Summer in Cyprus

Having never been to Cyprus before, the first thing I did when preparing to go there was to buy a decent guidebook. I am a big fan of both Rough Guide and Lonely Planet books, and usually choose whichever happens to be the newest edition (which, in this case, was the Rough Guide). Sure, in these days of internet at your fingertips, most of the information found within can also be found online, but there is something special about being able to hold a physical book, marking pages of interest and flicking back and forth with ease. Don't get me wrong, I love my Kindle and wouldn't be without it, but there are some books which really need to be experienced in a physical format, and a travel guide book is one of them. Armed with a basic knowledge of Cyprus' turbulent past, an understanding of the different geographical regions and areas of interest, plus some basic Greek phrases, I felt ready to go and explore.

Enjoying the free tourist train in Lefkoşa - incredibly fun and informative, with a
great driver and party atmosphere, taking in all the sights in the north of the city!

We were staying with our friends, the Bateys, in their home in south Nicosia (or Lefkosia, as it is technically called) so were fortunate to have our accommodation for the trip sorted. Nicosia is the last remaining divided capital in the world, since the Berlin wall fell back in 1989. The northern half is occupied by Turkish Cypriots and is known as Lefkoşa, whereas the southern part is inhabited by Greek Cypriots. Between the two halves of the city, and indeed the entire island, is a UN-controlled buffer zone which is uninhabited and looks rather post-apocalyptic. Apparently, crossing the border used to be much more difficult than it is today; we were able to walk across on foot in the centre of the old city, without even having our passports stamped. The difference between the north and south parts of the city is stark; they feel worlds apart. The southern part feels very European, with modern high street shops and the distinct feel of a city with money, whereas the northern part feels more rugged, like Turkey or Morocco. The streets in the north do not have the clean, well-maintained appearance of the south, but they exude a certain warmth and are full of eastern charm.

Alex stood next to the buffer zone. Just above and to the right of his head,
you can see the red Turkish flag on the other side of the city

For two of the five weeks we spent in Cyprus, we enrolled the children into a summer school programme. It was a slight shock to the system for us all, as they had to leave the apartment at just gone 7am in order to get there on time and then finished for the day at 2.30pm. We all struggled to wake up so early in the morning to start with! The children took part in various activities at their summer school, such as arts and crafts, sports, music, etc. and seemed to have a great time. Beth was at the Senior School on her own, whereas Zach was at the Junior School, along with the Bateys' son, Sebastian. There was some confusion on Zach's first day about his lunch, since we were told to pack some snacks in their bags for mid-morning, but I had incorrectly referred to this as his packed lunch when packing his bag. I had packed him an apple, as well as some small tubs containing raw vegetables and dried fruit. When asking how his day had gone, he told us about how the teacher had made him eat his entire packed lunch at snack time. Apparently, he had just wanted to eat his apple, but the teacher dug around in his bag and pulled out the tubs of fruit and veg (presumably, because she knew that he was meant to bring other snacks as well as the piece of fresh fruit) and told him to eat them, too. Zach was quite concerned about her having done that, and then continued to explain to us that the poor woman had later had to give him her own lunch to eat, since his had all been eaten at snack time! In actual fact, she had really just provided him with the hot meal which we had paid for and expected him to be given, but Zach's misunderstanding of the whole situation really made us chuckle.

Beth and Zach, all ready for summer school

Whilst the children were at summer school, Alex and I made the most of the free time together and went on a couple of dates, which were lovely. We went for brunch at a few nice eateries around the city, as well as going for a hammam together and visiting a classic motorbike museum. The museum was absolutely fascinating, and was one of my highlights of the entire trip. Whilst I am not into classic motorbikes, per se, I certainly love all things mechanical and therefore any older vehicles will tend to interest me. As such, it was interesting to see such a large collection of classic motorbikes, which have all been lovingly and painstakingly restored and are kept in full working order. However, what really made the visit so interesting was the museum guide, who gave us a wonderfully engaging history lesson by sharing with us his own incredible knowledge about the evolution of motorcycles and their development through the years. From the early British designers and builders and their many successes, through to their demise from the late 1970s due to Japanese manufacturers such as Honda who took advantage of the lull in British innovation, and the fact that Harley Davidson were really only prevented from going under at that time due to being propped up by the US government, who used them for their law enforcement officers. It's amazing how interesting any subject can be when it is being taught by a passionate and knowledgeable teacher, and how many lessons can be learned when we examine the events of the past with an open mind.

A picnic spot with a view, in the mountains

As well as exploring our immediate surroundings, we ventured further afield on numerous occasions to take advantage of Cyprus' stunning beaches and beautiful mountains. It is really quite incredible to live in a city whereby you can drive for a little over an hour and find yourself in a holiday destination that most people there have flown for over 4 hours to enjoy. We felt very fortunate that the Bateys were willing to have us to stay in their lovely home, and that they have chosen such a wonderful island on which to reside for the time being! On one of these weekend trips to the coast, Alex and I decided to walk to the sea one evening after dark, to enjoy a night swim under an almost-full moon. It was absolutely magical, and we enjoyed it so much that we kept the children up late on the following evening so that they, too, could experience it. I often wonder how much they will remember of these experiences as they grown up... perhaps very little, especially in Zach's case, but hopefully they will still benefit from them on some deep and subconscious level.

Fun on the beach, on the east coast of Cyprus

Whilst the sea was so wonderfully warm that you might as well be having a bath, the water we found in the mountains was absolutely freezing! Thankfully, we had sought it out in respite due to sustained temperatures of over 40°C in the city, so we weren't about to complain when we found it. We found a spectacular waterfall, the Caledonia Falls, which we reached by following a beautiful walk from the town of Platres. At 12 metres high, this waterfall is one of the highest on the island, and runs year round. The children enjoyed the hike there and back, frolicking in the pools and trying (unsuccessfully) to catch small trout, and we all enjoyed the cooler temperatures in this lush, mountainous region. 

