Holiday Update
Gosh, it's a while since I've written one of these, or indeed anything. So, onwards.
We're just returned from a family holiday. We took a day to deal with some stuff at home, such as taking the cats to the vets, and then headed for Belgium. We went to de Panne, which is a beachside town blessed with a lovely beach, and, at least when we were there great weather. de Panne itself looks like it was probably quite special back in the day, but now there's a beachfront of endless, identikit concrete hotels and appartment blocks, probably thrown up in the early 80s. We stayed in a rather prettier, but somewhat delapidated hotel a few streets back from
the beach.
The one thing you really notice in Belgium, or at least the bit where we were, is the relentless refusal of the inhabitents to learn each others' languages. Even though whichever of Dutch or French is not their native tongue is taught to them at school for eight years the Belgians remain steadfast in their refusal to speak it. Order food in Dutch, get a reply in French. If a second language is required, it will be English. Although de Panne is nominally Dutch speaking most of the workers in the hotel and catering business seemed to be francophone. Thouroughly annoying.
The highlight of the Belgium trip was Plopsaland. Kabouter Plop (Kabouters are a kind of Garden Gnome, much beloved in the Netherlands and Belgium) has a TV series pitched at pre-schoolers, and there's a sufficient supporting cast of characters and shows that someone has created a theme park for them. Lisa, it turns out, is more familiar with all things Plop than we thought - presumably because she watches it at day care.
So, on Tuesday night we're having dinner by the beach when there's a sound of loud music and a crowd forms. 'Plop a la Plop!' says Lisa, over and over again until we agree to investigate the crowd. And there, at the centre of the crowd a giant bee and a giant cricket are performing a series of dances while the Plopsaland Rangers form a chorus line. And Lisa was so happy. Clearly she was having one of those moments where something so amazing it only ever appears on TV had actually turned up in the real world.
So Plopsaland it was, although I felt I had to explain to Maria that 'Plop a la Plop' sounds like something a pre-schooler in England might say after a nappy related accident.
And Plopsaland was a good day out, although there was an awful lot of queuing for attractions that lasted only a few minutes. But Lisa got to ride on a merry go round, and drive a little car, and play in a great big play ground and go to the Bumba Show for her first experience of live theatre.
After that we headed to the Ferry, and settled down in the cabin for the voyage to England, and after visiting some family in Yorkshire, a planned reunion with many old university friends in Derbyshire.
I like the Peak District, it's not quite the Lake District, but it's got the same kind of landscape, great hills and ridges, and nestled between them valleys, farms and towns that can be relied upon for warmth and hospitality. Things we did:
The Chestnut Centre which was brilliant. Most times I've seen otters in captivity I haven't. There's been an enclosure, an assurance that it contains otters, and an overwhelming number of places for them to hide. At the Chestnut Centre you get to see the otters, and the enclosures still seem to offer everything the otters might want - which is brilliant.
The Heights of Abraham feature a cable car, and caves and fantastic views but for our purposes, with four under fives in tow, it was the Punch and Judy show we required, and it certainly delivered.
There was more, on Thursday my parents took the kids for a day and we absconded to ascend Lose Hill and walk the ridge down to Mam Tor,
and on Tuesday night I entered my first race of the year, a four mile fell run, the 'Taddington Lanes Race'. By fell runners standards it was a
doddle, but, not having seen any hills in a while I found it very tough indeed, and was very happy with a finishing time of 30 minutes ten seconds for a four mile course. I finished a respectable 23rd of 47 runners. The winner haring round in a very impressive 23:30, faster than I can run four miles on the flat.
And on the way back home we stopped off at the Butterfly House, where Lisa got to see not just butterflies, but snakes and all kinds of
insects up close. There was also a falconry demonstration, which didn't feature any falcons. Instead we got to see Parrots, a Barn Owl and a
Kookaburra doing there thing. Flying Macaws really are very cool, while Kookaburra's are vaguely ridicuous. Highly recommended.
And on the ferry back home Ruben mastered the art of pulling himself upright on the furniture. So, no sooner home than time to start child proofing the living room again. He's coming on so fast, he's not eight months old for three more days, but he's already crawling properly. It's going to be a busy few months parenting until notions of what he should and shouldn't be doing start to permeate his baby brain. Job one, keep him
away from the cat food...
