Consult this...

Do you remember my railing against over-paid and under-qualified consultants? Well, the report from the one we employed is just in. It contained inaccurate information and the conclusions were breathtakingly obvious. But you can’t really blame the consultant, can you? If someone writes you a cheque for old rope, that’s exactly what they are going to get…

It was my second singing lesson last night, and it was fun. Actually it was frustrating but at the end it was fun and I managed to sing reasonably well. At the moment I’m still at the Eric Morcambe stage; I’m singing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order. I had my post-singing McDonalds and it was delish.

When I got home, we had a new cupboard to sort out. My in-laws are moving to the south coast and said we could have a rather fine pine cupboard that had previously been in their front room. It’s a massive thing and they arranged for it to be dropped off for us yesterday giving us much needed storage space in the bedroom. It looks great! We were musing that apart from white goods, a kitchen table and a new bed, we wouldn’t have much new furniture to buy when we move because we have bookcases, cupboards, coffee tables etc., etc. Plus we are asking for JL vouchers for our wedding, so that should help with the cost of things like washing machines and other necessities. That made me very happy. I’m always happy when we talk about moving. I’d just like somewhere where I can’t hear other people’s music and TV noise!

We’re off to the Smallholding and Gardening show in Wales in May. We can’t wait, although for some people the attraction won’t be immediately obvious, lol. We will be camping so I’m hoping it will be warmish. I’ve camped in the pouring rain and in temperatures below freezing and I’ve survived each time with a tale to tell, but I would be lying if I said camping wasn’t infinitely more pleasurable when the weather is warm and dry!

We did our diaries yesterday and things are a bit chocka. Not just the wedding and honeymoon (pre and post wedding!) but now; camping in Wales; weekends away with friends or friends coming to us for the weekend; one training course; rugby at Twickenham x 2; visits to family; lunches and dinners with various loved ones; one concert; one visit to a theme park and we need to paint the kitchen at some point and keep up with the garden…

I keep reminding myself that life is better when it's full :0)

North Wales

Well I’m back, but not from out of space, from north Wales actually. It was breathtakingly beautiful – at times reminding me of the countryside in the Highlands of Scotland. We saw and explored beaches, farmland and mountains (inc. Snowdonia) and I fell in love with Betws-y-Coed and want to live there! (I forgot to take my camera, so no pictures. You’ll just have to visit if you don’t believe me!)

Our plan was to help out on an organic farm and we were going to stay there, but decided to camp instead because the weather was beautiful and we found a great campsite (mountains to the right, sea to the left!). There wasn’t much to do on the farm because the owner is a woman in her late sixties who is waiting for a hip operation; so she doesn’t have the animals or the busy schedule she once had. In the end, we fed the ponies, fixed a gate, cleared lots of brambles and did some general maintenance. The rest of the time we explored a part of Wales that I had never been to before. Eating big breakfasts and taking the dog (who had a ball) on long walks…

I cracked the sleeping thing as well. We’re using camping mats and a mattress topper (like a thin foam mattress, dimpled to provide extra support for your back. I bought one for our bed at home and it was much more comfortable so I thought I’d try it camping as well.) I slept really well and it’s so lovely to go to bed early and wake up fresh and bright the next day. Sometimes if I go to bed after watching TV I feel I don’t wake up fresh at all, but going to bed after a beer and good conversation I was raring to go each morning. And we were ready to get going by 8.30 at the latest.

We saw a lot of properties and land for sale, and we might end up buying land from the farm owner. Property is fairly reasonable but for us, we either need property and land or land with planning permission. And we don’t particularly want to go through an agent either.

In some ways it’s always a shame to come back, because I’m impatient to get moving with our plans – although it’s always nice to use your own bathroom after you’ve been camping! Our next farm visit is in Bedfordshire. More animals this time, which I’m really looking forward to…

(The new car drives really well! I'll put a photo on blogger soon.)

