The Wookey Hole

The Wookey Hole was my choice for today's activities.  A place that was quite random.

The main attraction were the caves that were formed through the erosion of the limestone hills by the River Axe and the formation of stalagmites & stalactites (basically the rock growing up from the ground or down from the ceiling of the cave).

And the spooky part comes in by legend stating that it was home to a Witch who used to cast horrible spells on the surrounding village.  It was very dark in there and Princess was a little scared, but she was very brave and clutched to Mummy, Daddy and Hippo for comfort the entire time in there.

The random part was that the caves and the land was bought by a circus group, who formed a sort of theme park.  You have a fairy garden...

...a random tribute to Jurassic Park with plastic dinosaurs...

...Neanderthals...

...and a circus.  Although quite random, the circus was a lot of fun.  There was a hall of mirrors that did weird things to the body (talk about body dysmorphia).

There was also a circus show starring the kids that go to Circus School (yes there is such a thing).

Princess was engrossed.  I think all the colours and the fact that it was kids doing it had her captivated and clapping at the end of the acts she liked most.

I was a bit clicky happy as you can probably tell by all the pictures.  But it was a nice show and I was impressed at how talented they all were.

Little Stinker in the City of Wells

Today has been a fun day and I think the picture below summarises it.  It's a bit blurry but I just love the look on the little boy's face as he runs up to the pigeons and makes them fly away.

Today has been exactly how a day in Spring should be.  Sunny with a soft breeze in the air, trees blossoming with flowers and a 99 flake ice cream in my hand.

Today our road trip took us to the quaint little City of Wells.  Home to the Bishop's Palace and Gardens...

...home to the Cathedral that is a staple for any little city...

...and also the place where the vicarage live...

We arrived mid-morning to a bustling market outside the Bishop's Palace walls.

As we walked around, aromas wafted the air with the culinary delights on offer and the different Cheddar cheeses on sale that are common for this area.

One of the finds in the market was a book called 'Little Stinker'.  A story about a little fish called Percy who loves blowing stinky botty bubbles.  It was bought for Princess but I think it has more entertainment value for Mummy and Daddy.

Although I think considering the dirty nappy that Princess graced us with, which managed to stink out the entire caravan to the extent that we were in dire need of gas masks, has me questioning whether she is our own 'Little Stinker'.

Bogey Duties

Princess is a year and a half.  She can be the cutest..

...she can be pensive as she learns...

...she can be loving and will give out plenty of 'tuddles'...

...she can be a cheeky monkey with sparkling blue eyes...

...she can belly laugh at the silliest of things...

...she can be grumpy and can throw a hissy fit when she doesn't get her way, especially when it comes to wiping that runny nose of hers.

Being the other back seat passenger of her Daddy's car, it seems that I got Bogey Duties.  And hence I was often frequented with the above look and a 'Don't do that!' every time I went in for the killer swipe at her nose.  

But it looks like my bogey duties didn't end on the trip.  With that runny nose of hers, it has meant hours in photoshop to edit it out of all her pictures.  You have no idea how gross that is.

Burnham-On-Sea

We have arrived at Burnham-on-Sea.  Home for the Carters and me for the next few days.  A quaint, yet sleepy little town that is on the south-west coast in Sommerset.

Our lodging is a caravan, although a mobile home is probably a better description as the place is huge; Kitchen, Living Room, Bathroom, 2 Bedrooms and an en-suite.  The place is spotless too, although I think the professional cleaners missed the underwear that was left behind.  Much to Pete's dismay he was the unhappy finder of a pair of well used white panties and matching bra.

I think it is no surprise that they were left behind as I think they had reached well past their use by date, but I think the mortification on Pete's face will always make me chuckle.  There is a picture, but perhaps I will save everyone the vision and leave it to their imagination.

Near our caravan were some owls that had been set up to promote a charity for an owl sanctuary.  As a way of raising necessary funds they were offering the opportunity to hold them for a donation.  And in addition the promoters were  squashing any myths that you grew up with.  For example, did you know that not all owls are nocturnal?

Sun, daffodils, a bit of lawn badminton, a sit in the massive deck chair.  Folks, Spring is here.

Short Stories: Big Bets, The Girl With the Black Skull Scarf & The Technicoloured Gorilla

Today is about so many things that I don't know where to start.  The day was really full and it seems that there were so many great parts to it that I'm remembering them as separate short stories rather than 1 big memory.

Big Bets: It's the Grand National today and like millions of others, we wanted to have a go at winning some money to fuel what would be the makings of a mammoth shopping trip in the afternoon.

