Afternoon.
How are you all?
You may have noticed that I have removed the last post from the front page, it seemed a little whiny and I’m not in the business of constantly complaining to you. So it’s gone. Instead, I thought I’d replace it with a nice jolly post about my family outing today. Feel free to switch off…now.
So, here I was. Seven o’clock this morning being rudely awaken by the unmistakable sound of my mum pottering and rushing around, making sandwiches and flasks of tea and coffee (well, just coffee actually which I was most put out by). I had already been drifting in and out of sleep from about six as I heard Charlie Stape read the morning’s news on BBC Breakfast but I knew that I had to drag my sorry arse out of bed soon if I was to be up and ready in time for my sister’s arrival.
It wasn’t all that bad though, I woke up to an unread text on my phone from someone nice and my mum brought me a cup of tea to start the day off. I managed to clamber off the sofa which has given me a slight crick in my neck and I hopped in the shower and got myself ready for the BBQ and picnic with the family.
I’m not going to babble on about every little detail of my day, I guess I just wanted to set the scene.
Anyway, so my sister and brother in law (soon to be) picked my mum and I up and we drove into the Dales to a small village by the river called Burnsall – absolutely beautiful setting. Rolling hills covered with trees on one side and farms on the other and a picturesque slow running river meandering through the public field where my grandparents, aunt and two young cousins were already setting up camp for the day.
The day kicked off with attempting to skim what seemed like boulders on the river and then a “who can make the biggest splash” competition with George (aged 7) and Charlie (aged 4). Following that was a game of cricket in which I learned I can actually throw and catch and that George has quite a bright future in Yorkshire’s national game, scoring a total of 30 runs and seven wickets.
The game got quite intense at points, I was diving around trying to catch the ball when I was fielding, my mum was running for perhaps the first time in ten years – I may have been a bit vicious when throwing the ball back to George, it hit him right on the nose which made him cry. Needless to say the whole family turned and gave a fairly cold look – it’s not my fault if he can’t catch!
The food was good, despite me only having one burger which dripped with tomato sauce and fried onions onto the melamine plastic plate. The irony was that all the running around my mum had done in the morning was all in vain, as not one person touched a sandwich she had made…apart from me, just now.
Other highlights include the young boy who went for a wee right in front of our gazebo, me scoring a bullseye on a duck whilst trying to skim and generally having a fantastic day with the family. I also learned I could be a horse and that I looked good behind the wheel of a red Ford KA.
Result.
I’m now currently sat in my mum’s living room with my sister and Carl, listening to my mum whitter on about tales from the past as the rest of us just looked bored and fed up as we’ve either heard all these stories before, or we were actually old enough to recollect them (and may I say, that our recollection of events is a lot more accurate than my mother’s).
So that’s about it really. I’ll be heading back on the train to York in exactly an hour. I hope you’ve all missed me, I know your lives aren’t the same without me in them. So when I arrive I expect flowers, champagne, palm leaves, a donkey…you can leave out the wooden cross though. I don’t fancy that thanks.
If you want I might write again later, depending on what mood I’m in (which is good at the moment, for those of you wondering).
Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
Peace y’all.