Wild Cornwall...

Back from our travels! Wild, windy and wet but truly great times. Going away at this time of year works for me. It feels like new year, as indeed it is for those of us in education. It's a chance to draw a line under everything and anything that happened since last September and take some time out before the madness ensues once more.

So how was it? Well after the long build up sorting trailers and packing we finally set off on the long journey stopping at the Cartgate picnic area for lunch as planned. We arrived to find that the others in our party had opted for the 'leave at the crack of dawn' start to their holiday and had already setup camp. Communal camping isn't for everyone and it is ultimately a trade off. You loose a certain amount of privacy and control but gain the company, the laughs and ultimately a shared experience. Our fellow happy campers were old friends from the Epsom/Ewell area. Wonderful people who we don't see very often but when we do, we feel as if we've not been apart. During the days we'd muck in together helping with each others kids, making mass-picnics, sharing cars and children's baths. In the evenings we took it in turns to cook for each other, sharing drinks and points of view on life.

We were camped Watergate Bay, a surfing mecca and a beautiful place. A short walk across the cliffs from the beach and a short drive from shops and civilisation. Our days consisted of trips to the beach, mooching around the campsite and trips out. One such trip out was to St Ives to take in some of the famous light. Again truly beautiful. Two years ago we went to Bude which didn't quite live up to my image of wild and wonderful Cornwall. Watergate Bay and surrounding, Porth, St Ives, Mawgan Porth etc were a different matter, totally mind blowing. The wind and rain seemed to add to the rugged charm and I was sad to leave. I know others struggle with bad weather and sand in your pants but for a reason I've not yet been able to put my finger on, I loved it.

After a nine hour drive through bank holiday traffic on the A303 we were home. After such a wonderful holiday I'm now left feeling melancholy and feeling distinctly Autumy! The mountains of washing and clearing up doesn't help, not to mention the odd pile of eager leaves by the side of the road. However the new term beckons and I shall put my mind to it... tomorrow!

Off we go again...

Looks good doesn't it! Well I guess we'll see how our holiday 'develops before us'! Part of me can't wait but there are so many things that could make or break our time away. There's the weather, the car, the rickety trailer, the site, the kids and the group dynamics. there's also the journey which I've been planning today with the high tech help of Dad's Sat-Nav, google the AA and the Somerset tourist info website! The Campsite is in Cornwall but in order to be well prepared I've found us a picnic site half way. Cartgate Picnic area off the 303 in fact!



Now that I have the journey sorter I feel slightly better and I can crack on with the rest of the preparation. Packing, checking, re-packing and loading. This time we don't have Dan's huge and luxurious trailer with roof rack. Instead I've borrowed Tim's which hasn't been used for some time. One tyre needed pumping up and will go down slowly, the lights didn't work, the key to the hitch-lock has long since disappeared and it's tiny. So a bit of DIY and elbow grease was needed to sort the lock and attach our old topbox. We've got the Dan's bike rack too so hopfully we'll be ok but who know's untill the boxes start being loaded. Bring on the adventure!

The Summer So Far...

My last post was smack bang in the middle of a four day residential with five lively lads. That was followed by a fun day in Camelsdale, six youth road show events and now an evening project in Petworth. All of which is just one half of my life. The other has been pretty hectic too with Noah constantly on the move and driving Naomi crazy in just the cutest way possible and the others remembering how to get on with each other. We also had a long weekend in the New Forest with Nyoms family. So pretty busy really.

The New forest trip was great fun. Even in the torrential rain which came just before we'd finished putting up our tent, I still had a childish grin on my face, just so pleased to be in the great outdoors. We were attacked by horses, paddled in rivers and enjoyed fish and chips around a camp fire and best of all I got some great 'Dad time'. This summer has made me think just how precious my boys are to me and how blessed I am to have them.

Right now we're getting ready to head off to Cornwall with the tent on ce more. There's plenty to do; sorting the trailer, packing, a hair cut, finishing work stuff, I just hope this holiday will match up to the last. Camping holidays always seem like a bit of a gamble. They can be magical or misery. We'll see!

Day three done, one more to go...

