Tag / Family

by Gareth

Mum visiting and more rooms sorted

It’s been a couple of months, so time for a bit of an update!

Mum came up to stay for a week at the end of April / start of May. She was last up with Chloe back in November, and I’d not seen her since before Christmas, so it was nice to get a visit. She arrived on Monday lunchtime, and it was quite a quite a chilled week really. The next day she went to visit a friend in Rochdale, so I dropped her off first thing at East Didsbury so she could get the tram up there.

Then on the Wednesday, we walked into Stockport along the River Mersey, and had a bit of a look around the town, and then I showed mum the new Stockport Interchange and Viaduct Park which they’ve built on top of it. By this point, it’d only been open for just over a month, so all felt quite new, but I think it’s really transformed the area and the park itself is a nice relaxing area to hang out in. I guess we could have walked back home afterwards, but since we were already at the interchange, a bus seemed the better option!

Mum on our walk into Stockport.

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by Gareth

Half Term & Reunion Plan C

Over half term week starting at the end of October, Mum and Chloe came up to visit, and they arrived by train on the Sunday evening – a bit later planned because Chloe had originally forgotten her coat, and had to go back home to get it before returning to Tamworth to get the train with mum! On Monday, it was quite rainy, so I drove us all over to The Trafford Centre where we had lunch, and had a bit of a look around the shops. The next day was a bit drier, so we went into Stockport – mum had mentioned that she’d never been into the town on her previous visits here, so I gave them a bit of a walking tour, through some of the new developments to the Underbanks, the Market Hall and Produce Hall.

Chloe and me outside the Produce Hall in Stockport.

When Brandon came up to visit back in February, we all went to Junkyard Golf (where mum won!), so with Chloe here we decided to try another crazy golf venue in Manchester city centre – Treetop Golf. I’d found it by accident whilst doing a Google search – it’s basically above the Printworks, but the entrance is hidden away on Dantzic Street, away from the main bit. But I was really impressed with how they’ve done it. The theming is really good, and feels so much bigger than Junkyard Golf. Also, because we arrived early, we were able to go round both courses for the price of one, so we ended up spending a good couple of hours there.

Me, Chloe and mum at Treetop Golf.

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by Gareth

Back in Ireland

Dingle Bay.

Just been over in Ireland for the last week and a half with my mum, sister, and my niece and nephew. It’d been 5 years since we’d last been and again we stayed with Mai and PJ in County Kerry, and for the first time I actually flew there rather than driving and taking the ferry. To be honest – it wasn’t that much quicker, since once landed I had to wait a bit at the airport before getting a coach from Shannon to Listowel, which also took quite a while. PJ picked me up in Listowel at about 3.30pm, so it basically took me ten and a half hours door to door!

The others weren’t going to be arriving until later that night, but their flight was delayed by a couple of hours, so didn’t get to Shannon until after midnight, which meant they had stresses with the car hire since they were supposed to close at ten o’clock, just after their original arrival time. I didn’t bother waiting up for them all, so slept through their arrival at the house and saw them in the morning!

We didn’t do anything that next day – everyone was far too tired! But on the next day, Friday, I went with Vikky and the kids to Ballybunion, and took a walk across the beach. The kids bought waffles from one of the beach shops, but it was so windy as they tried to eat them, and Chloe struggled to keep her hair out of the Nutella topping!

Mai and PJ experience VR.

In the evening, Brandon had brought his VR goggles with him, which let to much hilarity as both Mai and PJ tried it out! The graphics in the games and settings are still quite basic, but it’s crazy how quickly your brain accepts them, and it feels like you’re part of that world.

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by Gareth

Half term adventures

I had some fun adventures last month, coinciding with February’s half term holidays, in Scotland, Bristol and at home!

It started on the 9th February when I took a train up to Glasgow… well, as usual, that didn’t go entirely to plan! As I was on the train to get my connection from Manchester to Glasgow, I discovered that the Glasgow train had been kind of cancelled, in that all the stops prior to Lancaster had been scrapped because of a lack of drivers. I managed to get on another train that was heading north, and by some miracle got myself to Lancaster ahead of the time that my original train was leaving there, so I did eventually get on my actual train!

