Wrecked

Day 108

06 September 2009

This afternoon we went out for a wander and decided to have a walk on the pier, and venture into unknown territory: the Divers Down diver's shop.

I've never done a dive before, so everything apart from the goggles and snorkels which were on display were completely meaningless to me!

That is, apart from the display cabinets featuring items found on the wreck of the ship Kyarra, which was bombed by a U boat in 1917 on its way back to Sydney with wounded Australian soldiers. The ship was bombed by a UB 57 and sank within 7 minutes, killing six crew including the captain. The remaining passengers were rescued. More about the Kyarra can be found on the Divers Down website.

Swanage is popular with divers

These perfume bottles were found. Surprisingly, the aroma within the bottles has been preserved. One of the bottles smelled particularly like Chanel No. 5, and had a strong whiff!

To help pay for the restoration of the pier, plaques can be bought for £50.00. So far around £180,000 has been raised. It's fascinating to walk along and have a read of the messages, some are funny, others are poignant, but it's also fun to see if I can find any messages from people I know.

My son was happy to nuzzle up to Daddy and have a snooze. I don't blame him!

Fairy Cakes and Smiles

Day 107

05 September 2009

This morning I decided that today we would go for a walk in the woods and pick out some Autumn leaves to make pictures and collages with.

We were all up and dressed by 8.30, because we've been so used to being in summer holiday mode of relax and see what happens. We all need a jolt into reality in time for Monday morning (two more sleeps).
The thing is, that by the time we'd done the getting dressed and tidied up bit, put the washing on, and put my son to bed for a sleep, it was lunchtime! And by that point, any trace of blue sky and sunshine had been replaced with looming big grey wet clouds. I lost my enthusiasm for a woodland walk and opted for a film and indoor play.
Fairy cakes are always a great activity for a dull grey day, and the aroma of the mix baking in the oven makes the day seem warm and inviting. My little girl started "baking" when she was about a year old, which started with pastry cutters and playing with flour. Today she whisked by herself, added the eggs, folded the mix and helped to tidy up - bonus!

Yummmmmmmy! Dairy-free and fairly delicious.

My little boy slept through a portion of the baking process, but decided he wanted to be a part of the action. Here he is, beginning his crawl towards me.

An end; a beginning; and no middle?

Day 106

04 September 2009

Today marks the end of the school holidays. In the seven weeks that have passed, we have seen fireworks (five or six times, I have lost count), a carnival procession, the Red Arrows, the Red Devils, Punch and Judy (twice), a magician, a fun run; played on the beach a countless number of times, stayed up way past bedtime on too many occasions, played at the swings, trampolines, bouncy castles, fayres, fetes, festivals and had picnics on the Downs at least once every week. We've run along the pier, the seafront, in fields, along the beach, along pavements; cycled along the length of the seafront as far as the Lobster Pot and back; had lunch playdates with friends, played and picnicked at Durlston; been to Mudeford for a sleep-over; got caught out walking in the rain a few times; and watched a significantly excessive amount of CBeebies. My son has grown four teeth, found a passion for cucumber, banana and chicken, and this week has said his first word (Dada, whilst looking up at him and smiling at his surprised and happy Daddy), and has started to crawl. I have shared several bottles of wine in the summer evenings, and have enjoyed myself, as well as torn my hair out a good few times with the frustration of having a four-and-a-half year-old who believes she is the fount of all knowledge and can convincingly stand her ground when it suits her but dissolve into tears and whines at the drop of a hat. Clever, eh?

But now the summer holidays are over. On Monday, my little baby girl will start her first day at school. My little baby girl whose toes I used to tickle to keep her awake during a feed, my little girl who used to laugh if I pulled faces at her and who now just rolls her eyes and frowns at me and makes me feel just a little bit silly for imagining she would still enjoy that sort of humour. My little baby big girl who is so excited about her first day at school that she starts jumping about like a mad thing when we count how many sleeps there are left before that Monday morning comes.

I am really excited for her, too! I look forward to seeing her start her next big milestone, and watch her learn and grow. All I can say, is that she had better make sure she works hard and doesn't think she knows it all!

Also to come this month is the next stage in the consultation for the Purbeck review. Dorset County Council are going to change the current three tier system down to a two tier schooling, which means that Swanage and Wareham will lose their middle schools.

May we all live in interesting times.

tuO yaW

Day 105

03 September 2009

This morning, my daughter and husband went out for a walk. They thought I was asleep, so they didn't come up to say goodbye. I was awake, and thought that they were downstairs. No wonder they couldn't hear me calling down to them!

