Weapon of choice. What's yours?

 Here is a picture of my weapon of choice for tonight's dog run..

    No, not the mop bucket!!

 It is now 22:50 pm. I have just taken Betsy for a run. Is it right for a 30 year old to be running at night around a park with a dog and  an illuminous football in tow??

 Keeps me fit I suppose, happy days :)

Go Ape- Grizedale Forest.

My wife and I were invited to go along to Go Ape to do a review about it and to obviously have a fantastic day out. My initial thoughts were 'Aah brilliant!', followed by 'Ooh, scary'. :)

I have always wanted to go along to Go Ape and have missed the opportunity to go along with my friends a couple of years ago. I am also not very good with heights. That wasn't gonna put me off though, no way!

As we arrived at the centre, we were warmly greeted and I felt like we were to be in for some good customer service, ( which is a rarity in most places.) We were then asked to fill out the forms/ disclaimers, and proceeded outside to receive a tutorial from one of the Go Ape staff and he fit our harnesses. *feeling nervous but excited*

There's Karen readying herself for the first zip slide. ;)

I thought that the worst thing was actually the waiting in anticipation because I just wanted to fly through the whole lot as fast as possible so as not to be stuck behind a scared person and wait ages stuck up a tree. 

The obstacles were all different and some harder than others. My favourites were the two large zip slides crossing the valley and the best of them all was the large Tarzan swing after choosing the extreme route over the easy one..

Can't be a wuss!!!

On the Tarzan swing, you only free fall for about a second before the rope kicks in but the adrenaline boost rises to a crazy level and resulted in me shouting obscenities at the top of my voice, now I know why Tarzan does that scream thing!! What an amazing idea. I would recommend Go Ape to anybody, fat, thin, young and old. You feel completely safe as long as you are always strapped on to the obstacle and the tree by taking the safety clips one at a time and placing them onto the next bit. I cannot wait until the next time I visit one of the other sites and have already spoken to friends and family to bear Go Ape in mind when it comes to stag do's, hen parties, birthdays etc. 

Brilliant customer service + brilliant adventure = happy customer! Thanks :)

This year, in a Nutshell. (A very large one)

 What a year..

Turned 30, kids are amazing, had some great times as a family, learned loads of new bushcraft and nature skills, Man Utd 20 times champions, 13 premier leagues of which I've seen, new car..

What A Year...

Lost Gramps, Lost Col, Karen's lost Wray, her Gran isn't well and the car has been smashed into by an idiot who is denying fault when it's clear that he is in the wrong, very wrong....

Still, I continue to be positive. Why?,

I have an ok job that pay's well but doesn't pay sick pay and I'm so glad that Christmas is nearly upon us to get some rest. I know that might sound selfish, I am very glad to have a job in our current climate and god knows have we and millions of other Families have suffered. But still, I am a very lucky man indeed, my family drives me on, I have never had a day off sick in the seven years of being at my current job. Even now while staying at some digs writing about how things are, I am positive and I know my purpose in life. We have got a multitude of positivity to have pride in our country and what it stands for, the tories could be a lot better than they are in supporting the working class , I know that but the real Britain/England stands for racial equality, pride in it's heritage, fish, chips, mushy peas, Sir Robert Peel, the industrial revolution, inventors of our beloved game ,( c'mon England), Armistice day, D-day, spitfires, steam engines, Fred Dibnah, war heroes, coastlines....

I could go on forever..

Eccles cakes, pride in each other, The Royal Family..

What I mean is I think, is that I see all of the troubles around the globe, terrorists, orphans, typhoon's, nuclear power, Tyrant's, world politics etc..

England could be a very lot worse. It's very sad to see some of the news coming in from other countries, badger's being culled and Elephant's being poached. There is all of this information to take in, discard what you're not into and relish in all that you want to know. My Grandad had an amazing capacity to keep up with the times, he lived until he was 91, contempt with his life's experiences, dignity intact, off to see his Wife in heaven. 

For my positivity, I am thanking you Gramps. I learned a lot from you and so am dedicating my rant to you. :)

I am positive and will stay this way, 'chin up' as they say.....

 

Mora Compumpkinion.

The Mora companion is as versatile as the proverbial  Swiss army knife. Not only can it carve nice spoons and help to prepare food. It is very well equipped to join in the Halloween festivities.

As you can see, there is a pumpkin in my lounge and as a tribute to our favourite mammal, there is also a Bat :)

 So again, I will thank the guys from woodland ways for introducing me to this great knife :)

L + R, take note..

This is going to be very brief, 

I am now sat writing this in a loading bay in Greater London. I am here as my job needs me to be here but it is the last place I want to be right now. It is half term and right now I wish I could be at home having an adventure with you both looking for natures autumn gifts in the woods. 

However, I haven't yet followed my dreams and so have a bum job and am stuck in a rut. The only saving grace is the two of you and mummy. You are what keeps me going. 

Follow your dreams kids and never give up. The last thing that I want for you is to be feeling how I am in twenty years time.

Yours, Daddy x

National Family Arts Exhibition.

I took Rowan to the Arts Exhibition at the Lowry Theatre in Salford last Friday. The exhibit also had newly commissioned football artwork along with some great memorabilia courtesy of the greatest football team in the world, Manchester United. As one could imagine, it was right up my street. Although we missed Fred The Red, the Premier League trophy was there on display with the right coloured tassel's attached, Red, Black and White. We had our picture taken with it.

Rowan and I were invited to draw pictures and or write down our thoughts/memories of being a football fan. As Rowan is only three he had a good scribble. I however managed to draw a picture of something resembling Edwin Van Der Sar's top half with a caption underneath..

.. :) not a very good artist.

We were also invited to look and have a feel of some studded boots from the past  and even Shinji Kagawa's specially made size 7 3/4 featherweight titanium moulds. There were various shirts including arguably the greatest ever goalkeeper that ever graced football, Peter Schmeichel's XXXL shirt. There were some signed pictures from past legends and old match programmes including a blank team list on the middle spread immediately after the Munich air disaster..

..as you can see, the Busby Babes' names are missing :(

Rowan and I had a thoroughly great time and had a further look at some of the artwork on display in the Theatre. The people were fantastic and very helpful. Apparently our drawings will be put on display in the gallery for all visitors to see. I am looking forward to going back to have a look at what other people have drawn about their own memories, from half time bovril to hot vimto, and from deep heat to leg sting from hailstone. 

Great experience :)

Silent Sunday: 06.10.13