Recently hubby and I went camping in the Isle of Wight, what a beautiful place! We stayed at Compton Farm campsite, which was nice and peaceful. We had such glorious weather, it made a refreshing change to the rain we had become accustomed to.

Due to our National Trust and English Heritage memberships, we naturally made the most of our free entry entitlements, enjoying castles, gardens etc. Not trying to plug it, but if you like these kind of things, joining up is really good value for money. Also we went to a model village, in Godshill and a model railway at Fort Victoria. At the railway we happened upon the RNLI demonstrating what their helicopter can do. The craft was really low and so you got a great view. Apparently they only do this display once a year, so we were in the right place at the right time.

We like walking and did a 12 mile approx’ round trip, going from camp to the Needles and back. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining all the time, however, as there was not really any scrap of shade, I got quite sunburnt! Ouch, sore legs .

I might put some photos on eventually, but they have not been developed yet.

One major disaster was that our tent broke and the pole went through the fabric causing a huge rip, about halfway through our holiday, oops! Fortunately my husband was able to strap it up, using a plastic bag to cover the hole, realizing it would not have done much in a storm, he,he.

When we returned home and discovered that Millets, where we had got it from, could not replace the part, a new one was purchased, which is massive. It’s a Matlock by peakland and has lots of space. Compared to the 415ts eurohike we had before, it’s a palace.

So it was sad to see the old one go, but on to new things. We managed to Freecycle the inner tent and plan to use the canvas to make some windbreaks, so most of it will be put to good use.

We tried out the Matlock on August bank holiday weekend. Took my brother and his wife to a campsite called the Halfway House Inn, it is in the Bridgenorth area. Our guests stayed in a tent borrowed from my sister in law. The idea was to convince my bros’ wife that camping is a perfectly exceptable form of accomadation. She had never been before and likes her home comforts. I think it was a partial success, but unfortunate that we had the worst neighbours we have ever experienced. Their inconsideration for everyone else on the site meant lack of sleep all round. Out of all our camping trips, these were the noisest people we have ever come across. It almost felt like they were deliberately shouting ’til all hours, as if to say “look at me”. They seemed to give no thought to anyone, but themselves. Whilst I appreciate you expect some noise on camp, most people do try to keep it down during the night. As for their children, they were shouted and sworn at on a constant basis, even being called little s***’*, which is really not acceptable. It would have been interesting to know how other campers felt about them, particularly those with their own children. Anyway, despite this, the weather was good and the tent was a success.

It’s been ages since i’ve posted, so sorry to anyone who looks in and has been faced with the same thing again and again.

I have been looking for the words to two children’s songs…

1-I’m only a poor little sparrow

2-Dave the duck billed platypus

The first one I believe I suddenly remembered listening to in my childhood, but could only recall about one verse. I have managed to find out some information on who sang it etc, but not the actual lyrics, most frustrating!!!!

The second I liked to listen to on a children’s tape when I worked as a nursery officer. We have recently acquired a puppet platypus and so naturally there is a need for a reminder on the words. Unfortunately I can not remember the title of the tape it was on, so I can’t get any information on it that way. I have not long started looking for this one, so maybe something will turn up.

Can anybody help?

We have recently discovered this excellent website called freecycle. If you haven’t tried it out, I certainly suggest a look. Registration is free and you get to find homes for those unwanted things you would otherwise throw away. The point is to keep as many items out of the landfill sites as possible, by passing them to others who may still be able to use them. You can also post wanted items if there is anything (within reason) you would like to get your hands on. Remember though that there are rules and everything is given and received for free. My only regret is that we didn’t find it sooner.

I have been rather busy since my last entry. At present my husband is glossing some doors and suggested I might like to take this opportunity to get on with it. It is 10.30pmish and being ready for my hot chocolate and curling up in bed, this entry may not be very long.

Recently we spent a few days near Carlisle with some friends who have a B&B up in that direction. The weather was very sunny and you could easily forget at times that it was actually Oct/Nov’. What we are experiencing now is quite a change. We have however been quite spoilt as we had central heating whilst there, which is more than can be said for our own house. It can get quite chilly here at times and we can’t put central heating in as we are renting. If the landlord put it in, the rent would probably go up, so best keep quiet We do have two storage heaters, so fortunately there is some respite. These are not very economical though, as they have to stay on all the time because of the bricks in them, warming up. We may move next year, most probably rent again, so we will be looking for somewhere with the necessary heating equipment, but given the choice between this and a garden, the latter wins hands down.

As suspected this is not going to be very long this time as I feel the storage heater calling me now!! Better see if my hubby is ready for his hot choccy. Those of you who feel sorry for him, don’t. I get to clean the house tomorrow and believe me it’s not just the weekly once over, i’m talking serious cream cleaner. At least it will warm me up!!!!!!

Got back from a long weekend in Edinburgh on Tuesday. Has anyone else come to the conclusion that this beautiful city does not belive in sign posts? We were not the only ones in our party to get trapped and not be able to find our way out . Anyway we had an excellent time. We went up to suprise my mum in law for her 60th. However, as we were going up we thought we would see a few things at The Fringe. We saw a Flanders and Swann show, which was really funny and a Korean puppet show, which has to take alot of practice not to get tangled up. We also visited the Ron Mueck exhibition with the over or undersized people. Learnt about this from an article in the paper and it was good to see the subjects in real. I liked the attention to detail, which made them more realistic. I’m no art critic, but I would recommend a look.

Here I am at last! I’m new to this website thing and so please stick with me as I learn.