Oh What A Night!

Day 69

29 July 2009

All day today we were planning to come out this evening to watch the Red Devils, and the fireworks. Another late night for the children, but it's the summer holidays, it's carnival week, and my husband is off all week, too. It feels a little like being on holiday.

About an hour before the Red Devils were due to plop into the sea from a great height, rain worthy of monsoon status halted our plans. We nearly decided to put the kids to bed and have a glass of wine instead of braving the rain. But luckily it stopped.
I'm glad we went out, because we would have missed so much. What we witnessed was a feast for the eyes, and a meal for the mind.

So many beautiful scenes greeted us as we walked into town.

The Red Devils did their bit for entertaining the soggy crowd.

Then as darkness fell the excitement built up as the crowd waited for the fireworks to start.

In the meantime there had been a sand sculpture competition. This mermaid was the winner.

We joined up with some friends, and sat on our rug on the beach, drinking a glass of wine and watching the fireworks.

Then we took the kids home to their beds, and tucked them in for the night.

We'd have missed so much if we'd stayed in!

Biathalon

Day 68

28 July 2009

A year ago we watched the Carnival week biathalon, and we decided that my husband would do it in 2009. In Womanland it was like this: I told him that it'd be a good incentive to aim for the 2009 biathalon and in the menatime work towards a better level of fitness (so do it next year, then, right?) and he agreed. Meanwhile, in Maledom, what had been said was something vaguely amusing and relevant to the current situation but that which was clearly not going to happen, but would be a bit of a laugh to do if it were to come to some sort of reality.
So this year, we both stood and watched this great bunch of people and children swim into the water, and then get out and run a cold wet and fresh length of beach to the new stone quay and back, whilst discussing the possibility of him doing it next year.

I'm going to do it next year. I've decided. I've just got to get used to the coldness of the sea water.

And get fit.

It'll be easy.

I just need to cut down on the treat foods.

And lose some baby pounds.
I'm going to do it, next year.

Just wait and see!

Pick Your Own Fruit and Veg!

Day 67

27 July 2009

I did something I've never done, before, today. We went to West Holme Farm in Wareham to do some PYO (As opposed to Pick Our Own...sorry, childish humour. What can I say? It's been a long day...) fruit and veg.
We all really enjoyed ourselves! We got "kicked out" in the end as we'd got there fairly late in the day and spent ages explaining stuff to our daughter about how things grow, and getting her to pick the veg [she really dislikes] from the plants as a texture taste and feel exercise. She loved picking everything off the plants, and when we got home she helped me to wash the veg. She even tried some of it, despite me trying to convince her that broad beans tasted better cooked than raw. She wasn't prepared to test that theory, but at least she chewed a broad bean, ate a bit of a runner bean, and nibbled on some sugar snap peas that we had from Haycraft lane.
The raspberries were a different story. There was definitely some sneaky eating going on as we were picking, but they were so delicious!

I asked my daughter what was better: buying from the supermarket, or picking them ourselves at the farm. She decided that PYO is the way to go! So we're going to head up there again in a couple of weeks when our fridge isn't so stacked full to load up with more delicious locally grown food, which was all a lot cheaper than the supermarket, fresh, more tasty and didn't come wrapped in unneccesary packaging!

Procession

Day 66

26 July 2009

The Carnival procession took place this afternoon.

It rained a bit. Unlike last year, when there was bright blue skies and sunshine through the afternoon. Unlike last year, the coastguard and RNLI weren't called out just as the procession was about to start.
The carnival queen and princesses.

The Harley owners being the village people.

Y M C A

The Bournemouth Carnival band entertaining the crowd.

It's certainly an experience to watch a large group of men (and a few women too) dressed as Spiderman. They were good, actually, and especially entertaining for the kids.

I think these are professional carnival procession-ees. They had a Notting-Hill-ish vibe about them!

Red Arrows

Day 65

25 July 2009

The Swanage carnival started, today. The stars of the opening day were the Red Arrows.

