2015 - A Summary

Deb starts new job at Melton Mowbray College. 3 days a week, changing to 4 near the end of the year. It is a longer journey, almost an hour each way, but less stress.

Hannah wins boys u13 Basketball league. They also win the first round of the playoffs but just loose in the 2nd round. She also gets to the playoffs in the girls u14s, but looses in the first round. She also plays for the girls u16 team. Hannah has a bad back during the end of the season and goes to see an Osteopath during the summer. Hannah also sees a psychotherapist during the summer about her nerves.

Andy running. Following a few injuries in 2014 I start off the year building up in the gym. I did the Stanwick 10k, Silverstone 10k (very very wet), Corby 5k and Milton Keynes 10k. After EVAC (see below) in the summer I had a bad knee which kept me out for rest of the season (only getting back it the gym at the end of the year).

James leaves home. During the summer he moved into a house in Wellingborough sharing with a chef mate. Whilst moving his stuff I banged my car into a the hedge in the front garden, making a hole in the wing which was expensive.

Big cats photo shoot. Also during the summer I went to Woburn Safari park to photograph the big cats (and other animals). I went with Adrian Howes from work.

EVAC. Again during the summer I was roped into doing EVAC when WDAC were short. I did 2 meetings (firstly doing 400m relay, Javalin, Hammer, High Jump, 1500m, Triple Jump) (second Discus, 100m, Shot, 100m Hurdles, Long Jump). But during the Hurdles I aggrevated my knee and then really hurt it during the Long Jump. Was then out of sport for the rest of the year.

Bella. We got our 2nd dog, a French Bulldog. I didn't know anything about it, Deb drove down to Essex to pick her up during the summer holidays.

Thorpe Park. During the summer holidays we went to Thorpe Park for a day out. It was not very crowded due to the accident at Alton Towers earlier in the year.

County and East Midlands basketball. Hannah was in the County u15 team and they won the East Midlands tournament. She was then in the East Midlands u15 team at Sheffield.  We stayed over at a Premier Inn, Deb had her glasses broken. Afterwards Hannah was not selected for England but others were which was annoying.

Holiday in Cornwall. Our summer holiday was in a caravan in Cornwall. Two dogs. It was a very long trip down 6 hours. We went to Newquay Zoo and the Eden Project. Spent time on the beach and went swimming most days. Most days were hot apart from one. Trip back Douglas had bad tummy.

Architecture course in London. I went on an Architecture course in London for a week. It was next to the Tower of London.

Kathryn has a car crash.

Debs mum died. She had a stroke and was in hospital for 6 months, first in Northampton and then in Kettering. She was eventually put in an old peoples home, but had a relapse and was moved back to Northampton were she died. Deb became close with her auntie Pauline.

Basketball Southend trip. Hannah played Southend and we stayed the night in a Premier Inn with the dogs. The weather was not good.

Very good Christmas. Kathryn and Luke stayed both nights. Christmas Day we build the Christmas Lego. Dinner went well was all cooked good. Presents included wii u, LOTR chess set, iphone, ipad, Swaski Eyore. We played new Wonky Blocks game (very good), watched Inside Out, played lots of games including egg tower. James came in the evening and stayed the night.

Holiday 2015 - Cornwall

We stayed in a caravan at St Minver (Parkhaven).

Overall it was a very good holiday.

Film of the holiday is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (which Alex watched every day).

Day 1 - Getting There

We started off ok, at 9:30, but stopped off at Tesco (Deb had run out of tablets) which took some time, and then at McDonalds to get some breakfast. We didn't actually get going until about 10:30.

The trip down was very long, with a lot of hold ups, these were not caused by anything more than the large amount of traffic.

At about 2pm we stopped at some services to walk the dogs and also get some food, Harry Ramsdons fish and chips. The services were crowded and we were lucky to park, although we did get blocked in.

We finally arrived about 5pm.

It was a very nice camp, a secluded, quiet woody setting, and the caravan was also very good, quite wide with a nice kitchen area. It also had a nice enclosed decking area which was great for the dogs.

