I was hoping to have posted this at least a week ago but with a busy period at work and an intermittent internet connectivity at home (it has been reported to my ISP – don’t you worry) somehow the time has eluded me.
January saw Daddy enjoying weekends at home, and with weekends off it meant that I was able to do the kind of things that daddies should be doing with their kids. One of these important events was to take Éowyn to the park and teach her to ride her bike. Éowyn has had her bike for a while but has refused to learn and with the fact that I have been working at weekends Lucinda and I have not had the opportunity to force her hand. So when the school arranged a road safety awareness week and the children could take either a bike or a scooter in, it seemed like the ideal time to address this skill gap.
The first hurdle was to attempt to stop her giving up before she even got on the bike. With that stage passed it was the back-breaking role of holding onto the back of the seat while she peddled and I ran alongside her. It didn’t take long for her to gain the confidence albeit with stabilisers. After a few trips around the park she was riding barely using the stabilisers. Therefore the next stage will be taking the stabilisers off and getting her to ride on two wheels!
That hasn’t been the only big step forward for our first-born. After a hiatus of over a year she has lost her third tooth. As you may recall she lost two in relatively quick succession and we thought that was going to be the start of the avalanche. However, there was no further exfoliation, edentulism if you prefer, until this week.
The tooth was wobbly for nearly a week before it fell out and we got regular updates from Éowyn. We tried to encourage her to eat food that would encourage it to exfoliate but it did not happen until she was at school and out it came. Obviously, the school is prepared for such occurrences and she was given a small paper envelope in which to place the tooth to keep it safe for home time. This was then placed under her pillow for the tooth fairy. As per tradition, the tooth was replaced by a shiny pound coin (so shiny it looked like it had been cleaned with Cillit Bang).
This loss of a milk tooth occurred at an appropriate time, the bi-yearly dental check-up. This was Ezra’s first trip to the dentist and Lucinda had spent the previous week pretending to be the dentist and asking him to open his mouth so that she could look in his mouth. The training paid off, for at the dentist Ezra was the most comfortable and most compliant with the dentist. Éowyn, on the other hand, freaked out when the dentist looked in her mouth. He did manage to confirm that although she may have only lost 3 of her milk teeth, that her adult molars had come through at the back of her jaw. It was these teeth that he was trying to paint with a protective coating but had to leave because she was so distressed. I think it is time for Daddy to be the bad guy and take her next time.
The majority of the photos below though come from a weekend away in Dorset. Lucinda’s Uncle Bill decided to celebrate his 70th birthday at Berwick Manor in Puncknowle, the scene of the majority of the Badger Moots. Uncle Bill had hired it for the week, but being term time we joined him for the celebrations just for the weekend.
We always enjoy the Badger Moots (we are usually held in the October half-term) and this was no exception. It was a long way to go for a weekend but definitely worth it. Berwick Manor feels like a home from home as we have been there so many times before, so it feels very familiar as soon as you drive through the gate.
We left home late on Friday night (after I had returned home from work) and so didn’t arrive until long after the Baguettes’ bedtimes, however the sight of their cousins gave them all a second wind and so didn’t get to bed until late.
Since we were planning on leaving after lunch on Sunday this meat that Saturday was our only full day in Dorset. We know the west of Dorset extremely well due to the annual Badger Moot and one of our favourite places is Lyme Regis. Therefore we were looking forward to a trip to the edge of Dorset. However, when we looked at the weather report we decided that Lyme Regis was perhaps a little too far to shelter from driving rain and a howling gale.
Nevertheless we did not want to come all that distance and just sit in the house, regardless of how homely it is. So we decided to head just down the road to Bridport to check out the Saturday market. However, the market stall holders must have heard the weather report too and there were only a handful of market stalls brave enough to open in the rain. Therefore after running from shop to shop to avoid the rain we decided that enough was enough and after picking up supplies from the local supermarket headed back to the manor house.
The girls did not mind going back to the house. One of the shops that we had stopped in was Toymaster, a large toy emporium in Bridport where they had spent the shiny Christmas money that Santa had left them, plus the shiny pound coin that the tooth fairy had left. Thus, going back to house gave them the opportunity not only to play with their cousins but to play with their new toys, while Daddy could watch the start of the six nations rugby.
Saturday evening was Uncle Bill’s birthday buffet and it was family time. The large kitchen table seated us all comfortably and it was a good night spent eating, drinking, catching up on family news and putting the World to rights.
Sunday morning started bright although still extremely windy and with Sunday lunch booked for 14:30 we had some free time in the morning so we decided to pop out and visit the nearby town of West Bay. West Bay beach was used in the introduction to the television series ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin‘ and more recently the series ‘Broadchurch‘. Although it wasn’t the weather for filming when we were there. Nevertheless, despite the weather when the girls asked if they could have an ice cream, we decide we would let them, they were by the seaside after all.
So after a Sunday lunch we bid farewell to the birthday boy, Nanny, the rest of the family and Dorset and headed back home ready for school (and work) on Monday morning. It was a long way to go but a thoroughly enjoyable weekend spent with the family in what could be described as a Badger Moot-ette! Roll on October and the next.
Peace and Love
Baggie
