Ice Cream On Crouch

Ice cream, outside in the cold in the middle of winter, just as it's getting dark. Not your average frozen dairy product scenario, but we were visiting Kirsty, Peter, Bea and Imogen in Burnham on Crouch as part of our Essex Christmas. This is, in effect, the only picture I took on the whole trip.

Cammo Wanderings

Just another Sunday afternoon stroll up the Almond to Cammo. It was chilly so we took hot Ribena in a flask. There was much pottering by the river, throwing branches into the fast-flowing water - this was the wettest month every recorded in the UK after all.

Butter Wouldn't Melt

Dalmeny JASS

There's a programme for school kids called JASS, it's a bit like the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme for younger kids, and is there to encourage them to develop interests outside school, get (and stay) active, contribute to the community and have adventures.

It was in pursuit of this last that Holly and pal Sophie asked me to come up with an independent outing for them. I devised a task that would see them navigate themselves on foot from the Cramond Brig through the Dalmeny Estate to Hound Point, where I would meet them and move on to the next task.

This was duly achieved (although I did get a bit bored waiting and started to walk towards them, eventually meeting at Barnbougle Castle), after which we headed to the beach to find a good spot for a shelter and a fire. It was starting to rain and get dark so there was a genuine need for shelter, adding a soupçon of urgency to the proceedings.

We found a small, sheltered beach with a fallen tree, ideal for putting up a shelter. Fire starting proved a little harder (as ever) but we soon had it going and the girls tucked into their tepid pasta.

At this point, warm and fed and sheltering from the rain in the growing darkness, it would have been prudent to make a beeline for the car (which I'd left at South Queensferry). Instead, the girls insisted they wanted to go ahead with the "optional" quarry zipline part of the adventure.

I had recce'd the area while waiting for them, and found a small disused quarry. I lashed up a Tyrolean traverse as I have done many times in Davidsons Mains Park, only with more swearing because it was dark and raining. We all crossed the yawning chasm (satisfyingly filled with spiky brambles) safely, and called it a day.

The walk back to Queensferry in the dark was a bit of a trudge, but we kept our spirits up by singing "It's A Long Way To Tipperary". We arrived back wet, tired and smelling of wood smoke, but full of the satisfaction of a self-sufficient day in the outdoors.

The girls carried my GPS watch to track their progress but it seems to have pegged out once we got to the beach:

Halloween Disco

I *tried* to get them to dress up but they wanted to go as they were... :-)

Foodie Fiftieth

There was a certain foodie theme to elements of my much-documented fiftieth, not least thanks to the "Fabulous Feast of Fish" course at the Nick Nairn Cook School from the collected Millars, plus of course the Spicery subscription from the Humphreys.

The Cook School course was a one-day course on location in deepest Stirlingshire. We learned how to shuck scallops and fillet sea bass, before going on to pan-fry our sea bass for lunch and make a monkfish stew thing for another-lunch-just-after-lunch. It was great fun, and I learned a whole load of cheffy stuff beyond cooking tips for fish. I really should put my new skills into practice sometime...

The Spicery thing is a novel idea where each month you get a curry recipe and all the fancy spices needed in the post. We started with a simple chicken Jalfrezi but moved swiftly onto a Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry, which was easily one of the tastiest curries we've ever had. What made it better on this occasion was that the preparation turned into a real family event, with Louis chopping garlic and Holly preparing the dips. An excellent family afternoon to be repeated!

Messing About In Boats

On our last day in Anglesey, Holly and I pottered around on the boat pond. We rowed around the island a couple of times, and then stood up on the seats (there's probably a nautical name for them but I don't know it) and rocked the boat until we thought it might tip over.

It didn't.

For lunch, we went to local culinary hotspot The Marram Grass Café, and very nice it was too. We took a team photo or two in the adjoining caravan park, and headed our separate ways, a fitting conclusion to a lovely week.

Zipping Over Red Wharf Bay

Well what do you know? Another glorious blue sky autumnal day! Today's lunch venue was The Ship Inn in Red Wharf Bay on the north-ish bit of Anglesey, facing out to sea with the Isle of Man presumably somewhere out in the distance.

Today's birthday-related action activity was a high-speed zip line across a disused (and water-filled) slate quarry. There's a lot of these around this area, and I suppose zipping across them is as good a use of them as anything. It was good fun though, the views from the top were a little intimidating (if a little cloudy by this point) but in fact the whole thing was so safety-conscious and over-engineered that there was no real sense of peril. Which is probably just as well.