Believe me, it was colder than it looks!

Another beautiful swimming spot we found in the mountains was Filani Lake, where the water was much warmer and much better for actually swimming in (as opposed to the cold plunge at the waterfall). I found this lake using Google maps, as opposed to the guide book. I basically used satellite view and spent hours searching around the main mountainous areas on the island, looking for bodies of water that might be suitable for swimming in. Sadly, many of the large pools of water in this region are reservoirs, created by damming rivers and not available for swimming in, but I got lucky when I finally discovered Filani Lake, which was a real hidden gem. The roads to reach it were a little bumpy in places but, as is so often the case in life, it was well worth leaving the beaten track to get there. 

The beautiful Filani Lake, in the Machairas mountains

Return of the Jack

Shortly after Beth's birthday (as in, at 6am the following morning!), we packed up and headed to the airport ready to fly back to the UK to see Alex. Although sad to be leaving Portugal, we were very excited to be seeing Alex again, especially as he had told us the previous week of his plans to permanently rejoin the family after completing his initial sea time on the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. Whilst he had the most fantastic time, learning so many new skills and making some life-long friendships during his time at Britannia Royal Naval College, his time at sea made him realise that his existing life as Hope's captain is hard to beat. 

Beth had fun painting her and Zach on her birthday, using her new face paints

We flew to Gatwick and picked up a hire car, then drove straight to Portsmouth to meet Alex in time for dinner and a good night's sleep at the Premier Inn. The following day, we visited the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, which was a great way to spend the day. We enjoyed a harbour tour, which took us past many Royal Naval frigates, destroyers and, of course, the Queen Elizabeth herself. It was great to get such a good view of the absolutely massive ship, upon which Alex had spent the previous six weeks. We also visited HMS Victory; Lord Nelson's flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar, back in 1805. The children were excited about this, since she featured heavily in David Walliams' excellent children's book The Ice Monster, in which she is used to transport a woolly mammoth back to the North Pole!

Beth and Zach are deep in concentration, listening to the audio guide on HMS Victory

After dropping Alex back to Dartmouth, the children and I headed off for a week near Bude, staying at a lovely Airbnb in a place called Widemouth Bay. Whilst I was tempted to visit friends during this week, I was feeling really exhausted and felt that we all just needed to relax on our own for a week. I also had some important work that I needed to focus on in the evenings, which can often be difficult when staying with others (since I prefer to spend my evenings socialising and catching up with people, rather than being on my laptop). So, we stayed in our little chalet on a small caravan site within walking distance of the beach, and had a thoroughly wonderful time. We explored the local beaches, ate lots of healthy home-cooked food and I was able to get all my work done in the evenings, which lifted a weight off my shoulders!

Exploring the beach and rockpools at Widemouth Bay

The next weekend was also spent with Alex, who needed to stay in Dartmouth for a further week to tie up some loose ends at the college. We stayed in a lovely Shepherd's hut on Dartmoor, and enjoyed a nice walk across the moors one day, to find a lake in which we could swim. It turned out to be very close to where Alex had spent the best part of a week on one of his military training exercises, back at the start of the year when the weather was a whole lot worse than it was for us in June! The lake we found, called Crazywell Pool, was really picturesque and not too busy, which was nice. The children discovered lots of tiny baby frogs and newts at the water's edge, and spent most of their time looking at them rather than swimming!

If you look closely, you can see Alex swimming in the background

We were also lucky enough to go on a river trip on one of the motor whaler training boats from the college. Alex and his colleague Aaron were given permission to take us all out on the River Dart for a few hours, and we had a really nice time. It was such a privilege to be able to do this, and the children were delighted as they even got chance to take the helm!

Zach at the helm on the River Dart

Following this wonderful period in the West Country, the children and I made the long drive back east, heading to my brother and his husband's house in Hertfordshire to spend some quality time with them. On Wednesday afternoon, Alex arrived by train, finally back on civvy street. In many ways, he seems unchanged... but in other ways he is definitely different! Firstly, there is the 'Jack speak' (Naval slang) which is now part of his vocabulary. It isn't just hot, it's 'redders'. Food is now 'scran'. 'Dippers shippers' basically means "oh well, you win some you lose some... sucks to be you!" I have also had 'threaders' and 'dits' explained to me, but I confess that I have forgotten their meanings... Then there is the precision with which the bed now gets made every morning; hospital corners all round, with not a creased sheet or pillowcase in sight! I thought I was good at making a bed, but Alex now puts me to shame.

Enjoying some 'scran' at our Shepherd's hut on Dartmoor

Our final stop in the UK was with Alex's parents, back in East Dulwich, where Beth and Zach were delighted to find a second-hand toy kitchen set up for them in the garden shed. Ever the entrepreneur, Beth got straight to work creating "Beth's Cafe", enlisting the help of others to procure ingredients, cook some suitable snacks and prepare drinks ready for her grand opening in the garden. Thankfully, we enjoyed some pleasant weather and some delicious cake and milkshakes at the cafe, which was such a hit that it reopened the following day for coffee and croissants! Beth's policy of not charging for food and drinks but, instead, inviting tips from anyone who felt the service deserving of one seemed to work out very well for her. 

Beth's Cafe was a great success! It even had a babyccino for Zach

Just in time to escape the wind and rain which suddenly hit the UK, we drove back down to Gatwick, returned our trusty hire car and boarded our Easyjet flight to Cyprus, where we would be spending the next five weeks with our friends, the Bateys. Originally, this trip was planned for just myself and the children, but I was able to book Alex onto the same flight out as us, as well as the same flight for one of our legs on the way back (when we are stopping over for a night in Bucharest).

