A Stressfull Week

 

Things started out reasonably well, William had a great Birthday on the 18th and was a really happy little man, running around like a loony. We had been looking forward to a nice quiet weekend and on the Saturday I cycled to Instow to let the little ones run around on the beach. Saturday night though things started to go down hill as we noticed William had a swelling on his neck, after calling NHS direct and having no joy I took the man to A&E (NHS direct finally called back 12 hours later at 0620). Anyway after three hours waiting in A&E William was admitted with an infected lymph gland. Over the weekend it kept growing until it was like half a table tennis ball sticking out of his neck. The only positive thing was that he was really happy in himself running around like a looney. After seeing a consultant on Monday he was then transferred to Bristol Children's hospital so that they could operate and cut the infection out. Debbie went with him and faced a sleepless four days up in Bristol with our little man whilst he underwent the Op.  He is a resilient little bugger though as the night after the operation he climbed out his bed and went to the Nurses station to chase the Nurses around the ward (starting young) and the first thing Debbie new about it was when the Nurses woke her up and returned the little man.Anyway we finally got to take the Little man home Friday which was really great if a bit of a stressful journey

 back from Bristol. It was great to see him back home and the first thing he did on getting home was to run over and sit on the tractor he had got for his Birthday.

 

Westward Ho!

I think November must be one of the nicest times of year to go for a bike ride. This may seem strange with the nights closing in and colder weather, however when the sun is shining and there is no wind it can be glorious. The long shadows and autumn light show off the multitude of colours in the the leaves wonderfully and the cool air stops you overheating when you are pedaling furiously.


Today was one of those days and after Debbie dropped me and William at Watergate we set of at a brisk pace with the golden glow of the last of the Autumn leaves all around. I love this time of year down the Tarka trail as the colours are so wonderful, alas I think I saw the last of them today as I don't think the leaves will last much longer.

I couldn't believe the difference with only William in the trailer, it was so much easier to pull and at one point (admittedly downhill) we hit 20mph. It was a real pleasure cycling along with no wind and lots of sunshine for once.

The plan had be for me to cycle to Westward Ho! and meet Debbie and Beth at the ball pit once they had been to the shops but as I made such good time I took William down the beach so he could have a run around on the vast open beach. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, especially when I put him back in the trailer and cycled through the surf as waves lapped around the trailer. It was a great afternoon out with a nice pint at the Waterfront to round it off and counteract all the good I did with the bike ride.

Where Has The Week Gone

I can't believe another week has gone by, where does the time go. I definitely feel that as I get older time seems to speed up. This isn't to bad when you can look back and feel that you achieved something but can be frustrating when when you can't. However the last week or so has been hectic and as I look around I am slowly ticking off the jobs.

It has not all been work though and we have had some fun. We even had a night away from the little ones which was nice, a quick trip to Roscoff and back on the Ferry, so not only a night away from the little ones but also a night at sea. As expected we both missed them and kept talking about them but it was a nice break.

The Ferry departed at 2200 so we got to the terminal at about 2000 expecting there to be a bar where we could have a pre-sail tipple, unfortunately as it was out of season the cafe in the terminal was shut. Being prepared however I had a bottle of wine and plastic glasses in the overnight bag which helped pass the time before boarding.

Roscoff itself although picturesque was a little disappointing as there is very little there, I did have a nice croissant and coffee in one of the cafes though which was relaxing and it was good to wake up in a different country.

We got home after the little ones had gone to bed so did not see them until the morning,I did smile the next day though as little Elizabeth said 'I missed you Daddy' and then gave me a big hug.

Debbie had a girly night away Friday and left me home alone with the little ones. The little monsters took pity on me and were good as gold which was nice, they were all tucked up in bed by 1900 so I could watch a bit of telly and play modern warfare on the WII in peace. It was another late night but I completed the game so I just need to master the online game now, or at least manage to survive more than 30seconds without getting shot.

As the weather was so wonderful on Saturday I took the little ones for another bike ride and thankfully managed to get to Bideford and back with no punctures.  I am just pleased that they enjoy going out in the trailer, although I wish they were a bit lighter as it is hard work pulling them along but it does me good and I am really looking forward to my next opportunity to go for a bike ride hopefully later in the week as I think the weather should be good for the second half of the week.

Punctures and Picnics

I learned a valuable lesson this weekend, don't assume a puncture repair kit that is ten years old is still ok. I had taken the little ones out for a picnic and a cycle in the trailer, after spending an hour or so getting everything ready, picnic made and cider packed we headed down to the Tarka trail on a glorious Saturday afternoon for what promised to be a great day out and a wonderful ride. I had been looking forward to the ride for a while after some really crummy weather and and really horrible week.

With the kiddies safely strapped in of we headed towards Bideford and got the grand total of about 600yds before I noticed the trailer had a puncture. So I whipped out the tools and with kiddies still in the trailer I managed to get the inner tube out. Digging through my panniers I found my puncture repair kit. It was then that things went down hill the tube of glue which looked full was in fact empty as over the years the glue must have evaporated. I suppose at least on a positive side it happened near the car park. Anyway we limped back to the car and headed down the trail to a cycle shop where I managed to get a new repair kit and after some searching managed to find and repair the puncture. So trailer repaired, kids loaded we headed of for a second attempt at the bike ride.

All seemed to be going well for the first mile but then I realised I had another puncture, just a slow one so I pushed on for another mile to the next bench. I decided to call it a day and not go any further so I unpacked the little ones and a sort of well deserved picnic. It was pleasant just sitting there and watching the world go by whilst we tucked into the picnic and the cider. OK I realise that any good I did myself with the short ride I undid with the cider, but it was Saturday so what the hell.
The little ones really enjoyed themselves as they always do and the Autumn colours were wonderful. It was nice to get down the trail before all the leaves have fallen it was just a shame I did not get further as I feel my fitness levels are starting to fall away as I have not been able to do as much exercise of late. I really must make more effort and I must get down the trail again with the little ones whilst it is still so colourful.After the picnic and re-inflating the tyre we headed for home and thankfully as it was only a slow puncture we managed to get the two miles back to the car without any snags. It turned out I had two punctures in the tyre. In future I will ensure the puncture repair kit is OK before I set off.

On the drive home the little man fell asleep so at least the bike ride tired him out, well it is exhausting sitting in the trailer. He was that tired I managed to get him into the house without waking him.
I just hope that this coming week is a good week as last week was horrible. At least we have a day trip to France to look forward to and a night away from the little ones.