22/08/2022
Henry
Sometimes Henry comes out with something really quite insightful, intelligent or interesting. Only sometimes though, most of the time he's a nut job.
Yesterday was a nut job day, I give you: "I can't believe so many people drive more than five hours just to have a walk round this Loch. I mean, it's nice, but five hours?!"
Let's pick that apart.
1. He'd recognised the loch was nice, which is good. And a relief, because if where we're staying isn't nice it can be very difficult few days.
2. He realised that not everybody at the loch was staying at the loch. Again, that's good. Often if he's doing something somewhere then everybody must be there doing the same thing.
3. He'd recognised that most people had driven there, which means he'd realised that the paddleboarders, canoers and walkers hadn't all paddleboarded, canoed or walked there.
Which of course leaves the five hours thing left to answer. Delicately.
"So, Henry, why do you think it's taken everybody five hours to get here?"
"Well it took us five hours to get here!"
"Yes, but not everybody has driven from Sunderland."
"Oh. Right."
And then he wandered off, deep in thought. Maybe. Who knows what goes on in that head.
Eva
Eva has been wandering round the forest the last couple of days wearing a deer-patterned hoodie. Is it deer hunting season? I hope not! At least she hasn't had the hood up, that comes complete with big deer eyes and little antlers. Things could have ended up very messy. I'd hate to be the hunter who shot at a deer-clad Eva, she can be quite caustic at the best of times but a hunter mistaking her for an actual deer wouldn't have known what had hit them.
Landmark Park
Today we visited Landmark Park. The 'n' in Landmark has three little dots above it, I never worked out why. Maybe they were aiming for a faux-continental look? Anyway, it was good. Lots to do, not too busy. Ideal.
Henry and I did a high ropes course, much to Eva's disgust because she wanted to do the high ropes course but was too small. Despite a recent growth spurt Eva is still short for her age and hates to be reminded of it.
I suspected Henry only wanted to do the high ropes course because Eva couldn't, and about half way through the first obstacle I realised he was terrified. But give him his dues he got round, despite the Landmark be-tshirted employee telling him off for not doing it properly.
We'd abandoned any pretence that he was going to make it round doing it properly so I suggested he just sit and slide along the cables then pull himself along to the next platform, sometime with the assistance of a foot or arm from me. It worked: he got round, survived and, once he'd stopped shaking, claimed to have enjoyed it. That's 'properly' enough for me.
Eva had to make do with the mid-sized ropes course, which she flew round in next to no time while Henry recovered with an ice cream and a sit down. I think she was trying to make a point, though maybe she was just expecting an ice cream too.
Muckle Spate
Landmark is in a little village called Carrs-bridge, famous for a derelict bridge caused by a flood called, I kid you not, the 'Muckle Spate'. I like that, it does exactly what it says on the tin. I can imagine the Big Flood Naming Committee conversation, shortly after the big flood.
Chairman: Ok, the only agenda item for today, what shall we call it?
Jeff (there's always a Jeff at committees): Call what?
*sighs all round
Chairman: Keep up Jeff, we're the Big Flood Naming Committee. There's been a big flood, we need to name it.
Jeff: Well we call a flood a spate round here, and we say that something big is muckle, so how about the Muckle Spate?
Chairman: too obvious Jeff, too obvious. Any other suggestions?
Brian (another committee member sounding name): er, lads, the pub shuts in five minutes can we get a move on?
Chairman: Muckle Spate it is, meeting adjourned!
Bear
Bear was shattered this evening after a full day of being fussed over by strangers, his favourite kind of day. He was so tired I put a bowl of water down for him and he shuffled over without standing up to have a drink.
He was not so tired that he couldn't jump up in my seat when I went to say goodnight to Eva though.
Paddleboarding
Eva and I are paddleboarding tomorrow. I'm pleased to say it has warmed up today and should be warmer still tomorrow. There's no Muckle Spates forecast either, so what could possibly go wrong ...
