Day 10: Barsbury Castle

Mum, Dad, The Boy and Grandad went to Barsbury Castle.  Mum thought it was a strange name for a place with no castle!  It turned out to be a hill with lots of butterflies on it!

Dad 9: Rescue at Lydiard!

Mum, Dad, The Boy, Grandad and S went to Lydiard Park for a nice walk.  The sunshine was beaming in Swindon as well as Cornwall.  Everyone enjoyed their walk and chatted away, watching The Boy practising his football skills with his new football from D.....

Until it landed in the lake!!!

The family spent a long time trying to find ways to reach the ball, which had drifted out into deeper parts.  There were no long sticks for poking and the ball kept moving out and out and away.  Mum went and spoke to a groundsman but he said he wasn't allowed to help them.  He suggested that the ball may eventually hit the current of the lake and flow down to the end.  It was a very long lake and the ball didn't seem to be going anywhere.  Suddenly, it moved and The Family all willed it to come closer, but no...it got stuck in the reeds and wouldn't budge again.

Mum looked at The Boy.  He was crestfallen.  So Mum took off her shoes and waded out...right up to her middle!  The bottom of the lake was not very nice.  It was squidgy and didn't feel very nice between her toes.  But the ball was in sight and Mum reached out and got it!  She turned around and waded back to the banks of the lake.

Mum was soaked but The Boy was made up.  He got a firm warning never to play with it near water again!

Day 8: Bye Bye Cornwall, Hello Grandad!

Mum, Dad and The Boy felt very sad to have to pack up their things and leave Tamarisk and Cornwall.  They had had such a wonderful time and couldn't believe their luck with the weather.  Still, all good things come to an end and there was still a bit of holiday left.  It was off to Swindon for visit with Grandad!

Poor Mum felt very peculiar in the car.  She got more tired by the mile and hoped that she wasn't going to be ill.  When they got to Grandad's house, she made her apologies and went upstairs for a lie down and promptly fell asleep.  Everyone else had a lovely barbeque but still Mum slept and slept until she woken by a lovely surprise!

Day 7: Daymer Bay

Although it looked a lot less sunny, it was still very warm indeed.  So Mum, Dad, The Boy, Granny and D went to Daymer Bay.

Daymer Bay, not quite as nice as Constantine but still very nice.  The Family thought it might rain but although there were a few rumbles of thunder it stayed dry.

 The rock pools were teeming with life.  It reminded Mum of a David Bellamy book about rock pools that she once had as a child.  She had always looked in pools for things like this but had never seen them.  Until now!

Ananananenome. 

 Barnacles and mussels.

 Here's Dad, moving the seaweed to see if there was anything interesting underneath.

The Boy used his beach shoes a lot on this holiday. 

 The buckets filled up with interesting creatures and pretty shells.

The Boy found this very strange beastie clinging to a rock.  They didn't know what it was!

 Mum found this very angry crab.  She nearly found him with her bare feet and squealed a bit.  It had such a temper!

 Mum checking her net for life.  Hmmm what's this?

Mum got a pretty orange crab.  It was a happy crab and Mum finally plucked up the courage to hold it.  She had always wanted to hold a crab!  Yay!

The Family went home to catch up with Auntie A, Thom and Baby G.  They changed and went down to the Mariner's in Rock for dinner.  Poor D stayed at Tamarisk as he was suffering with the same illness as The Boy had the night before.....he had had the same flavour ice cream!

The Boy enjoying his cold drink. 

Auntie A and Thom.

Day 6: Poorly Boy

Oh dear, oh dear!  The Boy was very poorly in the night.  Very poorly indeed.  There was laundry and disinfecting to do on the sixth day of The Family's holiday.  The Boy spent the day resting and D bought him a shiny new football.

Mum told everyone to please feel free to go out for a meal, and that she would stay and look after The Boy.  She didn't mind at all.  The Boy was feeling much better by then, which means that it was probably a case of food poisoning from the melted and refrozen ice cream down at the local ice cream shop.  They won't be going back again!

Mum and The Boy had a quiet evening together whilst everyone else was out.

 They both had a nice, refreshing shower.

 The Boy looked much happier and healthier in the evening.

They played some games of Snakes and Ladders and listened to the sounds of a brass band playing somewhere down in the village.

 Then they spent some time doing one of the jigsaws that they found near the television.  Brilliant!

The rest of The Family came home with reports of a nice meal and everyone was so happy to see that The Boy was feeling better.  He even managed to get out into the garden for a gentle kick around with his new ball.  Hurrah!

Day 5: Back to Padstow for Gift-Buying!

Mum, Dad and The Boy popped across to Padstow to buy gifts for their nearest and dearest.  Mum bought some lovely postcards from a gallery there.  The designs are by Janet Bell and Mum really loves them!

Feeling inspired, Mum went into the garden with her art journal even though it was rather late.  Ahhh, late summer evenings where it's warm enough to sit outside are fab!

Day 4: Constantine Bay

Everyone couldn't believe their luck when the weather forecast said it would be yet another sunny day.  What a fantastic and lucky week to be in Cornwall!  Mum, Dad, The Boy, Granny and D set off for Constantine Bay.  Out of all of the beaches that she has visited, this one is Mum's absolute favourite!

Arriving fairly early in the morning, the beach looked fairly deserted.

The Boy says that the Constantine Bay rock pools are the best ever!

Here he is, checking to see what he has caught in his net.

Yet another crab!

He also spotted this bright purple jellyfish.  Woo!

The waves are very powerful here and are hypnotic to watch.

The Family were joined by Auntie A, Thom and Baby G.  A very nice time was had indeed but it got hotter and hotter and much busier too.  It was time to go and prepare dinner.

Busy Constantine Bay, but not too busy.

Dinner that evening was a fantastic barbeque, cooked by Dad and eaten outdoors.

 The Boy, tired from the beach, patiently waited whilst the meal was prepared and the barbeque lit.

 Mum checked he had made his bed.  Good lad, that will do nicely.

Things gradually started appearing on the worktop, ready for the table outside. 

 Meat from the local butcher.

 Oooh, a picture of Tamarisk!  Hello Boy!

One can always tell when the meal is nearly ready by the amount of people hovering around the table. 

 Auntie A's kebabs, with cheese that did not want to stay on the skewer.

 Dad's meaty offering, with mini corn cobs.

 Just before they ate aaaaaaand....

Ahhhhh, delicious barbeque food with salad and wine and fresh bread.  Everyone agreed that it was a wonderful meal.  Thank you Dad for being an excellent barbequeman!