two RAC call outs to my friend's borrowed car, brand new jump leads, several jump starts to her car and subsequently a cliff top jump start to mine as that also decided to get in on the flat battery shenanigans! The children had to hang on two to a car bonnet as they looked set to take off in the high wind, the bonnets not the children. Myster C also manged to find a dumped printer cartridge which he lobbed over the top of my car and as I eventually drove away it looked as though I had red and yellow rain coming down the windscreen.

There were a few days which were non starters weather wise but we happily trudged round Swanage, window shopped a lot in Rainbow's End, ate chips on the quayside feeding the seagulls and the children spent their yearly collection of two pences winning small treasures of temporary happiness in the arcades. We also had planned several days out which never happenned due to the fact that upon arrival to our destination it was closed one time and the English Heritage card didn't cover the other. But our human spirit prevailed and we made the most of Kimmeridge bay one afternoon and we picnicked in our cars in high wind and rain on Durdle Door cliff top with the scary rooks on the other. When the rain stopped we walked to the Fossil Forest across a cliff path which was closed halfway round with Red danger flags alerting us to the fact that a step in the wrong direction would put us in the middle of a military training session. So we never reached the Fossil Forest. We saw a hovering Peregrine Falcon which treated us to a full on plummeting dive. That was my special holiday moment. We then trekked back along the seemingly cut off beach and clambered over the rocks with the waves crashing at our boots. The children decided that they would entertain various evening spectators at Lulworth with an example of sea dipping fully clothed. Whilst we all sat on the side wrapped in jumpers in the wind, they frolicked and for some reason known only to themselves felt the need to wade out onto shore every now and then to empty their welly boots before wading back in!! Some people were amused but we did notice that a few, the ones with well behaved, nicely dressed children, obviously thought we were the mothers from Hell for irresponsibly allowing so much fun. Finally, with darkness decending, having wrapped them in blankets and not an awful lot else, (it was all wet), we remembered food..... and eventually after some searching we landed in Subway in Swanage for a near on midnight munch. Hey Ho it's another adventure the kids won't forget.

Fortunately on the last day the weather improved considerably. We managed several short trips on a steam train, having run to catch the train all the way from the bridge as it chuffed into the station, waving frantically at it and running past all the people watching out of the window to find ourselves on the wrong platform and the train a whole track width away. Fortunately our plight was spotted and we got an escort across the track to the right side to board the train. Yet another little finishing touch that made the trip very special to the kids but nearly finished me off, what with the rucksack, bag, jumpers and car keys clutched in arms whilst running on flimsy flip flopped feet. It all turned Enid Blyton and perfect though as we chuffed over the countryside to a picturesque cafe at the bottom of Corfe Castle with coffee, Dorset Apple Cake and icecreams. On the way back we had a first class carriage in which we all pretended we were on the way to Hogwarts. It was great. Then we finished the day off with a hike to Dancing Ledge. We are now planning another trip to do all the things we failed to do this time, Fossil Forest, Tyneham Village, Lulworth Castle, crabbing at Swanage, the beach, the beach in the sun, swimming in swimming costumes not clothes.... lets hope we get better weather and our vehicles behave.

Rockin out on a bad hair day

Myster C came back on Sunday from his dear papa's with a self administered but fatherly advised haircut !!! I cried... gorgeous long blond locks with an inch square hole at the front, clippered no less, the sides hacked in to a bob of sorts and the back untouched still long with curls and scruff. I didn't sleep.... I ranted.... I worried.... I vented at his father.... I searched for the answer to save the long hair without my son suffering strange stares for all the wrong reasons. Myster C wants dreads too you see and has been growing his hair for two years. We were set to do them in a few weeks. He was gutted with the haphazard result and didn't want to lose the lot to match the none existant fringe he had attempted to give himself upon his father's irresponsible urgings. So it was emergency bandana shopping yesterday. The army surplus store actually had a very funky and cheap selection but we still ended up in a debate over why I didn't particularly want him wearing a Union Jack or the Stars and Stripes on his head. Sorted now.... sort off. Many lessons learnt from this saga by both of us I think .... not the type you learn in school though!!

I have to just add in here that whilst shopping for said bandanas we popped into Lush and as usual Myster C chatted up the staff in the hopes of the several free samples that he usually manges to blag. The waffling turned to the fact that he'd quite like a Saturday job there when he's older and they were seriously very keen. He's going back soon to see about when he can start. I'm assuming its not legal til he's thirteen so another three years plus to go, but hey Badman and Balls what do you say to that....? I turn my back to look at some bath bombs for one minute and my child, severely lacking in social skills because he's home educated of course, is competently chatting to adults and halfway to securing his first job. How the hell did that happen?!?

Today I am introducing him to yet more rock greats like Led Zep, The Who, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Doors and some random others. Well that kind of covers history, art and poetry.... doesn't it Mr Government Inspector. We've got our priorities straight here. Nothing can inspire or change generation like music. So here's to rocking out on bad hairdays.

We also indulged in a few games of chess. Myster C beat me but in my defence I'm not well at the mo and he adled my brain further by replacing some of the pawns with a lego Indiana Jones and some vikings. To complete my humiliation at the end of my final defeat he set up a plastic guillotine in the middle of the board and chopped off my king's head.