Diwali Lamp

Miranda has been studying India at school and she told me all about Hindu practices and their religion, in particular the festival of Diwali... On the back in her best handwriting was the instructions for making the lamp.

Miranda is my little lamp, she dispells darkness and lights up my life ....

Dopelganger

One of my pleasures is taking double exposures; that is two photographs one on top of the other, and trying to imagine what they will look like. I took this one on the weekend and the kids were more than happy to oblige my amusement. This one is my favourite, the more I look at it, the more it has personality.

There's a great Miles Davis interview on the Guardian site tonight by Richard Cook, who is also sadly no longer with us. I saw Mikes play one day a few years before he died. Possibly one of the worst concerts I have ever seen (musically) but the guy was a genius, for sure - just watch the 'Time and Again' clip from about this same period.

Standing tall

Taken at Pooh Cone Bridge in the forest after the cones had been thrown and the time had come to move on. The forest does look nice this time of year but the colours are nowhere near as vivid as they were in Cumbria I don't think. Apart from Miranda, that is...

She was telling me tonight about her work in school, she was writing about her hero. A long drawn out sentence building in excitement, which I thought was her purposeful way of reeling me in - but it turned out it was Mum!

Story time was Mr Potter's Pet, which we finished tonight, and had us hooting merrily!

I am listening to Miroslav Vitous  - the CD Universal Syncopations, and track is called Beethoven.

I can see clearly now

Lewis gazing out of the window towards the beach at Morcambe. We had awoken with the sound of rain cascading onto rhe window, an auspicious start to a days travels. Fortunately the rain cleared within minutes and we were soon walking on the fabulous beach.... with an excellent view over to the Lake District.

Popsie

"That's a strange name for a dog" Miranda said to me, as we were walking through the forest today. Her face screwed up in that "I'm a clever cloggs" sort of way.....

"What's that then Miiranda?"

"Popsie!"

Beer o'clock

Just a passing memory from our trip around Cumbria. I have almost stopped drinking beer in the afternoon, it's not that conducive to working thereafter - and kids I guess were the final nail in the coffin.

Well we were relaxing and the Manor Arms in Broughton in Furness looked superb, so we went in for Wensleydale toasties and beer. Sheer bliss it was too! If you are looking for the perfect rural England pub, this is it. Fine beers, simple food, an a roaring open fire at lunchtime... add in friendly locals and a choice like you see below, and you'll get the idea.

Something of a coincidence

Last day of our northern tour today, we visited the Hockney gallery in Salts Mill. Culturally uplifted we headed for the Diner which has some great food on offer.

Looking at the menu we were surprised to discover they were celebrating their twenty fifth anniversary as well. Not entirely surprising as we visited the opening exhibition, with the giant fax artwork back in the day. Still a great place to visit, and a great bloke a listen to.

On the way back we stopped off for a Picnic of Wensleydale Cheese and fruitcake both of which were procured in Hawes yesterday.

Mystery Mice

The front facing camera on my phone is fairly ropey quality but it has the unique ability to create superb tension in a frame, so every now and again I like to just pop one in for fun. Last night it was the Mystery Mice, and tonight we have been reading Winnie the Witch. I shall miss my bedtime story when Popsie is too old to have one read with her.

I'm forever blowing bubbles

In an attempt to inject spontaneity i am posting Miranda blowing bubbles in the bath, live as it happens!.

Guess what tune that was?

Bend it

Link for Lewis' Chemistry classwork here It relates to the passing of Stanford Ovshinsky, the man best known for inventing the nickel-metal hybrid (Ni-MH) battery has passed away on october 17, 2012 at the age of 89.

Fifty shades of Green

Living in the New Forest I never cease to be amazed by the inventiveness of the landscape as it goes through the cycles of life. Summer follows Spring, although it,s my least fav season, then autumn.....

I love the colours now, the way it separates the wood from the trees, so to speak. Took this photo pn Saturday morning cycling through Ivy Wood.

Next in line

Greg has just finished his Introductory Stage Classical Guitar, and keeping up the standard set by Lewis he's got GOLD!

Well done Greg...

Refugee

Greg's been studying the Second World War and the effect it had on people's lives. They went into school dressed for their evacuation to some distant location.

Southampton, and Dibden in particular took the first wartime damage in the conflict - our local church was almost destroyed in the blaze that followed the bombs that landed on it.

I would have made him wear his gas mask, but he was running to catch a lift to his fencing lessons!

Beaulieu River

Heading back after a day on the water, and the knowledge that it's nearly all over for another week. Reminds me of a line from a Kipper book that I read with Miranda in the week.... What is better; Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day? Presents or the thought of presents to come...!

