So, turns out Dovedale was just a very small trailer of things to come. The next day was tiny A’s 2nd birthday party (which turned out a bit political but hey ho!), R enjoyed a lot playing with little A.
During the week, time was spent doing Kumon, watching tele, chatting with friends, Schoefirld and Sims an d a little bit of singing theory and practice with some piano thrown in. Apart from April to June when I was on furlough, both K and I have been crazy busy with no time for the young one.
The next week end , Friday started with Burmese food and then we went to our nearby mall, had hot chocolate and generally relaxed as evenings were spent in the park with friends by K and R while I caught up on my Korean drama fix.
The next weekend was a girls sleep over at ours post a whole day’s play at one of theirs. Another day was spent at Coventry park, getting to know three other families, the ladies of whom got quite close by the end of summer.
31st was spent in Varalakshmi Pooja dress up, devotional songs and fun at the end of it all in H, the P and finally at N,s home with sumptuous food at all 3.
The next weekend just the 3 of us went to London to thank the Gods and have lunch and dinner at Saraavana bhavan, East Ham. A beautiful sunny day was spent at Thames Barrier park as well.
The next week we went to Padley Gorge with our new friends. The girls had a blast getting from one end of the stream to another. A lovely picnic was enjoyed as well.. All in all a truly wonderful day was spent.
Every other day, our neighbouring kid N would come over or R would go over and have water fun, trampoline fun etc. on top of it, N’s neighbour had 3 friendly dogs, so R had great fun with them.
On the Friday I had all the ladies over for a sleep over. Needless to say, lots of gossip, yummy food, anthakshari etc happened and we slept only between 5pm and 7 pm..and we chatted agin till 11am before everyone making their way home. Young N’s homemade Sangria was a big hit.
On the morning of Ganesh Pooja the week after, we went on the umberslade Trail as a family and the after that I went o Eldon park with my colleague R. The day was beautiful and the trails were a delight. Late evening was spent at S’s house, gorging on yummy food on top of what was consumed at the newly opened SkV P. N had sent in some delicacies as well..
For the young one’s birthday the3families went to the water world on stoke on Trent, had a mega great time, came home dressed up and had a simple cake and crisps party with N, our lovely American neighbour, little D, and NYTL family and Y’mum as well on top of the usual 3culprits. On the way to the water park, we also visited N’s house to give them cake and for the young one to take her blessings.
She received her usual gift from her R mama and the usual gift from R, B and A, our friends in Blore. C,K and R sent their wishes as well.
Post the party I made it a point to visit P’s home and N’s home just to give sweets.
The next day was N’s daughter L’s birthday, as well as H’s birthday. So we went to the party, ate, danced, enjoyed and then made it to H’s home for cake, gupshup and more fun. Came home with R at 2 pm!K was really worried!
Next day we packed and went on our way to Wales, K, T and I working through our drive. S had cooked sumptuous food and (H had brought hot chai, so the lunch break post the scenic drive was thoroughly enjoyed.
We could not decide on a place, so we booked at the absolute last minute but luckily there was a last minute cancellation. So we booked Bryn LLys. An absolute delight of a place. On the way we stopped at Llangollenand the scene was set for the rest of the trip. I loved the walk along the stream and R and the kids loved a dog called Misty who enjoyed playing with them as much as she enjoyed time with them..
In the meanwhile I chatted with the 70 plus gentleman who owned the dog and it was a very thoughtful and fulfilling chat. We then made our way to the property, which I fell in love with at first sight. The owner had worked in a local attraction for 20 years and had wanted to own this place every time he cycled past it. Post retirement he had finally bought it and restored it with love. It was exactly and perfectly my kind of haven. Cosy, comfy, thoughtfully and charmingly decorated with rustic taste. The space was ample and reminded me of grandma’s home.
On day 2 we visited cwm Idwal’s bowl and did the walk around Idwal’s lake. We climbed the hill and what can I say..nature truly blesses us in all ways it can. The walk was as much a delight as the parking was a nightmare. The weather was not great, as there was wind hill despite the sun. But the beauty Of nature’s bounty with the hills, the babbling streams and the roaring waterfalls more than made up for it.
We came home happy tired and had home made fare as was the case throughout our stay there.
The next day we first visited llanbaris lake. The railway was fully booked but the weather was fantastic. So we climbed the hill up to the quarry hospital and enjoyed the views from there. We then visited Swallow falls. It was yet another kind of beauty.
Did I mention all 3 nights we all stayed up till 2pm, chatting with the men on Remy Martins and the ladies on Merlot and cocktails and the children high on just fun?:)
The final day we packed up, said our fond good byes and made our way to Llandudno beach. I was knackered and stayed in the car, catching up on sleep and let the others have fun in the beach. Only around 4 pm did I step out for a short walk along the beach.
We came home after a stop over for a service station Burger King dinner and wrapped the summer up.There is just one birthday party next week, post which, secondary school, here we come! Fingers crossed!
