Follow the Mayos

Getting things done

2009-08-03T22:02:00.003+01:00

Over the weekend the playroom got re-arranged as a shop (in Charlie's absence, obviously - he's at cub camp).

Here's how far we got:

Hopefully it's available in Hi Def aswell as normal.

Happy father's day

2009-06-21T21:09:00.002+01:00

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Farewell old chums

2009-03-28T09:36:00.004Z

Oooh, the kid's race to lose the most teeth is hotting up. Alice has lost both her front teeth in the last 10 days. There's a sign of one of their replacements coming through, but Charlie's still ahead. Well done Charlie,

Moving up in the World

2009-02-25T19:00:00.002Z

At last, it's time for Charlie to move up to Cubs. It's nice that they've had 3 months or so together in Beavers, just for Charlie to show Alice the ropes.

Suddenly he's a small fish in a big pond again...

Now we are 8

2009-02-21T10:01:00.000Z

Whilst we'd hoped to go to a hosted activity day, some of the guests would still have been seven, which meant they were two young for the Kid's intermediate chainsaw practice. Maybe next year. Can you tell Charlie's a little closer to being a teenager?

Instead we hosted an assorted challenge at home: 8-ball pool, Buzz on the playstation, and table tennis. It seemed to go down well, even with Jaz, the only guest 'of the female persuasion'.

'Meet your Navy'

2008-08-01T12:40:00.001+01:00

Defence cut-backs and a shrinking Navy appear to have resulted in the loss of the Annual Navy Days. Still the RN remains keen to recruit - and this summer held a "Meet your Navy" weekend. It had all the usual ingredients - and it was great watching the Red Arrows from the loft window on the first day...

On the Saturday we took the kids over for the day - in the absence of having anything better planned. Obviously I was always going to find it interesting, little did we expect how much Bid & the kids would enjoy it.

Trouble at Paultons

2008-08-01T10:06:00.001+01:00

Well, it started off as Bid recording herself & the kids on one of those pneumatic bouncing platforms at Paultons Park in the summer.

Little did she realise the audio-glory she would be capturing:

Still, at least the video is nice & safely on the Internet (for ever...)

Domestic tattoo parlour

2008-06-08T19:27:00.002+01:00

How do you normally celebrate finishing the 32 mile round the harbours cycle run? Lad's and dads star wars tattoos, of course..

Of course they're both obvious, but for those who haven't watched star wars, Charlie has a R2-D2 on his calf & I have Darth Vader fighting Obi Wan Kenobi on my arm, complete with "TS" noises from the light sabres.

Enjoy.

High sea adventures

2008-04-26T18:02:00.002+01:00

We've been considering buying a Kayak for a year or so now, but after a visit to a local Kayak Shop last weekend Bridget surprised me on Wednesday with a lovely new two person sit-on kayak.

We had a "trial" expedition on Wednesday evening, but the combination of

very low tide
cold wind
getting in the water 1/2 hour before the kid's bed time

meant that we were only in the water for about 10 mins. Still, the adults enjoyed it, and there weren't any major problems.

Today we went on a longer expedition - the first full trial. The plan was, set off 90 mins before high tide, travel up an estuary for 90 mins with the tide, then turn around and travel back down again.

Hmm, it went just great. It was warm with no wind. We had a couple of minor frights in the wash of motor cruisers but no great troubles. Here's the route.

Mind you, it was quite cosy with the four of us on board. Bid & Alice were keen to stop off & sit in the sun for a bit, so Charlie & I had the kayak to ourselves for a while.

Before we turned back we all stopped off for a play on a stretch of beach. The beach is alongside Manor Farm Country Park where we've spent lots of time, but on a stretch that's doesn't connect with the path network. We also played Tarzan on a tree overhanging the Hamble.