So I checked into my hotel in Glasgow city centre late afternoon, and then met up with Steve to grab some food ahead of our trip to the Highlands the next day!

Steve & Tanya picked me up on the Friday morning and we made the long trek up to Inverness where we were meeting up with Ali and her kids who were flying up from Bristol. We’d arranged it so me and Ali would hire a car between us, and split the cost of that and accommodation/trips so that it wouldn’t be too expensive! We’d booked a family room in a Travelodge in Inverness, so I had a camp-bed set up in the corner, whilst the others had use of a double and single bed. It wasn’t the biggest room, so was a bit ‘cosy’, and it was a bit of a new experience for me to be holidaying with kids and all the extra clutter they bring! Also we discovered that the bathroom door didn’t close properly, so I had to wedge it shut with my trainers when using it!

Tea in Inverness with Ali, Tanya, Steve, me, and the kids.

To take a break from the room, we nipped down to the marina to take a look around before returning for an early tea at the pub across from our hotel. That’s another thing when holidaying with kids – meal times are different!

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by Gareth

Christmassy stuff

It’s that weird time between Christmas and New Year, so an ideal time for an update!

Mum came up to stay for a few days a couple of weeks ago. She arrived by train on the Monday, and we then spent a chunk of the afternoon traipsing around looking to buy an artificial Christmas tree. Ever since I’ve been in this house, it’s never really been in a state to have Christmas decorations, so this year I thought it was finally time. I hadn’t realised how expensive artificial trees are though – most I was seeing were well over £100, and some quite a lot over that! I’d kind of resigned myself to having to spend a lot more than I wanted, but then saw some in ASDA that were much cheaper, but still looked decent, so that’s what I bought! I got all the tree decorations from IKEA (we went the next day), and also managed to get the glass sliding doors for my new wardrobe. Took a while to construct them, but now they’re on, it really looks great!

On the Thursday, we went into Manchester on the tram to check out the Christmas Markets. It was definitely a lot smaller this year (mainly due to Albert Square being out of us due to the town hall renovations), but also there wasn’t really much that stood out. Also, it was absolutely freezing – the weather had gone really cold (especially at night), so we probably ended up spending more time indoors in the Arndale!

That evening I cooked an early Christmas dinner for us both which turned out really great – to be fair, roast dinner is my favourite so I’ve had practice making it over the years!

Early Christmas dinner with mum.

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by Gareth

My garden has some plants!

I finally have some a bit of colour in my back garden! Mum’s been back this week to arrange all my new plants, and I think it looks really great! And I mentioned last time I needed to get more soil – well, I’ve spent an absolute fortune on dirt this week! I needed so much of it to bring it up to the level of the surrounding walls! I just hope all the new plants make it through the winter!

by Gareth

Finally got my workspace sorted

So my office space / guest room is now pretty much finished! I put down some laminate flooring last weekend, and I’d bought the sofa bed a few months ago, and it’s been stored downstairs in its box until Lee popped over last Tuesday morning to help me get it up the stairs and into the room. I’ve still got to put some trim down where the flooring meets the skirting boards, plus get some shelves to put into one of the alcoves to store my camera kit.

My office / guest room.

Office work area.

The main impetus that got me to finish the room is that mum came up to visit last week – her first time since Covid – and I wanted to make sure she had somewhere decent to sleep! She came up to stay for a few days at the end of 2019, but that time I had to put a dust sheet down over a really trashed carpet, along with a blow-up bed that had a very slow puncture!

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by Gareth

Holidays 2019

I thought I’d post about my holidays this year – I’ve not done it sooner because I’ve been a bit pre-occupied with health stuff!

First off, over Easter I went camping with my sister’s family in Wales. We stayed at Abererch Sands, which is on the Llyn Peninsula, just between Pwllheli and Criccieth.

