And so to Bath

So, to continue my holiday boasts/posts, here's a snapshot of snapshots from my recent short break in Bath.

The beautiful Abbey, outside...

... and in...

A pair of pretend-Roman pins at the baths...

The actual hot spring (see the bubbles?)...

Pulteney Bridge and the weir...

The Royal Crescent...

And on our way home, we stopped off to look at the stone circle at Avebury...

Holiday Past...

Back in Easter, we went for a 'quick getaway' break to Kent - Mum and Dad, Thomas and I. Just an hour's drive away, so if we'd forgotten to pack anything, we could just pop home and get it. But away is away, right?

So, family holiday...

(Thomas has since had his hair cut, thank goodness!)

We started off with a wander around Westerham, via the graveyard...

Then on to our hotel in Hever...

Off to Bodiam Castle...

With its many steep spiral staircases...

The weather stayed fine for us all week - Spring in the Garden of England...

A day at Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn and once owned by the Astors...

Thomas braved the water maze (hint to avoid the hordes: get there early and make this your first stop)...

...and got nice and wet...We visited Groombridge Place, with its wonderful Enchanted Forest...

... birds of prey...

... and peacocks galore...

A day in Dover, though no bluebirds...

The castle is well worth a visit (and if you go, be sure to take the tour of the secret wartime tunnels to see the other side of those famous white cliffs)...

We were lucky enough to be there when they'd laid on some great entertainment (look closely, there's a fire-eater in there somewhere)...

Our last day, and more history at Battle Abbey...

Have you seen the weather?

I'm glad I'm not out in it...

On reflection

There comes a point (doesn't there?) when we ask ourselves "What's it all about?". I do. Quite often. I usually don't have an answer. Deep down, I'm a shallow thing. My needs are relatively simple, and I don't ask for much (fortunately...).

I don't know about you, but I find myself where I am quite by accident. My life hasn't gone the way it's gone through any kind of planning: it's just worked out that way. Thinking about it, the number of major life decisions I've consciously made can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand (and even then, I won't need the thumb or all of the fingers).

Big things happen, of course they do, but thankfully not too often. It's the little things that I prefer to focus on - the things that make me smile, make me cry, make me glad to have been there...

This week, those little things include:-

Thomas, riding to school on his bike, on his own, for the first time. We'd had a 'dry run' where I met him part of the way, just to check he's OK. But on Tuesday, I got him across the nasty road in front of our flat and he was off. I wasn't meeting him at the school gates - he was on his own. I admit I cheated and pulled over to the side of the road on my way to work to see that he was doing fine, but he didn't see me, so it didn't count. He had the biggest grin on his face: FREEDOM! I continued on my way with a big smile and tears pouring down my cheeks!

At work, we have a lake next to our building, and we have a flock of Canada geese that hang out there, doing their thing. At this time of year there are loads of them. Probably a couple of generations of adults, and all their new offspring, pretty big by now, but still unmistakably young and fluffy. I arrived at work the other day, parked the car and noticed that there were about 50 geese grazing on a patch of grass next to the lake, adults and juveniles all mixed together. Just as I stepped out of my car the heavens opened and it poured with rain. And the geese, as one, started running. If they'd had newspapers and opposable thumbs they'd have been covering their heads. It was comical to see this great flock of geese running to get out of the rain. And where did they run to? The lake - they were running to get wetter! What's that all about?

Suffering from a cold (again!), I arrived home last night, changed into cosy pyjamas and snuggled up on the sofa, under a warm blanket, to watch daft TV and snooze. Thomas brought me Diet Coke and the TV remote. How lucky am I to live in a safe, warm, comfortable flat, with a son who understands his mother's priorities so well.

Just finished reading...

Love and Dr Devon
by Alan Titchmarsh

The latest easy-to-read novel from Uncle Alan (our favourite TV gardener). It's a quick, but compelling read - surprisingly, quite a page-turner.

Following the travails of three friends who meet every Friday to play dominos in their local pub. But there's more to their sedate lives than meets the eye...