Overall reflections?

should have taken more food/nibbles
should have researched further up the river, we travelled several times further than I expected
we still haven't capsized. The kids are quite comfortable jumping into the water in their wetsuits/buoyancy aids, capsizing will still be a shock. Plus, we haven't had a go at getting back onto the kayak. Maybe when it's a little warmer..

Leading the Pompey faithful

2008-02-04T11:00:00.000Z

For the last 3 seasons Charlie has played football at the Skilful Soccer group up the road. He's not a natural player, and he's not in a circle of footie-playing peers - he doesn't get much practice at home either.

But, after sooo many weeks of "maybe I'll get the best player trophy today" he finally won it. Hmm, how proud? Well done Charlie.

Surely a child bride!

2008-01-06T12:32:00.000Z

It was Jane & Brian's 40th wedding anniversary in January, in support of which Auntie Sue provided us with this antique wedding photo. Yes it's a little blurred, but back in those days photography was still largely experimental...

Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs. Worthington

2007-12-17T12:30:00.000Z

Alice's first nativity at Wicor School. Not a central role, but certainly a pivotal contribution (Angel number 7).

A journey to manhood

2007-12-05T12:29:00.000Z

After 8 weeks as an imposter, Charlie was invested into the Beavers - luckily they're given quite robust uniforms these days, they certainly get a battering on beaver nights.

An edible masterpiece

2007-11-02T12:27:00.000Z

Another lovely from mommy. Just a bit too pink for Daddies cake though, thanks.

More beach-hutting

2007-09-01T12:24:00.000+01:00

More routines at the beach-hut, hot chocolates with marshmallows, bit of maintenance...

And a few afternoons spent adventuring through the sea to the submerged sandbanks. We're all looking forward to this summer.

Little trooper

2007-07-27T12:22:00.000+01:00

Don't forget me Daddy. Charlie riding his old bike on holiday at Jane & Brian's house in France.

Little angel

2007-07-11T12:21:00.000+01:00

Aaah, little Angel.

Flashbacks to 'Nam

2007-06-30T12:19:00.002+01:00

Cue flashbacks to SE Asia in '68.

As you can see, we spotted VC preparing traps in the Mekong Delta, though is appears the little one was little reluctant to get her hands too dirty.

Beach hut - day zero.....

2007-06-23T10:28:00.000+01:00

After being on the waiting list for 6 years, Bridget finally got the chance to get her hands on a local Beach Hut.

It's 6' by 6', no utilities, sturdy, watertight. Over the summer Bridget's got great plans for kid's days by the sea, supper on the gas stove, Kath Kidston interiors...

You can find it at on google maps at: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110825633977585718546.000001135d26d901441bf

Can't wait.

A gift from Dave Price

2007-06-04T12:17:00.000+01:00

Before he headed off for sunnier climes Dave from work organised a "Lads & Dads" trip to HMS Lancaster. Both boys enjoyed it. Thanks Dave - in particular for answering the 3000 questions: every electrical socket, valve, switch...

Quiet time

2007-05-26T12:16:00.000+01:00

Aaah.

Smiley's again?

2007-05-07T12:12:00.000+01:00

Hmm, we had yet another weekend with the Smiley's for my birthday in May. Not at their house this time, but at the caravan. Bid organised a motor-home for us (never had one before, quite a treat, not necessarily the best solution for an essentially static holiday - nice to experience it though).

Bit wet on the last day - but we did have a couple of nice days out, nice couple of evenings partying, great day on the beach, and a lovely rubber-fetish-dressing up game in the pub at Monday lunchtime, Who could ask for more? Aaah, yes, and there were the local pasties, hmmm.

Seeing off the Lakey's

2007-04-07T12:05:00.000+01:00

Well, the Lakey family decided to move back to UK. Unfortunately life here paled in comparison with Aus, so they packed their bags & headed straight back.

Fortunately, however, the Smiley's hosted a "farewell" weekend at the cottages. Great weekend: drinking, offroad skateboarding, stream trekking, partying, ...