They were fantastic, as usual. I've no idea how many people were watching, but the beach, Rec, pier and the Downs were choc-a-bloc with spectators.
We were lucky to see the Red Arrows performing: apparently they'd been double-booked. Somehow, with some people in the right places, we were able to watch them soar, dive, twist and turn above us for nearly half an hour before they zoomed off to their next crowd.

Then the crowds dispersed, the skies became grey, and then came the last-minute replacement of the Red Arrows, booked when the carnival organisers thought that they wouldn't be performing.

I don't know who the pilot was, or what the plane was (being of unknowledgeable in aeronautics girl gender, all planes look the same), but the stunts were also...great! Honestly, it was - it's just that after the red arrows, this single grey plane in the sky looked mellow, slow, and a bit of a Mini Mog up against 9 raging Ferraris. A bit like comparing extra strong mints with werther's originals!

And I have to get my lens looked at, too. I can't get rid of any of the splodge marks that appear, and they're getting worse. It's very annoying.

This is Summer

Day 64

July 24 2009

It's great being a kid in the summer: endless days playing on the beach, building sandcastles, wading into the sea, crabbing, ice creams, running about with friends; getting coated in a slippery scratchy layer of sunscreen and sand; and generally being a kid, and having fun.

From tomorrow, the Swanage carnival starts. It does seem to get better every year, with a year-round fundraising effort by the carnival committee, they do themselves, and the people of Swanage proud. It's going to be a fun-filled week with the Red Arrows tomorrow, fireworks in the evening, the procession on Sunday and then a week of family fun activities.

I hope the weather stays warm and dry for the holiday-makers who are staying in Purbeck; and thank you for coming, have fun!

An arty picture of the sun dappling the sand at low tide

This is one of the live band stages in the town.

Conscience

Day 63

23 July 2009

Today I managed to avoid going to the supermarket to buy food. I went to the Greengrocer, the Fishmonger (which were conveniently located next door to eachother), and the baker.

When I went into the fishmonger to buy some salmon, I asked if it was local. I was told that it was farmed. It looked and smelled fresh, and, as we later discovered, tasted good. That's saying something - I generally avoid eating fish because I don't enjoy it that much due to having to fiddle about with removing bones. I also don't really like the taste. But why have a fishmonger by the sea, and get farmed fish to sell in your shop? I'm not criticising the owner of the shop, really, but I don't understand why people can't just have what they're given the choice of having. Myself included. Salmon is one of the few fish I don't mind eating. I am OK ish with mackeral, which was local, but I tend to have an apathy towards eating fish. One of the other reasons is that generally, fishing is an over-subscribed resource which we need to curb before our aquatic friends no longer swim freely in our seas.

The Greengrocer had a lovely big watermelon, which my daughter kept pestering me to buy. I agreed in the end because we don't eat it that often, and hot summery days go hand in hand with watermelon, don't they? That lovely cool flesh, the sugary watery taste, the sticky hands, and digging out the seeds to make necklaces!

But watermelons are not exactly local to Purbeck, are they? Again, I'm not criticising the greengrocer, as he does sell a lot of locally-grown produce, but why do we take it for granted that we can eat the stuff that's been flown or shipped thousands of miles to get to our shops?

What is it about our culture that now expects to see the most exotic of foods on our supermarket shelves? Why do local small businesses feel they have to compete with the supermarkets to sell their produce, when there are people like me who actively seek out locally grown, seasonal foods to buy and avoid the supermarkets where possible?

The most annoying thing out of all of this is the food waste. My daughter, having tasted the watermelon she kept on at me to buy, decided that actually, she didn't like it. The fish suffered a similar fate - she got bored of eating half-way through her lunch and tried to leave her food on the plate without finishing it. I asked her to finish the fish, reminding her that the Salmon had died so that she could eat it, and to leave it was a waste and wrong. She ate it. Luckily we no longer waste much food, as we compost alot of our veg waste, and generally our plates are empty at the end of the meal. But I am finding I get a guilty feeling inside when I throw away meat or fish that didn't get eaten. After all, that animal or fish was killed so that we could eat a bit of it before realising we've got eyes bigger than our bellies.

