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Posts Tagged ‘being a granny’

I’ve been away too long!

Posted in family and relationships, me and Peanut, Uncategorized, tagged a place to stay, being a granny, blogging, blogging about my life, families and relationships, family and relationships on May 30, 2023| 4 Comments »

Time is such a weird construct! It feels like yesterday I posted my previous blog, but it’s been
absolutely months!!! It doesn’t feel that long, and yet so much has happened in the past 9
months that I can hardly comprehend it.
Starting with current events; my daughter’s father passed away on Saturday 20th and although he and
I have not been in a relationship for over 43 years, his death has raised all sorts of emotions. My
daughter is absolutely exhausted with crying and feels bereft at his loss. There are so many
emotions it’s difficult to untangle them all. Sadness because she hasn’t had a very long or close
relationship with him since they first met in 1995. Sadness because he lived in South Africa and
for the last 20 years she has lived in the UK with only the occassional trip back to SA to visit.
Sadness because he will now miss all his grandson’s life events…like first day at school.
Frustration and a bit of anger because he chose to not have treatment when cancer was
diagnosed. Although she obviously respected his decision, it was frustrating because he chose
some quackery treatment instead of treatment that could have given him many more years….or
maybe not. And there is the sliding door. We just don’t know. The grief of losing a parent, even if
they’re not close. The sudden realisation that one of her parents has died…it’s the next level.
Grandparents die and then parents. That raises all manner of fears.

We had a replica Spanish Galleon visit our little harbour recently. It is just magnificent and I was
really sad to see it go. We boarded for a visit and loved exploring. My grandson was full of
questions about everything and took it all in.

Just over 3 weeks ago I camped out on The Mall for my first ever coronation. Not that I am a
supporter of Charlie and his ex-mistress, but I am a fan of the British pomp and pageantry that
they do so well. Oh my gosh, those bands and the horses. Amazing. And the coach was fabulous.
I’ll do a blog on this fab fab event at a later stage.

I have two additional ‘grandson’s in the form of new kittens that my daughter and family have
adopted!! They are just so cute! One is ginger and the other pitch black. They are so cuddly and
my human grandson just loves them to bits.

I have just come through what has to be the most unbearable winter I have ever experienced. I
moved into a new flat last year in April and had the pleasure of enjoying summer and my
garden….although that didn’t last too well in the summer heat last year and much of it was obliterated in
the heat. The only saving grace I had is that I work away as a live-in Carer for 2 weeks of every
month…somehow that helped me to cope… by God it was cold. I spent most days in bed with
the electric blanket on just to get warm! Some days it was so cold that I could see my breath
even though I was in bed with the electric blanket on! I would not have coped if not for the
government handout for those awful 6 months. My flat is semi-basement and has little to no
insulation.

My daughter and I were in the papers…not national news, but a small article about having a
‘cheap as chips’ (my expression, not the reporters!) funeral plan. I had recently (last year)
decided that when I die I do not want a fancy smancy funeral that costs thousands of £s.

But wanted the cheapest possible exit. So to that end I did some research and discovered the
cheapest plan; what they refer to as a direct plan, and coincidentally a reporter was looking for
people who had decided on that route to interview. So I contacted her and we got our/my story
into the papers. Frankly I’d much rather my daughter got as much of my money as what I have
left, than it goes to a funeral home for what? flowers and a fancy coffin, hymns etc etc…no they
can have a private memorial service/get together/knees up Mother Brown type affair afterwards
if they wish. But no funeral. I can’t imagine anything worse!

The Queen died last year in September. It threw me into a massive spiral of grief. I attended her
lying in state to say my good byes and attended her funeral. The Queue as it became known was
incredible. The spirit of goodwill was impressive and made the hours of standing bearable.
Entering the Great Hall and seeing her coffin on the dias was almost overwhelming; the
atmosphere was reverent and respectful. Camping out on The Mall for the funeral was just
extraordinary, and when her coffin came past you could have heard a pin drop it was so hushed.

