Holiday Magic

All strapped in and ready to go? Here are just a few of our holiday snaps from a recent trip with a few family members to Filey and Scarborough. Believe me there were over 300 - so you have the potted version here, but do not proceed unless you have a few minutes to burn!!


Anticipation was high as we set out from Coalville. Sophie sat next to me and held my hand for about the first 30 miles! Awww.

Sophie and Leon sat patiently waiting to go down to the beach at Filey. It had been a 2 and a half hour drive but she was still smiling - now that's what I call holiday magic!

What can you see Sophie - woah . . .

. . . it's Grandad's toenails! Sick! Now I know what to get him for his birthday!!

He doesn't look too comfortable does he?


Sophie and the boys hanging out a Flamingo Land. A theme park with a zoo. It was a weekday so we got to just about walk on all the rides, and while we did that . . .

Sophie took Mikey Baby on some of her rides! She didn't seem to want to go on anything without him. They are BFFs

They were both well and truely ready for bed at the end of the day!

When Leon and Mike first got into the sea they turned a few heads . . .

Grandma and Sophie had so much fun spending time together. They had a sleepover and chatted away until about 11pm! They still managed to get up and pack the picnic together the next day.

Grandma Cath has given Sophie one of her favorite hobbies - collecting stones on the beach. Here she is with her mummy looking for some good ones.

James hung out in his little beach tent trying to stay out of the heat whilst the rest of us got as bear as decency would allow trying to get a tan.

The lighthouse in Scarborough.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair - yes, we are. We all had a go on the big wheel and dad treated himself to some cockles and muscles.

Back to the beach - it's the only place to be when the weather is so good. Grandpa bought Sophie a little dingy because she was afraid to stand in the water.

Were were going to take the boat out to look for seals and puffins, but when mum and dad dropped out to stay on the beach with the kids, we had no choice. The speed boat was the only way to go.

On the last night we took an evening stroll down to the beach below the campsite which we had all to ourselves. It was so lovely.

The expressions probably tell you water the water temperature was like. But we got used to it.

The final day and the weather finally turned. We went out to the Sealife centre in Scarborough to stay out of the sea mist and rain.

Waiting in the queue Leon noticed an enticing offer . . .

It was true! He did feel the pure energy of the gemstones!

Glow in the dark James enjoyed the jellyfish.

Claire was the first to brave the 'petting pool'. The little crab was very cute - but not to be out done - Jim showed what he was made of!

Mike got a little claustaphobic in the penguin enclosure.

By the end of the week Grandad Jim and Leon had had about enough. It was time to go home, although fun had been had by one and all!

the £63m question -

I mentioned on Facebook a couple of weeks ago that I was having fun cutting out our office scrap paper into the shape and size of £20 notes. We wanted the money to show how much we've helped small businesses in the East Midlands to raise. It took forever but I think the results are pretty decent - put it this way - it got us more column inches in the papers.

But the £63m question is - which picture do you prefer?

Perhaps Greg and I need to raise our sights a little higher!!

M

Arteests of Loughborough unite!

My sister Alice really is the most creative person I know. She can take just about any medium and make it into something funny, interesting, inventive and Alice. This week is a landmark for her as she finally comes to the end of an era and finishes her degree in 3D furniture design - Alice we salute you!! We hope your hard work will make you rich and famous. At least famous.

All of the different art courses at Loughborough University are currently holding an exhibition for students to show of their work to family, friends and professionals. We went down on Friday night and experienced the weird, wacky and brilliant offerings, and I thought I would take you to the gallery with me . . .

My apologies to all you cat lovers out there, but this first installation had me and Mike in stitches!! Would you like fries with that?


The exhibition was so busy and at times it felt like we were at a big concert or something, there was no moving back or forward. We were just sandwiched between people. My mum's worst nightmare!



So this is Alice, soon to be a professional. She even has her own business cards printed and ready to go! She had three pieces on display. Her class will be taking their work to a national exhibition called 'New Designers' in London. Most of them have been invited to take one piece for one week - Alice has been asked to take all three of her pieces for the full three weeks. Can you tell I'm proud?

These are her stools - the design is pretty inovative - it has you sitting end on, on rolled up paper. It's surprisingly sturdy!

Item number two - her table. The finish on this is absolutely superb. Far better than anything else in the show, an extremely good professional standard.

And finally her adjustable coat stand. I saw it before she added the colour, and the colour has really added to it in my opinion. I love this and wish we could have it in our house.

There were a few different themed exhibits. Photography, and of course with Loughborough University's reputation for sport, there had to be some pictures of our athletes.

