Or should it be don’t put your daughter in a bobsleigh Mrs McSweeney…

Nikki was at some trials yesterday, for the GB Junior Squad for the Junior World Champs. And she did well, and it looks like she is in the squad. She did well in the sprints and the jumps.. and then went to work on the Bob. On her final run, as she went to jump in, her foot didn’t quite make it and she fell out. Ouch. Nasty cuts and grazes on her legs and hand.

When she got home, Tricia was concerned that the wounds were not clean so took her down to A&E. This was about 9pm. They arrived back at 1:30am… nothing like a long wait. But, it seems it was the right thing to do though. Her wound was cleaned with antiseptic and a tooth brush. Nikki was put on the ‘happy gas’ whilst they did this (same gas mothers giving birth get) as it was somewhat painful. This photo was taken at 1:30am Sunday morning… by Tricia. I was fast asleep.

She need sto have the dressing changed every few days. She doesn’t do things by half… I understand some daughters do sewing, and embroidery… Not our Nikki. She says it will all be worth it if she gets on the team.

We took some of the contents of the loft today to a car boot. We sold some of it, and bought some of it back. Then there was the cricket to watch. Well done England!

Back to work tomorrow… which is ok. I am still enjoying working at BP, so it is not too much of a drag. Although I have to say I was getting used to getting up in the morning and not going to work.

It was A Level results day today, and whilst Robbie has only finished his first year, he got his AS results, which count towards his final results. He got A grades in Art, Graphics, and in Graphics got some very high marks. In Music he is only at an E, he did exceptionally well with one of his music exams, but not so well in the other 2. If he retakes one that he didn’t do so well in he should be able to get his grade up to a C level. So, all in all we are pretty pleased.

Robbie was at Thorpe Park today, with his mate Alex. Sounds like they had a great time, and he won a big pink shark… where are we going to put that (having just got rid of a load of rubbish this week)… I will give it to Laura he said. Good thinking.

This picture is Robbie, left, and his mate Alex, right, on a ride called Colossus. Enjoying themselves apparantly.

We (Tricia and I) cleared the loft on Mon..and Tue.. and Wed. We have already carted two car loads to the dump. On Sunday morning we are going to car boot some of the remaining stuff. Not sure how we generated so much clutter.

Ellie had her friend Helena to stay over yesterday. They are very good friends and Helena is a sensible young lady, so as sleep overs go, it was quite painless.

Today Tricia and I clocked up 23 years of married life. We haven’t done anything in particular to celebrate today… a nice bottle of Sancerre this evening, but that’s it. I suppose with 25 years not far away now, we ought to start thinking how we might celebrate it. Tricia as always, needs a pat on the back and to be awarded the Victoris Cross for putting up with me for so long

In fact, rather than taking it easy,  we have worked hard all day putting the camping stuff away, washing and ironing all the clothes from last week, and catching up on the athletics.

Nikki was here for a while today, but she has a weeks work at Homebase in Hatfield next week so she is off in the morning. Ellie was pleased to see ‘Nik Nik’, she does miss her big sis when she isn’t around. Robbie spent most of the day with Laura, she was on hols last week, and is away next week, so they were catching up. 

A quiet Sunday.

The word ‘summer’ to me evokes memories of my childhood, where the sun shone, sometimes for days on end, and the family holiday would sometimes have a bad weather day in it. These days, it seems we are happy if we get a good weather day in a week…

Saturday Aug 8th

Well the idea had been to travel on the Saturday, but we decided to postpone departure by one day. We thought traffic would be lighter on the Sunday, besides which, we didn’t have a campsite booked. A hectic week meant that we hadn’t had time to sort one out. So, I spent the morning ringing around, and finally settling on ‘Little Trevothan’ on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall. We packed the car in the evening so that we could get away early on the Sunday morning.

Sunday Aug 9th

We left about 7:40, and the roads were pretty clear. It took us about 5 hours, and Tricia drove all the way. The weather was reasonable as we left, when we were on the M4 and M5 it was quite nice, but the closer we got to Cornwall, the cloudier it got. As we approached Helston, about 10 miles from our camp site, it was raining. However, as we got to the campsite it had stopped, and dried pretty quickly so we could get the tent up in the dry. You always take a chance on a camp site, and we were pleased that the field was level, and the facilities good. Once the tent was up I inflated the air beds, and we found that the new one I was supposed to be using, was too large to fit in the same sleeping pod as Tricia’s air bed. We pondered this, and thought that we may have to sleep apart, until a voice said, ‘Well Dad, you could always use my air bed and I could have yours’ ! Problem solved… just as well that somebody on the holiday had some brains

Having set up we went into the nearest village, called Coverack, where we had fish and chips for tea, whilst looking out at the harbour. It was a typical small Cornish fishing harbour. We then went and had a drive around the area, before going back to site. We had some late afternoon and early evening sunshine, but not long after we had gone to bed it started raining. Good grief, every time we put up a tent so the Rain Gods seem to think it is an invitation to pour down.