Yep, feeling tired now. I'm not sure why. I think it's all the walking around the grounds here and taking part in workshops all day but most of all it's being responsible for ten of someone else's children all day and night for three days. Constantly thinking of the next thing that needs doing and keeping everyone safe and happy, it takes it's toll you know.

So far though, it has been rewarding. It is clear to see that the activities and events has challenged and provoked the young people to think about themselves and their future careers. Of course it's not just about the workshop activities but the people involved too. One of the workshop facilitators is a sweet guy who spent many years working in a factory spray painting but over a long period of time re-trained and now spends his days in the woods teaching survival skills and forestry management. He is quite and slow with his words but has the group eating out his hands very quickly because he is genuine, doesn't talk down to them and they can relate to him. There are many unnatural educators working but this guys a natural.

So what have I learnt from all this? Well there was a few forms I could have got together quicker, the evenings are worth planning activities for and this is a much better target group but most of all it's reminded me again that I want my kids to know what the woods smell like, how to light a fire and how to stop and appreciate what's around you.

Day One done...

Day one of this years 'Spring-Line' residential is almost over with everyone now at least in their rooms if not asleep. The project is a response to the decline in young people taking up traditional conservation skills as careers or hobbies. The week involves a number workshops at the Sustainability Centre in East Meon and a day's workshops at the Weald & downland Open Air Museum.

The Sustainability Centre is a lovely place to be. An ex-military building now in the hands of the Earthworks Trust who use the place as an educational centre for those wishing to find out more about sustainable living. There are a number of schools who regularly visit as well as courses in anything from bush craft to dead hedging being run from the centre. There are families living on site in Yurts, a natural burial site and small businesses like Darren the shingle maker all existing together in an idyllic community together with nature - no really, it's all very hippy... but relevant!

My role is to help the young people get the most out of the week (that includes kicking them where appropriate!) and as the picture above shows, record the weeks events for posterity (and funding!) on my digital cameras.

I'm going away tomorrow on what we call in the business a 'residential'. These usually involve excessive tiredness but unforgettable memories. I usually lose sleep before taking a group of other people's children away and this is no exception. Once the worry has subsided though I'm sure it'll be fine... watch this space I guess!

The rest of my summer work schedule involves driving my big youth Bus around taking it to youth service 'roadshows' and summer events. This too should be lots of fun but not a patch on the camping holiday waiting for us at the other end. Two weeks in Cornwall with some precious friends who we don't get to see often enough. It's our first holiday in two years so bring it on! Rain, snow, hurricane, I'll be there on the beach with the kids building sand castles because I deserve it!!!

Thoughts so far...

Well I said I'd let you know how I got on with my latest escapist toilet reading and hear I am to do just that.

Having got a little way through the first chapter I began to think that this was nothing more than a guy having a mid-life crisis and telling me all about it. To some extent I guess that's what it is but wait, it's so much more too! Yes it's another adventure where a guy escapes the trappings of modern life to see things, meet people and have experiences but already it seems that there is an element of self discovery about this journey as well.

Maybe the term 'mid-life crisis' is too dismissive, as if there is no value in taking time out, to do no more than go on a journey and see what it teaches you.

As well as the deep and meaningfuls there's also bucket loads of sumptuously written descriptions of life on the water. From the nervy moments at the first lock to the peace of still water and the soporific affect of life in the slow lane Paul Gogerty is a proper writer! I mean I enjoyed Long Way... but this guy sculpts images in my mind with words. Proper writer!

Having four kids and a busy life means that I've only just reached chapter three. So much has happened already in this multifaceted journey. One part which touched me was this poem written by the authors seriously ill father in law who the writer unexpectedly takes time out of his journey to visit in hospital. If you've been forced to consider death and all that that means for the body and soul as it closes its grip, you maybe touched too.

Pathology of Colours

I know the colour rose, and it is lovely,
but not when it ripens in a tumour;
and healing greens, leaves and grass, so springlike,
in limbs that fester are not springlike.

I have seen red-blue tinged with hirsute mauve
in the plum-skin face of a suicide.
I have seen white, china white almost, stare
from behind the smashed windscreen of a car.