Back together again, ready for more adventures!

Iberian Wanderings

On our return to Portugal, the first thing on our agenda was a beach day. Every time we had visited a beach whilst in the UK, the children wanted to stay and play (despite any inclement weather) but I managed to prise them away, promising them a hot beach day once back in Portugal. Hope is berthed in Lagos Marina, which is close to numerous spectacular beaches, so the morning after our arrival we headed to Meia Praia; a sandy beach so vast that it is impossible to feel crowded there, even in the height of summer. We spent a good few hours paddling, collecting shells, building sandcastles and burying each other... you know, the usual beach activities that become the norm once you add a couple of small children to the family! Anyhow, as the sun passed its peak and I began to feel myself burning, I announced that it was time to go and was met with an outcry. Beth and Zach were appalled that I was suggesting leaving the beach before sunset - how could this be considered a full beach day, they argued? More like a beach morning! They were not best pleased about being short-changed, and felt that I was breaking my promise to them. Well, I did eventually convince them to leave (the lure of food and drink helped, with our supplies having been exhausted) and I learned a lesson to consider the fact that children can often take things literally, and to try to remember to set expectations accordingly.

Enjoying the sunshine and warmth on this beautiful Algarvian beach

After a few days relaxing by the sea, it was time to head inland and get back to work on the land. In Portugal, the risk of forest fires over the summer is very high and, as a result, all landowners are required to have strimmed and cleared their land by a certain date, to ensure that it doesn't pose a fire risk. This year, that date was the end of May, so I had my work cut out to get it finished in time. Ordinarily, brush cutting is a really fun and satisfying task, but my dad's old brush cutter is rather temperamental and it, therefore, became a bit of a chore towards the end. It was hard to make proper progress, because the nylon line no longer spools out correctly so I found myself having to stop regularly to feed it manually and it was often difficult to get the engine running again. We have already decided to invest in a newer, better brush cutter to replace this one but, having spent so much time repairing this one over the past few months, I felt compelled to see the season through with it before retiring it from service. At the end of the day, it did the job and I finally managed to clear the land to a satisfactory level, but I definitely look forward to using a more mechanically-sound model in the autumn!

I am smiling because I have almost finished clearing the land at this point!

Another task at the top of my list of priorities is sorting access to the land, in the form of a bridge. Currently, we have to walk across the river bed, which is fine in the summer (although not ideal, as this is not suitable for vehicles) but not so good in the winter when the river is running. We essentially have to wade through the water with wellies on to get across, and this is only possible if the water level is not too high (as it is after a huge downpour). As it happens, our neighbour Leonardo has the same issue and we are, therefore, hoping to work together to build a shared bridge. We have been discussing possible designs and looking into prices for the various options, and hope to come to an agreement so that construction can start as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I won't be in Portugal over the summer so will have to try to progress things from afar, but I feel like we are getting closer to achieving our goal, which is good.

The water level rises rapidly following heavy rainfall

A few weeks after being in Portugal, we were all due to fly out to Barcelona for my cousin Kelly's wedding to her husband Pepo. The plan was to drive to Lisbon in my dad's car, then fly from there to Barcelona and collect a hire car to take us to/from the wedding in Tivissa, Tarragona. Unfortunately, just a few days before our departure, Dad took his car to the mechanic as it had been losing coolant, and was hit with the news that it needed a new head gasket. Thank goodness he had the foresight to get it checked out, as we would have undoubtedly missed our flights had the gasket blown on our drive to the airport! With no chance of the work being done in time for our departure, we hurriedly arranged to collect a hire car from Faro airport to use instead. It seemed rather funny to hire a car from one airport, then drive to another and leave the car there, fly to a third and then collect a second hire car from there for the weekend! I must admit, I found myself getting very confused about which car was where and which airport we were at, but it all worked out fine and we enjoyed an absolutely fantastic weekend with friends and family, enjoying all the lively Spanish wedding traditions. Some of my favourites traditions are: 

• random shouts of "¡Viva las novios!" during the reception, causing everyone to shout "¡Viva!" in reply and prompting the newlyweds to stand up and kiss
• snippets of great music being played during the reception (for which a DJ is present, in order to orchestrate this), at which point something significant happens (such as the newlyweds entering the room, or giving out thank you gifts) and everyone present stands up to cheer and twirl their napkins above their heads
• the cake being cut by a humongous sword rather than a knife

Zach enjoyed the wedding so much that he proclaimed, "When I get married, I am going to have this exact wedding!"

Kelly's husband Pepo is a fireman, so his colleagues blasted their sirens
for the happy couple after the ceremony, which pleased Zach immensely

After the wedding, we returned our various hire cars and then were hit by some more car-related drama. One Sunday morning, when driving from my parents' house to the land to meet Leonardo to discuss the bridge and have a BBQ, I was overtaken on a blind corner (which, sad to say, is not an abnormal occurrence in Portugal) by a rather large SUV. I was forced to move over slightly and, unfortunately, this caused me to drive into a huge pothole. I heard a loud bang from my nearside front wheel and knew immediately I needed to pull over, which I did in a well-placed forecourt just past the bend. The tyre was flat and I could see that there was a large dent on the inside of the wheel rim, which had caused the tyre to deflate. With the help of the children, I removed the old wheel and replaced it with the spare... only to discover that the spare was also flat! I called Dad, who very kindly brought me a pump so that I could inflate the spare tyre and be on my way. Not two miles down the road, I heard a suspect sound from the nearside rear wheel and pulled over, to see that this tyre was also going flat! Upon inspection, I could see the rim of this wheel was also damaged, but not to the extent of the front wheel. I was able to inflate the tyre, then limp back to my parents' house, stopping every mile or so to reinflate the tyre. Mum kindly lent me her car for the day, then Dad and I took my car to the local tyre shop the next morning where the man working there cheerfully hammered my rims back into shape, reinflated my tyres and put the wheels back on the car... all for the bargain price of 20€! 

