Category: Travel

Christmas Tree Adventure

When you see all these amazing Christmas films where families are going out to cut down their own tree and its in your dreams to one day do it. Well this year I took the family to ‘Pick our own Christmas Tree’. As we will be visiting family we decided that we wanted to dig the tree up and have it for our patio outside.

After trawling the internet I came across South London Christmas Tree Farm and it looked perfect you can choose a tree from their plantation and either cut or dig it yourselves. Ok, so we did need to take our own tools but that’s not a problem, so my husband took to the shed and got us a spade, fork and a mattock ⚒.

As the 1st December was a Saturday this lent it self to the perfect day for our ‘Christmas Tree Expedition’. We had to take two cars so that we could fit the tree in, so we set off to find our tree. It was about a 40 minute drive from our house and as my son and I pulled up it looked perfect, we then sat and waited for my husband and other son to arrive. After 20 minutes and a snap chat later it transpired that my husband and son had arrived at a different ‘Christmas Tree Farm’ 16 minutes away! After providing them with the post code (I had showed him the website but miscommunication somehow left us at different locations)!

Once we were all together we went in to chat with the staff and enquire where we needed to go, they were super helpful and really nice. We set off for the field to find our tree.

There were numbered lots and we headed for lot three after the advice from the staff. Nearly immediately we all spotted a tree that we loved but thought it was too soon and we should walk a little further. Our youngest then decided that some of the beautiful 7ft + trees would be much nicer…..i don’t think so! We decided that the first tree we saw was the one for us and headed back to start the task of digging it out.

Tip – dig around the base a good couple of ft as this will make it easier to get the root out and should give you a good chance of the tree surviving.

We got caked in mud and had great fun digging the tree 🌲 and it came out perfectly. Again if you wish to cut take a wood saw, this should be less messy and quicker – I would still advise welly boots and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.

The children carried our beautiful tree to the barn for them to tell us the ££ and nicely wrap the tree so we could get it in the car. So for £50 we got our tree, a wreath and some amazing memories.

We also took a trip to Homebase to get our tree a pot so we could plant and display on our patio.

The next day whilst I was food shopping (I get all the glamorous jobs) the boys planted the tree. We had ordered lights earlier that week from lights4fun that arrived on the Sunday – fab service and quick delivery, which I was then tasked with putting on the tree.

This was such an amazing experience and relatively cost effective compared to a lot of Christmas activities and we will definitely be doing it again next year. So if you looking for something a little different why not give this a go.

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Oxford Castle & Prison

So I never thought I would say I have stayed the night in a prison, but now I can. The Malmaison at Oxford Castle is a boutique hotel based in the old Oxford Prison. The hotel has been really tastefully renovated. And there is still a cell that has not been converted so that you can take a look 🤓

We only stayed one night as we were meeting friends for an adult only meal 😁When my husband and I arrived we decided to have something small to eat as we knew we were going to be in for a heavy night of drinking. We decided to have a selection of tapas and I have to say they were very nice. In the evening we met in the bar for drinks before our meal, there is a large selection of drinks including a good cocktail menu, I recommend the rhubarb triangle it was delicious. We were a group of twelve and I feel that the kitchen struggled with serving this amount; there was a long wait from when our main was served to when we received our sides. Overall our food was very nice and as a group we had a great time.

We stayed in a superior room and it was a spacious room with a large en-suite with a roll top bath and separate shower. We also had a balcony, I could imagine that this would have been really lovely in the summer.

As the prison forms part of the castle it’s a must do whilst you here, such a wonderful place with so much history.

A brilliant short break even if I feel a little hung over today 😉

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The Mind

‘In a world full of doing doing doing, it’s important to take a moment to just breathe, to just be’. – Unknown –

The mind is a complex part of you, sometimes your mind is shown in your emotions and way you are acting. Whilst many of our feelings and emotions can be hidden inside, it’s becoming increasingly welcomed that people should show and discuss these feelings.

Currently there are so many things buzzing about in my mind that it has started to impact on the way that I am coping every day.

It has been 17 months since I lost my step daughter and there still a massive amount happening in my life daily that effects the way my family runs. Whilst some days seem to be ok this last couple of weeks has felt intense.

The constant battle with my children every day to get them to school, ‘what’s the point? Asten only had a short time out of school, I should be able to explore and find out about the world by doing it the way I want’. And I get it, I get their frustration but they also don’t know how much they will learn at school and how actually they will have fond memories. But right now they are just struggling to see that.

I am trying to teach them to make sure that all the choices that they make in school are focusing what they want to do right now. What makes them happy and interested to know more?

Then the tears, the uncontrollable crying and wanting to know what happens after you die.  Inside I am hurting so much as I cannot tell them what. I WISH I COULD. I WISH I KNEW.

I settle them as much as I can, I talk to them, we watch films and we read. The thing that for me is so important is getting them outside, see the beautiful world and use it as an escape for their minds. We must not just stay at home, stay in bed, sit on the sofa – don’t get me wrong this is important too but a BALANCE.

I finally feel that they have a little peace in their mind and …………………school. I will give one example – my son is in Spanish and the lesson is about family. The children must practice talking about their family. OK first hurdle, he has to decide how he is going to deal with the situation – miss one sibling out or explain she has died. He decided to use his time out card to remove himself from the room for a few minutes to compose himself. However the teacher declines his card ‘this is from last year, you need to get a new one’. My son had already been told that he did not need a new one! After an exchange of words, my son removes himself without permission of the teacher. After another child sees my son outside upset he informs the head of year as he knows my son’s situation. The head of year spoke with the teacher and ‘things were sorted’. Now I have a few issues with the situation.