Cornish dream

Back in the office, too much work to do and everything seems unorganised but there you go…

We had a magical weekend. Despite the bronchitis we did go to Cornwall. Our new tent is totally awesome! It’s absolutely massive, not that difficult to put up and really comfortable. When there was a little rain we sat inside with the porch open still able to watch the world go by and I can walk about in it without having to crouch and hurt my knees! I’m still on a mission to find a comfortable way to sleep whilst camping (2nd airbed with a slow puncture!) but we’ll get there, everything else was great anyway.

The Dulwich Ukulele Club (DUC) were tremendous... My soon to be brother-in-law is in the band and had got us two free tickets for the festival, so we were DUC groupies for the weekend and a lot of fun it was too... Their second gig especially, really got everyone going and people were dancing and having a whale of a time. In my opinion they are simply one of the best bands to see live; funny, musically very good, and incredibly original.

The festival was lovely, really gentle. I didn’t actually do much other than whoop and holler for the band at their gigs – I was trying to rest as much as possible. But there felt no need to rush, or see everything or even do anything. We had nice food, some beer, sat round the fire at night, laughed a lot and just enjoyed the atmosphere and the people. It was nice to see lots of kids running around, having a great time; perfectly safe and a just a little wild… like children should be! If you fancy a really eclectic festival Port Eliot is a fantastic choice. Not sure it’s happening next year, but we would definitely go again.

It had taken us 9 hours to get to Cornwall because the M4 had come to a virtual standstill. Newbury had suffered devastating flooding, roads had been washed out - basically it was pretty awful. Coming out of London the visibility had been down to one or two metres at times. I was genuinely scared and considered stopping the car and pulling over. I didn’t know how we were going to get to Cornwall that’s for sure. But we did, eventually. It did rain, but it was light rain that lasted only a short time. It seemed unreal that the rest of the country was suffering so much.

On the Sunday we had already decided to go a visit a wedding venue in Tintagel. It had been three years since I’d visited ‘Tagel and it was great to see it again in the hot Cornish sun. We checked out the venue, but decided for a variety of reasons that it wasn’t for us. We grabbed some fresh pasties and scones and hit the road, deciding to head down to St Ives where there was a hotel we were really quite interested in. We had originally thought we wouldn’t be able to go and visit this one; it was too far south and we had to head back to London. We were also mindful that flooding and rain may still be a problem and so we didn’t want to leave it too late before we headed home. But St Ives is only about an hour and half from Tintagel and to go home and then have to make another trip back to Cornwall so soon just seemed overwhelming.

St Ives is beautiful and I just had a funny feeling that this hotel was going to be the one for us. The wedding co-ordinator was off-duty but was happy to show us around. Her attitude (and that of her colleague whom we had spoken to on the phone) was fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble and the view of the golden sands and turquoise sea from the ceremony and reception rooms was stunning. The hotel has its own sub-tropical gardens, a private pool and direct access to the beach. We waited until we got back to the car before agreeing that we had found our venue! We’ve since booked the registrar (also super lovely) and the hotel and are having our invitations designed…

It’s such a relief to have the venue sorted. It felt that nothing could progress – and I suppose nothing could progress – before that was done. So on the 30 August next year I will be marrying my beloved surrounded by all the people I love. What a lovely thought!

The journey home did take forever, but we got home just after 11pm, safe and sound and to a very happy hound who had been staying with a friend all weekend.

Monday we did some wedding stuff but otherwise I stayed in bed reading the new Harry Potter. Bliss…

My hat

The missus just made pancakes with fresh (British) strawberries and bananas with maple syrup. Yum... two cups of coffee and some freshly squeezed orange juice later, I'm ready for my day. Which includes, as loyal readers will know, a trip to homobase for window boxes and now, buying a £150 tent for our trip next weekend and all subsequent camping thereafter. It's not that we're being flash - our current tent is fine - but I need one I can stand up in. You try (on dodgy knees) crouching, getting dressed and keeping your balance...

Our trip to the literary festival in Cornwall next weekend will see the re-emergence of my hat. I'm surprised I haven't blogged about my hat previously. It's very special. And indeed, I look very special when I wear it. I bought it at the Outsider festival, it's a hat with a brim and is completely and utterly waterproof. I wore it and didn't even realise it was raining after a while except of course that I was sinking into the mud and the rest of me was drenched through to bone... apart from that though...