When I realised, I tried to phone him to find out where they were so that my son and I could join them, I couldn't get hold of him. How annoying!

I decided I'd head out and find them, so we had just got to the parade when we bumped into eachother.
We went for a wander, then decided we'd have some breakfast out as a treat. Our first choice was full, so we went elsewhere, which was empty, the staff hadn't turned up yet, and it was a bit dirty. Yeesh. I hate dirty tables, especially when they've just had a mere tickle with a dishcloth!
So we went back to our first choice, which had emptied out by the time we'd walked back to it. It was a tasty breakfast, and I indulged myself by eating fried bread. A very guilty pleasure which is generally only undertaken once or twice a year!

These are the old tram lines along the parade, which are a leftover from the quarrying days in the town, I think.

I find pavement puddles really interesting to photograph. There is often a bright colour reflected in the water in amongst the grey stone or concrete that surrounds it.

I know.

I need to get out more...

Do Something Amazing

Day 104

02 September 2009

Today my husband gave blood. It was his first donation in three years, which he was surprised about as he thought he'd been relatively recently. Which he hadn't. Anyway, we all trudged along with him for moral support, and of course, for me to take some photos. I think the staff probably thought I was mad, but hey ho, one man's feast and all that!

I wanted to donate, but I can't for another month, as I was told that after childbirth you have to wait for as long as the pregnancy lasts before you can resume donating.

So he got comfy and pretended to be brave in front of our daughter whilst he was punctured. She held his hand and watched with fascination.

Having read about blood donation on the National Blood Service website, I found that only 4% of the population donate blood. Collected blood is used for surgery, neonatal/obstetrics and in ITU, as well as for cancer patients. When I worked in ITU, we used gallons of the stuff, and it truly made a huge difference. Once, I donated at a session near to one of the collection and distribution centres, and two days later I put up a bag of what could have been my blood! At least, I think it was: the donor number was very similar.

Giving blood is a rewarding experience. The staff are friendly and professional, they appreciate you for giving up an hour of your time, and the best bit is at the end when you can sit down for a cuppa and some chocolate or crisps (and you are encouraged to go back for seconds!), and feel happy in the knowledge that you have helped to save a life. Honestly.

It does hurt when that needle goes in. It is a big needle. It needs to be to allow your blood to drain into the bag. The pain goes away very quickly, though. If you gave a little under a pint of your blood away to someone who really needs a little under a pint to take their pain away, isn't it worth it?

If you're interested in becoming a donor, click here to find out more or ring 0300 23 23 23

A bag of whole blood.

Blimey, it's windy today!

Day 103

01 September 2009

After Autumnal Sunday, and Bipolar Monday, we have had turbulent Tuesday. The weather can not make up its mind about what it wants to do with itself. Yesterday we baked in the afternoon sun because we'd dressed for cold wind and drizzle, as it was in the morning. Today we put the washing out, only to find it clinging on to the line for dear life and soaking up big sploshy raindrops within minutes of being trussed up into the air.

This afternoon we went to our friend Hannah's for lunch, where the kids were yo-yoing in and outside to play, depending on the degree of rain against the wind and sun. It kept them busy! I took my camera with me but didn't get around to a photo, so I decided I'd take a macro of my sunflower, instead.

And here it is.

fete finale

Day 102

31st August 2009

Today was the Harman's Cross fete, which had a huge turnout of people. The car park (or field, as it's normally known) was over half full within half an hour of the fete opening, and the steam train was bringing in extras to make up the crowd.

Two years ago, we were enjoying an ice cream with our then two-year old daughter, saying to ourselves that this sort of lifestyle of fetes and ice creams and friendly people and the simplicity of sitting on a bale of hay to watch a magic show or listen to a military band doing ABBA songs, was what we craved as an inclusive part of our family idyll. At the time, however, we didn't think we'd be able to live in Swanage or Purbeck, because we'd never be able to find jobs, and we could never have been able to afford to live here. Well we've done both, and so the Harman's Cross fete has now become a landmark of our discovery of the better things in life, which represents the risks we took (and they were very big) to get to Here, and the happiness we now have as a family.

The fete may be a simple mix of country show, raffle, percussion/brass band, children's entertainment, and craft stalls, and to some it may be boring and old fashioned, but Purbeck lives and thrives on these events. It brings a community together, gives local businesses a boost, and gets both locals and tourists putting their hands in their pockets to give something to the cause.

I love living here!

You-Phone-Eee-Umm

Marmalade. I like Marmalade.

And cakes.

Er. I think I'll give this a miss, though.

Choo-Choo!

The framework of the new hall which has had fundraising support from past fetes