Even supermarkets have a sense of humour.

On the packet of frozen salmon there was a little box called allergy warning. It stated "contains fish". Really, they do surprise me. Still it made me laugh so I suppose there was a point to it.
1.6.04 22:05


More opportunities to see...

that I am yet to get the hang of my new toy.


I give you the long walk (the bit up the hill to King George III's satue is not strictly part of it).




And from the top of the hill
3.6.04 17:53


Shame week-ends are so short

We made it at last. Our first week-end away camping and walking this year and it’s already well into June. It was worth the wait though. Thoroughly enjoyed it despite the aches and pains this morning.


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The destination was ffice:smarttags" />South Wales – the Brecon Beacons to be more precise.  It’s an area I fell in love with when I went away for a Bank Holiday week-end with a friend nearly 15 years ago, when we were really made to feel welcome and had a great time. It has a lot going for it. It is close enough to London to make it a great week-end destination and it is so different to England that you know you have been away. Him Indoors prefers the Lake District but since he is the Master in his house, what I say goes and Brecon it was.


 


On a more personal note since the signposting is often at best inexistent and at worst misleading it gives me an opportunity to prove that I may be female but I can certainly read a map (anything less precise than the OS Explorer OL12 and you’d better stick to the A40). What more could a woman want ?


 


We left Friday afternoon. As usual we had forgotten a few essentials while packing . We thought we had reduced the chances of that happening by putting me in charge of packing the food and planning the lunches for the walks and putting Him Indoors in charge of packing… well everything else. Somewhere near Slough we realised we had forgotten the chairs and decided against turning back (the floor would be good enough for a couple of days). Around the junction to the A34 I realised Him Indoors had not mentioned once the amount of space wasted by taking my pillow (he believes in roughing it, I believe in the power of the good night sleep). I checked if he had indeed taken it, he hadn’t, he had in fact done away with bedding altogether. Funny how he remembered to take a battery charger for his GPS but not what was meant to keep us warm overnight. A case of male sense of priorities maybe? Anyway after what must be the shortest shopping trip in Swindon we were equipped with sleeping bags and pillows.


 


Saturday we set of for the walk which we had attempted last year when the weather (hail, wind and poor visibility) made us turn back. This time the weather was nice. Warm enough to keep the fleeces in the rucksacks until lunch at the summit with enough of a breeze to not feel like a waterfall in forming on your back. For those of you who have an idea of the area the walk went as follows: start at Blaenau, up Waun Lwyd, up Fan Foel, then nearly flat to Fan Brycheiniog from which we could not see Lyn y Fan Fawr but would have if a cloud had not decided to rest on the summit for a while, back track a bit to Fa Brycheiniog, follow the ridge to Bannau Sir Gaer and Waun Lefrith then descend back to the car while admiring the views of Lyn y Fan Fach. For those of you into numbers that’s just over 7 miles or 11 km with about 500m ascent and including lunch and multiple stops to catch my breath it took us 5 hours.


 


Saturday evening The Boy managed to make some friends in the campsite, a first for my little loner. I burnt the sausages perfectly and warmed a tin of green beans and a pack of ready rice on a disposable barbecue. We even stretched to bananas grilled in their skins on the last embers. A true camping feast. Him Indoors kept me supplied with tea made using his trustee Trangia (trying to prove we don’t need anything mor sophisticated than a meth burner).


 


More tomorrow and a pic to show why I let my outdoorsy manfolk drag me up hills huffing and puffing like an old seal.
7.6.04 22:06


South Wales week-end part 2

Sunday The Boy was up bright and early and declared that he'd like to do anotherwalk. We decided to go to Pen y Fan (I am told the F is more of a soft V sound) via the ridge of Cefn Cwm LLwch. I was just as unfit as the previous day and found I was puffing even harder than the previous day while making the ascent to the amusement of my menfolk who have mountain goat chromosomes in their genetic making. Then we followed the idge to Corn Du and descended via the Tommy Jones memorial (a 5 year old who got lost and died of alone of exposure in 1900). We carried on down to Cwm-llwch and got back to the road to finish the loop. For those f you into umbers that's 11km and a high point of 886m to the highest point in South Wales. The site is very popular and the path erosion is a witness to its popularity raising the usual questions about path maintenance, access restriction etc. However even the number of people making their way to the top cannot detract from the amazing beauty of the site and erosion may be a small price to pay for giving people he chance to admire it. Once at the top, the surrounding views have a big woah factor. No camera can capture the panorama, the volumes (certainly not one with me behind the lense anyway).


But here's a litle taster of what can be seen



Question: why is it whenever I go walking I always spot people wearing completely inappropriate footwear for the area (top of the week-end had to be sandals - yep, I'd love to see their toes at the end of the journey) and groups of people without even a bottle of water amongst themselves, let alone a map, a compas, something warm in case the weather turns when they reach the top and enought of a first aid kit to at least have something clean to put on a wound if somebody slips and cuts themselves. I may be one of the neurotic over cautious people who carry a bag the contents of which only 30% will be used but I'd hate to think I was putting someone's life at risk just through sheer stupidity and lack of basic equipment.


 
8.6.04 23:41


Don't children sing anymore ?

The Boy has a lovely singing voice and he sings on key. I don't know who he got it from. I love to sing but I can't say it is enjoyable for those around me. I think "off key" describes my singing fairly accurately (my mum eminded me it did not stop me from singing in the school choir). I do not know of anybody in my family who has any singing talent, even remote. I can't say I have ever heard his father sing (Him Indoors does not do singing either). Yet The Boy can and does sing. Before Christmas I take him to the carrol service and he has a right ball. He sings his little heart out. For a while I have been looking for a local children's choir. Something structured enough to fit his personality (he takes everything immensely seriously) but fun enough that he knows that singing should be about doing something enjoyable. I looked around, I asked around. There is plenty for adults but nothing for children. I have even checked out the local churches and found nothing.


This week-end my dad played the soundtrack to Les Choristes in the car on the way back from the swimming pool and The Boy was enjoying it. He liked the idea hat little boys were singing and he was humming all the way home. So today I found a little family workshop and I took him tonight, it was worth rushing around a bit just for the smile on his face as he was beating the drum and trying out sounds and rhythms. Still there are only 2 weeks left of the workshop, where do we go from there? Surely there must be more children in the borough who would love to sing as a group or have they all been enrolled in private tuitions by pushy parents hoping their offspring is going to be the next pop idol?
21.6.04 23:45


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