One of the more unusual games as the kid's 'Camp Delta' themed fun. They resisted the sensory deprivation (see picture) quite well - but completely collapsed in the water-boarding round.

Could do better...

Skiing with the Smiley's

2007-03-02T12:00:00.000Z

Hmm, the lovely Smiley's invited us to go Skiing in the Alps, together with their Carol's (mothers). So, 10 of us in the Alpine chalet. Surprisingly it worked well, lots of adult helpers, fairly "rough & ready" accommodation that was robust enough that we didn't have to worry too much about what the kids were doing at every moment.

Polly the wonder-skiier was in top group for skiiing, but the other 3 were placed together, nice.

It just gets better

2007-02-20T07:46:00.000Z

Wait, there's more! The perfect outfit for taking away skiing next week - Spiderman. Yup, there'll be quite a bit of damsel rescuing at the chalet in France. We may not get very much Peter Parker, but there'll be a whole lot of Spidey.

We'll keep you all informed...

Birthday morning

2007-02-20T07:40:00.000Z

Charlie opening his presents - yes, he adores Scooby & the gang, (lyrics here: http://www.everwonder.com/david/scooby/lyrics/index.html). Who know what kinds of mystery we're going to solve over the next few days. Know what though? I can't help feeling the 'monster' is going to be a frustrated character we encounter near the start of the mystery...

And now we are six

2007-02-18T13:04:00.000Z

So, whilst he's not 6 until Tuesday, we're having Charlie's birthday party today: bowling - and the party was designated "fancy dress" to increase the fun.

As a double-treat, Charlie was able to open Nanny & Grandad's present early: a Peter Pan fancy dress!

Obviously he loved his Scooby Doo cake, even if the slices were a little modest after being shared amongst 15...

The balloons from his chair were awarded to Alice (for good behaviour), though nobody could have foreseen the all-day lift her hair received:

Windiest day of the year (so far)

2006-12-03T17:43:00.000Z

After a night out at the Veranda in Wickham with Marie & Phil (curry ok, service average-to-poor, surroundings a little dull), on their recommendation we took the kids to the dunes near Ferry Steps on Hayling Island.

Little did we know how windy it would get. To start off with we kept on having to hold Alice's hand to keep her up, but obviously the real entertainment started once the 3 of us were encouraging her to go ahead on her own - a few challenging steps at a time.

In the dunes themselves the kids had a great time hiding from each other & rolling from top-to-bottom.

The kids played at climbing a stunted old tree on the sea-front, poking their heads out of holes in the canopy. Whilst most of the packed lunch had been eaten in the car, there was still some of Bid's Chocolate Concrete cake left - enough to fill a few minutes on an old bench:

Good old Itchen Valley

2006-11-11T17:30:00.000Z

Whenever we have a couple of hours to fill we pop over to Itchen Valley Country Park. It's got Play Trail consisting of a dozen or so climb-able sculptures, a lovely marshy pasture with a hill to roll down, a dipping pond, and some pleasant woodland.

Here's a picture of the kids at the first sculpture they came to:

And a horse shoe-shaped platform they chase each other around:

Alice's 4th birthday party

2006-11-04T18:51:00.000Z

So, this was the first party for which little miss-organised would be able to contribute. Oh dear. The list of invitations was scrutinised with a fine-tooth comb, as was the menu, the entertainment, the adult helpers & the weather.

Of course she (& Bid) did a wonderful job. The day started a little crisp, but by 1000 the sun was appearing around the back of the house & the garden started to get nice & toasty, hmmm.

Luckily the magic fairy also called, and rather diplomatically she appionted the birthday girl as her little helper:

Then, once the Magician & her helper had turned the glitter into a tray of sweets & magic'd the rabbit out of the hat she let everybody have a quick stroke. I think it all finished quite quickly after that. Can't quite remember...

Oh yeah, it was party-food time (cold finger buffet, good idea Bid, must do the same next year).