Instead of getting stressed about the puncture,
we turned it into a valuable lesson and had some fun!

The children have been enjoying our time in Portugal, as always. The consistently warm weather always helps with this, as they are able to play outside for most of the day, once they have done their schoolwork in the mornings. Additionally, having heard about a local gymnastics club from a friend, I decided to sign them both up and so they have been going to the gym every Monday and Wednesday for an hour from 17:00. During this time, Mum and I head to a local cafe by the river in Silves, where we enjoy a drink and chat together for the hour, which seems to fly by and feel like no more than 20 minutes! Apparently, the same applies for the children - they both complain that the session is over too soon, which I guess is a good thing since time does fly when you are having fun. Their coach, Tito, is very nice and seems impressed with Beth's abilities, which have improved enormously in just a few weeks. Zach is one of the youngest in the gym, at only 4 years old, so spends most of his time bouncing around and learning more basic moves such as forward rolls, whereas Beth being that bit older is able to learn handstands and cartwheels, and she has really got the bug. She is practising her moves at every available opportunity and, with some extra coaching from my mum (who, herself, was a competition gymnast and then spent over 20 years coaching), she is really getting proficient. Perhaps it is to be expected, given the fact that both my mum and aunt were successful gymnasts (with my aunt even making the Olympic squad) and my brother was a hugely successful gymnast for many years of his life, competing and picking up medals both nationally and internationally. It's certainly in the genes!

Beth practises gymnastics whilst Zach digs for treasure

Whilst Beth is busy practising gymnastics, Zach is usually to be found hunting for animals or treasure, or both! He loves all kinds of animals, and spends hours outside searching for lizards, geckos and frogs. For a while, I struggled to decide whether or not I should allow him to catch little creatures, as I was worried about their well-being but, having seen how gentle he is with them and knowing that he doesn't mean them any harm, I now allow him to do so without interfering, so long as he always returns them to where he found them. I figure that, as predators go, the creatures are rather fortunate that Zach has found them as opposed to a bird or a cat, and I don't want to stifle his budding interest in the natural world. When not searching for animals, he is hunting for "treasure", which basically encompasses any object that takes his fancy, which he usually finds on the floor. Recently, I was trying to convince him to discard some his treasure ready for travelling, and I asked whether we could recycle a long piece of plastic seal, originally from around a bottle top. Zach would not agree to this, since apparently it has been earmarked to be a vital component in the trebuchet that he plans on making at some point. Another piece of plastic, seemingly useless to my untrained eyes, is being kept for holding the rocks on his trebuchet.

Zach knows how to hold lizards and geckos carefully
so that he doesn't hurt them and they don't bite him

Whilst out and about, Zach's treasure often finds its way into my bag or pockets, sometimes without me even being aware of this fact until much later. Recently, when speaking to Alex on the phone, Zach told Alex that he had a pin for his pin cushion. I didn't really know what he was talking about, and didn't give it much thought at the time, to be honest. A few days later, I decided to put my shorts in the wash and was emptying the pockets. Upon sticking my hand in the back pocket, I was met with a sharp pain on the end of my index finger. I discovered the cause of this injury was a small pin, and suddenly I realised what Zach had been referring to when he told Alex that he had a pin for him. If only he had also thought to tell me, and warn me that he had stored it in my pocket!

Meet 'Hedgy'; an offcut of doormat which Zach found on
the beach and we then turned into a hedgehog!

One of the things I love about Portugal is the fact that the local councils seem to provide so much for the local community throughout the year, often for free. At Christmas, there is always a fantastic Christmas fair, with live music, theatre performances, various rides for the children and even an ice skating rink, and there is never any charge for this. Whilst in Portugal this time, the local council put on an event to celebrate International Children's Day, taking over a large green space in the centre of Silves with multiple bouncy castles and bungee trampolines, activities such as face painting and balloon modelling, and stalls giving out candyfloss and chocolate doughnuts; all for free! Beth and Zach's gymnastics coach Tito was running one of the stalls and I noticed that the activities were all being run by young adults (probably college or university students). I wonder whether that is how the council are able to run such events without charging the general public. Perhaps, by enlisting the help of the local community (maybe even as volunteers) as opposed to hiring external contractors to help out, they are able to keep costs to a minimum. 

Beth and Zach enjoying one of many free bouncy castles at International
Children's Day; just 10 minutes on bouncy castles cost us £4
per child at the fair in Paignton for the King's Coronation!

This is just a theory, of course, but it seems plausible... and perhaps the only feasible explanation, when you consider that my parents' council tax bill is under 100€ per year! I wonder whether life in the UK used to be like this, before capitalism and privatisation took over. Sadly, these days, the government seems like a sort of cash cow, with private companies charging excessive amounts to provide services which would be provided for a fraction of the cost in the private sector (certainly, this is the case in the IT industry). Inevitably, these costs are passed on to the general public either in the form of tax increases or a reduction in public services, depending on which government is in power at the time. I don't know what the solution is, or even whether the problem can be solved, but I very much hope that the local government in Silves continues to operate things in their current way for as long as possible, for the benefit of local residents and visitors alike.

The calm before the storm... we arrived at lunchtime and had the place to
ourselves then, about an hour later, hundreds of local school children arrived!

Darting Around the UK

As so often happens with boating, our aim to sail from south to north Devon with my cousin Lorna and her husband didn't quite go to plan. Nevertheless, we spent a lovely few days with them aboard their little sailing yacht on the River Dart, before heading back ashore with a new plan to complete the trip later in the year. Whilst it was disappointing to have to postpone the passage, I do look forward to making it in August/September, when hopefully the weather will be a little warmer in the UK than it has been of late!