Christmas Eve thought Miranda, and I'd be inclined to agree.

Table turner

A collaboration between Lewis and myself to make a tasty lunch for Caroline (and us all naturally) when she got home from work.

Garden Sketch

The kids had an inset day today, so as Caroline was out at work I had their pleasure. We chose art, starting off with impressionism and applying this sketching and colouring. Miranda has been talking about Van Gogh in school, and knew a fair bit about his paintings, so we had an interesting time. This was Mipp's sketch out of our front window of the garden.

A great sailing trip with Terry on his cruiser from Gins on the Beaulieu River down to Portsmouth in fab sunshine most of the way. The cold of autumn though was our companion and we even had some rain. We had a chance to look around the harbour at the boats including HMS Bristol which Lewis has visited a few times for Sea Scout camp.

On the way back the winds picked up and we had quite an atmospheric ride. Lewis stayed on the helm most of the day, and really loved it.

 

Trying hard enough...

Lewis came home from school rather exiced as he's been selected for the New Forest RFU Rugby Development Squad. It's a game that he likes, and although we've warned him of the dangers of injury affecting his sailing, he remains undaunted. I wish I had the energy to run around a pitch for an hour or two, but in reality it's not a choice I'd be able to make any more.

Fungus the bogey man

I am knee deep in the grassy meadows of Rans Wood trying to be creative, the kids are playing war games.

"Is this one of those poisonous mushrooms you were telling us about Dad?" Eeeer yes it might be, but didn't I say don't touch any of them just in case. You might as well tell them to have a little nibble and tell you if any of them taste poisonous, for all the notice they actually take of what you say.

Had a similar chat with Greg this evening who had just experienced a tortured nightmare - the perils of letting him of reading stories of war and mutilation at bedtime. Is it just me, or is it blindingly obvious!!!

I'm listening to More Physical by Mike DiRubbo on Chronos (Positone label). Just superb, and so good at getting me off to sleep...

Heading for the first mark

Occasionally when you look at the skyline from Calshot you see a whole sea full of boats. We tend to get a little blasé about it, but it really is a top location which lots of people spend small fortunes muscling in on. The reality of course is it's easy to get involved and a great way of staying fit, and in tune with nature. Not too many people playing on X Boxes at our sailing club for sure...!

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows 

Partners in crime

Miranda and her friend Niamh from the Sailing Club. They strut around getting up to all sorts of mischief and move so fast that it's almost impossible to keep track of them. I was taking photos of the boats, and they would come back every so often to ask if it was time to picking blackberries yet...?

Every so often I would hear them, turn around and grab a photo, and this is one such moment.

I took Greg to Noadswood today as there was an open morning for children 'going up' next year. He really enjoyed the trip and was keen to see all the stuff going on. It was interesting to see Lewis in one classroom, he sheepishly looked away when we came in, and pretended to carry on with his work. Wasn't sure if he was keen to give me the impression he was working, or was avoiding giving the impression that he might know us!

Spitfire

Greg has been busy model making over the last week or so, and at last the task is complete save for the playing with it. I would have included his face but for the awkward jib he was pulling - Horselips will learn...!

It's been a lovely day here today; cold to start but I soon warmed up as I rode across the forest. Gazilions of bike out so I must remember to keep my rides to Saturday morning to avoid the pongos. By the end of the day we were walking at Rans Wood, and thankfully it was so quiet that you could hear the mice skipping through thye grasses. As ever it was looking lovely in the autumn colours....

Setting sail

The boys heading off for the first race together. The wind was a reasonable 10-12 knots and Greg and Lewis and the boys were on good form. Miranda and I helped with getting the boats on the water then we went blackberry picking, fortunately we came back with enough to make a pie.

Percy Jackson

We're trying to get Miranda writing more (voluntarily) so this morning Caroline's wheeze was to get her to wear some fancy dress over her school clothes and write a Percy Jackson story whilst the porridge was cooking. She managed almost a whole page without much coaxing so maybe this is a technique to repeat.

Looking not a little like my mother when she was younger in this picture.

I'm listening to Woody Shaw and Freddie Hubbard - Hub-Tones from the Double Take album

Avid reader

Miranda reading a Sunday Telegraph Magazine, engrossed. Just something about the visual repetition makes it for me.

Head in the Clouds

Windblown and standing on a rocky outcrop somewhere near Zennor, this one was on my desktop from a few weeks ago. I've just been looking for a website that Miranda wanted to show me, although we couldn't find. It can be very frustrating for kids when they have accessed something in school, but it remains elusive at home! We moved onto a new blog post instead!