Deb sat on the table and it bloke. Although the caravan was nice there were some small things wrong (outside light didn't work, freezer didn't shut, grill didn't light, table broken etc). 

In the evening we went for a drive, we found a surfing beach at Hayle Bay, but no dogs were allowed, and then found Port Quinn, it was small but very picturesque at sunset. We walked up onto the cliffs with the dogs.

Day 2 - The Beach

In the morning I took the dogs for a walk and got fresh croissants and jam from the camp shop.

We then went swimming, which was fun, with our dolphin toy (which disintegrated).

Afterwards we had Sunday lunch at the camp restaurant, which was nice.

In the afternoon we found a beach, Daymer Bay, which allowed dogs and parking was easy. It was a good beach, very large - the sea was a way out, it also had nice sand.

After the breach we drove into Wadebridge and got some provisions from a Spar. We then had omelettes for dinner.

In the evening Hannah played a bit of basketball and we had a pizza and watched some of the camp entertainment (which was not the best).

Day 3 - Newquay Zoo

Again we did dog walking, croissants and swimming (this time with a blow up ball).

We then went to Newquay Zoo. At the zoo we had cheesy chips for lunch. The zoo was not huge but good fun. We went down a slide, did the maze, saw the penguins being fed, were scared by a large spider, saw some meerkats, lions and monkeys. Alex had her face painted (which took ages) and Hannah had a dolphin face motif. Hannah dropped and broke her phone. Alex bought a cuddly leopard in the shop. We had fun.

We stopped at Tesco on the way back for provisions.

We had pasta and chicken for dinner.

In the evening we walked the dogs then watched Men In Black II on tv.

Day 4 - Tintagel

The usual dog walking, croissants and swimming (although Deb did not make swimming).

We then went to Tintagel. We struggled to park, eventually going back to a field on the outskirts of the town. The walk to the castle was quite long, through the town and then down a long track to the coast. The castle was mainly ruins but quite spectacular, there was quite a lot of climbing.

The walk back was very long and hot up a steep track, we stopped for a nice cream. In the town we brought some local honey, a bear for Deb and some local fudge.

For dinner we had a BBQ (pork skewers, burgers and sausages).

In the evening we walked the dogs and then watched Iron Man on tv.

Day 5 - Wash Out

Usual start again.

We had a lunch/dinner in the restaurant.

We were going to the amusement park, but it started raining very hard so we didn't go. So we had a quiet afternoon in the caravan, reading and watching tv.

Later in the afternoon we went into Wadebridge but it was a bit miserable. We got some supplies from Co-Op/Tesco and some dvd's.

We had a chicken salad dinner, then Deb and I went to Port Issacs with the dogs. It was a nice walk but quite a small place.

When we got back we watched Interstellar on DVD.

Day 6 - Eden Project

We had our usual croissants for breakfast, but no swimming this morning.

We went straight to the Eden Project.

It was very good, particularly the Rainforest dome, although the core area was a bit disappointing. Hannah got attacked by the giant dragonflies, twice. We had salmon for lunch/dinner. Alex got a cat face paint. Hannah pushed me into a bush. We caught the bendy bus back to the parking lot.

When we got back we went swimming, I finished early but Hannah and Alex stayed and played on the inflatable obstacle course.

In the evening we had salad for dinner and then took the dogs to Daymar Bay beach for a walk. When we got back we watched Woman in Black 2.

Day 7 - Crealy Fun Park

We started with our usual croissants for breakfast, dog walking and swimming.

Then we went to Crealy Fun Park. It was very good for Alex but not really for anyone older. Alex had a ride on a pony.

When we got back we had a dinner in the restaurant.

We then went to Daymar Bay beach again to walk the dogs and afterwards watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Day 8 - Going Home

We had a bad night, Duggie had drunk quite a bit of sea water and had a bad stomach.

We packed our stuff, which took some time and we only just left before the 10am deadline.

It was a very hot day and the trip back was hot. There were some delays on the motorway. We stopped at a McDonalds services. Douglas was very restless and we had to stop again and he had a huge wee and poo.

We eventually got back at 4pm, quite tired.