OK, so this is late. So late I nearly need to do my "August 2012 @ FTC" post. Although that will be easy, I shall simply write "the Gathering happened" with links to photos and show reports.
Anyway, in July ....
The kids enjoyed yoghurt.
Esme cruised.
Alfie climbed (no surprise there then!)
The racecar shack took another step forward with the completion of the structure and another roofing section going up.
And after being quoted £40 by Stevenage Glass the caravan even got a new window!
Alfie got the best present ever. He has a real thing for bins. No, that isn't a typo. He is obsessed with bins, with opening bins, with organising bins, with spotting bin men, and best of all watching men on bin day. And so I went looking for a bin lorry for him. Thankfully Wow! toys do the best toy ever. Alfie still managed to find fun with the box though!
We had a tiny break in the non-stop wet summer which enabled the kids to play in the splash pool. Thanks to our friend Michelle, who was wonderful and brought us chocolate brownie that day, for the photos!
It was also the month Tash went back to work, securing a job at Thomsons. We celebrated by buying her a bike. Then we all rode to Baldock and ate fish and chips. Oh yes, we are rock AND roll!
And as I mentioned in my Olympics post we spent a nice afternoon around London after watching the Equestrian. We visited the Cutty Sark, which was just awesome, and finished the day off with the best ever pie and mash from the best ever pie and mash shop!
It became quite clear early on in the month that I was going to struggle to blog and would therefore rely on a monthly roundup to summarise all our adventures. This came about largely because we've been pretty busy, but also because its been Euro 2012 and so every evening when I would think about blogging has been filled with a football extravaganza instead!
The month kicked off with a four day weekend to celebrate the Queens Jubilee. Tasha's parents and Ammie visited and to set the tone for the month it rained. There was a pageant along the Thames with all manner of handraulic and motorised boats making their way along the predetermined route. I'm sure there was a lovely atmosphere in London but I'm pretty happy that we were sat indoors eating roast chicken watching it on the telly box! Needless to say, Fred brought his camera although every shot seems to be of one child or the other so I'm kinda lacking atmospheric/family shots ... that said, they would only be of us sat around the TV or table so hardly edge of your seat stuff!
We had plans for the following day (which was Monday 4th) but they were quickly shelved when we realised how grumpy Alfie was! And so we made the decision to visit Shepreth Wildlife Park, a day out a little more focused on providing kiddie entertainment. To a degree it worked, and we had a lovely day out with the highlight definitely being the bats who were far more active than the last time we visited. Esme might disagree, I think her highlight was lunch!
The following weekend Bill and I managed to get a days fishing squeezed in. It was Bills birthday and we had hoped for a long chug out deep to try and bag us a Tope or two ... but the weather had other plans and we spend the days leading up to the trip watching wind speeds and just preying we'd be able to get out fishing!
Come the morning (an early start as usual) and the sea in Brightlingsea harbour was eerily still.
With the weather looking OK we decided to get a chug on. Not to go quite as far as we'd hope as we knew the winds were going to pick up, but we wanted to get deep enough to give us a chance of Rays and Smoothies.
It was hard graft when we got out there though, and even with a really proactive approach all we bagged was a single Whiting! With the winds picking up we decided to head back to get some shelter up the estuary and head to the much fancied 'bass spot'. Anchor down, we got some baits out and hoped our luck would change!
And how it changed! All I can say it that is simply 'went off'! We must have had 11 fish in just a few hours, the icing on the cake being us both finding ourselves with rods bent doubled!
Thinking back, I think that's the first time it's happened since we were about 17 and were fishing the small carp lake in Boreham!
A week later (Sunday 17th) was Esme's Baptism. And with it being pretty much 5 years since Tash and I got married we took the opportunity to renew our vows and have a bit of a knees up!
We'd booked the village hall in Ickleford, baked a whole load of cakes, organised some ladies to deck the place out, and so we put on a lovely afternoon tea to the backdrop of 50's tunes as recorded by ourselves of Radio Ichiban. It was absolutely lovely, and now my daughter won't be eaten alive by the devil. Unlike me.
Esme really did take centre stage, with her and little Anna having a right little conversation whilst all the other young-uns crowded round.
A massive thanks go out to Bill, Michi and Cat who are her Godparents. I know you will all be wonderful for her!
On the last Wednesday of the month Tash went back to work. After a few months of being unemployed she bagged a job working for Thomsons in Luton. Its a perfect location, just 12.5 miles from FTC and uses back roads that no-one else touches. When we knew she was getting the job I rode the journey on my bike, and then again a few days later in rush hour to see how it was. With her being keen on a bike for a while and now having secured a job within cycling distance we went out and bought a bike to celebrate. She's now the proud owner of a Trek Skye SL disc. Its an awesome bike, I just hope it has the gears to get her up the hills!