I’ve semi-retired myself now LOL and try to not work more than 2 weeks of each month but it
does require quite a lot of sacrifice…. like no long distance walks or spontaneous trips away. But
the upside is that I get to spend a lot more time with my grandson, and when I’m home, I have
him for the day on Monday and Thursday. I take him to his activities, and once a month, I take him
for horse-riding lessons. He loves them…and is so very confident on the horse, it’s an absolute
delight to see.

I’ve finally started writing my memoirs. This in itself has raised all manner of emotions that I’m
grappling with. I think it’s going to be a fairly long-term project, but after the death of my
daughter’s father, I feel the need to hurry it up. So to that end I’ve been writing away like mad, and the last few days I’ve been compiling a list of all my favourite songs from when I was about 9 years old, till more recently.

I’ve travelled to some amazing places in the last year for work and added to my growing list of
Domesday Book places visited. I’ll have to write a few blogs about these places for sure. Some of
them are so beautiful. I also had the joy of working in Richmond for 2 weeks. Although the job
itself was quite challenging, being able to take a long walk through Kew Gardens and along the
banks of the Thames from Kew to Rochmond was blissful. I used to love walking that route when
my daughter and I lived in Richmond….many years ago.

I’ve now completed 26 Conqueror Challenges and am slowly working my way through another 3.
It’s been more of a challenge lately due to my flat….having a place to call home has been so
amazing that I can hardly tear myself away, and my walking has fallen by the wayside.

Talking of home; I’ve taught my grandson how to make pancakes LOL and now whenever he
spends the day at my place, we have to make pancakes. He is so proud of himself for
remembering all the equipment and all the ingredients. It’s such fun!

So yeah, life has been both eventful and normal. The years are flying by and I’m 2 years closer to
70 than I was last year. Going forward, I had been planning on walking the Portuguese Coastal Camino
for a 2nd time in September with one of my younger sisters.

But…it seems that she may not be able to do it after all….even though we’ve been planning it for the last 2 years. So we shall have
to wait and see.
If however we do not walk it, I’m going to do the South Downs Way instead. My grandson starts
school this year (dear God, he’s far too young) and life is going to change quite a lot when he is
on a Monday to Friday schedule. I’m definitely going to keep his school breaks for planning trips
and adventures and have already diarised the whole school year’s trips into my diary.

I have a new computer now and hopefully once I get all my photos sorted (over 5,500 still on my
phone LOL) I’ll start blogging in earnest again.
Sorry I’ve been away so long, I truly do not know where the days go! and some days I think my
father was right….time goes quicker the older you get. Is it maybe something to do with our
mortality? We are racing towards the end of our time on this planet, and as the years go by, you
start to realise that actually….the sands of time are running out.

So hi 👋 ☺️ I’ll see you again soon 🤞🤞🤞

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Time with my treasure

Posted in conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, It's my life, me and Peanut, walk 1000 miles 2021, tagged being a granny, conqueror virtual challenges 2021 on August 14, 2021| 2 Comments »

I took my precious BooBee on an action packed adventure today. He’s so much fun and an absolute joy to be with.

He had ice-cream on the beach, jumped and did head rolls on a trampoline, rode on a merry-go-round, went on a pirate swing boat, jumped on a bouncy castle and played a game of table tennis 🏓

We stopped for lunch and rested a bit. Afterwards we walked through the harbour and to the beach where we built a stone pile and paddled in the sea before covering him up with sand.

We then climbed the cliff path and stopped on the way to look for dinosaurs in the chalk and draw his and my name with chalk

From there we went to the funfair where he enjoyed a pirate stage show and a couple of rides on a bouncy slide.

A fantastic day all round and we (read me 👵🏻) covered 9 kms…most of which he was sitting on my shoulders. Entered my kms to the Conqueror Kruger Park challenge and boom 💥 another post card!! 👏👏👏

Having left Hluhluwe my first stop was the Manyoni Private Game Reserve. Privately owned and one of the largest reserves in Kwazulu-Natal, Manyoni was established in 2004 when 17 landowners dropped their fences and opened up their lands to create a protected area for wildlife. One of the main drivers was to create a release site for a founding group of black rhinos as part of the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project (BRREP).

