Archives: holiday

Arriva Trains Northern strike morning, so the ‘turnaround’ run by First Northwestern is here. No table to type on, so I am doing a little typing on my lap before we start to move – whence I will just have to read. I don’t wanna be feeling rubbish through typing on my lap on the move.

Holidays. Yes – they were very good holidays.
My parents have a new house.
We set off Monday night in the car & Jude & Eve were already out for the count. Placed in the car already in slumber. Jack on the other hand was rather excited. After all – Grandpa was here & we were going on holiday & we were going in the car & we were going on the motorway. How glamorous!
He sat upright in the car for a good long while. He was behind dad who was driving, & managed to position himself eventually to a point where he was looking over dad’s shoulder. It was a pleasant sunset & the light lingered on the horizon long after the sun had gone, showing us where the small clouds were stranded in the sky. Stars eventually came out, & Jack eventually gave up trying to look at everything at about 10, or was it 11:50?
Oh well – this train starts to move.

We’re traveling back up north.
Late night motorway driving with my dad.
Trying a little typing & realising continuing would make me travel sick.

Tipsy
Glass of beer.

This is not really like a diary is it? I hardly keep a daily routine. It’s a journal, I guess. Yeh, I try to think of it more like that…
Itchy ears from sunburn.

Been fun these days.

The comic convention in Bristol was a bit of a let down. Saw some familiar faces, (and was good to see them) but it was more like a glorified comics mart rather than a convention. For a convention that last year prided itself on being family friendly – this was a big hot hall full of traders selling comics.
There were a bunch of small pressers there, but the lack of any real social areas was the missing ingredient that made the whole thing fail.
Shame really.

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Been on holiday since Monday, but not really had a chance to do much typing. I’m supposed to be relaxing, but as usual, where’s the time for that? Still, I am enjoying myself.
I’m typing at the moment as I’ve got up too early. Jack & I are off to Bristol this morning with my dad. He’s off to the Veg market in Bristol & we’ve decided to hitch a ride with him. He sets off early, but I’m up too early; I kinda set the alarm a bit too soon. Hey ho. Off to Bristol as we’re off to the Comics convention there, today. This is one of the reasons we decided to actually take a holiday at this time; so that I could go. I’m going to be talking on the small press comics panel discussion – but I doubt that means I’ll be getting in gratis.
Have quite a sun burnt neck & arms today. We spent some time down at the beach yesterday as it was the 1st day of unadulterated sunshine (it’s been showery). Jack & I made quite a magnificent sand castle. Well, a big pile of sand with moat around it. It also had a bridge, as there was a flat bit of stone/concrete that I could place over the moat. Jack was decorating it with stones when he lost interest. There were some other boys playing in the water nearby & that was more fun. We then peeled off to get some ice cream & said boys started the demolition. Sandcastles are transient, so I don’t worry. I was tempted to have a rave at the older boy (7 years?) as he was the one who started it, but I could not be sure who the parents were. Turned out to be the ones who were sleeping nearby, so perhaps I should have & it would have lasted longer. Still – It was a large edifice & there was still evidence of it sometime later. Some other kids were playing with it then & looked to be trying to reinstate the moat.

Holiday starts today! I’m still going to work; mind. It was supposed to start tomorrow (& I would still have been working) but my dad, who is giving us a lift down to Somerset (for it is with my parents we are staying) opted for today. Uh, OK then.
Had a good ‘clear out’ day yesterday. I gave the council a big list of the junk with which time has encumbered us & they are going to come & collect it. I guess if we had a car I would have been rid of most of it already – but we don’t – so we have to get them to come & collect it occasionally. Has to be strictly ‘household’ though – so the 2 bit of chipboard & a bag of plaster that got left behind when they did the attic will have to stay… I don’t quite get the ‘chipboard’ denial… hey – we used it as… um… why the hell did we have that chipboard anyway?!
I got all the lugging of junk done while Jack was off playing with Hamish. They were apparently drawing animals together; I got as a passing report from Hamish’s dad – Andy. He had taken Jack off that morning to a big aquarium shop quite a few miles away. I think they’ve bought a new fish tank. I was junking a couple of very redundant PCs & mentioned that I’d whipped the hard drive out. Andy had recently replaced a wonky hard drive for someone, so he had the faulty model. He came over, & like a couple of wee kids we opened it up. Nice shiny platter therein. One of the computers I was junking had a very old hard drive in, so we whipped that out & pried that one open too. It was a full bay size hard drive with an inspection date from 1989. Cor antique! Nicely brutish in it’s internal mechanics compared to a modern day one

Missing a couple of days again. Easy to do – why? Trains without tables & an inclination to read, not write. What’s been going on? …I forget as usual.
My parents (my dad) has a mobile phone!! Of all things?! They are more ‘techno’ than I! It seems it might be my brother’s old one, so at least they didn’t have to fight their way through the sales fog of a shop to get one. If I were to get a mobile, it would have to be one that I cannot afford, so really – there’s very little point.
So, anyway – we’d gone to bed on Thursday night & I get up & it’s me dad on his mobile… He’s telling me that he’s coming to pick me up on the Monday, not the Tuesday… & that he’s thinking he’ll get here in the evening & we’ll set off back for Somerset at 03:00. The kids should sleep through that. Me having just been falling asleep upstairs before the call can’t really muster the thought to disagree. It seems an insane fait accompli. When I totter back to bed Louise also agrees that this is barmy. We eventually decide that we have little choice but to catch the train Tuesday evening. The expense of the train & the expense of having to buy stuff (nappies, soap powder etc) will have to be burdened. I call & leave a message at the restaurant the next day.
Louise & I talk it over again after I get home from work & well…. we conclude that barmy as it is, we will have to go by the car (we can’t really afford the train & the carrying & the etc etc etc. I call dad again in the evening, & that plan he outlined the other day was only a suggestion really. Ah. Cool. Still – Monday is the day & I need to negotiate another day off work.
Jude had his 1st ‘solids’ last night. Some ‘baby rice’. He was fine with it. Ate from the spoon without any trouble & had no trouble with the whole thing.
Jack fell off his bike yesterday. He tore his trousers really badly, but it seems he had not hurt his leg (relief) but he hit his face on the floor. Bashed his lip & grazed his chin – & that’s what was hurting him. Poor lad. We were not watching for him at the time & a couple of the older boys escorted him home. A few more minutes & we were going to collect him, as it was bath time.