We all arrived at the campsite at lunchtime on the Thursday, and went on a part of the site where both caravans and tents could be pitched. It took me quite a while to get my tent up – I’d recently been getting tired really quickly (which I later discovered to be because of heart failure!), so I paced myself with it, and Brandon and Chloe occasionally broke away from playing frisbee to help a little bit when an extra pair of hands were needed. Vikky and Andy set up their caravan on one side of the field so they could plug into a heavy-duty electrical hook-up, whereas I pitched up on the opposite side, and made use of the electrical hook-up for tents. It was the first time I’d had electricity whilst camping, and it really does make a difference! I’d bought a small powered fridge to use for the week, plus a camping kettle which mean I could boil water much quicker than usual!

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by Gareth

Holiday in Ireland

A couple of weeks ago I was on holiday in Ireland again, meeting up with mum and my niece and nephew. They’d already been there for a few days, and I set off really early on a Sunday morning to make a 9am sailing from Holyhead to Dublin, followed by a 3½ hour drive across the country to Mai & PJ’s house just outside Listowel.

The following morning – we took my mum’s hire car back to Shannon airport, with me following behind, so we could then carry on in just the one car.

We carried on northwards for a bit, before making a brief stop in County Clare’s main town, Ennis, and then carried on to the north west of the county, finally arriving at the Cliffs of Moher.

Cliffs of Moher.

They’re really stunning, and you can really sense the power of the sea crashing onto the rock a couple of hundred metres below. It was really windy, and it had been quite drizzly all morning, but it did dry up for us whilst there. It was a pretty strenuous walk up a load of steps to an old round tower overlooking the sea, and we carried on walking along the cliff top until we got to a little hut selling ice lollies (which of course we partook in!).

It was crazy seeing the amount of people who’d left the path to position themselves really precariously on the cliff edge to take a selfie – I’m not sure any photo, no matter how stunning, is worth potential death!

Afterwards we went into the visitor centre, which seems to be a giant cave inside the hill, and there were quite a few interactive things which Brandon & Chloe could have a go at. Even mum decided to try out the greenscreen selfie area, although the camera they use is really low quality and the keying wasn’t that great!

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by Gareth

Orlando, New York and Aruba!

It was my sister’s wedding last month, and she’d decided to have a beach wedding in Aruba, so I decided that since I’d be travelling across the Atlantic, I’d also add a short USA holiday to it as well!

So I flew out to Orlando on the 6th October, leaving Manchester at lunchtime, arriving at 4.30pm local time. The queue through passport control was crazy – it took 2¼ hours to get through it, and then once my passport had been checked, I was then picked to have my suitcase examined! I eventually checked into my hotel – the ‘Holiday Inn & Suites Across From Universal Orlando’ – and it really was ‘across’, being just a 15 minute walk to the main entrance to the Universal theme parks!

After a long day of travelling, I went to bed pretty much straight away, and then woke up ridiculously early because of jet-lag! So annoying!

Anyway, I got myself breakfast from a nearby McDonalds, and then arrived at the theme park around 10.30am.

I entered the Islands of Adventure park and hit the rides straight away! I stayed there until about 2 o’clock, and after a bit of lunch, took the Hogwart’s Express from Hogsmeade to King’s Cross over in the the Universal Studios park. Generally, it was busier than when I visited in 2014, and the queues were longer, but I imagine no-where near as busy as it is in peak season!

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by Gareth

Ireland holiday

Last week I got back from a week’s holiday in Ireland, staying at Mai & PJ’s house in County Kerry. I took an overnight ferry from Holyhead, so it took a couple of hours to drive there, arriving in plenty of time for a 2.30am sailing. Because of knowing how hard it is to get to sleep from my trip last year, I booked a cabin, arrived in Dublin just before 6am, having had a few hours of decent sleep.

My mum, Vikky and the kids were flying over from the midlands, and they weren’t due until the evening, so I decided to do a bit of a tour on my way to the west coast to make the most of my day.

So, after leaving Dublin, I drove south down the coast, and stopped briefly at Wicklow, but as it was only just after 7am, everywhere was still closed!

Wicklow.