Funnily enough on the day Tash went back to work I already had plans. And that was for Bill to pop up so we could finish the car port! Mel very very very kindly stepped in and offered to look after the kids whilst Bill and I got cracking. A foolproof plan until we awake on the Wednesday morning to find Alfie with a really heavy cold and simply far from being himself. Mel was prepared to give it a go though and so I dosed him up and dropped him off along with Esme. I didn't think Bill and I would get too long to make progress but Alfie made it through to the afternoon which was long enough for Bill and I to get the remaining framework up, fixed in place, and joined to the back of the barn.
The next morning was my first full day with both Alfie and Esme on my own. Not something I was particularly worried about. Alfie was still under the weather and Esme isn't much bother. It all changed by mid morning though when a routine trip to the supermarket was abruptly halted by Alfie throwing up all over the inside of the Benz! It was a bit like that scene from Desperado, he threw up "everywhere except in the fucking glass!" And so it was that I was presented with my first real challenge as a professional Dad of two - how to get both a baby and a toddler covered head to toe in his own vomit out of the car and into the house...
On the whole it is going very smoothly though, although I find moments like this all too rare!
And so onto the last day of the month, Saturday 30th, and it was time for a road trip out to Wiltshire for Nathan and Rhianna's wedding. We left early, took a pit stop at London Colney to grab me a new suit jacket and trousers, and were still the first ones at the church!
It was another gorgeous day. Rhianna looked amazing, Welsh didn't scrub up too bad, and even Alfie stayed semi-clean until midday.
The ceremony was at a gorgeous little village church
and afterwards we all made the short trip round the corner for the reception.
It was a gorgeous venue that came complete with children's entertainment/death trap.
We found our table and had a lovely afternoon. There was even homemade Sloe Gin! - yay! Tash forgot to bring ours home though - boooo!
And of course, there was a cake to be cut!
As is often the way with these type of events Alfie, now fully fueled and recharged, decided it was his turn to be centre stage. He took a right shine to a little girl of maybe 6 or 7 years old and decided that a) he must hold her hand and b) he must lead her around at every opportunity. Poor girl, she was very good and patient with him though. The DJ kicked off and it was time for the first dance - something Alfie thought was for him. He belted across the room to grab the hand of this little girl and do his best to drag her onto the dance floor with him!
What else happened? Well it rained. Like all the time. The most rain in June since records began apparently. I am just hoping it all clears by the time the Gathering ticks around in August!
June was also the month where Esme's character really came bursting out of her. It is very clear that a) she likes her food, b) she can sure take care of herself and c) she definitely has her mothers temper!
And Alfie has really stepped up to the plate playing big brother. He has even been know to share toys, do things that he's been asked, and even say the word 'yes'!
I've actually been fairly on top of things this month, and there isn't the usual mass dump of photos and videos needed to catch up with things.
So here goes, just a few photos and videos to illustrate what we've been up to. More a visual representation of the daily madness at FTC.
I haven't managed to get in loads of cycling this month. Largely due to me losing my waterproof jacket at the Start of Summer Specials ride I did, and this April then being - as Michael McIntyre would say - the wettest since records began!
As a result the skies have, at best, looked like this!
But in the middle of the month we did all manage to get over to Chicksands. I spent a few hours hitting the XC trails whilst Tash, Alfie and Esme went for a lovely walk. Even though this was before the weather really turned, we still got caught in an enormous hail storm!
Incidentally, you can see the quality of the photo isn't that great? The Canon Powershot A1200 had got a little worse over recent weeks until last weekend I decided to return it to Currys. I think it had bounced once too often! They happily replaced it for me and so I'm pleased to say the point and click photos which now seem to make up the bulk of the images on this blog are back to a quality I'm happy with.
Other than that, Esme has continued to pile on the pounds and now with full head/hand control is loving her Bumbo!
Following on from this, Esme has even taken her first steps to eating real hooman food!
And she's now graduated from being sat on the table like a Christmas centre piece to having the joys of being seated next to Alfie in the Me Too.
And finally, April was the month Alfie really showed an interest in speech. Amongst a few alternatives, he mostly likes discussing underpants and beer.
I realise that since posting about the planned cycle trip to Gibraltar I have been very shy of updates.
I don't really know why that is as loads has been happening. My planned routine was to have a big ride on the weekend and smaller rides during the week. My big weekend ride would increase by 10 miles each month, starting with 20 miles in September, then 30 in October, 40 in November and so on.
Training in September and October went really well, but things slowed a little during November and December due to Esme's birth. Following Christmas I was back out on the bike with a 40 mile ride which seemed far more comfortable than I imagined it would.