And the criminal, multi-coloured flash
of an H-bomb is no more beautiful
than an autopsy when the belly's opened -
to show cathedral windows never opened.

So in the simple blessing of a rainbow,
in the bevelled edge of a sunlit mirror,
I have seen, visible, Death's artifact
like a soldier's ribbon on a tunic tacked.

Copyright from New and Collected Poems (Hutchinson, 2003), copyright © Dannie Abse 2003, used by permission of the author

The longest day

Thursdays are a long day. This morning I managed to sort an incorrect Tescos delivery, sort the mortgage, photograph lots of Naomi's products ready for her Esty shop, backup a bunch of family pictures and make a yummy loaf of bread. There's something incredibly satisfying about making bread and of course the whole lengthy process is made even more satisfying when it's in your mouth with some butter on. YUM!

So then I headed of to work where I had an hour to clean the bus and get it ready for two sessions back to back. Now I'm back at home struggling to think of what to write and wondereing if I should just go and eat my bread and quit winging about being tired. I hate it when people wing about being tired... so I'll shut up now!

Fete in the Park - T in the Park...

A soggy day in Petworth Park promoting the work of The Purple Bus and raising awareness of rural youth issues was followed by a chunky, home spun curry and coverage on BBC3 of The Killers at T in the Park.

It was a shame about the weather today. People weren't so up for spending money on Naomi's bags as at the same event last year when the sun had it's hat on and the economy had it's chin up. The kids were good though, hanging out on the Purple Bus with me and making the odd sortie into the crowd of stalls and rides to spend some pocket money. Dan was a star too, giving me a break from the Bus to give the kids lunch and then to take them home later.

Once the rug rats were all tucked up Naomi and I set about the task of winding down. This involved tidying up the mountain of toys, having a pointless argument and then cooking a nice meal. Usual Saturday evening stuff. What made my day though was flicking through TV channels to find The Killers coming up on BBC Three. They were so good, with so much theatre in the performance and depth in the lyrics. Loved it!

Friends...

I can remember when I was a teenager feeling like I needed friends who could really understand me, people who I could be completely honest with and we'd never fall out. Part of the whole teenage identity crisis thing I guess. Being a bit older now and I have my wonderful wife - best friend in the world! - but I still feel a need for other friends to hang out with who are on a par with the mythical 'Friends' from the eponymous sitcom.

You know what I mean, one makes a mistake but fesses up and all is forgiven, another has a bogey hanging out of their nose and the others point and laugh but they're still friends. I think in the adult world that we all end up in, we develop ways of coping, strategies to get along and survive. All to often these strategies involve maintaining a safe distance from those around us, even those we'd call friends in order to not offend or to keep the status quo.

Well that's quiet enough of that! I shall retreat to a safe distance because 'every thing's fine thanks!'

Things mostly are actually 'fine' but you get my point.

NEWS-Naomi, myself and all the sprogs are at Petworth's 'Fete in the Park' tomorrow. We're both there in work capacity so I'm not sure what the kids will do. Hmmm. I'm there with the Purple Bus bigging up the work i do with the Youth Service and Naomi is selling her bags and things. I'll let you know how it goes.

Communication...

A dude called Eric Berne in the 1950's once said 'when two people encounter each other, one of them will speak to the other. This he called the Transaction Stimulus. The reaction from the other person he called the Transaction Response.' Simple really or it should be...

All too often when people talk, as well as the actual words that are said, a whole heap of other stuff is said or at maybe just heard. This really winds me up!

Berne reckoned there was three states, he called them Ego States but that sounds a bit weird. So these states are as above. The ideal is when Adult communicates with adult. Just straight forward communication, people being honest and straight forward in what they say and grown up and straight forward about what they hear. So often though people assume an either dominant or over nurturing parent role or a rebellious or over-dependant child role. Often without realising too.

This means that we assume that the other person is thinking or feeling something or that they ought to be thinking or feeling something that they're not. It usually ends in a big mess of EastEnders style argument, drama and hurt feelings. This can go on for years too. I see it everyday, people who are stuck in one particular state or role with certain people and it affects the way they say or hear every word.