There is, perhaps inevitably, a video:

After all that excitement, for a celebratory dinner we all descended on Dylan's, the finest pizzeria in Menai Bridge (it says here). It was indeed very nice, Louis and I drew pictures of each other but I didn't take a picture of mine.

Bouncing Below Beaumaris

Beaumaris is (as might be expected from the name) a beautiful wee town by the sea (or more accurately the Menai Strait I suppose). We popped in for a nice cup of something in the - miraculously consistent and unseasonable - sunshine, then for a wander round the castle.

Later on, we drove to Blaenau Ffestiniog (cool name) for Bounce Below, a strange but oddly exhilarating series of suspended bouncy nets in a disused mine. It's more fun than it sounds, although Louis did take a while to warm up to the idea of being suspended metres above a rocky floor in a cavern several hundred metres underground. Odd, that.

To everyone's relief, you're not allowed to take pictures in the caverns themselves...

In The Welsh Mountains

A day in the high country with more fabulous October weather. Mick and I formed a splinter group and walked up Snowdon from Pen-y-Pass via the Miner's Track and a rather nice ridge to Y Lliwedd. It was a proper hike and felt properly remote - we even met a weird goaty creature - until we turned the final corner towards the summit and - behold! - a load of tourists in impractical clothing, carrying small dogs and waddling in and out of the massive café. It's a bit of a culture shock so pausing only briefly to see the train arrive from Llanberis, we high-tailed it to the Pyg Track for the descent and relative peace and quiet.

The rest of the family, meanwhile, took the Great Orme tramway out of Llandudno for more spectacular views of sea, sky and sunshine. We rounded off day with drinkies by a splendid sunset and a bonfire once darkness had fallen.

Newborough Beach

In the October Week, we had a trip to Anglesey with the Lodges to celebrate John's 70th birthday (with a little bit of my 50th thrown in for good measure). We stayed at Glan Morfa, a wee group of holiday cottages run by pals of Kate & Mick's. Also present was Matty the dog, in what would turn out to be the last time the kiddies ever saw him before he died.

Day one, and we headed to the local beach at Newborough. The weather was incredible for October, but in any weather this would be a spectacular spot. It's a big curved bay with a dune system covered with conifers, and views across what I guess is the mouth of the Menai Strait to Snowdonia. At one end of the beach there's a rocky wee peninsula called Ynys Llanddwyn, you can walk right out to the point. So we did.

Back at Glan Morfa, one of the attractions on the premises is a small lake with a rowing boat. John Lodge, throwing caution to the wind and working on the premise that it's easier to get forgiveness than permission, took us out for a wee circuit of the lake. A cracking start to the week.

If That's His Real Name...

We took the kiddies to Tony Macaroni. I can't remember why but Arthur's Seat and a game of Clash of Clans seem also to be involved.

Half Century, Not Out

Now that four months have passed, I am sufficiently recovered from the shock to report that I reached, passed, enjoyed - and indeed continue to enjoy - my fiftieth birthday in September. Fifty years! I am, give or take, the same age as Pizza Express, Pink Floyd, Asda Supermarkets, the use of the f-word on the BBC, and The Sound of Music. On the day itself, Helen took me to lunch at El Cartel, a splendid wee Mexican street food eatery with margaritas on tap and splendid food. The following weekend, the Edinburgh Millars assembled for a wee jog up Arthur's Seat, there to gaze upon the city that has been my home these five decades, then down to the Sheep Heid Inn in Duddingston for a bit of beer-fuelled skittles and more grub.

Septuagenarian Rugby

As part of John Lodge's 70th birthday celebrations, he captained a team of his misfits and ne'er-do-wells friends against his normal team. Fittingly, he scored two tries (one gifted, one earned), won the game overall, and ended the match with a split head and a makeshift bandage.

The previous day, we did a bit of punting on the Cam as is our wont. Holly is getting better at the punting!

Hot Tub Time Machine

The first of my birthday celebrations (if you don't count dinner with chums at Steak, which didn't happen because there are no photos) was a family weekend at Strathyre Holiday Cabins. The kids jumped straight into the hot tub on arrival, and barely emerged all weekend. Helen made lovely dinners for us all, and much fizzy wine was consumed. Saturday was a bit rainy, but we still went out with Forest Ranger James "Jack" Black MacDonald for a spot of bushcraft. Even he conceded defeat though, and we concluded the survival demos in the warmth of the visitor centre.