I shifted my training plan slightly and now aim to ride 50 miles in January, 60 in February, 70 in March, 80 in April and then 90 in May which should see me being very comfortable for the days in the saddle during the cycle to Gib.
The New Year signalled just five months until the trip, and focused a lot of my thoughts onto what bike I would complete the ride on. I had been training on my mountain bike, but I've known for a long time that I would look to ride a road bike on the journey.
With sales everywhere, and Tash and I having a lot of time at the moment, I started looking at bikes. More research than anything, but of course the inevitable happened. I found something that was just what I wanted and at a fantastic price! I sat on the 2012 Trek 1.1 which would have cost £550, but really wanted to step up to the 1.2 which came with extra kit (most notable a 9 speed cassette) but would have cost £700. A bit of looking around and I found the 2011 model of the 1.2 for £500! Bang on budget, and £50 less than the bottom spec 2012 model I was looking at!
Many thanks go to my Dad for helping me fund such a purchase at such short notice, and two days later my new set of wheels were parked up in the barn!
Keen to keep training, and get out on the bike, I did a ride last week one evening in temperature about 4 degrees. I was actually warm enough, and still in shorts, although my feet certainly got cold!
The weekend arrived and I was planning my first 50 mile cycle. I sorted a lovely route and Friday night sorted all my gear for an early start on Saturday. I wanted to be on the bike by 7am, a time I found out when everything was going to be frozen and with the sun not yet up neither were the temperatures! As a result I planned a pair of thermals for under my shorts, 2 pairs of thermal socks for my feet and a pair of socks to go over my cycling shoes!
All that gear may sound stupid, and I bet I sure as hell looked it, but I hate the cold and I always get hit in toes. I left on time and after 5 miles or so I'd warmed up my fingers and my feet were doing OK. All that changed by the time I reached 15 though and my feet were really feeling it and I seemed unable to do anything to warm my toes. I was cycling through lots of freezing fog which resulted in moisture forming on my eyelashes and my eyelashes freezing together! I decided to turn around, happy with a 30 miles ride in such unfriendly conditions!
Maybe I sound like a wuss, but by the time I got home this was how my feet looked!
Yup, I had frost on the outside of my socks! You can imagine how my toes were doing!
And I did the the majority of the ride without being able to refuel as my energy drinks froze up too!
I can see why Cavendish flies out to Italy for his winter training now!
This is another one of those blog posts which is me attempting to catch up with events 'pre-Gathering'.
Having built the single speed I decided I wanted another mountain bike to hack about around the local trails and get some fitness back. Running around after a 'nearly two year old' can be tiring work, and Tash had warned me I would need todo something about my fitness!
And so I started pricing up frames, forks and cranksets on ebay and came to the conclusion I could get much better value for money by buying new. And so my research began. I must have spent about two months checking out the spec of bikes, working out which things I had to have and which areas I was happy to compomise on. I found Genesis Bikes, a British company who's bikes had fantastic reviews. The frame was highly regarded, and it came with a nice spec Rock Shox fork. Test ride done, my mind was made up.
I took delivery about a month ago, along with a new bash hat and a pair of gloves, and have been trying desperately hard to rack up the miles. Not just to get fit, but because there is a bigger agenda on the cards now. A while back Tash got a British Heart Foundation leaflet through the door, and amonst its pages were details on a cycle fundraising activity that they do - 'clock to rock'. This is a bicycle ride from Big Ben down to Gibraltar. As you can imagine, this pressed a button with me; not only cos it involved Gibraltar but also because it would be a real test of personal endurance.
There was no way I was going to sign up to the £6k commitment, but it got me thinking about doing it on my own. After speaking with Tasha's Dad recently he's bang up for it as well, and so it appears that next May we will attempt to cycle the length of Spain down to Gibraltar!
Tash is great at planning these kind of adventures, she has previous after our tour round Ireland on our motorbikes, and knowing what we were planning she set about finding hostels down the length of Spain that we could reach without having to cycle on major roads. I'll get a copy of the map uploaded soon, but its looking like about 850 miles over 10 days!
I really cannot wait for this, and I'm getting in all the training that I can. I'm cycling about 20 miles a ride, about twice a week, quite comfortably at the moment.
Obviously I won't be attempting such a long road ride on a mountain bike, and after Tash stuck a post on Freecycle I acquired a Raleigh Phoenix road bike that about 15 years old. It needs a good service and overhaul but thats something I'm really looking forward to doing. It even came with the original purchase documents! Once the weather really turns, and I can't ride the local trails, I'll turn to cycling the roads during the cold winter months on the Raleigh. That part I'm not looking forward to so much!
