Various highlights according to the various members of this family, but as this is my blog, I’ll write about mine We will certainly remember the rain and mud. Thankfully it served to highlight the wonderfulness of the new folding camper, which is definitely a change for the better, I think all of us appreciated it for the space it gave us. Even the awning wasn’t too horrendous to put up (although we did have a fair bit of help both times we did it so I’ll reserve judgement until after the rest of the summer). We did have an awful muddy flood in the awning for a few days; when the trailer started to simultaneously sink (unevenly) while the awning pegs fell out of the ground, and the mud began to smell, we decided to move to higher ground – but had to get a tractor to tow the trailer out, as the cars were getting stuck in the field and our car would never have managed! So that was amusing

It was great to be among friends for a week, and to chat to new people too, albeit briefly. In some ways it was a shame that the weather wasn’t really ‘sitting round outside’ weather as I didn’t see enough of some people, but there we go.

Our day at Bewilderwood was fab, highly recommended by all of us.

Sparky’s – some of us love it, some of us hate it. Actually this year in some ways it was good to have somewhere warm and dry to go! And it’s only a couple of years until all my children are old enough not to need the accompanying adult (and have to ask other people’s parents )! This year some of the children entered the karaoke competition and Anna won, meaning someone is going to end up taking her back in October for a second helping of Sparky fun – aargh! Still, at least she won static caravan accommodation for the week as well.

What else?
We went to see Shrek 3 at Lowestoft cinema on the Sunday (a mini-tradition there as we watched Shrek 2 there on its release weekend three years ago).
I managed to miss pretty much all the planned camp events (well, the ones that still happened!) for one reason and another. Anna did some tie-dying though!
Didn’t go to the beach at all. I don’t really like beaches, and no-one else asked to go, so we didn’t.
Enjoyed the cabaret on Thursday, fab to see so many different performances.

Had a really really naff journey home, it took three hours longer than it should have, which just goes to cement my hatred of driving to and from the East coast (Em, don’t know how you do it on a regular basis, it would do my head in!). Still, despite that and the general swampiness of the week, it was definitely a great time

On Saturday we left early and arrived in time to set up before the Grand Prix qualifying. Yes, we were sad enough to plan that, and yes, we had looked at the weather forecast and decided that taking a tv was a good idea. No, we are not proper campers, we have a campervan with hookup whenever possible Saturday was grey and overcast, a bit drizzly, but not too bad.

Amerden Campsite was lovely, friendly live-onsite owners who were really helpful. It is *right* by the M4, so not the sort of campsite to sit around at really, because the noise of the motorway does get to you after a while, but I didn’t notice it above the noise of the rain anyway! It was a great place to use as a base because of its proximity to the river, Windsor, Legoland, London etc., and comes recommended.

Anna, Joe and I went out for a bike ride while the qualifying was on, our mission was to find a pub for meeting up with the Portico on Monday. Got as far as Eton Wick without seeing one, so bought a Radio Times, some chocolate bars, and cycled back again instead.

By Sunday the rain had set in, and we didn’t venture out of bed until about 11am I don’t think! We’d taken a good collection of DVDs, DSs and books The bed does get a bit squashed with 5 of us in it though! Got up, had brunch, then Steve settled down for the Grand Prix. It cleared up a tiny bit around lunchtime so I watched the first lap (boring, no-one crashed or overtook, so the race was pretty much a done deal) and then went out on my bike again, Anna and Joe opted to come as well. It was getting very wet by the time we got to the edge of Maidenhead but found the Blue River Cafe which had been recommended to us by the site owners, so mission accomplished there. We were pretty soaked by the time we got back to the campsite though. Sunday evening we … watched more DVDs

Monday was STILL wet. One DVD before showers and breakfast, then High School Musical kept us occupied until it was time to leave. Steve hadn’t seen it so it was a must-see for him Then we cycled to meet C&A et. al. at the restaurant. Had a lovely lunch, all the while looking out of the window wondering when the rain would stop (it didn’t). They came back to the campsite and the kids sat in their van while we sat in ours, then they watched a DVD in the awning, thank goodness for DVDs!

Tuesday dawned sunny, and we breathed a sigh of relief as it was the day nominated for Joe’s birthday treat, a trip to Legoland. Had a good day there but it was horrendously busy, I guess that’s to be expected on the one sunny day in half term!

On Wednesday we’d planned to cycle along the river to Windsor and go to the castle, but quickly shelved the idea of cycling as it was pouring with rain again, so we drove there instead. Had a good time there despite the rain, loved Queen Mary’s Doll’s House, and the State Rooms. Joe in particular enjoyed listening to the commentary in each area.

Thursday was a dry morning too, we packed most things down with a minimum of fuss although somehow overnight the zip on the awning door broke, must remember to take stuff to fix it with us to Kessingland at the end of June. As we left it was just beginning to rain and it rained the whole way back, so we felt pretty pleased to have packed up in the dry.

All in all a good week, not sure I would have lasted the whole time – or even gone in the first place given the weather forecast – had we not had the van to snuggle up in, the rain really was awful, but it was kind of fun at the same time. Whole photoset on flickr

This photo, taken from the Portico van on bank holiday Monday, typifies our week! We had one nice day, which we spent at Legoland for Josiah’s birthday treat. The rest of the days were completely wet, but we still had a good time. More later but priorities now (after blogging of course) are showers and then violin lesson, quick trip to Sainsbury’s, etc.

We’ve come on holiday with the rest of my family – parents, four siblings and their respective families – so 15 of us in all. We’re in a big farmhouse on the edge of Dartmoor which is simply lovely.

All our travelling was relatively pain free and no major problems. We were so grateful to have air conditioning in the car, it was often the nicest place to be! Eurotunnel was easy … still can’t quite decide if I prefer it to a ferry but Steve does, so I guess it’s Eurotunnel for us from now on.

Other things to remember – Joe developed an interest in clocks and looked out for them all the time, that was fun. Steve spun the children a daft yarn about bears in the woods dressed up as cows (just don’t ask) to keep them amused at the end of a long journey – one of those stories that then lived on every time we saw cows in a field!

All in all a good time was had by everyone, Grandma & Grandpa included, I think! Looking back we all wished we could have stayed two weeks in the first gite but then again that would have cost a lot more – the flies really were unbearable at times. We tried all sorts of ways of getting rid of them from flypapers to citronella candles, Steve got very good at swatting them too, but they were still a formidable presence! Also another time I think I’d cost out flying and hiring a car rather than all the travelling we did – although it was fine, it might have been nicer not to have to do it, if it worked out to be feasible. AND we’ve decided to go out of season from now on – how frustrating it was that so many things were closed in August!

So there we go. I guess I’d better get on with some washing …

The heat really made us relax this week which was nice – I read nearly all the books I’d taken for two weeks this week! I’m trying to think if there is anything else I should remember from the week … we ate lots of pasta because it was easy, and lovely fresh fruit & veg from the market, not to mention the cheese and sausages! Abbie particularly enjoyed tasting greengages and eating them by the bucketload given half a chance!

Well, that’s it for now, if I think of anything else I’ll have to add it in later!