Sunday was much nicer though, and we took the bikes down a rather nice cycle path to Callander, where we threw stones in the river and had the finest toastie in the world at the mini golf course. On the way back, we stopped at the Lade Inn for beer and ice cream (as is traditional on such occasions), and then again at the falls of Leny, where we threw more stones into the river.

Monday on the way home, we visited Helen's Alma Mater at Stirling University. Our wee visit coincided with Freshers' Week, and the kids wandered the aisles of the Freshers' Fair, picking up slices of free pizza and superhero collecting card along with the spotty youth. No pictures, so that didn't happen either...

Unicorn

The Dog Ate My Homework

The BBC, bless them, offer free tickets to recordings of some of their shows. We got hold of tickets for The Dog Ate My Homework, and fired off to Pacific Quay in Glasgow. It was a most entertaining and (from my perspective, at least) interesting trip. Great to see how these things are put together, and how many people, how much kit, and how much time is involved, even for a 27-minute panel show. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for the next batch...

Splendida!

We had Holly's pal Fearne round for a play date. To take their minds off artificial (and expensive!) entertainments, we proposed a trip to our usual beach to build a fire and cook some sausages. Off we went, but had failed to bring matches. Step forward Caroline, Craig and family who we'd met earlier in the day and invited along. They had the foresight not only to bring matches, but wine, blankets and salad, making the whole affair altogether more jolly and civilised. The older kids went off a-wandering while us men made fire, but towering over all of us was the MSC Splendida, a frankly enormous cruise ship berthed (if that's the word) at Hound Point. The ship pulled out of the bay and we walked back along towards South Queensferry as the sun set over the bridges. A glorious, spectacular afternoon out we couldn't have planned if we'd tried.

Flutterby

We saw a nice butterfly in the garden. I think it's a Red Admiral.

Nick Sharratt

As part of the BBC At The Festivals programme, we went to a (free!) event where Nick Sharratt showed us how to draw characters from Alice In Wonderland in his own - perhaps not inimitable, but certainly identifiable - style. We had a great laugh, and the kiddies did some marvellous drawings. Afterwards, they took them up to Nick to show him, and they got his personal seal of approval. A nice man.

Surfer Dudes

Holly and Louis spent the last week of the summer holidays with Grandma Pat & Grandad John in Englandshire, and indeed in Brighton with Aunty Kate, Mick and Matty dog. On the last day they went surfing and it was simultaneously rad, gnarly and awesome. Pictures by Grandad John.

More Lochore

Another sunny day on our holidays, we took the bikes and rode around the loch at Lochore Meadows. Very pleasant it was too. We also found a wee mountain bike skills loop with a picnic bench in the middle.

I only took one decent picture though.

Foxlake Revisited

So much fun did we have at Foxlake on Holly's birthday, we went back again. Which reminds me, there's a video of that I need to edit...

Helix North

For the second week of our holiday, we had a loose structure to the day; jobs in the morning, outings in the afternoon. Today we trimmed the front hedge, which allowed the kids to clamber all over it and make it all tufty again.

In the afternoon, we took the bikes to The Helix to show Helen the Kelpies. Bikes are the ideal way to get around as it's pretty spread out, and it was while exploring Helix North that Louis - who had been up ahead - turned around and ran back to tell us that there was "a massive butt around the corner".

Lo and behold, there is. It's a sculpture called Love and Kisses set in community woodland, and from certain angles it does indeed resemble a massive arse. Other more charitable interpretations would include a heart, a bicycle saddle, or a huge pair of lips.

As for The Helix as a whole, it'll be nice when it's finished :-)

Dovedale

Dovedale is a wee valley at the south end of the Peak District. There's an easy footpath following the river all the way up to somewhereorother, and there are stepping stones, bridges, interesting rock formations and caves along the way to keep the kiddies amused.

It's a lovely walk, although Louis elected to take his bike. We stopped for a picnic and a paddle before the usual ice cream stop at the end. Peter also has a splendid picture of the stepping stones here.