We're just returned from a family holiday. We took a day to deal with some stuff at home, such as taking the cats to the vets, and then headed for Belgium. We went to de Panne, which is a beachside town blessed with a lovely beach, and, at least when we were there great weather. de Panne itself looks like it was probably quite special back in the day, but now there's a beachfront of endless, identikit concrete hotels and appartment blocks, probably thrown up in the early 80s. We stayed in a rather prettier, but somewhat delapidated hotel a few streets back from
the beach.
The one thing you really notice in Belgium, or at least the bit where we were, is the relentless refusal of the inhabitents to learn each others' languages. Even though whichever of Dutch or French is not their native tongue is taught to them at school for eight years the Belgians remain steadfast in their refusal to speak it. Order food in Dutch, get a reply in French. If a second language is required, it will be English. Although de Panne is nominally Dutch speaking most of the workers in the hotel and catering business seemed to be francophone. Thouroughly annoying.
The highlight of the Belgium trip was Plopsaland. Kabouter Plop (Kabouters are a kind of Garden Gnome, much beloved in the Netherlands and Belgium) has a TV series pitched at pre-schoolers, and there's a sufficient supporting cast of characters and shows that someone has created a theme park for them. Lisa, it turns out, is more familiar with all things Plop than we thought - presumably because she watches it at day care.
So, on Tuesday night we're having dinner by the beach when there's a sound of loud music and a crowd forms. 'Plop a la Plop!' says Lisa, over and over again until we agree to investigate the crowd. And there, at the centre of the crowd a giant bee and a giant cricket are performing a series of dances while the Plopsaland Rangers form a chorus line. And Lisa was so happy. Clearly she was having one of those moments where something so amazing it only ever appears on TV had actually turned up in the real world.
So Plopsaland it was, although I felt I had to explain to Maria that 'Plop a la Plop' sounds like something a pre-schooler in England might say after a nappy related accident.
And Plopsaland was a good day out, although there was an awful lot of queuing for attractions that lasted only a few minutes. But Lisa got to ride on a merry go round, and drive a little car, and play in a great big play ground and go to the Bumba Show for her first experience of live theatre.
After that we headed to the Ferry, and settled down in the cabin for the voyage to England, and after visiting some family in Yorkshire, a planned reunion with many old university friends in Derbyshire.
I like the Peak District, it's not quite the Lake District, but it's got the same kind of landscape, great hills and ridges, and nestled between them valleys, farms and towns that can be relied upon for warmth and hospitality. Things we did:
The Chestnut Centre which was brilliant. Most times I've seen otters in captivity I haven't. There's been an enclosure, an assurance that it contains otters, and an overwhelming number of places for them to hide. At the Chestnut Centre you get to see the otters, and the enclosures still seem to offer everything the otters might want - which is brilliant.
The Heights of Abraham feature a cable car, and caves and fantastic views but for our purposes, with four under fives in tow, it was the Punch and Judy show we required, and it certainly delivered.
There was more, on Thursday my parents took the kids for a day and we absconded to ascend Lose Hill and walk the ridge down to Mam Tor,
and on Tuesday night I entered my first race of the year, a four mile fell run, the 'Taddington Lanes Race'. By fell runners standards it was a
doddle, but, not having seen any hills in a while I found it very tough indeed, and was very happy with a finishing time of 30 minutes ten seconds for a four mile course. I finished a respectable 23rd of 47 runners. The winner haring round in a very impressive 23:30, faster than I can run four miles on the flat.
And on the way back home we stopped off at the Butterfly House, where Lisa got to see not just butterflies, but snakes and all kinds of
insects up close. There was also a falconry demonstration, which didn't feature any falcons. Instead we got to see Parrots, a Barn Owl and a
Kookaburra doing there thing. Flying Macaws really are very cool, while Kookaburra's are vaguely ridicuous. Highly recommended.
And on the ferry back home Ruben mastered the art of pulling himself upright on the furniture. So, no sooner home than time to start child proofing the living room again. He's coming on so fast, he's not eight months old for three more days, but he's already crawling properly. It's going to be a busy few months parenting until notions of what he should and shouldn't be doing start to permeate his baby brain. Job one, keep him
away from the cat food...