The project is a collaboration between Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZNW) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Their aim is to transfer black rhinos from provincial and national parks where they are at capacity to privately and community owned sites where they can continue repopulating under protection. Black rhinos once roamed much of Africa and had a population of 100,000 as late as the 1960s. Over the next 25 years the population diminished by 97% leaving a mere 2450 rhinos that were under protection in small reserves putting them on the critically endangered list.

However, with the aid of BRREP and sites like Manyoni the population is slowly growing. Manyoni has also reintroduced endangered cheetahs and African wild dogs whilst also focusing on conserving the landscape and ecosystem.

The next location is the Zimanga Private Game Reserve. Originally known as Hlambanyathi Game Reserve, the game on site were nearly all wiped out due to neglect and poaching. All that was left was 7 zebras, 1 wildebeest and some impalas and warthogs. In 1998 Charl Senekal, a sugar cane farmer, purchased the estate the reserve was a part of. He rebuilt the game reserve, fenced it and expanded the land. Over a period of time he reintroduced animals that were historically present in the area. Today it has 80 species of mammals including giraffe, buffalo, rhino, elephant, waterbuck, wildebeest, zebra, kudu, nyala, hippo, cheetah and lions.

The final reserve in Kwazulu-Natal was the Pongola Game Reserve. This 31,000 hectares reserve is over a century old and the first proclaimed reserve in Africa. Within its reserve is the 15,000 hectare Lake Jozini (aka Pongolapoort Dam). Besides typical game species, the reserve also has four of the Big Five: elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard.

The lake primarily used for irrigation is fed by the Phongolo River which runs right through the Pongolo Reserve. Dammed in 1973, the lake is home to the pink-backed and great white pelicans, the Nile crocodiles and hippos. The dam also supports more than 350 bird species such as Pel’s fishing owl, the green and red Narina Trogon and the red-beaked, black and white Saddle-billed Stork.

The Space for Elephant Foundation are also working at the Pongola Reserve aiming to create a habitat for more than 1000 elephants and re-establish an old migration route. Baby twin elephants, Dingane and Shaka were born at Pongola in 2014. Twins are extremely rare, as little as 0.5% of elephant births worldwide, making these twins extremely special at Pongola.

I’ve now completed 94 kms of the Kruger Park challenge

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A Jurassic Encounter

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, tagged being a granny, dinosaurs at Grovelands Park, jurassic encounter, soft play with a toddler on July 29, 2021| 2 Comments »

On Saturday my daughter, son-in-law and I took the BooBee (my grandson) for a Jurassic encouter with dinosaurs at Grovelands Park in Southgate. Albeit a long tiring journey by train and tube to get there it was a wonderful experience. In retrospect we figured it would have been easier and less tiring to travel up by car.

Despite the weather prognosis of thunder storms (that never happened), we packed for a day out and tickets in hand, off we went.

After a lengthy journey by train and tube we eventually arrived by which stage the BooBee had gone to sleep 💤😴 which was a good thing because then he was rested and happy to see the dinosaurs.

A long walk from the gates, as we neared the area we could hear fierce roars and screams emanating from the forest!! Finally we reached the dinosaur enclosure and set off on our adventure.

The dinosaurs 🦕 were really impressive and beautifully presented as with lifelike roars they swung their tails back and forth while moving their heads up and down…enormous teeth in massive jaws gaping ready to eat little people – no, not really, I’m just using artistic license to set the scene 😀😉

Mr T-Rex I presume!! Heading for the chip shop 🍟🍟

It was really cool to see them swinging their heads up and down as their jaws opened and closed, quite lifelike, although from what I could see, the majority of the kids were not phased as they climbed and clambered on the animals, my grandson amongst them, in as much as a tiddler can (of course he had an Anny to help 😉)

Who’s this tiddler climbing on my back??

He approached them all without fear and whacked and slapped their heads and faces about, copying all the misbehaving rug-rats around him 😂😂😂 while the 3 adults exhorted caution and ‘be gentle’, or ‘pat it carefully’ or ‘don’t bash it’ from the sidelines!! All of which mostly fell on deaf ears!! But to be fair, he did pat and stroke gently, and then went back to bashing and whacking and pushing and pulling. Kids eh!! 😂😂😂 the dinosaurs however, are tough, and survived the onslaught.