Anyway enough of my ranting for now

Latest news...

Well it's been a few days so it must be time to update all you avid readers out there!?!

Firstly to explain the photo, our lovely little garden is doing really well! We've been eating Sugar Snap Peas in just about every meal because the Pea plants have gone crazy as have the lettuce's. The one and only Courgette plant not to have been destroyed by stupid cats, is now huge and starting to produce... Courgettes! The climbing beans, tomatoes, onions and carrots are all on the way too! Wow! Very rewarding indeed.

Next... I've seen another motorbike for sale in the notice board at Whiteways Lodge (a-top Bury Hill). It's in good nick, low mileage, good price, and just the sort of thing I'll be looking for when I've cash-in-hand. Trouble is though, the guy's not answering his mobile! It's just off all the time. Grrrr!

Also... the next bit of news has to be that Naomi has had her show of the year where she's sold her 'Redeem Creations (girly bags, girly bits, and various girly bobs). Actually I'm very proud of her she is very tallented and hard working so hopefully she'll be rewarded with lots of sales over the summer months.

What else? Oh yes... it has been Dad's, Kev's, Lu's and Mum's Birthdays over the last few weeks. So what else was there to do but all get together for a right good picnic. Tillington parish church just happened to be doing a family service on the rec followed by picnic and games. Mum was chuffed to do the mother hen bit and have all her brood around her and the rest of us where just pleased to be able to send the kids off to play while we enjoyed the sun shine and beautiful views of the South Downs. Tillington is a fantastic little village community if slightly Dibley-esc.

Apart from that life whizzes on; work, kids, meals, house work, church, friends. Pretty relentless at times. In an attempt to crowbar in some time spent in a lower gear, I have started reading The Water Road by Paul Gogarty. I've only read a few pages so I'll keep you posted!

We've all done it...

Come on now everyone's got a story about putting their heads somewhere they shouldn't have. Naomi got her head stuck in some railings and I think I got my head stuck in a child's toilet seat! Eron decided that this bucket full of sand was just the thing to wear as a space helmet!

Bucket or no, Eron is incredibly feisty at the moment, the 'terrible twos' (even though he's just three) I guess although part of me thinks it's not so 'terrible'. Yes it's a pain when everything he is asked to do is is greeted with a tantrum and the word 'no' is just not allowed. I do wonder though, it this just a phase or is this a part of his character that if steered in the right direction, rather than simply squashed, could be a positive thing. I bet the likes of Ellen MacArthur and Bob Geldof were pretty feisty two years olds.

Camping it up

It wasn't my much-planned and anticipated weekend in the New Forest on my bike but it was camping and it did involve my Bike.

Sussex Clubs for Young People organise a camp at Lodge Hill every year. The programme is run by SCYP staff and Lodge Hill instructors so all I had to do was get a group to the centre and look after them while they were there, right? Wrong! My group were 6 girls between 12 and 16 years old who seemed to have watched far too many soaps and enjoyed replicating similar melodrama at every available opportunity.

Despite the fall-outs and arguments there were highlights both for the group and for me. For me it was a great opportunity to see if I could get everything for a weekends camping onto my bike with out either looking ridiculous or crashing! It was also great to be in a tent again after missing our on a family holiday last year. Making a filter coffee at 6am in a small cold tent is surprisingly enjoyable when it's quite and you're catching a rare moment of peace.

I left the group with another youth worker on Sunday morning and headed off to Dalesdown where the church were having our annual Church day away. I arrived shattered and unshaven but having had one of my more interesting weekends.

'Parents needed'

'Fire lighting - parents needed' is what the Beavers programme said and the little boy in me couldn't resist. Obviously the adult man in me had to attend as well as I had a small group of some other peoples children but even so it was great fun. Eloise's dad showed the group some fire lighting technique's with some equipment to be used when matches aren't available. Ironically most of us have amble access to matches but we don't posses a flint steel or bow drill. Any way it was interesting.

The best bit of course was the chance to spend time with Cadan on his 'turf'. Beavers seems to be so good for him. I think its the mixture of structure and discipline mixed with independence and adventure - just what he needs and responds to.