And yes, Alice did get to blow out the candles without Charlie getting to them first, even if Abigail from over the road gave her a little help:

All over for another year.

Jamies cheesy bread

2006-10-01T18:35:00.000+01:00

After admiring jamie hard at it on saturday morning bid couldn't wait to introduce the kids to the joy of baking. How did they get on? I'll tell you in 30 mins;)

Mask making at 0630

2006-09-22T07:21:00.000+01:00

Getting a little craft out before school. Obviously Alice started it all, cutting circles out of coloured A4. Next we had eyes, ears, whiskers. It just took a couple of Charlie taunts before he joined in - wanting to scare Alice with his scary tiger mask.

It's like childcare. only easier. And a good test of Bridget's new K800 phone.

Party in the Woods

2005-12-05T07:43:00.000Z

We're well into the birthday party season at Charlie's school now, and just for a change, Izaac's parents organised a woodland trek/picnic just down the road in Hundred Acre Wood. I think there were about 20 kids, a dozen parents, no injuries, and only a few tears, cool.

Here's Charlie in his cowboy gear:

the big group photo (pre-pandemonium):

and Bid (pied-piper) doing her share of crowd control:

Splish splash splish splash

2005-12-04T07:34:00.000Z

So, off we went to Sir Harold Hillier Gardens - just outside Romsey. Cold day, but we dressed them up well.

There's a really attractive, light, airy cafe at the gardens. The cafe's part of a complex that won "Civic building of the year 2004". Quite right too.

The kid's had their wellies & splashing trousers on - so once they were tired/bored of wandering through the gardens it was time for some good old fashioned water-sports:

Alice's 3rd birthday

2005-11-06T17:37:00.000Z

So, Alice's birthday party went well.

There were 6 friends from pre-school, plus Charlie and 3 of his friends. The "Barbie" bouncy castle in the garden went down well with all (me & the kids bouncing away at 0715 immediately after delivery).

Obviously her best friend Bev was the star guest as far as Alice was concerned:

Blowing out the candles went well, though the grown up boys were evicted to go and play with the bouncy castle in order for pass-the-parcel to complete without too many injuries...

Charlie's first day at school

2005-09-12T18:38:00.000+01:00

Hey,
Charlie's first day at big school has come around, and doesn't he look smashing in his uniform (with his sports & book bags)?

Four go mad in France

2005-08-05T20:41:00.000+01:00

For our summer 05 hols we stayed at Brian & Jane's new house near Redon, France.

The local village hosts a series of "Megaliths"; Stone Henge-like collections of standing stones spread across moorland.

Market-day at Redon was nice, especially with the kids loving the monster-style pastries (better than daddies packed lunch sandwiches).

The kids also enjoyed the strolling pan-pipers (French culture at its best...). Whilst Charlie's preference was to sit & listen Alice joined with a froggy girl in a mad dance-battle, Waterloo style.

Later in the holiday we found donkey-rides around the megaliths. There were two local kids waiting for a ride, so off the four of them went. During the car-journeys we'd all been singing Frere Jacques. The words rubbed off on the kids as "how to communicate with Johhny Foreigner", so the seen was set for the 2005 donkey-powered chante-off.
Yes, the froggies were good at the pronunciation, but Charlie & Alice certainly came off on top in the dB challenge. Yes! The sister in the French team obviously took a shine to Charlie's vocal gift - and only had eyes for him for the rest of the trip. Oooh the young casanova.

We also went to the local zoo. Hmm, French zoos are a lot more relaxed than at home - with the kids free to wander up & abuse all sorts of animals. Whilst the wallabies seemed a bit too like vermin for us the kids enjoyed the 'dare' of stroking them.

Our other adventures included a 1/2 day canoeing on L'oust - all quite docile really: hardly any rapids, psychopathic swans, abused regattas or heavy drinking compared our traditional canoeing trips.