Regurgitating his last meal?? Meanwhile, under his belly the tiddler was jumping up and down, head bashing the belly 😂😂😂

Come with me said the tiddler to the dino

The route wound it’s way through the trees and it all looked very authentic and impressive.

Daddy stopped to have words with one fella and the last we saw he was running through the trees….the dinosaur, not Daddy, although he too did a substantial amount of running after the tiddler, who should just enrol for the Olympics as a sprinter…he’d be bring home 🥇🥇🥇🥇🏅 Jeez, the kid is fast, and switches back and forth faster than a blade runner!!

My growl is louder than your growl…no it isn’t, yes it is!!!

We did the whole family outing thing and bought chocolate covered donuts, a Teddy dinosaur and a balloon 🎈(which made it home safely without floating off to kill any birds or frighten horses). I am absolutely paranoid about balloons and their environmental impact, so we were ultra careful to not let it loose.

Mummy entertaining the tiddler with the help of Teddy dinosaur

Learning to be an archaeologist and digging up bones 😁

The same cannot be said about the tiddler, and Daddy and Anny had a fine old time taking turns chasing after him at the dinosaur enclosure and later at the diner by the station. His route included a foray into M&S much to the amusement of the guards and bemusement of the shoppers, and a quick (read very quick) race around the gondolas and shelves stacked with bottles of perfume and make up in Boots which didn’t endear us to the store – we were met with disapproving grunts and stares from the staff and shoppers alike as he ran round and round the shelves, and I pretended that I couldn’t catch him!! 😂😂😂

Yes, we’ve become one of those …you know, the ones that people (like me 😁) always raise their eyebrows at as they tut tut and comment on the bad behaviour 😆 of the child, while the adult tries desperately to catch the offending creature before they knock anything over….yip, I’m now in that category, and boy it was fun!!

My daughter tut tuts a lot when we’re out “Anny!! What are you teaching this child?” Me? 😇😇😇 nothing!!

After a scrumptious meal at a diner (a wetherspoons to my dismay – ugh) and much tiddler chasing, we hopped aboard the train with a minute to spare and headed for home. The tiddler kept us entertained along with a few of the passengers…so much so that 1 of them missed their stop altogether and had to alight at the next station in order to return to their station, and another who very nearly missed her stop and managed to gather her bags and all, and hop off just in time.

But oh my gosh, this child is ever so cute, and is so gorgeous and adorable that he just enchants people wherever he goes. He says ‘hi’ to anyone who even looks at him and even those who don’t, a ‘hi’ that invites a response from the lucky recipient. He’s curious (and nosy), funny and sweet and is a ball of energy…wanting to know what’s going on all around him. He licks the windows (ugh – we have to wipe them down before and after ) climbs over the seats (my fault), stands on the tables (also my fault), makes cute faces on command, asks millions of questions and jabbers away at the speed of light, the words falling off his tongue before the next one crowds it out… and is generally just adorable. His smile could light a dark moonless night – Yes, I’m besotted.

Back to the dinosaurs. I thought the exhibition was really good. The dinosaurs were so lifelike and we debated which ones would be likely to kill us if they were encountered on a deserted island, listened to blood-curdling roars, and generally admired the craftsmanship that goes into making these extraordinary animatronics. How lucky we are to live in an age where they can make these things. And may I ask “what is it with kids and dinosaurs these days?”. I don’t remember dinosaurs being so popular when I was a kid! Yeah sure we learned about them in school, but kids these days of a variety of ages are totally dino mad. Dinosaur toys, clothes, magazines, treats and sweet…why? BTW did you know that there were 700 species of dinosaur, and pterodactyls are a species of reptile and not a dinosaur. Interesting snippet of information via my son-in-law, and the information board. Amazingly, the tiddler was able to name each dinosaur as we encountered them. What’s that one BooBee? “It’s a …….” and he would rattle the name off, no problem. They all look the same to me and I can probably name about 3!!

Are you a lizard or a dinosaur? Or just a big bird!!

