The last blog covered Tricia’s accident… well the insurance company decided that the repair would be more than the value of the car, and so it was written off. Pants. Well the value agreed was pretty close to what we paid for it, so that was ok. The cheque has arrived and its in the bank waiting to clear before we find another. In the meantime its a pain just having the one car. Tricia is off to the physio tomorrow following the whiplash she had. Fortunately her Dad can take her for her appointment.

Tricia and Rob completed their 8 day trek across Dartmoor and Exmoor. Unfortunately the weather in the previous months had led to the moors and pathways being more like a swamp than a moor and fields were like quagmires, so instead of being a pleasant summer trek it turned into a challenge… a challenge to do the walk, and a challenge to keep dry, and a challenge sometimes to stay upright. As Tricia explained… on the penultimate day of walking, they had struggled across a field when she slipped and went down in the mud. If it hadn’t been that they had only one day left, they would probably have called it quits and come home. But they didn’t, and I picked them up last Wednesday evening at Reading station…. tired and worn out. Here are some photo’s from their trip. Robbie at the start, then a couple of Tricia, one in the rain! And then one of them both at the end of the walk…. Asked about any further plans for walks, Robbie said, yes… but only in a place where it doesn’t rain

Of course, whilst Tricia and Rob were away, Ellie and I were at home. I took the Friday and Monday they were away as days off, worked from home a couple of days, and had a few days in the office. On the Saturday I had intended to take Ellie to the ‘Festival of History’, an event just outside Northampton. But that was cancelled due to the weather… so, instead we went to Stratford Upon Avon. Ellie had been doing a school project on Shakespeare, and so this seemed apt. We went to Anne Hathaways cottage, Shakespeares birthplace, had an open top bus tour around the town, went to see where he was buried, where he went to school, and then where his daughter lived… and Ellie recorded a videoblog in each place, which she then turned into a small film… which she submitted as her homework. She got a ‘deputy head award’ for the work. Some pictures from the day. First off Ellie… like mother like daughter. On a ‘midsummer nights themed wooded walk’ around Anne Hathaways cottage, a cat took a liking to Ellie. Then one of Ellie with the ‘fairies’ (as we walked around there were passage from MSND up on the trees… Ellie read the ones from Titania, I did the ones from Oberon and Puck). Then one of Ellie outside Anne H’s cottage. Then in Stratford itself, outside Shakespeares birthplace, Ellie with a Shakespeare lookalike. Next is Ellie in a cafe, writing out her csript for her vido, then one on the bus, and finally, the resting place of the Bard. We had a good day out.

On the way back from Stratford we picked up Nikki from Bicester station. She stayed overnight with us Saturday night, and then came with us to visit Deb & Carlos on the Sunday. Carlos was celebrating being in the UK for 40 years… come October we will have been friends for 40 years. The weather was reasonable and it was good to catch up with everyone. We then had a long trip home via Heathrow, where we dropped Nikki off. She was off to Switzerland for a weeks training. Here is a picture of Carlos… in Portuguese shirt, with a Portuguese flag… despite living in the UK for 40 years

Nikki is back from Switzerland and back in Bath. She has been having an achilles problem for the last few months and can’t seem to shake it off. So, this Friday she is off to London for some treatment – she is having blood taken, then in some way the platelets are condensed and injected into the achilles… sounds lovely Apparently it will then take a few weeks to recover.

This last weekend Tricia and I had a weekend in Chester with our friends Pat and Clive. The M6 was a bit busy on Friday afternoon, but we arrived around 6pm to find Tricia had booked us a lovely B&B. Very welcoming. On the Saturday we walked the City wall, went to the cathedral.. and of course did some shopping. Which I didn’t mind as the city centre was a an interesting historical mix of buildings. In the evening we did a ‘ghost tour’ which was a walk around the city, stopping at various buildings… at the end of which, around 9pm, the city centre was full of some ‘sights’. Hen parties, and scouse girls ‘tarted up’ for their night out. Sunday we went out to the Wirral, and did a 6 mile walk along a disused railway line to West Kirby… and the weather was lovely (at last!). We finished the afternoon at ‘Port Sunlight’ where there was an extra bonus, a number of vintage cars. We arrived back home Monday evening. Back to work yesterday. Some piccies from the weekend. First off Pat… in usual mode, enjoying a glass of champagne. Then Clive and me outside an old guys shop. Then Pat and me sat in the cathedral garden, and inside the cathedral itself.

It seems nearly a month has passed since I last blogged… during which time England got knocked out of Euro 2012. Same old England.

Ellie however has been winning. Last weekend Tricia took her to a regional dance competition in Swindon, where she won – came 1st – in a set dance. Tricia says she was absolutely shaking with excitement when it was announced – needless to say we are very proud of her. She now goes onto the Nationals at Guildford in October. Nikki made national finals in athletics, Robbie made nationals in archery, and now Ellie makes the nationals in dance. She then proceeded to have a good week at school, getting selected to assist in a school evening to welcome next years intake, and then competed for the school in the district sports where she did discus and came second !

It was a busy period for Tricia. She was catering for a local wedding last weekend, so she was flat out on the Friday and the Saturday, got up at 6:30 on the Sunday and took Ellie to her dance competition, then on Monday she drove Nikki with all her belongings down to Bath. Come Tuesday she was cream crackered. Then on Wednesday evening on the way back from Ellie’s dance class, some idiot of a taxi driver drove into the back of her. Tricia has some whiplash, and Ellie a burn from the seat belt (thank goodness for seat belts), they are ok apart from that but obviously shaken. I went to church this morning and said a thank you to the big man that it wasn’t worse. The car has been stoved in at the back… we were very pleased with the Clio, good proce, low mileage, perfect for all the local trips Tricia did… but now it may be written off. And of course sods law says we will end up fighting over the insurers value of the car….

What you can’t see from the picture is that the boot lid is bent as well….

On Tuesday Tricia and Rob go off on a walking holiday, walking across Dartmoor and Ecmoor over 8 days. Obviously we hope the weather isn’t too bad, and hopefully Tricia will enjoy a well deserved break.

Nikki is now down in Bath, so that she can train every day. She has started a child minding / nanny job as well, so that will help her. She seems to have settled in ok.

I have been busy at work, where we are short presently, and have also had a mangement change. I have also been doing quite a bit of work as a school governor, meetings and interviews, so there seems to have been little time.

A few pictures… here is Ellie at a dance display at Waddesdon, and a few pictures of the lovely grounds…

One final picture, a few weeks back, we all went to the pictures… a rare event for all of us these days, and watched Snow White and the Huntsman. It was ok…. Here we are before the start of the film.

Well a busy week ahead looms. Tricia and Rob being away means just Ellie and me from Tuesday, so I am doing a mixture of working from home, or odd hours….