The kid's also went in for a spot of extreme saloon car racing, near Danac if I remember correctly.

Oooh, look, a boat!

2005-07-02T20:37:00.000+01:00

Since the demise of Navy Days the only opportunity for families to get into the dockyard & on board ships has been the biennial International Festival of the Sea. Obviously we all went for the day. The ship the children got to play with most was a Columbian tall-ship - the home-sick chaps on board entertained the kids well and as you can see let them play anywhere.

The family at Legoland

2005-04-24T13:38:00.000+01:00

Since October 2004 we've had season tickets at LegoLand, windsor (all for the price of two single day visits - bargain!).

Here are some pictures taken in our first visit of 2004.

A day at thruxton

2000-05-30T11:07:00.005+01:00

So, what does a loving wife get a trendy young man-about-Fareham for his 32nd birthday?

What better, a day's driving at Thruxton, about an hour North of us.

Bid had persuaded me to book the day's holiday using some deceitful ruse about her parents winning a competition and the two of us being invited along to share the prize with them -- as if I'd fall for that!

The day consisted of a 30 minute briefing about the layout of the track and the etiquette on the track (how far to hand your elbow out of the window, etc). They also slipped in the fact that Tiff Needell (Top Gear) was an instructor there until two years ago. Of course it's a pity he moved on, I'm sure I could have given him a run for his money - particularly in the laps where it's compulsary to have a pasty one hand, a diet-coke in the other, and the phone trapped between your shoulder and your cheek -- now there's the true test of a driver!

During the briefing the drizzle started, of course, so my thoughts were "Hmm, I'm sure if this continues they'll cancel it and get us to come back on a nice sunny day, with perfect grip" No such luck, they just reminded us to be careful, and reminded us that any damage to the cars meant that the day was over for the driver - with no refunds!

Anyway, here we go - the driving was structured like this:

