just another morning here

Plan A this weekend was to go down to Werrington Hillclimb (near Launceston) with Steve – camping for the whole two days. We soon abandoned Plan A when we remembered that despite a bank holiday we still had both orchestra and a group lesson to go to, plus the girls wanted some time in town.

Plan B was for me to go down and collect Steve on Saturday night, then for all of us to go down with him for the whole day on Sunday. This plan was also quickly abandoned when we saw the weather forecast, but also when I realised that really, I had too much work to get done to spend a whole day out of the house.

Plan C eventually happened, in the pouring rain … we drove down to meet Steve and caught the very tail end of the hillclimb, then stayed for the post-event Vicar’s BBQ. Not sure if it was actually the Vicar who did the BBQ but it was held up at the top of the hillclimb track near a church; in fact because of the pouring rain they opened the church and everyone sheltered inside.

The burgers left a little to be desired as they were fairly pink in places but the cakes were awesome. A very healthy dinner, not. The girls look happy in that photo, don’t they? Family time rocks

We did try to persuade Steve to sleep in a tent overnight but he wasn’t having any of it, and came home with us, meaning that I had to take him back on Sunday. I moaned about missing my lie-in but actually I didn’t mind really The kids appreciated not having to go for the whole day and actually so did I

He came second both days, he tried to tell me that losing by only .2 of a second made it ok but I’m not impressed!

So, that was the hillclimb. Other news from the weekend, er – orchestra was fine, busy as usual. Preparations for the Russia trip in the summer are hotting up; with that and our 40th Anniversary celebrations in a couple of weeks there is loads to do. Group lesson had to decamp as the building wasn’t opened for us so that was, um, exciting. Sunday was spent mainly on homework and housework so that Monday can be free, but we did find time for a game of Monopoly and some tv catchup as well.

I only have one Plan for tomorrow, hopefully we won’t have to abort that one … will write more after the event.

So, a weekend. We ended up all doing different things but it was all good I think. I Josiah went off to choir first thing on Saturday, and was kindly shipped back to orchestra afterwards. ECO was busy, being the first rehearsal of the summer term, and we’ve got LOADS going on – 40th Anniversary celebrations to prepare for, the Russia trip getting nearer by the day, so there’s lots to think about and get done. Lots of people are working really hard which is fab. We are there from 9.30am – 1.30pm every Saturday though so it’s a long old morning.

From there, we came home and dropped the girls off, picked up a pre-packed bag with sandwiches, birthday present, old trainers and a map, then I took Josiah to a friend’s birthday party. This friend lives on the edge of Dartmoor, so I arranged to meet my caching friend up there and used the time to get a few caches in! It was a lovely afternoon for it and we climbed up some Big Rocks but as usual I’m feeling old and achey now.

Survived the journey home with a party-bag kazoo being played at full volume, stopped at Tesco to go to the toilet for the first time in the day and pick up some new hair clippers after ours broke this morning mid-haircut. Found Steve already home having come second today ( .06 of a second to find tomorrow ).
Cooked veggie lasagne for dinner while they all watched Doctor Who, then slobbed around in the evening – will have a second go at cutting Steve’s hair in the morning.

Today Josiah went off to the Cathedral for morning services; I stayed at home to help with various homework, getting totally tangled up in simultaneous equations which really shouldn’t have caught me out! Collected the boys after mattins, washed the car very quickly (and hence very badly), then took Josiah to yet another party. This one was just round the corner from Grandma’s house so the girls and I went there for lunch, a catch up, and a nice veg out in front of a film.
Later on I had a meeting with some church friends so the kids played at the park with one of their friends. Well, the younger two did – Anna had deemed herself Too Old for the park and sat in the back room playing DS.

Home for dinner eventually and Steve had come second again – to the Cosworth He was pleased with his day though, so that’s what counts. Plaques not glasses though, nowhere near as useful, I think I will put in a complaint!

This evening we’ve been catching up on some TV; The World’s Strictest Parents (always makes me feel better about both my parenting and my children’s behaviour!), and then BBC Young Musician of the Year. Had Anna wittering on about being home educated again so that she’d have more practice time but thankfully she’s only planning to do it after Y11 so that’s ok.

So now it’s Sunday night and have I thought about the week ahead? Have I buffalo. Ah well, too late now. Time for bed and we’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes … at least next weekend has one more day in it!

The photo is on a wonk to get everyone in – and even then it’s a bit of a rubbish shot as I only had my phone camera. Perhaps the real ones will appear on the website at some point.

So, while the children were busy playing in the ECO Autumn Concert (which I was gutted to miss!), Steve and I spent the evening at Wiscombe House. Actually seeing inside the house was fantastic, I love looking around houses like that, it was amazing.

We were there for a presentation evening following the 2009 season of motorsport at Wiscombe Hill; Steve managed a respectable third place in what was only his first full year of hillclimbing, so he really should be suitably proud of himself.

However, the real tear-jerking moment was when the main sponsor of these awards, who is also a competitor in Steve’s class, made his speech and mentioned how this year had been a real highlight for him (having been involved since the 1970s!) because of the camaraderie, competition, and friendship that they have built up. And this, I suspect, is why Steve will race again next season. I have been trying to suggest that he do a season of marshalling instead but I don’t think it’s going to work …

The kids and I have had a nice relaxed day; it was good to get back into the swing of orchestra this morning and then we baked, folded laundry, and played games this afternoon – all very boring!

Steve was out racing, and our friend Neil went to spectate. Now, a rare treat. Not only can you see some photos on Neil’s blog, but from there you can also download a podcast featuring Neil’s commentary on the day, including an interview with Steve. I have asked Neil if he’ll do this every hillclimb, as listening to a quick podcast instead of going myself (with children in tow of course!) could save me a lot of time, effort and money!

If you listen to the podcast you’ll hear that Steve had a camera on top of his car for some of the runs today – and if you want to know what it would be like to be strapped on top of an Impreza during a hillclimb, you can see the footage here.