Today was our thirteenth wedding anniversary. The traditional anniversary gift is apparently lace, but instead I opted for a Facebook post to unveil my bit of creativity from the beach yesterday. I had also found a video from our wedding ceremony that neither of us had seen before which made us both chuckle.
And yes, the sea revealing a message in the sand was totally inspired by the “Isle of Fernando’s” videos on Take Me Out – what a classy chap I am.
I was all ready to start eating my breakfast when it got “stolen” by Genevieve who is now a firm lover of fried eggs in toast. She’s a cheeky little monkey, but how could I say no?
The plan for today was a trip to Tapnell Farm. This was a great idea when we booked tickets earlier in the week (a necessity under the current COVID rules), but the weather had become absolutely ferocious since yesterday’s glorious sunshine. There were huge gusts of wind and a torrent of near-horizontal rain. Fun times, but it wouldn’t be a British summer holiday if we weren’t soaked to the bone.
Unperturbed we got packed and headed to the carpark… only to discover that we had a nearly flat tyre. After some quick deliberation we decided that we’d drive it to the farm (it was only a couple of miles and there was plenty of air in the tyre) and then I’d try to get it sorted while the others headed into the farm.
We got to the farm without major incident (apart from when I misread the SatNav and tried to turn into someone’s driveway). I dropped everyone off then headed back to Freshwater to sort the car. And so began my saga…
I drove back to Freshwater to fill the tyres with air. I got to the garage, looked up the required pressure for each tyre and then realised I had no change for the machine. I had a fiver in my wallet though, so I queued to enter the garage and bought some Polos. I returned to car, went round to remove all the nozzle caps and only then noticed the whopping great big screw that was firmly stuck in the affected tyre (and of course it was the last one tyre I’d removed the cap from). So all the caps went back on and plan B was put in to action – I decided I needed to call the AA.
The only problem was that I needed the AA to head to the farm in case we all needed a lift home. So I drove the car back to the farm (this time taking the correct entry and avoiding the random driveway). The phone signal was bad so I couldn’t phone Megan and could only text her when I got to the car park. We then realised/concluded that the AA wouldn’t be able to swap the tyre and the better option would be to get the tyre fixed or replaced. And where was the nearest tyre shop? Back in Freshwater, of course!
So back in the car I got and back to Freshwater I drove. The tyre shop was a couple of hundred metres from the garage I’d stopped at earlier. Oh well, at least I got to see some pretty countryside as I drove about. The bloke said it was easy to resolve which was great news. However, it would take around 20 minutes for the glue to set so I had some time to kill.
After yesterday’s mini fire lighter drama, I headed into the Co-op to hunt for a packet to take back to the cottage. They had takeaway BBQs and bags of charcoal, but no fire lighters on any of the shelves. With that failure I then thought I’d get a coffee so I headed over the road to a nearby café. Sadly it transpired that they didn’t take card payments and all the change I’d got from my fiver was back in the car. D’oh! At this point I needed a wee so I headed back to the Co-op. It was only once I’d got into the shop and over to the loos that it became apparent that the facilities were closed due to COVID. Oh no!
Anyway, by this time the tyre was ready so I wandered back in to the tyre shop. The bill came to only £15 which was a massive relief – up until half an hour earlier I thought we’d be forking out a few hundred quid! But there was one final hurdle to overcome – they only took cash. And where was the nearest cash point? Back at the Co-op, obviously!
One final stroll up to the Co-op (for the third time that morning) and then back to the garage to pay the man. Sorted. I was soon on the road again and heading back to the farm (also for the third time of the morning) to join in all the fun. Phew!
When the others had gone into the farm they all had to have masks on – even the kids – and had their temperatures taken upon entry. It’s a strange new world we’re living in.
We got up to lots and lots while we were in the farm so I’ll whizz through the activities in photographic form. The gang started by getting acquainted with the farm layout and memorised the timetable for talks and displays.
They had planned on heading straight outside, but first there was the small matter of playing on the trampolines and slides in the barn. How could Genevieve and James resist?
Next they wandered outside to look at the animals. It was at this point that I caught them up. Out of all the animals the wallabies were the biggest hit and we happened to be there for their breakfast. Perfect timing!
And Megan couldn’t resist a cheeky picture with the wallabies.
James was bored of the animals and decided to have a sulk, so I took him to the football target practice area in an attempt to relieve some of the pent up grumpiness.
I’m sad to say that, while James has a solid set of legs, he’s inherited his father’s innate lack of skill and finesse when it comes to football. He had a lot of fun though.
Genevieve and Grandad Lawrie got involved too. There were balls flying everywhere – it was chaos!
We moved on from football to mini-golf. We had to retrieve our clubs from a bin full of disinfectant which was a tad odd, and the windy conditions made it a challenging round for everyone. But we persevered and had a great time.