This isn't great literature, but this Mr T knows how to tell a good story.

Theatrical Contrasts

On Saturday I had the privilege of watching Ottershaw Players' production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre in Woking. I'm no drama critic, but this was one of the most enthralling productions I have seen. In a strong cast, the 'stand out' (excuse the pun!) performance was from Graham Collier, playing Ken Harrison - a man paralysed from the neck down, fighting for his right to a dignified death. Graham's skill in conveying the pain - and the humour - of his situation, whilst only able to move his head, was mesmerising. He made me laugh and moved me to tears. The 'fully mobile' supporting cast complemented Graham's performance perfectly.

On Tuesday, whilst on my mini-holiday in Bath, I went to see a professional production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever at the city's Theatre Royal. What a contrast! Stephanie Beacham over-acted (as demanded by the role) magnificently. Christopher Timothy wore a bad wig. And the more good-looking but less successful brother from Butterflies stiffened his upper lip admirably throughout. It was a very entertaining couple of hours with no tugs on the conscience, or moral dilemmas to wrestle with.

Friends, lend me your ears

Pretending to be some kind of jet-setter (hardly...), I'm writing this on a hotel computer on the outskirts of Bath. Me and my friend Jessica decided that we needed a holiday. Thomas is away for a week with the school, so we're taking advantage of the 'freedom' and sneaking away for a girlie break.

We've done some learning (the tour of the Roman baths), some shopping (natch!) and some snooty tea-taking in the Pump Room - all sandwiches with the crusts cut off and teeny tiny cakes. It's not all been plain sailing, though: English Breakfast or Earl Grey? Decisions, decisions! Oh, and we've only been here a day and we're exhausted already!

So, random musings of the week are as follows:-

1. Thomas is off on his first 'proper' trip away from home, for which he made his own decisions (mostly) about what to pack, and he carried his own bag to the coach. My feelings of excitement at having the week to myself to do whatever I please were minimal. I'm missing him like mad, of course, but I think the 'all growed up' aspect of the trip is what's tugging at my heart-strings. Somehow I feel that he'll come back a different person (in a good way) and that something will be gone. It's hard to put into words, but I know all you parents of grown-up kids will understand. And you parents of little-ones know that the day will come someday. However, I'm hoping that his new-found maturity, which comes with the application of hair gel and deodorant, will also accompany a fondness for bringing his beloved mother a nice cup of tea in bed on a Sunday morning! Yeah, right...!

2. All I'm really looking for in life is a comfortable chair. It's not a lot to ask, surely, but when you're staying in a hotel that doesn't have a single one, it's suddenly the be-all and end-all.

3. When there are four items on the dessert menu, you would expect the waitress to know the difference between the cheeseboard and cheesecake!

Beep Beep Beep Beep Yeah!

So I've been and gone and done it. I bought myself a shiny new car!

I tried to be sensible, but in the end I couldn't resist something a little bit sporty.

Honestly - I did try to like the grown up cars. I test drove a Toyota Auris (yawn), a Honda Jazz (I can't bring myself to own a car called a Jazz) and a Honda Civic. The Civic was OK, but I didn't love it. And the model I could afford was just... too... sensible!

Besides, at the beginning of my casual 'just looking', I saw it. The car I really wanted. Shiny and sleek and pretty (well, I thought so, anyway). So, I booked a test drive, and it was just as much fun to drive as I thought it would be. In fact, just sitting in it, I knew that was the one.

So, what is this mythical automobile? A Vauxhall Astra, that's what! I know! An Astra! I used to own a bright yellow old-style Astra - the engine blew up at the Glastonbury Festival. And I never imagined I'd own another one. But my secret favourite car was a bog-standard Cavalier that I always really loved to drive, and it seems to me that the new Astra is the old Cavalier.

Anyway, this is sounding like a boy's blog! So the thing that you really need to know is the colour: Panacotta. Pearlised silvery beige to you...

And finally... the most important consideration when making this kind of decision: they've got a great ad!