More Fun in the Snow

It's been freezing all week, we've had plenty of snow, and for once the snow did not thaw before the weekend which means... we could go sledging.

Met up with the Nats and the J&HKs at the Cropston entrance to Bradgate Park, and must have played for at least 2 hours. It snowed on and off, and when it wasn't snowing we had glorious sunshine. A perfect day for it.

We had no sledge so I made one before we left from scrap wood. It was based on the design of a successful one my Dad made. We nailed Corex (the stuff 'for sale' signs are made of) to the underside of the runners and that made run nice and smooth.

The only real upset was when it was home time.

Enjoy the pics.

E on the sledge that Dad built.

Heading up the path with E in tow. We met up at a less busy and more gentle slope just before you get to the gift shop.

Heading up the hill. If you want to go the whole hill you need to aim for a gap in the wall on the way down. Here J and JK head up the hill for a race. E is the tiny dot top right and Uncle N is already at the top.

A tired E heading home along the path.

Pheasant slain in high speed collision (oh, and our windscreen smashed too)

The following took place between 1pm and 2pm on Sunday 27th December 2009.

You know when life slows down, something is happening, it is happening quickly, but it seems to be going slowly... well that's how it was. Either that or the (now deceased) pheasant was gliding slowly across the dual-carriageway, and instead of flapping to gain altitude just kept getting lower and lower until it met our windscreen at 70mph - because it looked like that too. Either way it was all over in seconds. Not time enough to change lanes or slow sharply and safely - just WHAM!

Then a spray of fine glass (like 'white' glitter I thought afterwards) dusting front seat passengers, the seats and dashboard. The rear view mirror flying and striking J on the elbow. The sudden loss of visibility, and I am trying to make out a dual-carriageway, at high speed, with surrounding traffic, through the fragments of glass that were still big enough to see through. The shouts of alarm, dismay, from the passengers. I am thinking it's a good job we are in the left hand lane. I am indicating left as I slow the car. Then hazard lights as we pull over on to the verge (the hard shoulder is way too narrow).

Then questions, concern, but I am thinking we need to get out, this is not a safe place to wait in the car. So out we get, we climb the embankment, and wait high above the traffic, in the ice, and wind.

We are cold, but we are alive, and unharmed, and safe.

I phone Dad, and says he will drive out to pick up M and the kids.

I phone the RAC, but the phone cuts out. Signal? Phone probs? I try again, they are in high demand (according to the recorded message) and I am put in a queue. All the time I am wondering if the phone battery or credit will last as long as the queue lasts - 0800 numbers are not free for mobile phones. We wait. I listen to the repeated message and funky music. L is getting cold so M wraps him in her cardy. We wait some more, and pace about at the top of the embankment. Still in the RAC phone queue - surely they will pick up now. But they don't. As we wait we are clearly an object of interest for passing motorists. The oncoming carriageway is full of turning heads. But still no human operator from the RAC.

Then the phone cuts out. What!? Why? Signal? The RAC? I don't know. All I know is that the screen shows my call was over 27 minutes long before it cut out. I still hadn't got through to a human operator. The whole time standing at the top of a freezing embankment by the side of a dual-carriageway. I am cross and frustrated.

Then Dad arrives. M and the kids get inside with some things from the car.

I no longer expect to be able to get through to the RAC, I don't know if I have enough credit or battery to survive another phone queue that might take longer than the fruitless 27 minutes I have already waited. I make a snap decision. I will drive the car back to Dads. M protests, thinks I will not be safe. But I am more concerned about being stopped by a copper, and yet see no other option given the experience so far. This is not weather for waiting around without proper outdoor clothes - you don't mess with hypothermia. I follow behind Dad, we go gently. In hindsight, a tow rope and sign would have made it that little bit less risky, but not much. There is enough screen for me to see through if I sit further forward than normal and we make it back without problems.

The mixtures life throws at us are often interesting. This time a mix of gladness that the people are well and unhurt, annoyance at the lack of RAC, crossness at the 'stupid pheasant', the recall of the impact, the 'if only we went straight on instead of left'. Then acceptance. The things that matter most are still with us. Gratitude that things were not worse. Gratitude for parents that love and care, and go out of their way and the extra mile to help.

2 hours later, and sitting in the warm, I realise that if I had got through to the RAC I would probably only just be getting picked up by an overworked recovery van, and very very cold. Not sure what 2 hours in an icy wind, with only a suit jacket for an overcoat would do to a man - nothing good I am sure. Perhaps it was better the way it turned out.

The car stays at Mum and Dad's that night, and Dad drops us all home.