We got about half way around before Genevieve started trying to rush ahead and finish the course by herself. It wouldn’t normally be an issue but the need to stay socially distanced from others meant we were having to call her back all the time. This didn’t go down too well but she needs to learn to stay with us when we ask her to. Oh well.
Mini golf often ends in tears, but for once both children actually enjoyed the golf and there were relatively few arguments. Success!
With the round finished, we couldn’t leave the course without posing for a couple of photos to remember the occasion.
After the golf I took James for a toilet break. James started being silly and kept running in people’s way so, mainly to amuse myself, I jovially chastised him by telling him to “think about his life choices”. This was much to the amusement of a nearby mum who couldn’t help but giggle at such a bombastic telling off for a four-year old.
For our next activity we moved on to go-kart racing. With James as my sidekick we were soon whizzing around the track.
Genevieve had a go driving a go-kart but it was a bit too heavy for her to steer, so Megan jumped on board and took over the controls. The weather turned nice again so most of the other farm visitors ventured out to the giant bouncy pillow. This meant that we all got to go round and round the go-kart course for ages. Grandma Lindsey even got involved while Grandad Lawrie was the official race photographer.
Megan had a whale of a time taking selfies as she went. I’m sure that’s illegal – she clearly wasn’t paying due care and attention whilst in charge of a go-kart!
She even managed to snap the rest of the riders as she went around.
I was absolutely in my element and having such a wonderful time messing about with my family. Although my legs were on fire (bearing in mind I hadn’t done any exercise since April), Megan said it’s the most alive she’d seen me for months. That brought a very happy smile to my face.
Exhausted from the go-karting we moved into the barn and onto the zipwires. I had a bit of a shout at Genevieve for running directly into the path of an oncoming zipwire rider (much to Megan’s embarrassment as my “dad voice” always turns heads), but it was soon forgotten as they scrambled up to the start of the zipwire.
It was only a short run but it got up some decent speed and had a good kick at the end. It was certainly enough to keep Genevieve and James entertained!
We then moved on to the trampolines and the hay-bale adventure playground. This was interspersed with a quick hot chocolate break – the kids had earned it as had Megan!
With all of the excitement over, we headed home for lunch. James opted for the classic combination of jam toast and baked beans. What more could a growing boy want – yummy!
The weather perked up after lunch so the gang headed back to Freshwater Bay to stretch their legs while I rested in the cottage. The beach was almost unrecognisable compared to the wet and wild craziness of Saturday, although the waves were less exciting to watch.
The children entertained themselves by taunting the waves and throwing stones in the sea. I’m not sure they’d be so confident about teasing the sea without their waterproof wellies on their feet though!
Genevieve was sad when we announced we had to head back to the cottage. It was just too much fun on the beach, but we needed to get back for dinner.
Grandma Lindsey and Grandad Lawrie were on duty that evening as Megan and I were heading out out for an anniversary date. It was our first night out together in months (unsurprising given my illness and the lockdown, but exciting nonetheless) and we were very excited.
In an entirely unplanned bit of serendipity, we both ended up wearing clothes with flamingos on them – Megan’s jumpsuit was covered in pinks ones and my shorts was decorated with miniature grey ones. I did some research and apparently flamingos mate for life, so it really was a lovely coincidence. Woo!
Having been dropped off in Yarmouth we took a stroll down the pier before dinner. There were beautiful views in all directions and we had lovely memories of crabbing on the pier back in 2008. And I also Stephen found the Geocache at the end of the pier – you can’t miss an opportunity like that.
We wandered in the The George at our allotted time slot but instead of heading straight in we asked if we could enjoy a drink in the garden overlooking the sea first. It was a great decision as it set the mood perfectly (even though it was a smidge chilly by that point).
Having finished our drinks we headed inside to order our food. It felt so odd being in a restaurant after such a long time, and some of the social distancing was a little dubious, but we had a wonderful time. We ordered a bottle of red wine from Saumur, France as we have many happy memories from trips there. It seemed like totally the right choice, and boy was it good wine!
We both ordered the burger (we’re not normally that boring but it was by far the best looking thing on the menu) and devoured the lot. It was a damn good burger! We were stuffed by that point but we still sneaked a look at the pudding menu. Sadly I couldn’t convince Megan to order the pavlova for two for herself (even though she really wanted it) and I was very sorry that I don’t eat puddings, otherwise I would have helped her.
It was your typical date night – we talked utter nonsense, reminisced about happy memories, caught up on gossip, enjoyed watching (and secretly judging) the people wandering past, had deep and meaningful chats, made significant life choices, and reminded ourselves why we work quite so well together. Just your standard Monday night really.
As we wandered back to the layby where Grandad Lawrie was picking us up, Megan suddenly exclaimed “Look at that giant narwhal!”. I was initially taken aback at such a random outburst, but to my amusement it transpired that she had seen a large stuffed cuddly toy narwhal in a shop window (and it was an absolute “bargain” at £35). We giggled to each other at absurdity of such a thing and carried on with our stroll. A delightfully silly end to a wonderful day.
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