When I first tried it on my partner laughed and I got a bit cross but the woman selling the hat lent me her compact mirror and frankly, I thought I looked OK, quite dashing in an outdoorsy sort of way. So I bought it, and it became my very loyal companion. You can stuff it in your pocket, scrunch it into your bag or indeed, wear it on your head. It's fantastic and was what stood between me and influenza. So I will be taking my hat to Cornwall. It's not that I want it to rain - I just want to be prepared. People may laugh at me but I will be forever dry and just that bit warmer... whose your hat daddy?!

Tentastic!

What a fantastic Easter Bank Holiday! For those of you who may not know; we have about 6 or 8 BH’s in England - not sure what it is for the rest of the UK – but basically it’s a day off work in the week and most everyone agrees BH’s rock! Easter we have two – Good Friday and Easter Monday.

We decided to make the most of our four day weekend and go camping in the New Forest. I partly grew up around Christchurch and Mudeford and spent a lot of time in the Forest and wanted to share that with my partner. So we decided to pack the car, take the dog and head out on the open road…

I should give you some background: the New Forest is England’s newest national park and one of the most stunning areas of natural beauty. It’s also a massive place famous for (among other things) wild ponies, commoner’s rights (the right to graze your animals in the forest), cream teas, magnificent trees and wildlife and pretty villages dotted here and there.

The Forest got its name in 1079 by William The Conqueror who claimed the area as his ‘new hunting forest’. The ancient system established by William to protect and manage the woodlands and wilderness heaths is still in place today through the efforts of Verderers, Agisters and Commoners – literally the judges, stockmen and land users of the forest. And its proximity to the sea is most obvious in places such as Buckler's Hard, where ships for Nelson's fleet were built, using the mighty oaks from the forest.

We had to set off on Saturday because Friday I spent the day with the RNLI Tower Pier crew on a photo assignment being taken up and down the Thames on a very fast rescue boat! It was a great day and really nice of them to let me hang around drinking tea and biscuits with them. We were due to head off at stupid o’clock on the Saturday but common sense prevailed and in the end we drove off just after 8am.

We stayed in Lymington on the edge of the forest and we couldn't wait to explore. We got to the campsite with a very mellow pooch (he slept for most of the journey, seems his travel sickness is a thing of the past) and put up our new tent. After unpacking, we made sandwiches and sat in the sunshine with a cup of freshly brewed tea before heading back out to Christchurch.

Christchurch is very pretty! There are the castle ruins, the huge and very attractive Priory and the river Stour leading down to the harbour full of sailing and rowing boats, swans and ducks. And on a lovely sunny day it’s bliss to get a really big ice-cream (strawberry and mint choc chip – weird combination but it worked for me) and look out over the water. The dog was very excited by it all and it was nice to go for a fairly long walk and stretch our legs. We then went and got a coffee and looked in a few shops before ambling back to the car. That night we sat round the fire eating pasta and drinking beer. Later that same night however, we were hunkered down in our double sleeping bag with everything we could think of either on top of us or on us – it was FREEZING! We were wearing hats and jackets and all sorts. Pluto was in with us and we made him a little den just in case even his fur wasn’t enough. The next morning very early, I stumbled out of the tent, started a fire and put a brew on. About an hour later after a hot shower, I started to thaw… and once again it turned into a hot sunny day.

Restored by egg rolls and tea, we jumped in the car and this time went to Mudeford Quay. I took lots of photos and then bought some crab lines, bait and a bucket and we sat crabbing for an hour… we caught five but they went straight back in. I managed another ice cream and when we felt we had harassed the local crab population for long enough, we took the very scenic A35 up to Lyndhurst where we stopped for pasties before heading to Emory Down to go for a long walk in the Forest. Pluto made friends with a young pony; we saw two deer (that was a real treat), a custard yellow butterfly, 2 kestrels, and a variety of other birds… We also happened upon some gorgeous young cows and bullocks (I have a thing about cows) and I took at least another 20 photos.