Maybe we should have a bigger conscience and a smaller appetite.

Playgroup makeover

Day 62

22 July 2009

This afternoon I went up to help out a bit at the playgroup, which is having a facelift over the summer holidays. I managed to paint a bit of woodstain on the side of the hut, and gloss some of a window frame before my son decided enough was enough. That was fine by me, considering the poor baby had been watching paint dry whilst sitting in my baby carrier for some of the afternoon! My daughter had a great time, though, playing with all the other kiddies whilst we all got on with it.

The Poppy head below was one of many in one of the pots near the playgroup building. I would have spent a bit more time composing the image but my son had had enough!

Beach Finds

Day 61

21 July 2009

Another day of rain, today. It's been humid so the rain has been refreshing. We put our wellies on and went to the beach as the tide was on its way back in for the afternoon. I love wandering along the beach at low tide. So much is revealed at these times. We've found clothing, cans, and once a set of car keys, quietly rusting away on a rock. It had a photo of a girl in her school uniform in the keyring, which made the item suddenly more meaningful. We took them home with the intention of taking the keys to the police station, but eventually decided there would be little point. They had probably been in the sea for months to have rusted to the extent they had. Anyway, what would the Police have done with them? My mind, in the matter had been made up: someone had fallen overboard one day, and drowned, with their car keys in the pocket. For all we know, we had the missing link to a missing person's investigation. My husband decided that it was probably someone losing their keys on the beach, and although they probably had a very bad afternoon, a new set of keys would have been made, and they would have carried on with their life without trauma. He's probably right.

This last scene caught my eye, because the bracelet is in a sort of heart shape, and it surrounds a shell, some driftwood, and a bit of seaweed. It's telling me two things: to love our surroundings and look after them well; and always remember to check if you have everything before you leave the beach!

Meat-Free Monday

Day 59

19 July 2009

These large flat-cap mushrooms taste lovely when stuffed with mozzarella, tomato, olive oil and fresh pesto and baked in the oven.

But today they were roughly chopped, added to some rice and served up with a variety of roasted veg. The result was a bit of a disappointment, as the rice tasted of washing up liquid because I hadn't rinsed out the saucepan properly when I last washed it.

Don't eat washing-up liquid. It tastes horrible. Especially with rice!

No excuses

Day 59

189 July 2009

I sincerely apologise for this image. I have no excuses, other than to say that I've been really busy today and I ran out of time to take a photo. It's rubbish. Well, apart from the depth of field, maybe.

No. It's rubbish!

Can you tell where this is?

Day 58

18 July 2009

This mural is probably not seen very often by most of the visitors to Swanage, as it's tucked down a very quiet street in the centre of town. We wandered along it today as it was so busy on the main streets that with a buggy and a little one in tow it was going to be tricky.

It's a dreamy sort of wall garden, a bit Alice in Wonderland, a bit Secret Garden type of thing, and I like it!

Coffee

Day 57

17 July 2009

A rainy afternoon, on the last day of the school term before the holidays start. What better than to tuck yourself into a cafe for a while and brace yourself for the next seven weeks...?

Every Drop Counts

Day 56

16 July 2009

Today I went to Dorset County Hospital, to drop off some donor breast milk. I have been donating since my son was about 6 weeks old, and today was my last delivery, as he has reached the cut-off age for donation. My friend, Faye has also been doing the same, although she still has a few weeks left of donating.

