Unexpected Breakdown

The last thing I wanted on a day Lucy was coming was to breakdown and that is what happened and I was stuck in the village unable to get her from the city.

Thankfully I have a really good garage and I know they will do there best to get me going again, even if they have to work into the night, and they didn't let me down. So it off to get Lucy tomorrow from the city. I can't wait to see her and I know her sisters feel the same.

Blog Stuff

With all that is going on there are going to be an impact on the blog. Things have changed so much since the start of the summer in so many different ways.

If you pop by the blog every so often you will have noticed that the number of posts has fallen off and I have gotten behind on the family posts. All the other planned  post about other subjects, I know, will probably never get written. What happens to the blog at this stage is anybodies guess. I know I want to carry on writing down my thoughts and that the family posts will continue in the shortened form until things change, bit ther other types of post might disappear for a while, although you might see some short mobile posts, who knows.

I know my goals in life are the same. I actually do know what I want but I fear I will never get there at the moment, that is going to take time, but I won't give up. Somethings are coming into place at least, lets hope the rest follows however long in it takes.

Back to the Grind

Good news, it back to the grind of work for me. I have managed to land a six month contract to keep me going into the new year.

I'm really looking forward to working again. There is nothing more I hate than sitting around and doing nothing. having a job again is going to be great.

End of the Bank Holiday

Well, the Summer Bank Holiday is over and it has lived up to it reputation of rather dodgy weather, but having that given the summer we have had I guess it was to be expected. Now it is all back to work, for those lucky enough to have work until the next set of Holidays and for many that will be at Christmas which is a little over four months away. As for the summer it has less than a week to go before the turn of the season.

It has been a funny summer in lots of way and lots of things have changed unexpectedly and this Bank Holiday weekend is just another of them. Thankfully it has been a good Bank Holiday and a lot of fun has been had going to places I have never been to before. Hopefully what I have missed out can wait for another a year when all the girls are together. I did manage some of the things I had planed, the steam engines in the village, the steam train travelling from Oakham to Melton, so not all was lost.

What I did notice today was the chill in the air it is just like summer is running out on us now and the cold winter is looming. Not that winter is all bad, but I do love the summer and the fun that can be had in the sunshine. Let's hope we have another Indian summer before those cold days come along.

Kirby Hall - Deene

Another change to the original plans involved visiting another one of the english Heritage sites in the area, Kirby Hall. This site is a little way of Rutland in Northamptonshire in a place called Deene which is near the industrial town of Corby.

Kirby Hall was one of England’s greatest Elizabethan and 17th century houses and it design was based on the designs in French architectural pattern books and expanded in the classical style. Although now partly ruined, with many parts roof-less, you can still make out its former beauty. The Great Hall and state rooms are still intact and these have been redecorated to give them authentic 17th and 18th century look, while the gardens with their elaborate ‘cutwork’ have also recently been recently restored. The building is currently owned by The Earl of Winchilsea, and managed by English Heritage.

It is well worth the entry money to get in and if the weather is fine take a picnic with you, there are picnic benches in the garden, but try and avoid race days at the nearby Rockingham Speedway as the noise can be quiet intrusive to what would be a very tranquil location.

Bede House - Lyddington

Not quite where I expected to end up today, there were other plans for the day earlier in the week, but all the same it is place worth visiting, if you have never been there before, it is Bede House in Lyddington, Rutland.

The building was originally one of the medieval wings of a palace belonging to the Bishops of Lincoln and it was later turned into an almshouse for 12 poor men and women of the district and it continued in this use until 1930. It is one of those places you can just wander through and take you time looking around. Most of the rooms have information boards telling you what each room was used for, while others have audio descriptions giving accounts of life in the old almshouse.

It is worth having a look around but it could do with being a little cheaper given you can only really spend around an hour at the house itself. To extend a visit to the house, the village church is worth popping into, the village is one of the prettiest in Rutland and the local pubs look rather good too.

Summer Storms

Just to prove that the Bank Holiday has lived up to it normal reputation, here are some pictures from the storm that hit the village in the middle of the afternoon. As you can see it caused some minor local flooding, something that is becoming more and more common.

As perusal it produced some localised flooding. It the sort of flooding I haven't seen in the village before and it only seems to have started happening this summer. Looking at the drains I put it down to lack of maintenance caused my the cuts in local Government funding.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Just a quick post to wish everyone a great Bank Holiday Weekend what ever the weather were you are.   For some reason there seems to be so much more on offer this year and I just hope the traditional bank holiday weather doesn't make any of them less a success. 

My plans have changed a great deal over the last few days but I'm not going to let that dampen spirt and I'm differently not going to let the weather do the same thing.This is the last free holiday before Christmas and I plan to make the most of it in whatever ways I can. Anybody fancy a pint with a steam engine?