Twas Christmas day in the workhouse...

...and snow was raining fast, while a bare footed boy with clogs on, stood sitting on the grass.

We had a nice relaxing Christmas Day. Opened our pressies, ate some food (even though Dad prepped it), napped, ate some more food, stayed up late and so forth.

Here E enjoys his new Marble Run:

The weather outside is frightful...

Anyone in the UK won't have failed to hear about the snowfall in the week running up to Christmas. Where we live was no exception. Sadly it was a little too sparse to really enjoy and the follow-up "heavy snow" predicted by the BBC for our postcode didn't happen.

Here's how it looked.

For those of you with Red+Cyan 3D glasses:


And some 2D images:

The Polar Express

Today marks the turning on of the Christmas lights in the town centre. So lots of Christmas stalls and things were set up in town. You know, the usual, Santa, Reindeer, a Fire Engine, various street performers and a not so usual Santa Express rail service on a real train.

Dad and Lije decided to go and check it out. So today Lije got to go inside a Fire Engine and wear a fireman's helmet, and had his first experience of being on a train. Judging by the excitement it beats "Thomas the Tank Engine". We had to share the compartment with 3 giggling girls on the way there who thought Lije was "well funny". But we were on our own on the way back. The train was driven by a Santa's Little Helper. I knew this was the case because it was written on his green and red Elf uniform.

The lights turning on ceremony will be at 5, but we weren't going to hang around til then. Because Lije was a little perturbed by the Reindeer he decided against seeing Santa. So we popped into Geoff's Toys and got him an alternative pressie which he is enjoying at the very minute. A £2.99 police station with police car and police car launcher - J put the station together for him as that was a little beyond Lije's skill.

Pinnie Gigs

A couple of weeks ago one of our hens, Fortunata, was on her last legs, so we brought her into the house (caged of course) to nurse her back to health. Within a week it was well and we returned her to her mates in the coop. But M said that left a lonely void in the house - she had got used to talking to her.

Well to cut it short, M decided she would like some Guinea Pigs. We originally planned to buy a couple from a breeder (about £15 each) but then a couple of 18 month olds were offered on freecycle because the owner was no longer able to care for them properly as circumstances did not allow. We asked, they accepted, and now we have 2 Guinea Pigs. We have named them Algernon and Ernest (Algy and Ernie) from "The Importance of Being...".

We also got them checked by a vet, but they are in good health.

M did some Googling to become an expert in their care, and also found good examples of how to cage them for maximum comfort (apparently 2 GPs need a minimum of 7.5 sqr ft on one level). We have devised our own cage based on Ikea IVAR shelving which we have plenty of - giving them a luxurious penthouse with just under 10 sqr feet on the ground floor and about 5 sqr feet on the top floor.

We knew they were happy with their new home because they immediately began making their "happy noises" and "popcorning" (which is when they kind of jump up with their hind legs - the Guinea Pig equivalent of "cutting a caper").

Young E is of course constantly wanting to see them and feed them and stroke them and hug them and squeeze them - but he is not allowed to do anything except feed them and then only under supervision - they still need to become accustomed to us and their environment - and E needs to develop his understanding a bit too.

But enough waffle, allow me to introduce the new arrivals with this time lapse film:

(For those technical among us who care about such things: 1 frame taken every 15 seconds, compiled into a 25 fps AVI using the free MakeAVI software, then converted to WMV with Windows Media Encoder).

Summer, summer, summer ti-ime, summertime...

This summer has been one of labour, skiving, sitting out, more labour and more skiving.

First uncle N came round to help us clear the ground behind the chicken coop ready to move the sheds later. You would not believe the rubbish we found buried there, old carpet, old clothes from the 1980s old cushions. Nasty. Interesting how nature found a way to bury it beneath a few inches of dirt over the last couple of decades. This is how fossilisation begins I think.



Then a few days later Grandpa T and Grandma M came round at the beginning to help us put a fence and gate in our backyard, so that young L would not escape when playing outside.

Then Dad laid 30 slabs extending the yard area to 24 feet long, thus creating a suitable hard play area for the youngest boy for his outdoor toys, sandpit etc...

Then some of the fellas from the local EQ helped us dismantle and move the sheds to the far end of the garden behind the chicken coop. Thus widening the available play space.

Dad still has to move a 5ft high pile of logs to behind the coop, and then cut down the remaining brambles. Then we can rotovate, level and lay turf.

Meanwhile, we play outside a lot more now...


"A spade-ful of sand? A delicious refreshing snack!"




(P.S. If you are wondering why there are few - if any - pics of M and J, they do not like having their photo taken.)