Beth, Zach and Scrat keeping warm whilst on the River Dart

By a happy coincidence, our trip being cut short meant that we ended up being in Totnes for a few hours at the same time as Alex's sister Lucy and her wife Charlie. They are currently travelling around the UK and Europe in their motorhome, and happened to be exploring the south west of England at the same time as us, so we arranged to meet for a few hours at the Signal Box Cafe at Totnes Railway Station. Having not seen them since Christmas, it was lovely to catch up on each others' news, whilst enjoying some delicious and great value cooked breakfasts and hot drinks in the cafe. The children, being children, were soon more interested in all the leaflets on display by our table in the cafe and took a liking to the one advertising Babbacombe Model Village. Charlie was also very enthusiastic about model villages (although, warned us to avoid signage for Model Farm, which they had apparently followed on a whim, only to discover that it was not at all what they had expected, but actually a country house by the name of Model Farm!) and so we kept the leaflet and promised the children a visit to this attraction before dropping Alex back to BRNC.

An unexpected meetup with Lucy and Charlie at Totnes Railway Station

 

The following day, we took the train back to London, so that we could visit Alex's parents for the remainder of his Easter holidays. We had a lovely time and the weather was fairly pleasant, on the whole. Alex and his dad took part in Peckham Rye Parkrun on the Saturday, and then the children did the Junior Parkrun on Sunday morning, which was good fun. Zach wanted to run with Alex (who had run with Beth previously) and so I agreed to run with Beth. Having not done any running myself for a good few years now, I was secretly worried that I might struggle to keep up with her but, thankfully, I was able to keep pace. However, she didn't really want me to run with her so I agreed to stay just behind her, in case she needed me there at any point for moral support. This seemed like a sensible idea, but was actually a terrible idea since she spent the first few hundred metres constantly looking back to see where I was, and then trying to speed up in order to leave me behind. Clearly, running in a busy event whilst looking backwards is not the best idea and, when she eventually ran straight into a park bench because of it, I agreed to leave her to run alone, and so sprinted back and forth across the field around which they were running, in order to be able to cheer her and Zach on as they passed.

Parkrun fun at Peckham Rye Park

As promised, we drove Alex back down to Devon on May Day via the model village in Babbacombe. Perhaps I have been to a model village as a child, but I don't really remember it so this felt like the first time I had ever been to such a place. What an amazing sight to behold! It certainly wasn't cheap, but when you consider the amount of time and effort that it must take to maintain over 4 acres of model village displays (including a river, canal, railway network, and even a fire-breathing dragon) and immaculately kept miniature landscaped gardens, it was well worth it. There were lots of fun things to spot along the way (such as characters from "Where's Wally" and a variety of oversized bugs) which kept us all engaged for hours. We also enjoyed a free game of crazy golf there. A really wonderful day out, and a lovely way to end our time with Alex. After stopping off for some fish and chips, we dropped him back to BRNC in Dartmouth, hopeful that we might perhaps get to see him over the Coronation weekend before heading back to Portugal.

The model village may be small, but Zach still
needed a lift up to appreciate its vast expanse

My cousin Lorna very kindly offered for me and the children to come back to their house in Westward Ho! for the week, and I gladly accepted this offer. This meant that we didn't have too far to travel, and could easily get back to Dartmouth the following weekend to see Alex if he had time off the following weekend. Unfortunately, it is very hard to plan such visits as there is often very little notice of whether or not Alex will actually have leave. Thankfully, Alex confirmed on Wednesday that he would have some time off over the Coronation weekend, so I hastily booked an Airbnb in Dartmouth from the few that were remaining and began to make plans for how best to enjoy the Coronation celebrations available in the area.

Enjoying a pleasant dog walk back from Westward Ho! beach

After searching online for all available events in the Torbay/Dartmouth/Kingsbridge area, I came up with the following plan for the weekend:

• Saturday - watch the Coronation at home whilst Alex was completing some adventurous training, then collect him late afternoon and head to Paignton for the fun fair and fireworks
• Sunday - head down to Salcombe Primary School with a picnic for their Big Lunch and sports day
• Monday - head across the river to Kingswear for their Coronation street party

I must admit, I had some reservations about attending the events in Salcombe and Kingswear, as they are fairly small places and I was a little worried that we might stand out as being definitely not locals, but I decided that it wouldn't be a problem, since all events were advertised widely online with phrases such as "all welcome".

The children got to meet some baby dinosaurs at the fair in Paignton

Saturday went to plan, on the whole. The children and I enjoyed the televised spectacle of the Coronation Ceremony and Parade, and felt very proud of the military precision with which the entire affair was carried out. We were especially impressed with the "Hip Hip, Hooray" from the military personnel in Buckingham Palace Gardens - that surely must have been the loudest and most impressive "Hooray" of all time! We collected Alex late afternoon, headed to Paignton and had great fun at the fair with the children. They explored the Fun House and went on the Dodgems for the first time, then we headed to Wetherspoons for food, to kill some time before the fireworks at 9pm. Unfortunately, the display didn't start until 9.30pm (most likely because it was a clear sky and, therefore, still light at 9pm) but it was an incredible display so definitely worth the wait. However, my lack of local knowledge meant that (having parked in the most central multi-story car park possible, with lots of road closures in place around the fair and fireworks) we got caught up in an almighty traffic jam along with the hundreds of other people who, coincidentally, also decided that they wanted to leave the town centre as soon as the fireworks had come to an end. After almost an hour (and some questionable driving, ignoring some minor signage such as "no entry" for a one way road), we managed to leave Paignton and, thank goodness, made it onto the penultimate ferry back across the river to Dartmouth. Missing the last ferry would have meant that we had to drive another 45 minutes around the long way!

