A day with the boys

We were due to look after the boys at Whitley Bay but Mr C said the forecast was cool at the beach (he doesn’t like the beach) so he elected to drive there and bring them here.

By the time they got here and had a second breakfast it had got quite hot. We went through the woods and down into Cragside and up parallel to the busy Alnwick road, down to Primrose Cottage, round the side of the woods and across what’s normally a boggy bit to the kissing gate and home through the woods. 13000 steps and 5 very hot miles.

James said now that Nana (his Irish Great grandmother) had died I was the slowest walker in the family. (Daughter says his other grandparents will be slower, but to be fair, he’s only ever seen them walk from the house to the car!). Turns out James himself was the slowest walker today. Not bored legs but he said it was “the worst day of his entire 6 years alive”.

We found an adder skin which they reluctantly agreed not to take home on the grounds of how stinky it was. James collected sheep’s wool after being told Mr C used to collect it for money. Thomas concentrated of finding more feathers.

I had to leave them pottering in the woods as I had to get back for the orthopaedic surgeon’s phone call. I was shocked to find they want to operate on my ankle. Apparently one of the bits of metalwork is causing the pain so they could remove it. In view of how I’m managing 10 miles (with painkillers), the time it would take to recover not to mention the fact there are no guarantees it would work, I said I’d rather keep going as I am for as long as I can. He’s going to give me a steroid injection in September or October to tide me over.

James asked for more breakfast before he went home. He’s had 3 bowls of homemade muesli and yogurt. It’s great he has found some food he enjoys that is actually healthy.