We placed our bets in William Hill and it was like we had a massive sign with flashing lights hanging over our heads that screamed, 'Novices in the Room'.  However they were prepared for such novices; we were greeted by a guy dressed in bright yellow with 'I'm here to help' emblazoned across his chest, as we walked in.

The race kicked off at 4.15pm with a cup cake and commentary from the cute gay barmen, who were convinced that they had seen it all before.  Minutes later, Amee was euphoric and jumping up & down as one of her horses, Auroras Encore, finished first and had won her a windfall... of £4.  My horses barely placed at all.  Typical!

The Girl With the Black Skull Scarf: Shopping was at Cabbot Circus and is Bing's least favourite activity.  But she grinned and bared it nevertheless.  Thanks for humouring us Bing.

We all had our hit list of what we were looking for; mine was to find a scarf with skulls on it.  Dark, gothic and Alexander McQueen's signature design.  I kept spotting it everywhere I looked, to the point where I had to ask a girl with the black skull scarf where she got hers from; a website called ioffer.com, selling what I can only assume are knock-offs for a fraction of the price.  A site that I will have to visit later when I'm back at home.

I thought that would be the last I'd think of the scarf that night.  But someone else had other plans.

Our night was spent drinking and dancing it away at Poo Na Na's and on leaving, we collected my coat from the cloakroom and it came with an unexpected surprise; a white scarf with black skulls on it.

I barely had time to register what I had in my hand before Bing was shouting 'Run! Go! Go!' and Amee & Jess were pushing me out the door.  Could I ask for better friends?

 

The Technicoloured Gorilla: It is funny the things you remember and the things that you don't of an evening.  I remember Bing and Amee "riding" this Gorilla, but the memory is as black and white as this picture.  I only realised through revisiting the pictures on my phone that it was in fact technicoloured.

The main thing I remember is Sarah letting the world know she was a little cold.  I'll leave it to your imagination to spell out what was cold, but I do love this picture as it somehow summarises our trip and the craziness of it all.

Lots of love to the girls that made this a great weekend.

xx

Bubbly, Chicken Wing Roulette & Cover Stories

This weekend is dedicated to our girls trip to Bristol.  You know it's going to be a great weekend when:

a)  The 1st activity you do on reaching the hotel is to fill the sink with ice and get the wine on chill down, while another cracks open the bubbly.

b) The 1st meal of the weekend is finger lickin' good chicken from Nando's and top of the order list is Chicken Wing Roulette, A.K.A Chicken Swinging as renamed by Bing.

c) The alcohol starts to control our faculties and the clumsiness starts to kick in e.g. dropping plates of food on our laps and hoping that no one has seen.

d) The 1st meal is the source of our code names and our cover story for the rest of the weekend.  In Bristol we will forever be known as:

• Chicken Swinger (A.K.A Bing): works at an aquatics centre looking after and studying Dolphins.
• Chicken Crotch (A.K.A Amee): who is a dog whisperer with her claim to fame being that she trained Bonnie, the dog off Blue Peter.
• Chicken Virgin (A.K.A Jess): who is the certified trainer of horses that are on TV e.g. In Downton Abbey.
• Chicken Liver (A.K.A Me), who is the secret genius behind great Chef's such as Nigella Lawson and the real creator of all those delicious recipes.

I wonder how this weekend is going to unfold and what memories and stories we will have to share.

Rambling in Wolverhampton

It's Bank Holiday Monday.  The last day of the long Easter Weekend.  It seems to have gone so quickly.  But we still have one more thing on our agenda - a 6 mile walk in Wolverhampton with the Ramblers.

This morning we were like clockwork.  We got up one by one; I washed the dishes; Alicja changed her sleeping quarters back to its original occupation as a living room; Estherita made us a packed lunch for our walk.  It was great teamwork and we were out the door on time.

The weather today was perfect for a walk.  It was cold, but dry.  The only downside was the snow that had not yet melted on the pathways; I being Miss Clumsy managed to slip twice and I ended up on my back in the snow on the latter.  I would have started making snow angels, but the others in our Rambling Group were quite a bit ahead and Miss Alicja would have only been too happy to be snappy happy with her camera if I'd indulged.

Estherita had to also 'moonwalk' on the snow to get through it.  But I guess that means that we were having to work extra hard and this will contribute to us having 'buns of steel'.

The end of the walk led back to the farmhouse that we started out at.  The farm had a mini area where you could visit animals such as cows, sheep and cockerels.

We even got to see some piglets that can't have been that old as they were kept in a barn under red lights to keep warm with their mama. Very cute.

A perfect end to what has been a very happy and chilled weekend.  Thanks Ladies.

P.S. I completely forgot it was April Fool's Day today.  A missed opportunity to play some pranks.  Next year.