Tonight we are listening to Ravi Shakar playing his sitar as she's doing the Indian subcontinent at school and wanted to listen to a sitar - Live at Monterey Pop Festival in 1967

Message

For Lewis it was Postman Pat, but Miranda much prefers running her own Post Office. She can spend all day writing notes sticking them in envelopes, posting them in her letterbox, and delivering them to people who live in the street, ... and every now and again I get one too!

The back story

The other side of yesterday's picture, as Miranda talked Caroline through what she'd written - palpable look of despair!

Breakfast time scratchings

Miranda's story that she wrote at brekkies, ad a little picture of the car she's been playing with all week

Had a jaunt down to Poole as there's always things to see to keep the kids happy. At the museum there was an Olympic sports featuring local people's achievements in the games over the years. This one showcasing double Olympic Gold medalist Rodney Pattison who's Cadet complete with spinnaker was on display. You couldn't dry sail the boat, but the boys had great fun playing with the rigging, and inspecting the construction of the boat.

We'd planned visiting the Lifeboat Museum too as a treat for Lewi, but sadly it was closed. It stopped raining for long enough to have a good look at the new Twin Sails bridge which is now open.

Fourteen

Lewi was a little frustrated that our racing did not go to plan. Caroline had made him a cake which we took to the sailing club, and the icing on the cake showed him crossing the line first, but unfortunately I think we came last in both races after suffering rigging problems. The final flaw in our plan was the lousy weather meant it was dark by the time we'd finished and Lewis' idea to have chippies on the beach fell by the wayside. We settled for an Indian feast at Aroma in Holbury, and for once we were unable to finish all that was served up...

It's behind you...

Lewis had already left for Calshot to see if he could sort out a few problems with the spinnaker, so we followed him down. Friday nights on the beach are great, time to chill and fool around whilst the sun goes down, and there's no one else there.

Greg is getting some practice hiking out, and Miranda doing what she does....

It was on a night like this about fourteen years ago that things started to change irrevocably, and Lewis joined us for the ride.

Recycle

There's a certain joy in seeing this picture - it's one that I can relate to. When a child rides without stabilisers you are always behind it! The frustrations of holding pushing releasing, and quickly grabbing a camera to record the moment for posterity.

Back in the day this bike was ridden by both my nieces, Christabel and Elsbeth (who has actually just passed her driving test), and by our three children, and some time ago it passed to Amelia Hawkins who was riding a trike.

The photo arrived in my inbox yesterday to update me...

Greg riding it for the first time

Camped out

Just got in from London, and given Miranda a cuddle before bedtime, so this seems like the right picture. I n truth it's a summer holiday picture taken in the garden in her Thomas the Tank Engine tent that she often plays in. Usually it's Greg or Lewi that's inside with her.

Because I'd been in London she brought her writing book to show me which contains lots of metropolitan highlights described and illustrated by her in class or at home. She's been telling me that she wants to go to London for her birthday, and she never misses an opportunity to bring the subject up. At bedtime she asked me had I been to visit the Queen, and I naturally went along with it. Short silence whilst she thinks about it. "You don't really go to see the Queen do you Daddy?"

Yesterday she lost another tooth which seemed to make her very happy. Time flies by, she'll be wearing braces next.

Note to self

Must get some new recordings of Greg playing his guitar so we have a reminder of the sort of music he's playing.

It's so easy to keep on moving, but the value of blogging comes when it captures a snapshot of time, which of course you can only see when the moment has passed...

Bend it like Miranda

Many years ago 'before children' we used to go to the cinema and watch art house movies... one of them was the Bend it like Beckham film which Caroline bought earlier this week from the local library which was selling off its back catalogue on DVD. After watching it Mipp has been wearing football boots and expressing her desire to be premier league, and Greg let's face it just likes anyone who's a good sport. So for the second evening in a row I've been down the park with them whilst they chase the pigs bladder around.

We have also all been sailing for most of the day at Calshot. It's been very cold in the water - the first day when we've thought "Ooh it's getting nippy now." Maybe summer's over.... Greg was sailing a Pico single handed, and came third in their race. Well done Greg!

A few days sailing with Fordy across to the Isle of Wight before the autumn disappears. The trip out was pretty exciting with 30 knots wind over tide creating a massive swell. In our dreams we were crossing the Southern Oceans, but by nightfall we were in Newtown safely tucked up in the New Inn in Shallfleet eating and drinking...