From there, I was back on the road and carried on down to Waterford, about 80 miles away. Basically, it was a place name I recognised because it’s famous for its crystal, and that’s the only reason I ended up there! I had a bit of a walk round – the weather had gone a bit drizzly, so didn’t stay there for loads of time. I had a stroll along the harbour area, and also around a bit of the town. I was starting to get a bit wet, so went back to the car, and hit the road again.

Cork.

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by Gareth

Back in Ireland after 35 years!

I think the last time I was in the Republic of Ireland was 1980, so my memories of our two visits to visit family over there are pretty hazy – but there are some bits that I can still recall even though I was so young!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was back in Ireland for a holiday with my mum, sister, Brandon & Chloe (who all arrived a week before I did) – all staying at my mum’s cousin’s house!

I took an overnight ferry to Dublin from Liverpool, setting sail at 3am, and the facilities were really basic. I sailed with P&O, and I quickly realise they were really catering for the freight industry, but also take regular passengers too. I tried to get a bit of sleep sitting in a pretty uncomfortable chair, and I finally got off the ferry into Dublin Port at about 11am.

It took about 3½ hours to drive over to Listowel in County Kerry, and after arriving at Mai & PJ’s house, I went with mum, Vikky and the kids to the beach!

The nearest seaside town is Ballybunion, which is about 20 minutes away from the house, and I do have some memories of going there as a kid. Even thought it was later in the afternoon, it was nice and sunny, so we spent a couple hours on the beach.

Brandon, Chloe & mum on Ballybunion beach.

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by Gareth

Family holiday in Florida

Last month I had an awesome time in Florida with family, so I thought I’d do a bit of a catch-up of what we got up to!

I drove down to Tamworth on the 2nd November and stayed at the Travelodge there to get a few hours sleep before a really early start the next morning. So at 4am, we all got in a taxi minibus from mum’s at 4am to take us down to Gatwick, and it has to be said, it wasn’t the most comfortable journey! There was me, mum, my sister Vikky and the twins, my brother Steve with his partner Ameena, and her daughter Amelia.

One particular lowlight of the taxi journey was when Chloe threw up whilst we were in traffic on the M25! She was sat next to me, so basically I had to catch it in my hands which was gross! I managed to transfer most of it into a plastic bag, but some of it ended up on my hoodie and smelled pretty bad! We had to pull over on the hard shoulder for her to get rid of the last of it before carrying on to the airport!

After a bit of a clean-up at the airport, we got on our flight about 1 o’clock. We flew with Virgin Atlantic, and it’s the biggest plane I’ve been on – it was a 747 and had an upstairs, which is where our seats were! It’s quite a long flight, and then when we got to Orlando, there was a massive wait to get through immigration, which isn’t ideal when you’ve got a couple of tired kids with you! We finally got through at about 7.30pm local time (which of course felt like it was after midnight because we’d started the day on UK time). It took a bit more time to collect our two hire cars – me and Steve were both driving Chrysler Town & Country 7 seaters, which is a bit bigger than I’m used to! We has had to take a bit of a trip to get an envelope containing a code for the keys for the villa in nearby Kissimmee where we were going to be staying. Eventually we got everything sorted, and finally were able to crash out!

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by Gareth

Some non-work-related stuff!

We’ve been working incredibly hard recently, pulling in some all-nighters for a couple of our jobs, but instead of going on about that, I’m going to blog about some non-work stuff I’ve done over the last few weeks!

helen-ali-june-2011

Most recently, this weekend I’ve been down in Bristol visiting Ali, and Helen also came down so we could have a bit of a mini uni-get-together!

I was originally planning to drive down there on Saturday morning, but I’ve been doing such long hours at work, and on Friday afternoon I was totally knackered after having had just 3 hours sleep in 3 days(!), so at the last minute I booked a train ticket down there instead!

I got into Bristol around lunchtime, and walked the short distance from Temple Meads to Ali’s house.  It’s interesting to see how much the area has changed over the years. When I first visited Ali there back in the 90s, it was a pretty run-down area, but now a lot of it’s been replaced by riverside bars and restaurants, and hotels and posh apartments – and Ali’s estate is right next to it!

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