Monday Aug 10th

It was wet. It had rained pretty much all night. So, we decided to go and have a look at Falmouth. After a breakfast of sausage and eggs, and showers, we left site at about 11am. Falmouth was pretty dreary and naff, the weather wan’t any better. So following a look at an art exhibition, we went into the cinema and watched Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince. Ellie had been very keen to see the film, so she was pleased. I thought the film was ok, and quite well done. But I had read the book, and so knew what was happening with some of the plot and sub plot… but I am not sure that it would have been all that clear to those that hadn’t read the books. When we came out, the weather had improved slightly and we looked at Falmouth dock, and then went to Pendennis point. Back at the camp site, Tricia cooked a spag bol, which went well with a glass of wine.

Tuesday Aug 11th

Woohoo ! The sun was shining. So, with Ellie desperate to go to the beach, we had a breakfast of bacon and eggs, then showers, and we were off to the coast by 10. Initially we went to Mullion cove, which was nice but had no beach to speak of, so we went to the next bay along, which was called Poldhu cove, and we spent the day there. The waves were splendid and Ellie had a whale of a time in the sea and on the sand. Despite sun cream, we all caught the sun. I managed to get sunburnt toes… one area I forgot to put cream on, the back of Tricia’s leg got a bit red where she hadn’t fully covered with cream, and Ellie had an interesting red circle on her back, from where her swimsuit didn’t fully cover. We left the beach at about 4:30. For tea we had a cornish pasty in Helston. Back at the camp site, after Ellie had ‘de-sanded’ in the showers, we sat in the sun… but then the cloud came, so we retreated back into the tent.

Wednesday Aug 12th

We were all awake by 7:30. Today we had promised to take Ellie to a theme park called Flambards for the day, so she hurried us along, and we were at Flambard’s for the opening at 10:30. Ellie wasted no time in getting into the rides. I went on one with her called the ‘Thunderbolt’ and thought my breakfast might reappear. Fortunately it didn’t. Nonetheless, I let Tricia go with Ellie on the rollercoaster . Once Ellie had maxed out on all the rides, we went into some of the exhibits. They had recreated a Victorian street and shops, which was very well done, and also a Britain in the Blitz exhibit. By 5pm we were flagging and not sure how we could keep going till 9:20, when there was a firework display, and we had promised Ellie she could see the fireworks. We toddled off for a meal at the cafeteria. Tricia had checked it out earlier in the day, and the menu was ok, with items such as lasagne, baked potatoes etc. But when we arrived at the cafeteria, they had put up an evening menu… which was basically chips. So, not quite what we wanted, but it was suasage rolls and chips for tea. Still it kept us going. Ellie did all the rides again (including Thinderbolt for the fourth time), before the firework display which was very good, capped a long day. There was a quick visit to a Tesco on the way back for provisions, before hot milk and bed.

Ellie enjoyed Flambards. What disappointed me though, was that they allowed smoking around the park. You would have thought in a park, essentially aimed at children they might have had a no smoking rule.

Thursday Aug 13th

Again, we were all awake just after 7:30, including a mildly grumpy Ellie, who seemed a bit tired after the long day at Flambards. A full on breakfast of bacon, egg, beans and toast set us up nicely for the day. The weather was a bit cloudy and damp, but it brightened and we set off for Lizard Point and the the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse car park was a National Trust one, and Tricia is an NT member… but she had left her membership card at the tent. Wally. We had a guided tour of the Lighthouse and its workings, which I will generously describe as mildly interesting, before going off on a walk along the coastal walk in beautiful sunshine. The Cornish coastline takes some beating, the rocky cliffs and sea front, interspersed with sandy coves is quite something. You can just sit and look at it for ages and just enjoy the view. On our return we indulged in an ice cream. I took a few licks of mine, and then disaster the top of my cone broke and flew off, but, with the dexterity of a slip fielder, I caught it… and had a handful of cone and ice cream. I finished it… but I was a bit sticky when I did.

Back in the car we headed for Kennack sands. Ellie took to that water, and as I did on Tuesday, I changed into my trunks and went down with her, but the water was blooming freezing. I don’t know how Ellie stayed in for so long. It was cloudy for a while, but then it cleared and we enjoyed late afternoon sunshine. A game of frisbee, and some sand catle building followed. Back at the tent later, Tricia produced a meatball supper.