This is Charlie, who was born at 27 weeks gestation, 8 weeks ago. He was born early due to mum Tracey having severe pre-eclampsia. Charlie had to be delivered by emergency caesarian section to save his life. Since then he has been cared for in the special care baby unit (SCBU) at the hospital.
Breast milk is a vital source of nutrition for premature or sick infants. Premature babies risk developing a specific life-threatening bowel condition, which causes holes to develop along the bowel wall. Breast milk helps to coat the lining of the wall of the bowel, and helps to prevent the holes developing.

Although some people reading this might be a bit put off by the thought of someone else's breast milk going to another baby, it's worth noting that the donors have screening and a blood test before they are cleared to donate. The milk is cleaned and heat treated before being given to the infant. Since the year 2000, there has been a year on year increase in the number of breast milk donors in the UK. The UKAMB website can tell you more about how to become a donor, and to find a local donor collection centre in your area.

Meeting Charlie and Tracey today was important for me, because I want to help raise awareness about breast milk donating. Charlie looks so small and vulnerable and yet he has battled his way through an early start in life; Tracey too is a strong mum who has been there for her son in ways that I would struggle to do. They inspired me, as did the staff I spoke to. Thank you to all of you for allowing me to come in today.

Being a milk donor is a gratifying experience, because I know that the milk donated really is making a difference. 30 to 60 mls per day is enough, but you can donate as much as you are able to give. Every drop counts.

Outside the maternity entrance car park is a sculpture and seating area, which reads:

The ears listening

To words at meeting

The eyes looking

At the hands helping

Rainbows

Day 55

15 July 2009

Today has been a mad rush: things to do, appointments to keep, places to be.

This evening I went to the opening of a new art gallery in Swanage, called the Hayloft, run by Karen Delahay, which also houses some lovely boutique clothes in the "closet".

There were some pieces of art on display, including mine, which had been hurriedly put together with the help of the Quarr gallery and my patient husband, who was expected to frame stuff for me because I can't do it!

This is a first for me: I've never exhibited anything in a gallery before, so it was quite overwhelming to hear people say they liked my photos.

I say rainbows for todays post because this morning when I woke up I knew that today we had to be somewhere for something important, but this afternoon was a bit hazy because I wasn't sure what to expect of myself or of others. This evening has taught me that life isn't black and white, but a colourful mix of opportunity which is there if you only know where to look for it, or if you allow it took look for you.

My son wears these great little rainbow "baba legs" a lot, and so I took this picture of him wearing them whilst he enjoyed his first sitting in the swing, today.

After the Rain (Part 2)

Day 54

14 July 2009

These pictures were taken this evening, when we were out having tea with my brother and sister-in-law.

When we got to the quay, the skies were blue, the sun was shining, and it was hot. Then almost suddenly, there was a heavy shower, and everyone ran for cover. Moments later, the sun reappeared and it was as if the rain had never been...apart from having soggy feet, that is!
The first photo is the top of a cooling unit, outside Gee Whites, where we were eating at the time.

The Purbeck Pound

Day 53

13 July 2009

Swanage is really busy, today, despite the fact that the summer holidays haven't started. It's a Monday lunchtime, and the main streets are buzzing with tourists and locals, all either looking for food, souvenirs, essential beach toys, or a photo opportunity.

Swanage is essentially a tourist town, which is over-populated in the peak season (I've been told that the population increases to over 40,000 from 13,000 from late July to the end of August, although I haven't looked for any official figures).

This serves the accomodation industry very well, as well as the restaurants, cafes, deli, and other food shops. There are two supermarkets in Swanage, which are small but undoubtedly have a massive turnover during the peak months.

This is where things start to bug me a fair bit. Why should the big chains get the biggest slice of the cake? Why can't the local producers and shops get a bigger wedge, to put back into the local community?

Why is it that local producers charge so much more?

Why can't we have more farmers markets in Swanage? There is a market on a Tuesday, but a fair proportion of what is sold is mass-produced, or made in China.

It would be great to strengthen the Purbeck Pound by putting more money into the local foods and goods, instead of paying the big chains and the big execs lining their pockets.

What do other people think?