Dodgems Dream Team selfie

With Saturday having gone so well, we packed up our picnic of a rice salad followed by scones and cream, then headed down to Salcombe for our greatly anticipated Big Lunch and sports day. We parked in the long stay car park at the top of the hill, then were taken to the primary school by the very friendly Park and Ride bus driver. This was slightly embarrassing, as he literally drove us a few hundred metres before stopping the bus and announcing that we had arrived! What can I say... we had to save everyone's legs ready for the afternoon's events on the playing field! We walked into the school playground where there were lots of tables set up for those who had booked them. I had not done so, since I did not want to decorate a table (as was expected) and I also felt it might be a little awkward to sit at a table alongside the villagers of Salcombe, as outsiders. So, we looked around for where to sit down for our picnic (as the advertisement had said book a table or just turn up with a picnic blanket) and eventually settled ourselves down (sans picnic blanket) on an appealing patch of tarmac, next to a bin. 

Reigning champions, feeling chuffed after their first ever sports day!

The picnic was a little awkward, to say the least, but we made the best of it and then hurriedly stood up and headed to a table area where children could decorate some paper crowns. Then came the announcement that the sports day events were about to begin, so we followed families heading that way towards the playing field, over a grassy knoll.... where we discovered hordes of happy families eating their picnics on blankets, on gloriously soft grass! No wonder people had looked at us strangely, seeing us sat on the floor in the playground! Ignoring this blunder, we ushered Beth and Zach towards the sports day races, and helped them to get involved in the afternoon's proceedings. Once again, this was a little awkward, as clearly everyone organising was either a teacher or a parent, and everyone knew the names of all the children... except ours! Still, Alex and I styled it out pretty well... we just got stuck in and behaved as if it was completely normal for us to be there, then watched as Beth repeatedly placed in the top three, taking valuable winners stickers away from the local children. Zach, bless him, worked so hard but, being one of the youngest there, he only ever got consolation stickers such as "Super Sports Day Star" for coming last or thereabouts. Actually, I tell a lie; he and Beth came second in the three-legged race! Regardless of placement, they both had a really super time and thoroughly enjoyed the classic events such as sack race, egg and spoon race, the 100m sprint and a tug of war. There were also adult events planned, but I forbade Alex from entering into them as I feared that he would win them all and then questions would be asked about our eligibility. However, he excused himself for a toilet break and then, on his return, managed to slip himself nicely into the adult tug of war without me noticing!

Alex getting stuck in with the adults tug of war

When Monday came around, I just couldn't face the idea of gatecrashing any more village Coronation celebrations so, with the inclement weather helping to influence our decision in favour of giving the Kingswear Coronation street party a miss, we decided to head down into Dartmouth instead for a boat trip on the River Dart. How funny life can be; six months ago, I had never been to Dartmouth at all, and now I find myself heading up and down its river multiple times less than a fortnight! After the river trip, we walked along the coast from the town centre to Dartmouth Castle, and back again, before finally seeking refuge from the rain and enjoying our last evening at home with Alex. We said goodbye to him, as he prepared to head off for his six weeks initial sea time aboard an aircraft carrier, and we made our way back towards Gatwick airport, ready to escape the rain and head back to Portugal.

An atmospheric view over the River Dart, from Dartmouth Castle

Spring in Silves

A month back in Portugal was just what we needed after our busy spell in the UK. Arriving in mid-March, we were in time to really appreciate spring in the Algarve, which is a wonderful time of year. The wild flowers cover the countryside and the peace is interrupted only by the buzzing of bees, happily visiting as many flowers as they can as they go about their business. My parents live in a valley near Silves; the ancient Moorish capital of the Algarve. The valley has a river which runs during the winter months, once the rainy season has started, and we love to paddle and swim in its clear, fresh water. It brings life to the valley; soon enough, frogs and toads can be heard croaking, harmless viperine snakes can be found clinging to rocks in the running water, and birds such as egrets, herons and storks come to eat their fill of the seasonal aquatic life. Outside of the valley, the Silves region is filled with thousands of well-kept orange groves. Driving around in our little red Peugeot 106 (which we bought at the end of last year), with no A/C and the windows wide open, the incredible scent of orange blossom on the warm air blows through the car, and I find it hard not to smile as I am filled with that wonderful feeling of warmth and contentment.

Nêspera trees produce a delicious, sweet fruit at this time of year

The children and I visited Hope briefly, mainly to pack our winter clothes away into her lockers and collect some more appropriate summer clothing for ourselves, but then returned to stay with my parents who were keen to spend some time with us. Their house is only a 20 minute drive from our land, so I was able to borrow my dad's brush cutter and spent a good few days clearing the ground between the fruit trees, in order to be ready for fire season. On these days, the children played happily for hours in the stream beside our land catching tadpoles, and around the land itself climbing trees and having all sorts of imaginative play. Unfortunately, I only got half way through the land before the temperamental brush cutter refused to start one afternoon so I had to take it back to my dad's tool shed in order to investigate the issue and, eventually, get it working again.

Hours of fun paddling and catching tadpoles in the stream

During this stay with my parents, Dad and I spent a lot of time in and out of the tool shed fixing things... so much so, in fact, that we spent a full day organising and tidying it to make our lives easier, which felt great! We worked together on the Peugeot 106 (trying to fix a fuel starvation issue), fixing various issues with the brush cutter, gardening and land clearing, and assembling a storage shed for the childrens' new bikes. It was really nice to be working together fixing things, especially the car; Dad made a comment that it was just like the old days, and indeed it was! I loved learning how to fix our old cars with Dad growing up, and then having him help out with mine as I got older - it's just a shame that cars these days are so difficult to fix at home, due to the increased use of electronics (meaning diagnostic tools are required for most things). This is one of the reasons that I absolutely love our little Peugeot 106; at 30 years old, she is very simple to work on and fix, cheap to run and so much fun to drive. I would love Beth and Zach to experience the same joy of working on internal combustion engines as they grow up, but perhaps they will eventually become a thing of the past as electric takes over. I did use the opportunity give them some lessons on engines whilst working on the brush cutter, explaining about the differences between 2 and 4 stroke engines, but I think perhaps it will be a few more years before they really start to take an interest in mechanical engineering. For now, they are content to be given the tasks of doing/undoing fixings such as screw, nuts and bolts, and I'm happy with that!