Saturday was very still first thing, the wind just starting up by about 8.30 to take us back home. An excellent sail downwind mainly

Beware

Years ago we only really went to the north coast of Cornwall, we did venture to the other side occasionally, it's just that we preferred the rugged and more isolated northern path and small towns and villages spread along it. Since we've had kids the southern shores have attracted us with warmer, less windy coves and sandy but busy beaches.

This time we spent more time on the north coast again, this beach is Portheras Cove near Boscastle, and a cleaner, sandier spot it is hard to find (well OK Hayle is certainly sandier at 3 miles long). It's a blissful beach, and the kids loved dodging and running to the waves, but the power of the sea here is phenomenal. This came a few days after Lewis had underestimated the power of the sea at Jangye Ryn, and so we were taking no chances... But even so one wave came in and dropped a huge amount of water throwing Gregory about 25 feet onto the rocks. Once you're over the water just carries you along until you stop. Fortunately I was there to grab him but he was very shocked and had cuts all over his legs and blood running down them. I also had to watch a dog ( a big black lab) being sucked back into the sea by the same wave. It managed to survive but was a potent reminder.

I was looking at his knees yesterday and said "Greg your legs are a mess, what have you been doing to them..." to which he replied "It was Cornwall Dad remember...!"

Ah yes I remember now....

It'll be all light on the night

Just received this picture of me from Monday night by Steve Street and lit by Alan Bowman. We often lark around with cameras and torches before having a few beers and "chewing the fat"

Clearly I am a frustrated rock star, suspect that whatever I should have practiced more when I was younger...

Dennis the Menace

Lewis drying the spinnaker as we prepare to put the boat away at the end of the weekend. We managed to get some small tears in the sail, and have a some repairs to do already - not good!

We have a new boat in the pound, a Laser 3000. He's already telling me that it's the next logical boat for us to have... (in his dreams)

Played swingball with Greg this evening, who wads full of Andy Murray references as we played - thinks he's got a chance of being the next big thing. "Did you notice that I haven't missed a shot yet Dad?" he asks after his fifteenth slam and my non-return...

I'm listening to Fuglsang Blues by Lars Møller on Phobia - rocking....

Shades of Autumn

A particularly fine bike ride through the forest on Saturday morning, the heather loosing it's intense pink colour and the leaves on the trees starting to die. Very warm, but highly enjoyable with not quite so many post Olympic cyclists now - almost back to normal!

Caroline and I were OOD at the sailing club in the afternoon, and Lewis raced with Gregory as crew - that's a first! They finished, with both smiling...

Sailing on Sunday night was a different story - very stormy and although it was Caroline crewing for Lewis in the race, they capsized several times but also finished (five boats didn't) in the gusty conditions.

Cornish memories

When you return from a summer break, you think that the sunkissed windblown feeling will last for months; that you'll be recounting all the fun and relaxation for ages...

So I'd better start with a few random recollections.

On the campsite we had been observing the swallows and swifts flying around, they seemed so content as they went about their existence - so whilst Mum was getting the dinner ready I had the pleasure of helping Miranda build a nest for them. It was all her idea, and frankly I thought she was bonkers (I thought I was bonkers too if truth be told - drink beer or make mud pies???) although now I look at the picture it's one of those things about her that I really like. Slightly batty determination...

 And next up is one of Miranda's photos. The clan (all except Lewis who has stormed ahead up the coast path) as we climbed up from St Agnes towards Perran Porth. We had started near Wheal Coates near Chapel Cove. It's a spectacular walk taking in sights of dozens of old engine houses and stamps, enormous vistas over the sea towards Wales, endless breakers hammering onto the shore. The thought of those poor buggers who toiled under the sea to extract a thin strip of rock, in horrid hot conditions, with little more than a cornish pasty to sustain them for 14 hours at a time, doesn't bear thinking about....

 

Our walk took us to a very nice ice cream parlour in Perran Porth, where the grown ups had cream teas and the others a little of what they like best....

 

I could quite easily plot our holiday using photographs of us eating, and it might be a good way of remembering the trip, but I think it would probably give you indigestion... It's amazing that even after a cooked breakfast every morning, a packed lunch or a healthy cream tea we were ready for a dinner on the campsite by six.

This year we met up with my old college chum Nick Sinclair and his wife Helen who stayed on the campsite and together we chartered a Cornish Shrimper for a sail around the Falmouth area. We managed to cruise around to St Mawes and St Just, and also watched the 29ers National Championship out on the water. Lewis unfortunately missed out on this as he was still at Fowey racing with the Terry and Kyle. But we had a great time with Greg taking the helm for much of the time, and me learning how to raise and lower the gaff rigged sails.