The only gripe I have about the whole affair is that the organisers could have had a few direction markers showing the way from the station. Along with us, there were at least 3 or 4 other groups of people trying to find the place via google maps, that kept directing us into the grounds of the Priory Hospital….you know….that Priory. Anyway, we eventually figured it out and all trooped along at pace to the gates.

I must also mention Grovelands Park. Wow, totally gorgeous. I never knew there was such a huge and stunning park out that way. It has everything really, a cafe / ice-cream stand at the entrance (most important), a playground, a massive lake with a huge variety of birds, woodlands, paths and huge swathes of grass for picnicking on. Absolutely lovely. If it wasn’t quite so far away, it’s the type of place I’d love to take the BooBee for a day out. Although we do have some fabulous places out our way, Grovelands Park was really amazing.

In all a wonderful family day out, I treasure these times especially because they don’t happen very often. I do get to spend time with the BooBee between work bookings, and take him to gymnastics and soft play, to the beach or the park and occasionally I get to babysit overnight and get a precious little ‘hi’ and a cuddle at 6am 🥰🥰💙

his ability at gymnastics has increased exponentially over the last 6 months and he is a tear-about

Come Anny….so Anny goes…where the kid goes, I follow….and am usually exhausted after 15 minutes of clambering through tiddler sized holes, along ropes and up obstacle courses, sliding along on my belly, or down bumpy slides…being careful not to knock myself out. But it’s so much fun and he loves it.

He’s a charm. I’m so enjoying being a granny.

The Jurassic Encounter was good fun and I am sure he loved it….

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Sunset at Pegwell Bay

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Granny and Jamie's adventures, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2021, walks around the UK, tagged being a granny, conqueror virtual challenges 2021, walking the Thames path on April 20, 2021| 15 Comments »

Hello!!! 😃😃 yes I’m still alive….and walking. What’s new?? 😁😁

Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately, my only excuse is that I have been working and walking and enjoying time with my grandson.

I had a super couple of weeks in Devon recently where I got to visit 5 new places, revisit 1 and do a lot of walking and exploring, and added another section of the English Coast Path to my collection.

I got back home last week and as is usual I’ve spent as much time as possible taking my grandson to the beach and the park.

And yes, I started my Thames Path adventure 😃😃👏👏👏🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

although I can’t walk the whole route as I originally planned, I’ve completed 2 sections; Erith to Greenwich

And Greenwich to Battersea Park. Super awesome. Tomorrow I’ll be walking Stage 3 from Battersea Park to Richmond and on Friday, Stage 4, Richmond to Hampton Court. The 5th and final stage for now, I’ll be walking on Saturday from Hampton Court to Staines. The rest of the walk? Who knows??

Not the route I’m following, but the river certainly is long 😁😁

As a result I’ve only managed 1 sunset walk at home and a couple of other sunsets I saw from the train on my way home from London. Sunrises = 0. The sun gets out of bed too early for me in summer 😆😆

Seen from the train at Rochester station

So my blog has sadly been neglected. That’s not to say I haven’t been writing….I have quite a few posts sitting in drafts waiting to be completed, but I need to edit the photos that go with them.

I’ll get there.

Meanwhile, after taking my grandson to his 2nd gymnastics class yesterday I finally opened my computer again to update my budgets and plan my savings strategy for the next few years. Gosh I really do wish I had enough money to give me more time to do all the walks I’d like to do.

I completed the Giza Pyramids Conqueror Challenge while still in Stoke Gabriel so I should be seeing the medal in the mail soon.

I’ve started the Ring Road, Iceland challenge although that’s a long term challenge that I’ll flip in and out of over the next few months.

I’ve been dithering about which challenge to allocate the Thames Path walk ….Mt. Kilimanjaro (97.1kms) or The Cabot Trail (299.4kms)?? 🤔🤔🤔

The Cabot Trail would have been perfect if I’d been able to walk the whole Thames Path route in one go and I’m reluctant to break it up…and Mt. Kilimanjaro will be completed in 4 days….or maybe 5 depending on my final tally on Saturday. See my quandary??