We've come into some cache

So it's a treasure hunt, but global, with GPS... or not and you don't take the treasure but you can add to it... and it's a 'cache' not treasure!

Confused? Well here goes. All over this fair land of ours, and indeed the world, are hidden little boxes or cache's containing a log book and a few trinkets. The idea is that you log on to geocaching.com and find cache hidden near you or near where you're going for a day out maybe. These cache's have been hidden by other outdoorsy types who have also left instruction, GPS coordinates and maybe even some clues on the website.

Always on the lookout for free, all-age fun I decided to give this a go. So armed with a google map print out, some refreshments and three of my sons we headed out into the unknown. It was great fun and the boys were really excited (if a little confused). We failed to find our first cache but the second, later that day, we did. With the boys looking for 'muggles' I joined many others over the last few years and signed the log book. We also took a red nose and a wrist strap thingy but left a marble and plastic shark. fair swap I think.

Much more than just a walk. Great fun!

I Shouldn't have done it!

When there's no way that you can get what you really want it's easy to put it out of your mind but when it is dangled tantalisingly close, you can't stop thinking about it.

I'll elaborate... Now that I've passed my motorbike test I am allowed to ride a bigger bike up to 33bhp (if you interested!). I've been thinking that buying a bigger bike on our current budget was well and truly out of reach. Until, that is, a chance conversation with my brother led me to wonder just what I could get for my current little Honda and how much more I could would need.

So I mooched down to P&P in Chichester where the owner was surprised to see my little bike which is apparently quite rare and to him worth around £500! This plus the paltry sum I have saved is not enough to buy the Suzuki Freewind (an appropriate name reader who know me may comment) that I found hiding at the back of the shop (I'm sure it was winking at me!).

So I need about £800 which is alot of money but it's not thousands. I'm not keen on borrowing but waiting is going to be painful and there's always something more important. My big-boys' toy is close but not close enough :-( Now I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't have looked in the first place. Hmmm

Cup of brown tea

This is completely hilarious and yet incredibly skilful use of words, have a gander. ...

Goings on...

One, two, three yep count them four boys!

This half term week has been exhausting. It kind of crept up on us, fooling us into thinking that as I had some leave booked, we could get some jobs done. Oh no, silly us! Fixing the garage door was a struggle, putting some coats hooks up painful and the shelves will have to wait! At the end of Naomi's tether yesterday I called super nanny (my Mum) and begged her to have the three older boys. Phew, some space to breath. What a great Gran! I got home to Naomi cleaning the toilet! Not quite what I had in mind for her relaxing day without the boys but she seemed to find it strangely cathartic.



I also worked today - had a meeting in Shoreham which meant a nice long bike ride down to the seaside and back. Even on a tiny, twenty year old, 125cc Honda, riding a motorbike is fantastic fun and makes any journey an adventure. I love it, I love it, I love it!
Everyone should have a motorbike, it's great!

You say garage, I say garage, let's call the whole thing...

A triumphal moment of DIY glory came today when I managed to fix my garage door! For some time now going to my garage has been quite an ordeal since the 50 year old mechanism which lifts the door as it is opens, gave up the ghost. Not having £150-£250 to blow on a new door I decided that bodging a fix was the only way and took the whole door down, screwed on some huge hinges and fix it to the frame. It looks pretty awful but works fine and was a great little character building journey of ups and downs, bruised knuckles and bloodied fingers, and a DIY-inferiority complex which gave way to an immense sense of satisfaction on the completion of said door project.

Obviously my escapades in the garage left Naomi with the four boys, one of which (Noah) had been up all night and most of the previous day. By lunch time Naomi was pulling her scalp off having torn her hair out and resorted to trying Rusks, toast, and SMA baby milk. He downed all of that and probably would have eaten a doner Kebab if we had one. So, a growth spurt or something I guess!

This and other stressful May-days including The Big Church Day Out, birthday parties and fun days, has brought home to us just what a difficult phase of life this is with four little ones hanging off our arms 24/7. It is incredibly difficult to do anything other than the minimum even when we're both around at half term. This is something which gets us both down at times but I'm sure we'll look back on these days with wistful grin. Do you think?