Rover 25	This was 3 laps of the course with one of the Thruxton instructors driving. He started off at around 30mph, talking us in detail throu gh the turns and how to handle other drivers. We took the next two laps at about 50 then 90 mph - this was a bog-standard Rover 25 but it was flying around the course.
MGF VVC	3 laps with me driving - with the instructor scoring me on the final lap. As in all of the cars, this was my first time in an MGF. The roof was down because of the rain, and you can't imagine how difficult it was to get in wearing the crash-helment. The seat doesn't slide backwards, so all the instructor could offer was for me to slouch down in the seat - Hey, I do already! Here are the marks he gave me: On the final lap the assessor didn't say a single-word, he just sat there marking, so I didn't really get any feedback on the areas where I lost marks. Oh well, they seem ok overall.
Formula Sport 2000	Next it was down to the pits to get the waterproofs and full-face helmet ready for the single-seater racer. It used a Ford two-litre engine with a four-speed gearbox. I'd never been in a car like this before, so it was all a great unknown. It took a couple of stalls to get the car going, the clutch was so aggressive (later in the drive it became apparent that once racing I didn't need to use the clutch at all). Anyway, as I came out of the pits in 2nd, changing into 3rd just as I was coming into the chicane, everything was really clumsy and difficult. Spray from other cars which were sailing past me was going all over my visor - this was no dream-car. Anyway, as I passed the apex of the last turn of the chicane I put my foot down and changed into 4th, expecting the car to drift out a little - ooh no, as I accelerated the downforce (and the drag) increased and the car was locked to the road, so that's how it works! By the end of the first lap I was flying around the circuit - the faster I could travel around the course the better the grip I had. Suddenly I was in one of the fastest cars on the track, with only a couple of Ferraris and the psycho in the Boxster overtaking me. It was just heaven - flying around the course just about gripping the road - having to keep wiping the spray from my visor every second or so - for long periods I was just holding to the steering wheel on for grim death (it's only 1 turn from lock-to-lock, so you never have to take your hands off anyway), and also having to remind myself to keep on breathing, honest!
Ferrari 355	This was definitely intended to be the high-point of the day. The car I drove was the furthest yellow one in the diagram at the top of the page - it was an N-reg with 52000 on the clock. Getting into the drivers-seat was just sooo exciting: adjusting the seat in a Ferrari, putting on the seat-belt in a Ferrrari, adjusting the rear-view mirrors in a Ferrari, checking we were in neutral and starting the engine in a Ferrari - it was just so cool. Of course as I started the engine I over-revved it a little, just to hear it growl and watch the rev-counter race upwards. Setting off though, I was less comfortable. The car was left-hand drive, and whilst I've driven left-handers before they've all been american automatics - the coordination needed to weave the gear-lever through that famous stainless-steel gate was just so difficult - I had to keep looking down at the gear-lever. This wouldn't normally be a problem but the way Thruxton is laid out there are only two places where you have to change down - each time it's just as your sailing into one of the hair-pin complexes ("Campbell" and "Chicane" - see the chart) at around 90mph. There's a fraction of the second to change gear, and the last thing you wanted to do was look away from the ooh-so-slippery road. I drove four laps in the Ferrari, I only tried to change gear without looking down on entry to the chicanes twice - on both occasions I slipped into 6th instead of 4th - received no engine breaking, and was left skidding around the bend in the £85000 monster. So, overall, it wasn't that much of a buzz, particularly not compared to the single-seater racer (where I was going totally hell-for-leather). Sure I did try to floor it on the home straight, and got up to 175 kmh (around 120 mph), but there was none of the antics we see on Top Gear. Still, it's an experience. On reflection I wish that for the first lap I'd just sat there changing gear continuously - to get the natural feel for the layout of the gearbox - I'm sure then I could really pushed it - really though, it would need about a dozen laps to get use to the size, weight, balance of the car.
Porsche Boxster	Here we both had a lap as a passenger in a Porsche Boxster (2.7). It was driven by this chap who first raced at Thruxton in 1968 and has worked there as a professional driver for 30 years - did he know the course or what? All through the day the instructors had stressed how smoothly to drive: "never do more than one of Brake/Turn/Change Gear at once or you will spin out instantly" - this chap however couldn't care less, we were skidding around all of the bends, cutting up the learners in their racing cars - then slamming the brakes on as we screeched into the turn - what a laugh. Here's a picture of Bid having a go: (Yes, of course she was more scared than I was)
Formula Renault	The Porsche was the last car of the day, after which there was a quick debrief and certificate collection. It was only about mid-day and I had taken the full day off, so I decided to blow some of my own cash (�50) and pay for 5 more laps. Sure I could have paid to another 5 laps in a Ferrari, but it seemed a gamble whether I would really enjoy it, and there would be an instructor in the car with me. No, what I wanted was another go in a single-seater. The Formula Renault was the fastest single-seater available through the company (although they were rev-limited to 4000 on days like this, about 110 mph). It was a bit of a squeeze getting in (the mechanic has to remove the steering wheel to let you in), and a really cramped driving position, but as soon as I was in it I was starting to get excited. Again it took a couple of stalls to get out of the pit lane (I ended up pulling away with the engine screaming, but isn't that always the case with racing cars in the pit lane?). It took about 3 turns to get used to the grip and the gearbox - the grip was even better than the Formula 2000, thanks to the front and rear wings. This time I was easily the fastest car on the track - by now I'd done nearly 20 laps and knew the circuit quite well. Not a soul overtook me for these laps, I got five "SLOW DOWN" warning signs waved by the marshalls (this told me it was time to level off a little), I had the engine screaming around the Church bend and the 1/2 mile back straight. After 5 laps I was flagged back in and returned the car, oooh.

Can't wait for my next birthday

Seriously, it was an incredible day out, I can recommend it to anybody. Unless you get to do lots of laps in a Supercar though, I'd stick to the single-seater races, they're a million times more fun.