Monday 30 July 2007

The Holiday

Thank you to Martin for prompting me to stop doing some actual work and write some more about my holiday.

You must remember that the weather wasn’t so good the week we were away, but we did try and make the best of it.

Anyway, you’ve heard about what we did on the Saturday after we arrived in Cornwall, so now on to Sunday. We went to Lanhydrock (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-lanhydrock/). Lanhydrock, for me, is in many ways the epitome of what the National Trust is about. I marvelled at the magnificent architecture and the exquisitely manicured lawns. We took some stunning landscape shots of the property, but none as good as the ones on the National Trust website.

Most of our days out were, and still are, structured around feeding times, so it wasn’t long before we needed to feed the baby. Wifey and I both had a Cornish pasty in the restaurant, which was delicious. Baby had his baby food, but, as usual, we couldn’t get the food microwaved as the NT Health and Safety policy forbids catering staff from heating baby food. This incenses me and I may blog a separate post about that subject another time.

After lunch we toured around the house which, as usual, was superb. The kitchens were a sight to behold. Photography was not allowed inside the house, not that I have a flikr account anyway.

After Lanhydrock we drove onwards to Mevagissy. We passed the first car park thinking we’d find something a little closer to the town, but after a very tight squeeze though the town we ended up back at the first car park we came to. Our visit had started badly as driving through Mevagissy is a traumatic experience and our oversized estate car was a leviathan to manoeuvre through the implausibly narrow streets. When we arrived back at the car park, the attendant was overtly rude. I parked very close to the attendant and he was rude to every single motorist that entered the car park. It surprised me a little as we, the motorists, were collectively paying his wages. I don’t think he liked tourists very much…..

We disembarked from the car and loaded everything up; buggy, baby, changing bag, camera, Wifey’s handbag, coat for the baby, coats for us, blanket for the baby, and set of for the town. We negotiated the narrow streets, which, even without the car, was still almost as problematic. Tourists, buggies, cars and locals all in a narrow street does not make for harmony.

We arrived at the harbour only to find a fish stall serving what we thought was fresh cockles and muscles. Wifey was just about to get some cockles when the person serving restocked the display with frozen ones from Tesco! We didn’t have any cockles that day…

A rainy trip around the harbour ended with a cream tea in a dockside coffee house, which, was surprisingly good. We had expected a poor quality tourist rip off, but we needed somewhere to feed the baby. What we found was a good quality, reasonably priced coffee house who were only to happy to accommodate us, the baby and the buggy. And they warmed his bottle with no fuss what so ever.

A brisk drive home in time for another feeding time and that, my dear readers is what happened on my 36th birthday.

Thursday 26 July 2007

Not such an easy day

Due to my predition that Wednesday would be an easy day I finally arrived home at about 7pm.

The boss was in a good mood, but he did have some probing questions that I wasn't able to answer to his satisfaction. Hoh Hum! That's why he's the boss and not me I suppose.....

I really must write more about the holiday; and I will do. I'll have a think this afternoon, in between reading a rather large Green Paper from the DCLG.

Wifey and I invested in a good quality digital SLR a few months ago and we are trying to develop our skills in photography. I must investigate Flikr to see how to put some piccies up there for others to enjoy.

Tuesday 24 July 2007

Wednesday

Two posts in one day! You lucky people.

I won't be around tomorrow as I've been summond to HQ at the last minute. Hopefully nothing I've done wrong! However it does mean a much shorter day. Gerenally I'll catch the train by about 9am and wander in to town, have a coffee and meet the big boss around 11. We'll normally have a spot of lunch and by 3 I'll be on the train home.

I like the occasional trip into Westmisnter where HQ is, but it always depends on my bosses mood. Lets hope he's in a good mood tomrrow!

The holiday, abreviated

Life is very humdrum at the moment. I wake, have breakfast, change and feed the baby, wash and dress, hand the bay to Wifey and drive to work. Work is predictably boring. I drive home again, do chores, put the baby to bed, have tea and watch TV.

However, on holiday we had time to ourselves. This is the second holiday we have been on with the baby. He was 3 months old when we took him to Spain. He was easier to handle then, but he was a bouncing seven months old during the holiday in Cornwall. If he’s not happy he’ll let you know.

Seven months seems to be a nice age. He’s interactive and I get to spend about 2 hours of quality time with him everyday. He’s into everything at the moment. He also learnt this morning that if you upset our very old tom cat he’ll nip your fingers and hiss at you!

We stopped in a cottage neat Launceston which is to the Eastern end of Cornwall. Launceston is not what you would call a picturesque town. It is a functional market town. Don’t get me wrong. I’d rather a functional market town than a manufactured and cloned high street any day of the week. In hindsight we both felt that we would have liked to have been further west and in one of the pretty fishing villages on the coast, but money is not so free at the moment and the budget ruled.

The cottage itself was small and damp and was only one bedroom so it meant the baby had to share a room with us. Something we are not keen on. On the upside the couple who owned the cottage were friendly as was their dog. The cottage was secluded, private and quite and it did have a certain cow-shed-esque charm.

Saturday was spent procuring provisions for the week in Launceston. Wifey managed to find a lingerie shop that stoked some of her favourite brands and we spent nearly two hours in there while she tried on most of the shop and the baby crawled around the floor trying to pull bra’s off their hangers. The phase “leave those bra’s alone boy” can leave people looking at you a little strangely.

A visit to Boscastle followed and Wifey fell immediately for it’s charms. It is very picturesque but a great trip if, like me, you are a Civil Engineer. The place is awash with excavators and Portacabins whilst the flood defence work continues, and will continue for another year at least. A Cornish cram tea rounded the day off and then back to the cottage to feed the baby and put him to bed.