In the evening, and with Peter and Kirsty and family now in attendance, we all had dinner at the Royal Oak in Alton. Very nice it was too, although sometimes the kiddies find these occasions a bit dry. Luckily Holly was on hand to escort them outside and lead them in some amusing games while we supped wine and chose desserts...

Petit Train

Somewhere in the vicinity of Stafford, there's one of those family farm things with animals, tractors, a play barn and a working forge. This one had a narrow gauge railway too.

One of the steam engines (not the one pulling us, alas) was called Isabel, a name it shared with young Ms. Morris, so the engine driver took us into his shed to show us. The smell of oil and metalwork, the massive tools lying around, the palpable sense of manly pottering all gave me some definite inspiration for my retirement.

It seems too long away :-)

Life Is A Rollercoaster

We went to Alton Towers. It rained a bit, we split into groups to cover different intensities of ride, and I didn't bring my camera, all of which resulted in something of a dearth of pictures. Here are a few though.

We had a marvellous time though, it was relatively quiet thanks to recent events, we didn't have to queue for any unreasonable times, and we had a go on some of the tallest, fastest, scariest rides the park had to offer. Special mention must go to Rita which was ludicrously quick, scared the bejeezus out of me and left Holly somewhat shaken. What a laugh!

Little Monkeys

So, this year we spent a week's holiday in a wee house just outside Alton in Staffordshire, where the McKees and Morrises had also taken a holiday home. On the first day together, we visited Trentham Monkey Forest, where Barbary Macaques roam free and view the parade of passing humans with some interest. Afterwards - as it our wont when on holiday - we repaired to a hostelry for a pint of coping juice, and thence to our garden to enjoy the sunset and do a bit of balancing.

Coast

First few stabs at taking a nice picture of our local environs to put on the wall. And a wee test for the new Flickr slideshow feature. You should be able to click through all the images above.

Birthday. Cake.

We had a wee family gathering in honour of Holly and Grandma's respective birthdays. Holly made a rather splendid cake. I didn't take many pictures :-).

Masterchef

Free Food and Beer

Three of my favourite words are "free", "food" and "beer", especially in that order. Imagine my delight then, when courtesy of a competition in The List, Helen and I had "VIP" access to the Moretti Gran Tour, the idea of which is to promote Italian food from local suppliers and wash it down with Moretti beer. We also got to make some ravioli, something that's an almighty faff but we should do more often on rainy summer afternoons...

On The Ropes - Birthday Phase 2

Holly's actual birthday; school's out and both Helen and I had taken a day off. Presents in the morning before a special trip into town with Helen for ear piercing at Jenners.

Later, we headed to Foxlake near Dunbar, a ropes course similar to Go Ape and its ilk, but without harnesses and over water - you slip, you take a dunking. Marvellous fun, and there's a POV video in the pipeline.

As a special treat, Helen put together a splendid birthday dinner based on Holly's requests - scallops & pancetta on puy lentils to start, then hake and polenta chips with purple sprouting broccoli, and chocolate bread and butter pudding as a dessert. It was lovely. She certainly has more sophisticated tastes than I did when I was 11!

Fire On The Beach

Towards the end of term, there was no Wildlife Club, so I took the day off to try to provide a substitute entertainment for the kiddies and the Stirlings. We drove to South Queensferry, walked along the Dalmeny shore path towards Hound Point, climbed on some haybales, found some driftwood and started a fire. I'd also had the foresight to bring an old frying pan so cooking our teatime sausages was considerably less precarious than last time.

I cooked alone; Louis and Will built a small den among the rocks while Holly and Eloise explored the beach and little low-tide island just off Hound Point.

Best of all, we sat by the fire in the evening sunshine and munched our sausages while a huge tanker moored at the oil terminal, slowly guided in by the tugs and churning the waters. These things are massive! Well I enjoyed it...

Caketown

Cake Fest Edinburgh. We came, we saw, we marvelled at how much time some people must have on their hands.

Cake - Birthday Phase 1

Holly's 11th birthday celebrations began with a cupcake-decorating party with a few of her chums. She and Helen had also made her own "melted chocolate bar" cake beforehand, so cakes were high on the agenda.

Then we played games in the garden, including the flour game to continue the baking theme.

Afterwards, in view of the occasion and the beautiful weather, we hung out in the "Millar Beer Garden", sipping Prosecco, kicking a football around, bouncing on the trampoline and serenading each other with tender songs of love. Probably.