Friday Aug 14th

Ellie wanted ‘eggy bread’ for breakfast.. so Tricia did it for her and herself. I declined and had cereal. The weather was really confused and couldn’t work out what it wanted to do. One minute bright, warm sunshine, almost the next minute, cloudy, cool and drizzle in the air. Not to be deterred we headed for Kynance Cove. An NT car park again… this time Tricia had remembered her card so parking was free. As tide was high, we had to take a long walk around to the cove, probably about a mile. We were glad we took our raincoats as by the time we arrived we were wet. The weather had finally decided to be wet. Still, the cove was full of natural beauty, and we stayed and walked around for a while, before going in to the tea room for a cream tea (the scones were excellent, very nearly up to Nikki’s standard). But before we did, we went to the loo’s. Tricia who went in wearing a crisp, clean, white t-shirt, emerged with an interesting red / pink pattern all over it. The soap dispenser it seems was rather lively, and splashed out into Tricia’s hands at some velocity, and over her t-shirt It looked quite artisitic.

Back at the car, and with the weather still pants, we decided to head for the north Cornwall coast, and head for St Ives. As we got nearer, the weather got better. But, there was no parking to be had in St Ives, and so we ended up going to a place called Corbis Bay, which was nice and sandy, and within a flash Ellie was in the sea. It was here she performed a heroic feat. A family had come onto the beach, and their ball had run down the beach in to the water. Tricia was stood nearby but couldn’t get the ball, and the ball started to float away on the sea. So Ellie swam out, got the ball back and took it to the family, who were pleased with her rescue act. We all played Boules (having taken them all the way to Cornwall we thought we ought to), but then the weather intervened with some rain and we headed back. Back at the tent we had hot dogs (pork sausages with caramalised red onion… fan dabby dozy!).

I have been reading Martin Chuzzlewit by Dickens throughout the holiday. I enjoy Dickens, a great storyteller, and sometimes he writes brilliantly descriptive narrative, and builds some great characters. Sometimes the plot can be a little untidy… as most of his stories were serialised he needed to create some suspense for his readers, so the plot would get distorted. In fact I believe it ruins Great Expectations. However, what I have enjoyed about M.Chuzz is that the main character (M.Chuzz) goes off to America. Dickens wrote M.Chuzz after he had visited America himself, and he is quite damning in the book of America, it’s ‘democracy’ and it’s people. Some of what he wrote 160 years ago, still seems to reflect America today. Anyhow, I sat on Friday evening in the tent enjoying my book.

Saturday 15th Aug

Going home day. We awoke to drizzle again. After showers and breakfast, we had to busy ourselves with packing up. Doing so in the drizzle didn’t help. However it stopped briefly and we had some sun, which allowed us to pack the tent without everything being too wet. We set off at 10:30, and crawled with other traffic up to the A30, where everything seemed to come to a standstill. We came off at Bodmin, and headed up towards Exmoor, the idea was to find somewhere for lunch there. But by 2pm, we were still 30 miles off, and so we stopped and had a meal in a restaurant… very nice it was too. Back on the road, we passed through Exmoor, and then to Taunton and picked up the M5. By this time it was getting on for 5pm, and the travelling was a drag. But we made good time along M5 and M4, and arrived home at 8:15pm. I had been struggling with a bad back these last few weeks, and getting out of the car after I had driven all the way was something to behold… I looked about 90 as I staggered to get upright …still, I soon loosened up.

The house was still in one piece, and Robbie hadn’t broken anything (that we know of yet). The computer had a problem, but I soon sorted that out. And that was it… holiday over. I still have a week off work, and next week we are planning a massive clean up / out of the loft.

Last week Nikki moved out of her house in Hatfield. In 2 months we will move all her ‘stuff’ back to Hatfield and a different house. Such is student life. So, this week has involved much back and forth from Hatfield. Things have been complicated by somebody reversing into her car the week before. The car is driveable but has a buckled bonnet which will need sorting out.

Today Nikki was off to Bath, and her first real work on the indoor ‘Bob’, and it seems she impressed, easily beating the qualifying times they were looking for, and getting the technical side of pushing a two man Bob and jumping in very well. Squad selection is in September, so Nikki needs to get some work in over the next few weeks to keep sharp.

Robbie has been a bit under the weather with a persistant sore throat, and his girlfriend has been away on holiday, so he hasn’t been on top form. But, he was brighter yesterday, and today he had some mates around for ‘band practice’. This evening he has been invited over to his girlfriend’s (Laura) house for a bbq with her family. He will also be enjoying the house to himself next week, as Tricia, Ellie and me head to Cornwall.

Nikki is going back to Hatfield as she has a weeks work at Homebase, and is staying with some friends. Sunday morning, Tricia, Ellie and me head to a place called Coverack on the Lizard peninsula. It is a week in the tent, but with just the three of us it should be roomy. Robbie gets a bit bored on a camping holiday, so he has decided not to come. We have left Rob on his own for a weekend before, but not a whole week. He will be left food… he should be able to fend for himself

I have two weeks off, and I am looking forward to the break. One of the last meetings I had before finishing on Friday was my half year review, which went very well. My boss described the Data Centre I run for BP as ‘exemplary’ which is great … the down side is of course that he now wants to give me other things, and one pile of crap in particular that he wants me to sort out when I get back… ho hum, that is something to look forward to… not.

Signing off for now… fingers crossed for the weather.