So anyway, now that I’ve blathered on for the last 10 minutes…here’s the promised sunset 😆😆🚶🏻‍♀️🌅

Interesting to note that the position of the sun set has changed in the last few weeks

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Time with my heart

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, tagged being a granny on March 19, 2021| 8 Comments »

What a joy it was to meet up with my precious grandson and his Daddy at the park late afternoon after I got home. His smile when he sees me is a delight and fills me with joy. After the swings and the slide we walked home and I joined them for an early supper.

This morning I took ‘Mamie’ (he refers to himself as Mamie ☺) to the beach.

First we picked up stones, then had a bit of a lie down, then built a moat (no Anny, not a castle 😁😁), then we strolled around the harbour, had a look at the war memorial, visited the lighthouse and sat on ALL the benches 😃😃 watched a sailboat go out to sea, stopped to look at the Coast Guard boat, Vigilant, then we inspected the Pilot boats, stopped to look at an interesting car and back on the bus where Mamie sat on the big boy seat ☺☺. Fun times

I came back this evening to babysit while Mummy drove Daddy to work. We played hide and seek (he loves being frightened 🤪🤪) built a puzzle, made dinosaurs and elephants, stars and a heart out of play dough. Then things got a bit crazy when Granny turned the play dough into a meteor…

Hysterical laughter followed as the ‘meteor’ flew around the lounge.☄☄

Then it was dinner time and he laid the cutlery on the table (very impressive for a 2 year old) had a yummy dinner and went for a walk with Mummy.

Afterwards its was into a nice warm bath with a big bathbomb and then we had the ‘fun’ of watching the Night Garden on ceebeebies. OMG it actually nearly put me to sleep. But he loves it, and it brings him down from hyper to calm.

He truly is the joy of my life and I am so grateful for his health and vitality. I’m now babysitting again while Mummy fetches Daddy from work.

Wonderful day 💙🥰 I love that he calls me Anny. Granny is still too big a word, but truthfully, I wouldn’t mind at all if he always calls me Anny…it sounds so adorable ☺☺

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Happy Birthday Boobee

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, me and Peanut, tagged being a granny, family and relationships, grandson on January 19, 2021| 1 Comment »

Two years ago today, at exactly 12:46 this precious little cherub came into our lives, and in an instant my baby became a Mummy, and I became a Granny. 🥰🥰🥰

Its been an amazing journey ever since – he lights up my life, bringing so much love, joy and laughter. From a tiny wee scrap, he’s now a super hero who builds snowmen and keeps me fit on the beach.

A photoshoot on the beach by createdwithlightphotography

Wishing my beautiful, funny, crazy, adventurous, smart and joyful grandson a very happy 2nd birthday, you are most precious to me 🎂🎁🎊🎉2️⃣

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Granny’s Joy

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, me and Peanut, tagged being a granny, love, my grandson on December 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

There is nothing more precious to me than hearing my grandson from behind the door saying “G’anny” when I ring the doorbell and then seeing that beautiful little face lit up with a smile. And a cuddle follows close behind ☺☺💙

He is my absolute joy….

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2 years ago today

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, me and Peanut, memories of days gone by, tagged being a granny, heritage clothes, knitting for babies, knitting for my grandson, knitting for newborns on December 7, 2020| 14 Comments »

I finished knitting this little matinee jacket for my soon to be born grandson 💙☺

6 weeks before he was born I completed the jacket. This little item was one of many little cardigans and jackets I knitted for his layette. I love knitting and it was such a joy to prepare these little items for him.

When my daughter was a baby, I knitted a full set of dress, jacket and bootees in green, using the same pattern. Continuity. I’ve still got the set in storage.

And continuing with the same pattern, I knitted a blanket for my daughter. It was meant to have been knitted while she was in labour, but as it turned out, the birth went very differently to what we anticipated and I participated in his birth right from the first contractions till he took his first breath.