There's also a lot of foreign students which was I theme - I loved these . . .

And some scenes from British life . . .

There were some funny installations. This one was pretty memorable - a horror theme. You entered through a dark curtain and could look through two little peep holes. It wasn't until afterwards that you realised you were the eyes looking through the creepy Bates motel picture!! Mike was faking it but I was actually scared!

Some bold use of colour in the fine art exhibit . Looks like one guy is sweeping the area for coins.

I liked this one, Mike didn't.

We all got quite into it and tried to take some arty pictures of our own.

This one was in jewellery and silversmithing. Not so impressive until you see the scale. They are actually teeny tiny humming birds. Cute!

There was textiles . . .

But probably the laugh out loud funniest was the foundation art exhibit. I mean what the? A guy riding a cornflake rooster? (Actually that would make breakfast a lot of fun)

Some kid created a little hide out inside a locker . . .

And this was the stand alone funniest thing of the whole evening. I am giggling now just looking at it. I think it was a self portrait. Perhaps an exercise in stage make up - look out Hollywood!

No art exhibition would be complete with out a Jim and Shiela life size figurine. They just add class.


That's all for now art lovers. I hope you have enjoyed our little walk through the imaginations of Loughborough's students. Here's to Alice - may her future be a bright one!!!

M&M x

The Marvelous Month of May

Oh May, how I love thee! The month when husbands bring home flowers, month when the sun comes out and I get to spend time with sisters, month of bike riding, month when dad and mum get to party. It's been a good full month with a lot going on. I thought I'd share some of the highs. I took a long awaited day off to spend with Lucy and the kids in May. We meet for lunch on Wednesdays but it always seems so rushed when I have to pack up and return to work, so we thought we'd make a day of it. Mostly we spent time on the park with a picnic, but the sun was out and the sky was totally blue so we loved it! Jenna wouldn't eat anything much, it's a phase she's going through and Lucy is dealing with it using Supernanny tactics! Thank you Supernanny! But she would eat ice pops and strawberrys. I thought in the shots I took she looked like a little model in the making!

Pink tongue!

The weather has been uncommonly good - and Mike and I have tried to get out and about. The rape seed fields look so pretty - just to prove that we really did have sun :

I put a buttercup behind Mike's ear and he forgot it was there. We walked past a group of chavs who were staring a bit - and only afterwards did we realise that the flower might have been why. Isn't he pretty!

May also has two bank holidays! One at the beginning and one at the end. We decided to go for a ride around a fairly local hotspot- Rutland Water. Rutland is the smallest county in the UK right next to Leicestershire, and is home to a resevoir with a cycle track and a nature reserve. Emily came with us and we hired bikes. The track was a 17 mile round trip.

It started well - there were no other people around really because we arrived early. We loved cycling through the woods and mostly rode off into our own little worlds. There was the occassional stop at the village fair for chocolate cake as well.

Later there were alot more people to dodge which seemed to give Mike bike rage . . .

Poor Emily.

I think the picture says it all!

We enjoyed some pretty flat sanwiches by the time we stopped for lunch.


Don't we look completely jacked!!?

In the end we were tired and happy. When you work in front of a screen it's a great feeling to get out into the open air and go for it! We completed the ride in just over three hours. Thanks for coming with us Emily!

The sunshine also seems to bring out Mike's artistic tendencies. We've been out taking pictures and on this particular day Mike had a clever idea to try and help him with his painting. What if he could take a picture frame with just the glass and use a felt tip to trace what he could see? So we hauled it all up to Bradgate Park and he gave it a go.



He's a perfectionist and never happy with his own work. I thought it was pretty good - he thought is was pretty frustrating and disappointedly rubbed off every thing he tried.

I occupied myself with stalking the deer and trying to get pictures. This is about as close as I dared. For some reason they could always hear me coming!


Of course no May is complete without Emily's birthday! Happy Birthday Emily. We had a sleep over at our place with the Farleys, Killer bunnies, Guitar Hero and "Seven Pounds". Emily guessed the twist of the film about 15 minutes into it! But it was good and well worth watching. Cake and icecream around Mum and Dads on her actual birthday as well. I can't believe my little sister is now 17! She will soon be on the road - so look out!

Mike and I have discovered a new haunt. YumiYumi Crepes. For milkshakes and a light lunch it is the biz and is in the foyer of our local cinema. You can see Mike didn't want to be in this shot - but I got long arms!!

The blog this month would not be complete without a little something from Mum and Dad. The ward hosted a 60s/70s/80s night and as part of the activities committee Dad wanted to make an enterance. Watch the video and see whether you think he did!

Bye for now! x

M&M