Sam’s Watering Can
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Nanan bought Sam some wellies that fit better, and a watering can!

Sam’s New (Too Big) Wellies
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We bought some wellies for Sam while he wasn’t with us, but we know he’s a size five…

…they don’t fit quite like his size 5s from Clarkes!!

Sam’s Last Day at Nursery

Sam's Last Day at Nursery

Sam had obviously made an impression with the ladies at Nursery as they were upset to see him go, especially his keyworker Katie! There were a few tears all round as we said goodbye for the last time, although Sam didn’t understand that it was his last session ever…

We were given a folder which contained some of the colouring-in he’d done and ‘artwork’ he’d made, as well as progress reports and the hand-print label which was above his coat peg. There was also a scrapbook they’d put together with photos of Sam on his first day, and then throughout his time there doing various things :0)

Sunny Scarborough

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Rewinding in time a little; our holiday in Scarborough was absolutely fantastic, despite several ‘challenges’. It did rain (a lot) while we pitched the trailer-tent on the Saturday that we arrived, but after that we were blessed with sunshine all week, except for the rain during the night when we weren’t on the beach anyhow!

Before we came away Sam was a little under the weather, so much so that I had to take another unscheduled absence from my agency job, which brought the total to 4. Sam perked up by the time we arrived, but the car now complained of being poorly – well the orange Engine Warning light was illuminated… I was worried that I might have strained something towing or that the engine might have overheated in the heavy (stop-start) traffic on the way up.

A diagnostic check at a local and very friendly garage revealed a ‘Throttle Position Error’. I think I may have pressed the accelerator pedal into the carpet whilst going up a big hill, in order to sustain momentum. The thing is, it’s fly-by-wire so pressing the accelerator pedal that bit harder won’t pull a cable to open the throttle that little bit more like on all our previous cars..! All was well again after being reset though :0)

As Sam’s cough was getting worse and his voice more croaky, he slept in the motorhome with Nannan and Babba where it was much warmer for him. We booked him in to see a local doctor who diagnosed an upper respiratory tract infection and prescribed him with antibiotics. And sure as anything his cough improved greatly over the next few days – hurrah!

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We had a fantastic week and I feel like I’ve only just seen the surface of Scarborough. It took us nearly the whole week to settle and relax so we definitely need two weeks next time :0)

The photo below was after it had been raining throughout the night and into the morning. There were still people on the beach, determined not to let any weather get in their way!!

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Cheesy Gift Challenge
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Our neighbours went away on holiday at the same time as us, so we set a challenge to find the worst souvenir for under a fiver!!

Llama



Llama, originally uploaded by CraigMarston.

This Llama is at the Farm at Swanwick Station, Midland Railway Centre near Ripley. The front element on my 14mm lens is massive and looks like a big eye so it takes animals a little while to realise it’s harmless. Then they want to sniff it!!

Aunty Pam’s House

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This was Sam’s first visit to Aunty Pam’s house :0)

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Markeaton Park is just a few minutes up the road by car, yet it’s taken us over three years to check it out!! It’s really, really nice too.

The car park is reasonable, if a little mad: It’s big, not expensive, but the filtering system puts vehicles to the right-hand sides at the entrance/exit. This means that cars have to swap over in the style of a motorcycle display team doing a “figure of eight” as they enter or exit the car park!

Twit-Twoo

Twit-Twoo

On a recent holiday to Stratford on Avon, we visited Mary Arden’s Cottage Farm. Sam has now seen most farm animals, but hadn’t seen a real-life owl so this was great…

This is a video-clip, so if you click on it you’ll be taken to my Flickr stream where you can play it.

Friars Walk Cycling Prohibited



Friars Walk Cycling Prohibited, originally uploaded by CraigMarston.

Signs in the centre of Burton upon Trent, although it’s not clear whether they are notices, names or instructions…
The Monks have something to do with all the beer in Burton, so maybe it’s a safety thing because they were probably all drunk. They even converted their Abbey into a pub.

Apparently the Monks installed a fresh water spring after they discovered the Marmite deposits, which they mined and used to make the beer…

…I think that’s what I was told anyhow.