Our lovely little Peugeot 106, which we have named Scarlet

One of the positives I've drawn from Alex being away is my realisation and reconfirmation that I can still do for myself the many tasks that Alex usually takes care of. I think that it is fairly normal in any relationship for each person to assume a certain role and take on certain tasks (usually those that they prefer doing, I would hope), which can perhaps lead to the other person losing confidence in their own ability in this area. A classic example is driving; I see a lot of cases whereby one person does all the driving and, eventually, the other loses confidence in their own driving, which always seems like a shame to me. Anyhow, in the case of myself and Alex, the main thing that Alex always takes care of is anything relating to electrics and electronics. This is mostly due to him being so passionate about it, whereas I am not, so it makes sense for him to assume this role. However, with him away, I stepped up to the plate and found myself using a multi-meter to test a switch on the brush cutter, disassembling and fixing a belt on an old CD player and fixing some wiring on an electric scooter. Whilst I am more than happy to let Alex take over when he is around to do so, it feels good to know that I am still capable of fixing such things myself when he is not available.

Enjoying a freshly squeezed orange juice after a haircut

I briefly mentioned the children having new bikes; this is due, in part, to Zach learning to ride a bicycle within the last few weeks! One morning, Beth raced outside clutching her skateboarding safety gear (knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, etc.) and announced she was teaching Zach how to ride. I didn't think much would come of it, since the bike she was trying to teach him on was way too small for them both and has become very stiff and rusty over the past few years but, blow me down, she was soon calling me outside to see the little guy pedalling along on it! I was amazed, and very proud of Beth for taking the time to teach Zach to ride! I decided that it was time to get them both a bicycle that would allow them to ride properly up and down the valley, and what a great decision it was. Now, instead of nagging the children to keep up when we walk down the valley, I find myself running trying to keep up with them! Zach's riding went from wobbly to wonderful in a matter of days, with him working so hard at it every day, and they have been having so much fun. What with all the riding and lots of swimming, I've never known them go to sleep so quickly at the end of the day!

Zach, ready to ride, on his new bicycle

The week after Easter, Alex flew out to join us for a week in Portugal; his first proper holiday since starting his training back in January! Unfortunately, due to signalling issues with the UK trains, he had a complete nightmare of a journey from Dartmouth to Bristol Airport. Thank goodness, he did manage to get to the airport on time (with the help of a taxi or two) and the children were overjoyed to meet him at Faro airport, where we held up a large, handmade sign to welcome him in. We spent a night together on Hope and visited the land together a few times over subsequent days, to talk about possible future plans, prune some trees, organise some land clearing and chat/drink coffee with our lovely Italian neighbours. Mainly, though, the week has been spent enjoying the sunshine, eating lots of good food and spending quality time together with family and friends. Alex fitted in some physical training, running up the valley and around the park whilst the children cycled, and he even got to take an afternoon nap one day. This must have felt like an absolute luxury since sleeping during the day is completely forbidden at BRNC! 

Happy to be reunited with Officer Cadet Mitchell at last!

Now, having acclimatised to the warmth of Portugal, we have headed back to the UK for the second week of Alex's Easter break, in order to go sailing with my cousin and her husband in their new boat. We are aiming to sail her from south to north Devon, around the south-west tip of the United Kingdom. I am very much looking forward to this trip although, having landed back in the UK this afternoon, I do wonder whether I was a little premature in packing away my winter clothes on Hope last month!

Enjoying a final meal in Silves before heading back to the UK

On the Road

A month since my last blog post. I bet you were starting to wonder whether my motivation had waned and that was the last you would hear from me? Well, not exactly. The truth is that, having been in the UK for the past month or so, travelling around visiting family, friends and Alex when we can, I found there was not much of interest to be writing about. The last thing I want to do is bore people with tales of hours spent in hotels, Airbnbs and hire cars, unless there is some purpose to these tales. So, now that this period has come to an end, it feels like a natural time to reflect back upon it and put pen to paper, as it were.

The children's first ever Junior Parkrun, in Peckham Rye Park with Grandpop!

As mentioned in my last post, I managed to organise some longer visits to stay with both mine and Alex's family, and these periods were invaluable for providing both myself and the children with some rest, relaxation and stability. I was able to get back into a nice routine with homeschooling, and made the most of being in London by taking the children on a "school trip" to the Natural History Museum, with Alex's mum. The children and I were also able to show off some of our new (albeit slightly underwhelming) cookery skills acquired in Turkey, making gözleme (Turkish pancakes), kısır (a Turkish salad with bulgar wheat) and elmali kurabiye (Turkish apple cookies) for anyone willing to try them. To be honest, none of these dishes taste anywhere near as good when cooked by me as they did when Hatice made them in Turkey, but I am improving every time and it is fun to practise them.