The Weekend that Wasn't

This coming weekend is the weekend that wasn't. It was the extra weekend I was meant to be having Lucy to make up for some of the lost time from the month I didn't see Lucy in July, but it hasn't happened.  I wish I could make people understand how important family is to me. I wish I could say more but I just can't.

As you can imagine I'm upset about this. It was a shame in more ways than one, it was the first weekend I had some spare money and had so fun things planed for little Lucy including fun days out. I guess it can't be helped she hasn't seen her little sister because her holiday arrangements. All the same I was disappointed I could reach a compromise with her mummy. The worse thing is for me is I will never make any of this time up and every minute is so precious to me. I hate all this. 

Mixed Monday

It has been a mixed day in many ways, and that doesn't only apply to the weather. The morning was what I wanted and it wasn't a particularly good one, although it started off fine, it degenerated until after lunchtime. All I wanted was a lovely last day for Lucy and it just didn't happen the way I planned.

Thankfully the afternoon was a lot better than the middle of the morning and we got outside to enjoy the fresh air and the countryside. We first headed to the church were Lucy wanted to go and play the piano before heading through the village to the park. At the park she played for a while before we both headed off into the fields, looking for the rope swing that crosses the stream. Unfortunately time ran out before we found it and both of us had to return home to get ready to head to the city.

 

I hate driving to the city to take Lucy back and today was no different. It not just the idea of Lucy leaving me it is the city itself. I guess I have had my fill of the places. Nice to visit but not somewhere I would want to live when I know there is an alternative. I was glad to get out of the place but sad Lucy had gone. I don't think I will ever get use to it.

 

I just can't wait until Friday when she comes again. It has just been so lovely to have her for so long and this final visit makes up for all the time I basically missed out by not seeing her for over a month in earlier in the summer. It also the last time I will her before she goes to school and fingers crossed I can make it a little different from the summer day we have had so far. 

Summer Sunday

It has been so nice to have a warm spell and having Lucy home has made it special for me. It has been so nice to know you can go out and not worry if at any minute it was going to cloud over and the rain start falling.

Yet another morning was wasted and spent indoors, but in the afternoon I got out with Lucy and we enjoyed the warm weather and our time outside having fun. After Lunch we popped out to the village park  and spent a couple of hours enjoying what sunshine there was before going home for dinner. It was just what was needed to wear little Lucy out and after dinner she went off to sleep like a gone one.

 

Hopefully the promise of the sunset means we will have a nice day tomorrow. The last day of Lucy's extended stay.

Summer Saturday

Summer has returned, that if you thought it ever started, and we have a warm spell. It might be just for a few days but at least we can expect a couple of dry days and hopefully they will be sunny too.

The one thing the warm weather allowed us to do was to get out and about and visit some of Lucy's favourite parks. So in the afternoon we headed out to Someby park which Lucy named horsey park because of the number of house riders that pass by from the local equestrian centre. It was lovely there as always, it is such a peaceful place and Lucy had lots of fun playing.

After had finished in Someby we headed back into Oakham to the park, were Lucy met Emily's friends Anna and Millie. They were just as pleased to see her as see was to see them. Soon Lucy was in the playground trying out all it had to offer and showing off all her skills. She even managed the fireman's pole for the first time all on her own, it was just a shame we had to leave when the parking ran out. 

It was nice to get out and about and enjoys some nice warm weather for a change. I just hope that this is a sign of things to come for a few more days at least.

Park with a Differance

The grey dull summer continued marching on and the only thing to do is to march on regardless and make the most of it with that British stiff upper lip.

Yet again the morning was much like the morning before and it was spent in the house, so again it wasn't until after lunch we got out. This time we headed out for a drive to find somewhere new. We ended up heading into Lincolnshire and there we found a park with a difference in the village of Witham on the Hill. Firstly the playthings were rather good for a village, they were more imaginative and challenging than normal and secondly we found a pair of stocks for naughty children that Lucy posed in. As a park it had a lot of potential for Lucy's bigger sisters too and I can see us going back there for a picnic. It was just a shame we had to go home.

I lovely finding new places with potential and glad we found somewhere new. There are rumours of better weather to come over the weekend and I just hope we manage to make the best of it. 

Out Again

Thankfully it was warm even dull it was rather dull for most of the day, and that allowed us to get out and about for a while to enjoy the fresh air which was good after yesterday.

The morning was spent doing very much other than waking up, watching television and playing. It seems the story of the holidays really. The day really didn't get started after lunchtime when we headed out to the park in Okaham before heading off to Stamford to feed the ducks. It was fun at the park but we were unlucky with the weather and  we had shelter under a willow tree to shelter from a shower. All the same it was nice to be out.

Hopefully we can get out again tomorrow and have some fun. I just hate being stuck in the house and I want us to have as much fun as we can.