That night we cooked burgers and sweetcorn and thankfully it was less cold so we slept better. We needed to head home the following morning so we packed up, filled up (bacon and egg rolls and more tea) and headed off… sad to be going but really, really happy that we had such a fantastic time.

Camping is great. If you have a sense of fun and adventure then camping is definitely for you. Yes it can be a little uncomfortable and it can get very cold, but it’s a fantastic way of getting around spontaneously and without spending a huge amount of money. Our trip was so cheap and yet we did so much. So for anyone that hasn’t been camping or is fairly new to camping (this was my first ever time) here are some top tips:

1. Don’t underestimate how cold it can get. Throw in extra t-shirts which are great for adding layers, and if you have a car, take a couple of extra blankets.


2. If you have knee or back problems, a roll mat may not be comfortable enough – try an air bed.


3. A portable bar-b-q is great for cooking and warmth. Take along some bundles of wood for after you’ve cooked so it feels like a campfire.


4. Don’t take loads of pots and pans. We used one old frying pan and one pot the whole weekend. In fact don’t be suckered into thinking you need loads of fancy equipment – you really don’t. Take the basics and ask other people what they take when they go camping.


5. Pre-cook food, we took along a big pasta dish which just needed heating up and home made garlic bread which we just stuck on the barbie.


6. Don’t forget a bottle opener, a sharp knife and lots of matches/lighters!


7. Wet wipes are great for a quick spruce before bed if there is a long queue for the wash rooms.


8. Look on the review sections of campsites and listen to what people that have actually stayed there think. You might think it’s worth joining the Camping and Caravan club – we’ve just joined.


9. Remember to air tents and sleeping bags on the line when you get back in case they are still a bit damp…

We live in a very beautiful country so my last tip is just to have fun and explore. It only took us 2.5 hrs to get back and we spent a contented afternoon unpacking, doing laundry and then grabbing a very satisfying nap. One of the best Easter’s I’ve ever had… and yes, there was chocolate too!

“But in its wild scenery lies its greatest charm...... Nowhere, in extent at least, spread such stretches of heath and moor, golden in the spring with the blaze of furze, and in the autumn purple with heather, and bronzed with the fading fern. Nowhere in England rise such oak-woods, their boughs rimed with the frostwork of lichens, and dark beech-groves with their floor of red brown leaves, on which the branches weave their own warp and woof of light and shade."
John Wise, 1895 - The New Forest. It’s History and Its Scenery.

Homes for hedgehogs and vegetables

A whole day spent in the garden yesterday, bliss! I’m achy and need a rub down with a copy of Gardener’s World but am very happy that I managed to spend time in our own little ecology centre yesterday…

Friday we went for dinner in the evening with friends which was a lot of fun. Saturday I had to go and get some camping stuff (we’re off to the New Forest at Easter! The missus, me and the dog makes three!). I ended up buying another sleeping bag; two roll mats; a dog tether (don’t ask) and plastic plates. And then Sunday we took the dog up Crystal Palace Park where, as you can imagine, he had a whale of a time. Then we came back to a huge breakfast which we ate in the garden, followed by a day of planting, trying to save our lawn and garden maintenance. I bought my partner some asparagus and a rose called Cambridge Castle (she went to Cambridge University) for her Easter present. I couldn’t exactly hide them for a week so she got them yesterday. And so they got planted with liberal helpings of horse poo.

We’re building a raised vegetable patch (we have clay soil and most veggies prefer good drainage) and we’ve now decided to extend the vegetable patch outward. So yesterday I was treating the wood with preserver, and by the amount I got on myself, I should stay looking 33 for quite a number of years to come…

My partner also sanded the lawn. Our turf never really took for a variety of reasons, so she spent hours spiking the lawn and brushing in sand to improve the drainage. Then we sprinkled lawn seed and gave it a good watering. Hopefully, we should have a decent lawn (or getting that way) within a month or so.

I was going to start building my hedgehog house as well but covered in wood preserver and dirt; I decided to head inside at 6 and soak myself clean in the bath and then made a rather fabulous roast dinner. The organic beef that was left is now in my sandwiches and its touch and go whether I’m going to make it till lunchtime…