Making Turkish apple cookies for Uncles Ben and Ash

After a few weeks of said stability, I picked up another hire car from Stansted Airport and began driving around the country again, visiting Alex and seeing friends, staying in cheap hotels in between. Unfortunately, the Navy doesn't always give Alex much notice of weekend leave during this initial training period, which made it rather difficult to plan when we could see him. We were unexpectedly allowed a weekend with him after he had spent a gruelling week on Dartmoor, and we stayed near Brixham in a lovely Airbnb on a golf course. We spent an afternoon doing a detective mystery style Treasure Trail in Brixham. This was the first time we've done one of these trails, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We downloaded and printed the booklet in the library, followed the clues around the old town and harbour, eliminating suspects to discover who committed the crime (in this case, the murder of a fisherman). It was a really great way of exploring the town and definitely worth the £9.99 that we paid for it.

Another Junior Parkrun; this time in Paignton with Dad!

On the Sunday morning, we headed to Paignton where the children did Junior Parkrun, before heading to the local Wetherspoons for a well-deserved full English breakfast. Afterwards, we walked to the seafront and took a stroll along the pier, where I changed £1 each for the children into 2p pieces and they experienced arcade machines for the first time. Unfortunately, I didn't really explain to Zach properly how the machine worked, so he was under the false impression that he was definitely going to get the little dinosaur toy out of his machine, which was teetering at the edge of the pile of 2p pieces. However, despite us putting all his coins in, as well as a few more which did get pushed out, the dinosaur toy stayed put, ready to entice another hopeful punter to feed the machine with some 2p pieces. Poor little Zach cried his heart out, then his disappointment turned to anger and he declared that next time he would not put his money in that machine but would save it and buy a toy in the shop. I was impressed; at just 4 years old, he has learned a very important life lesson about the perils of gambling! Let's hope he remembers that lesson throughout his life.

Beth and Zach were very impressed with this Lego model
of the Titanic, in the SeaCity Museum

Some bad planning on my part meant that, after this weekend in Devon, we had a long drive back to Surrey to visit Zach's godfather and his family mid-week. I made the most of the journey by also visiting some friends in Southampton en route, as well as taking the children to the SeaCity museum in Southampton, which was not far from our Ibis Budget hotel. We spent hours in the very informative Titanic exhibition there, where we learned a great deal about the ship, her crew and the disaster which befell them all. Whilst with our friends in Surrey, we attended a morning Forest School session, which both the children very much enjoyed. Ordinarily, during periods of extensive travel, it is very hard to make time for schooling, so it was great that during this week we found time for a couple of good schooling sessions, before driving all the way back down to Dartmouth to see Alex for a few short hours over the weekend. We didn't get much time with him, but managed to squeeze in a trip on the Kingswear to Paignton steam railway!

We enjoyed our ride on this steam train, as well as a picnic of scones and cream!

The following week we were due to fly back to Portugal from Bristol airport on the Wednesday morning... quite good planning on my part to reduce our mileage, except plans were scuppered by the fact that Zach's passport took almost a month to be returned by the passport office! It finally arrived on the Friday before our final weekend with Alex, but I decided that I didn't want to risk getting it posted to Bristol with Royal Mail, with so little time before our flight. So, just to make full use of the unlimited mileage allowance on our hire car, we drove all the way back to south-east London on the Monday afternoon, and then back to Bristol again Tuesday afternoon. I was certainly glad to return the hire car at 4am on the Wednesday morning before our early flight to Faro, and be done with driving for a while!

Beth and Zach made me a delicious Mother's Day breakfast!

Whilst I do generally love a good road trip, I find that extended travelling in the car with the children is not my favourite way to spend time, especially in the UK in the winter. On our road trip of 2021 from the UK to Portugal, we were able to stay in our tent most of the time, and save a lot of money on accommodation costs by doing so. In the UK in March, this is just not practical, and the alternative is either staying with friends and family or forking out a massive amount of money on hotels and Airbnbs. It is almost impossible to find a cheap room for the night these days, and I am usually paying £50-100 per night for a room. 

Enjoying the very realistic Tyrannosaurus Rex
at the Natural History Museum 

Another challenge of being on the road a lot (as any lorry or van driver will tell you) is eating healthily whilst doing so. When staying with friends, this is not such an issue, but hotels rarely provide many facilities for meal preparation and, whilst an Airbnb often does, it is difficult to plan meals such that you aren't left carting around a load of leftover ingredients. We manage as best we can, snacking on fruit and vegetables in the car and in hotel rooms, and planning simple meals such as jacket potatoes in Airbnbs, but it is far from ideal and I often feel rather unhealthy and lethargic after extended periods of travelling in this manner.

An evening meal in our budget hotel room in Southampton

Finally, homeschooling is difficult when on the road for any length of time. After one weekend with Alex, we had to checkout of our Airbnb by 10am and could not arrive to our next destination before 4pm, so we had plenty of time to kill in between. I headed for a large Tesco Extra and we got breakfast in their large yet rather empty cafe, which we then stayed in for a good few hours doing homeschooling whilst nursing a coffee and some babyccinos. Thank goodness, when we eventually left, I checked the car park and found there was no time limit to parking there, as there sometimes is these days! So, by making the most of opportunities to study as they arise, as well as planning in some activities such as museum trips along the way, it is possible to homeschool on the road, but it is certainly not easy and takes a good deal of discipline and effort.

Having fun in the mud kitchen at a Forest School session

All in all, whilst being on the road for a couple of weeks gave us the flexibility to visit Alex when the opportunity arose, and to visit other friends along the way, I wouldn't want to do a similar road trip again anytime soon. I mean, sure, I enjoyed listening to almost the entire 15 hours of the Chronicles of Narnia on Audible as much as the children did, and Costa Drive Thru has revolutionised my service station stops but, despite these positives, I just don't like living out of a car and being forced to spend money on unhealthy food and overpriced accommodation. Going forward, I need to think a little more carefully about time spent in the UK and how we can minimise our travel there but, for now, back in Portugal, I can just forget about travelling for a while and enjoy topping up my vitamin D levels again.

Bridge building, after a swim in the river in my parents' valley