Football Crazy

Our own little footballing hero had a good outing in DMains Park as part of Gala Week. As part of the Brazilian national team, he was part of the side that won the tournament overall, and added one more medal to his growing silverware collection.

Return of Casper

We had another visit from Casper the handsome English Setter, and this time it was Holly who took to him. We took him on a walk to D Mains park, explored the woods, and climbed the rockpile.

Holly also had a visit from young Lewis, and gave him a masterclass in cupcake decoration.

All A Matter Of Perspective

A wee perspective drawing by Holly, inspired by a walk down the Cycle Path.

Handsome

Slug Balancer

There's a scene in Blackadder Goes Forth in which General Melchett misconstrues Baldrick's Charlie Chaplin impression as a slug-balancing act.

It seems that Holly's Wildlife Club have been - knowingly or otherwise - recreating the scene in Davidsons Mains Woods.

For reference, all the Wildlife Club pictures can be found here or by clicking the picture.

Almond Swingers

Another idle Sunday, another stroll up the Almond from the "pony field" at the Cramond Brig. We had a laugh on the swings, we strolled up to Cammo. That was about it. George Orwell had very little to say on the matter either.

The Sporting Spirit

George Orwell once wrote:

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.

He was probably last to be picked for football.

Luckily, sport at Primary School level is a bit more benign. Here are a few snaps of Louis being put through his paces at the school P1-P3 sports day. Holly did one too, but I missed that due to work. Next year, and for one year only, they're both in the upper school and will have sports on the same day.

Violating The SSSI

After meeting up with the McQueens, we planned a camping trip with them. We went to our old haunt at Scremerston beach, and did all the usual stuff - we started a fire, the kids collected driftwood and explored the dunes (with Casper the dog), we got fish suppers from Berwick-Upon-Tweed, we huddled together for warmth because it was blummen cold and windy.

Two things happened that hadn't before. The gas stove exploded, which was alarming but caused no injury or damage apart from a small tear in our tent.

In the morning, a ruddy-faced agricultural-looking fellow (I could tell he was a country type because he wore green cords and a bodywarmer, and drove a pickup) approached the camp as we were sizzling sausages for breakfast, and informed us we were illegally camping on an SSSI. This was news to us, but he went on to explain that our favourite beach for burning things on had in fact been incorporated into the Lindisfarne SSSI on account of its rare grasses. Or something. We promised not to come back, and come to think of it the wild camping laws are far more relaxed in Scotland - so it was a fond farewell to Scremerston.

Casper The Friendly Dog

Strolling idly through Inverleith Park, to the distant sound of two separate pipe bands practising, we stumbled upon La Famille McQueen (albeit sans Sarah) doing a bit of digging in their allotment. We strolled, we chatted, we hung on the crossbars of rugby posts, but most of all we met Casper the dog. Louis suits a dog, and he got on with Casper straight away. Handsome dog, handsome boy.

May The Fo(u)rth Be With You

The May Day holiday fell on May 4th this year, and thus shared its slot in the calendar with Star Wars day. I took the kiddies on an epic bike adventure to Hound Point, where we collected driftwood, started a fire, and cooked sausages and marshmallows in the shadow (figuratively, at least) of the Forth Bridge.

It was awesome.

Proud Parents

Even if Mrs Kay did get the date wrong :-)

Ash Wednesday

Okay, so it was a Saturday. But we went to Musselburgh for a stroll - unlikely though this may sound - around the ash lagoons of the now-defunct Cockenzie Power Station. One of the lagoons is still ash, but the others have been developed into a rather nice pond (for model boating and swan-avoiding) and a bird sanctuary, complete with hides and views of the soon-to-be-not-there-at-all hulk and twin chimneys of what used to be one of the major landmarks for bike rides in East Lothian.

Val Deezer

Welcome back! Here's a bunch of snaps from Val d'Isere, where we were skiing in the first week of April. A different crowd this time, the core Millars, Dawsons and Humphreys were all present and correct and we missed Pat, John, Dave and Paula, but welcomed the Blackburns for the first time. Eighteen of us in all, with the kids outnumbering the adults!

After a wee drop of snow on arrival, we had blue skies and sunshine the rest of the week, the kids all did great in ski school, we skied them to exhaustion in the afternoons, and no-one got hurt. A big success, all in all.

When's it time for the next one?