And so the blanket took a tad longer than expected….like 18 months longer. But eventually it was done

It’s now being used for when he goes out in his pram

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Puddles and splashes

Posted in Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, tagged being a granny, fun and games with my grandson on November 29, 2020| 2 Comments »

During one of my brief stays this month, I took the boobee to the beach. He had loads of fun and Granny got to do some nimble hops, skips and jumps across the rocks as he bounded along looking for puddles. All very well for him with his wellies, but I really didn’t want to get my shoes wet, so I had to do some fancy footwork to keep up with him and not wet my shoes. All went well, he kept his balance, running nimbly across the rocks like a wee goat, and then he decided to return to his earlier puddle that had lots of water and made lovely splashes….and then just as he was walking away….he reversed and sat down!!!! In the puddle 🤪🤪🤪🤪 OMG I laughed so much. He’s a minx.

🤣🤣🤣🤣 I don’t think he was expecting it to be cold…

He loves to collect things….a bit like his Granny 😍😍

He does this thing lately where he throws himself backwards and onto his bottom…lovely game…except in puddles. Fortunately we had a change of clothes (except spare socks and shoes) in his backpack and after he’d run around and splashed in more puddles, I carted him off the beach under my arm to the sidewalk where I managed to change his clothes while holding him up in the air….there was nowhere to sit, and coz he didn’t have spare shoes I couldn’t stand him on the ground. I phoned his parents after that to rescue us….he’s a right character. And although I’m quite fit, keeping up with a nearly 2 year old is a different ballgame…

I do love being a Granny and would love to have more time with him…

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Walking familiar paths

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, It's my life, photography, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged #plasticpollution, baby boomers travel, being a granny, conqueror virtual challenges, long distance walking, Ramsgate Harbour, walk1000miles, walking the English coast on November 26, 2020| 2 Comments »

Lockdown and the government tiers certainly doesn’t allow for much by way of exploring, except in your local vicinity. If you’re lucky enough to live in a countryside area, close to the sea, or near a river, even if its familiar its usually different and can still be enjoyed every day.

Hands and Molecules – a familiar and favourite sculpture on the clifftop – makes a good frame for the moon

I adore this house. Located near the King George VI Memorial Park on the Dumpton Gap side, I used to have house envy till I realised how close to the cliff edge it is 🤪🤪

I live (sort of*) near the sea and even though it’s the same, every day along the coast is different. I’ve found myself with time on my hands due to losing a 6 week assignment so made the most of the opportunity to spend time with my grandson and to catch up on my walking targets for 2020.

My favourite sunset to date…23.11.20 across Pegwell Bay

Sunset from the cliffs above Pegwell Bay near Cliffsend

One of my favourite village signboards – Cliffsend has seen Viking raiders, St Augustine’s arrival and WW2 action

I’ve seen some amazing sunrises and sunsets and had much fun with the kid. He’s developing into a very determined little boy and like most kids his age, he has a strong will. He’s also growing rapidly and requires his Granny to carry him when he gets tired….but Granny is not a bodybuilder and has her limits 😁😁

He’s going to be a displacement officer when he grows up 😉😁 loves to move stuff

Just a hop, skip and jump on the beach at Margate

I’ve mostly walked locally and managed a walk to Broadstairs and to the Sandwich side of the Pegwell Bay nature reserve.

Looking across the saltmarsh mudflats to Ramsgate

The saltmarsh mudflats, a fascinating environment

The mudflats are home to an incredible number of birdlife that visit here during the changing seasons

The reserve has an amazing history and played an important role in WW2.

On my way back from the nature reserve I walked along the beach beneath the cliffs; devastated to see the volume of plastic trash lining the high tide level and he number of dogshit bags piled up. It’ll take a team of 20-30 people to clear that up…it stretched from where I’m standing right along the cliffs; heartbreaking.

We’ve had a couple of family outings and made a special trip for the boobee to see the Christmas lights in Margate

Snowman!! Penguin!! Santa!! His vocabulary is expanding daily 🥰🥰

Ramsgate Harbour offers so many photographic opportunities, you could spend all day there

I’ve managed to increase my kms by 74 this week and passed my original target of 1600kms. I do however still have 375km to walk to reach my 2020 target of 2020kms. Looking forward to seeing if I’ve exceeded my October total 🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

So yeah, I may be walking familiar routes, but every day it looks different.

* I sort of live in Ramsgate but because work all over the country I don’t actually have a home and liveineither a guest house or b&b between assignments. One day…I hope to have a home of my own.

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