  1. Why did the teacher just not let the child leave the class and deal with the pass later. I am happy for my child to be punished if they have not done the correct procedure or had no valid reason to have left.
  2. I had never thought about discussing family in many situations at school before, I had no reason to. But we cannot be the only family in this situation or a situation that maybe difficult to discuss in a class room situation i.e. foster care, adoption etc.
  3. Why let a child be visibly upset in a class – it becomes hard for that child to trust that teacher again.
  4. Should we tell every teacher that the children have contact with? I believe not, they do not want special treatment they just want to be like everyone else, however they do need compassion. Also I may add the children do not want everyone knowing.

The thing is this is ONE situation, ONE day. Some days we have multiple situations today for instance three lessons discussed death – Drama, History and English. I make sure that I talk with the children about their days every day and we try and have reasonable discussions. What was the context of the death? Why would you be learning about it? The list goes on as the discussion goes on.

And my point to this morbid blog today? I have become overwhelmed, as I said earlier the last couple of weeks have been particularly intense, with both children suffering and my husband also feeling low. And yet every day, I have to do my job, my grief, the washing, the cleaning, cook etc etc etc. I must remember to think about myself too, I must let my mind relax and have space or family life will become much harder.

I am going to make sure, I get up every day, that I go outside and look at this beautiful world and that we all go to bed knowing that we love each other. Right now that is what is important.

Sending love, hugs and mental strength to help anyone that needs a bit of TLC right now. XOXO

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Woodhenge to Stonehenge

After watching a film my youngest son said that he wanted to go and see Stonehenge, I said he had been when he was little; but he couldn’t remember this. As the next day was my day off and he was on half term I said we could go tomorrow if he wanted to. After some discussion and wanting his Dad to come too we decided to go on the Saturday morning.

We got up at 5am to set off so we could watch the sun rise when we got there. It took us about two and a half hours from our house in Kent and we arrived just as the sun was rising (perfect timing).

We parked in the road at Woodhenge; tip – there were several camper vans and cars that had used this as a place to spend the night so if you’re looking to park up for the night this would be a good spot. There is no charge for parking.

We started our walk through national trust ground at The Cuckoo Stone towards Stonehenge. It was a cold but beautiful morning with a pretty ground frost. We always use paper OS maps and the OS mobile app they are really great for finding routes, recording routes and making sure your on track whilst you’re exploring.

The walk took us to King Barrow Ridge; there were lots of National Trust information boards along the way to read about the area. The last stretch of the walk took us up The Avenue to Stonehenge.

You will not be able to get in to the stones as this is an English Heritage site and you will need to get tickets from the visitor centre. There were two reasons that we didn’t get tickets, 1. We wanted to get there early before others were there to see the site in the morning sun peacefully and the site is not open at this time. 2. The ticket would have cost us £50, we would have become members instead as this would have only been another £50. We have previously taken the children when we were members. The last couple of years we have not purchased a membership for either English Heritage or National Trust as the places we visit we have not needed to. I would say memberships are fantastic value we have 5 children and knowing that wherever we were (when they younger) we could find a local property to go and explore.

There was only one other family at the fence and an English Heritage employee watching from the side when we reached Stonehenge. It was lovely just what we had wanted and after some chatting and lots of pictures we started our walk back. The walk was approximately 7.6km and took us 1 hour 44 minutes, this was with stopping and reading the information boards, taking lots of pictures and walking at a leisurely pace. I would say that the route was easy walking, suitable for families and pushchair accessible (all gates opened fully so you can easily get pushchairs through). There are animals about in some of the fields; mainly cows and sheep and there are clear signs explaining no dogs. I am sure that there are alternate ways that you can take dogs but I would imagine they will be slightly longer and we had no need to use a route suitable for dogs.

I would defiantly recommend this walk and going for the early start, it was a lovely morning with my family.

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The Weekend

Enjoy the little things in life because someday you will look back and realise they were the big things.

What a beautiful weekend, so happy to spend it with my family doing things at home. There are many moments that will forever be embedded in my mind.

Home is something that is so very important to me, a place where as a family we can be and feel, safe, happy, sad, warm, laugh…….it’s made up with not just the bricks but our love for each other.☀️🥂💕

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New favourite day

Any day spent with you is my favourite day. So today is my new favourite day. – Winnie the Pooh –

My beautiful baby boy 👦🏼 is growing into a handsome young man. I treasure each and every day that I have with you ❤️

On this adventure we were back in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 supporting Children in Need. It was a great adventure, meeting so many wonderful people.

The National Slate Museum is a great place to visit with the family and is free.

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Dreams

Dreams don’t work unless you do – John C. Maxwell

I do what I do because in my mind I have dreams. Dreams of what I would like to be, do, have and achieve.

I dreamed that I would have a home for my family. As a family we worked hard to build and renovate the home we now live in.

I dream that I can make a difference to someone’s life. Every day in my day job I work to make a difference and to make things better for people.

I dream to explore the world. I explore all the time, when I am traveling for work and when I have any spare time.

None of these dreams are simple, none of these dreams are wrong, these dreams are my reality. And I have many more dreams that I will continue to try to achieve.

Look at your dreams, I am sure that you have achieved so very many and I am sure you will continue to.

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