That’s enough for today. If I get time I’ll tell you about Sunday tomorrow.

Monday 23 July 2007

New Cars

Last December Wifey and I bought a new car. We need the space as we both had small city type cars and they just didn’t fit all the paraphernalia required for a baby. An estate car was duely ordered.

I set about to give the new car a thorough clean on Sunday. It’s amazing what was once pristine is now peppered with a myriad of dent’s, dings and sratches.

I can see that Wifey I’ll be wanting a new one soon….

Wednesday 18 July 2007

Wednesday

I went to Wifey's grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary last night. It was a surprise party and they were very taken aback and suitably surprised. It really is amazing to see two people who, despite their differences obviously love each other.

The grandmother had a brush with death not 3 months ago and is currently recovering from open heart surgery followed by pneumonia. Such things put your own life in to perspective. They still enjoy life in their 80's and find so much joy in their children, grandchildren and now a growing brood of great grandchildren.

The pair of them can be a royal pain in the bum at times but the family wouldn't be without them and everyone laments the time they will surely pass away.

I wonder if Wifey and I will may it to 65 years of wedded bliss?

Is any marriage wedded bliss or a suitable tolerance level sustained because the pair of you know you are better together than apart?

Also seeing this couple in their 80's also, perversly, reminded me of how fragile life can be. The grandfather survived a significant amount of actice service in African during WWII. He has only ever talked about his expeiances once in all that time. ONe of his great grand children was learning about WWII at school. He went in and, in a very dignified maner, told the children of his experiences and why war is such a bad thing. All the children were very moved and I hope it is a tale that they will always be able to recall whenever they need too. Apparently he was never the same after the war. In many respects her was a broken man with areas of his persona that remain broken to this day. I sincerely believe he has found peace after many decades.

I also saw two very serious road accidents on an extended journey home. One where a car had just collided with a tractor on a dual carriageway. The driver didn't look in a good way. As a first adier I usuallt stop, but this was on the other side of a very fast road and now where to pull over. To stop would have endagered other lives and there was also people who looked like they knew what they were doing at the scene.

The other was accident was just being cleared up as I went past. A wreked car being lifted out of a river on the side of another dual carriageway. The car didn't look good and Wifey had told me the road had been closed for some time earlier in the day. I don't know how either casualty faired but it didn't look too good from the seat of my car.

Fragile lives.......

Thursday 12 July 2007

Fastest internet cafe in the world

Just a quick post to say the holiday down here in cornwall has been fun.

I'm posting from the BT satelite Earth Centre at Goonhilly. Apparently the have 100Mbs broadband here.

Just looking at the Boy's last post and I might bump in to him as it appears he is in Cornwall too. I have no idea who he is or what he looks like, so it may be that chap over there writing his post also....

I'm back at work Monday but It'll be hectic and I'll have to catch up with last weeks posts from my must read bloggers.

Thursday 5 July 2007

Files & Holidays

I found the file, some one had nabbed it and taken it home to work on.

This week has been frantic, but lunch looking out to sea yesterday was a perk of the job.

No time today as I have so much work to get through before I leave tonight for a week's holiday. When I get back I'll have to cath up on loads of works so I may be gone for a while. Please don't desert me, as Arnie once siad "I'll be back"

Monday 2 July 2007

Reports and files

I’m supposed to be writing reports today. I’ve done one. I need to go and visit the site again for another, and I just can’t find the appropriate files for a third. I really don’t know where the files have gone….

If anyone sees them can you send them back to me? It would help me write my report, keep my boss happy and if he’s happy, I’ve still got a job.

I’m really annoyed, but I’m sure the hour’s drive home around the M25 should calm me some what!

One night last week

Since my Old Dad has been stopping with us Wifey and I’s social life has taken a dramatic upturn. He informed Wifey yesterday that we have one more ‘pass–out’* before he goes back home on Saturday evening. We were just busy planning another naughty night out at our local when Wifey’s middle sister phones after having some bother at work.

Wifey is very highly qualified and also quite widely experienced in HR for her tender years and so naturally she was the one to help. The tale is a torrid one, and it took a little longer than Wifey had expected to calm her sister and help her draft some letters. The baby goes to bed just before eight so we’d hoped to get away from home just after, but we finally arrived at the pub just after nine.

“It gives us 2 hours to get phished in” I said. “Huh, 2 hours is not a long time to get phised in honey pie” she replied. “Don’t tell me we could neck two bottles of wine each in the next 2 hours without even trying” I asked. “Good point” she replied, “now shut up and get the orders in”

To be fair we didn’t have anywhere near 2 bottles each to drink and the conversation was flowing more freely than the wine.

Towards closing time, the two girls on a table opposite us started to have some in depth mobile phone conversations with culminated in one of the girl’s irate boyfriends making an appearance at their table. To calm the situation down the girls sent her boyfriend away and, because they were both a little scared, they came to sit with Wifey and I.

They were interesting to talk to and it make me realise that in the 15 years since I was that age (and the age of the irate boyfriend) I have matured so much as man. 15 years ago I would have done stupid things like making a scene in public (even 5 years ago!) but now I am able to sit back and see the bigger picture.

We talked long past closing time and when we were finally thrown out they appeared a little nervous about the possibility that irate boyfriend would be outside waiting for them. We offered to walk them home. As predicted, Irate boyfriend was indeed waiting and did try and cause a scene, but, after a few quite words, that were not threatening I hasten to add, he backed off, but still he followed us and the two girls home.


We saw the girls safely to the door, told them to lock it, go to bed and ignore the irate boyfriend. After this, we walked home ourselves. I hope everything works out for the girls concerned, speaking as outsider, she deserved better.

*The phraseology you’d expect from a military man