Lord Loon….At Rest

Those of you who are kind enough to visit my blog will probably know that my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and died of it a mere 11 weeks later in June. I posted about it here.

Yesterday we sailed to Lundy to scatter his ashes. To be honest, I did my utmost to not think about it too much, which actually worked I think.

The post is quite photo heavy, you have been advised!

It was Louis and Alex’s first trip to Lundy and though they have been on boats before, not recently enough to remember or experience properly.

Let me say now that it wasn’t one of Alex’s best days. He did brilliantly with such a lot of walking, when I showered him this morning he had a rub mark on his foot, which he hadn’t even complained of. Maybe that didn’t help his mood, but he was very introverted and grumpy. I will put it down to being a big day, a bit unusual, difficult with the ashes and strangers. He wasn’t great company though.

Louis on the other hand was an absolute star. So he was my favourite child yesterday Alex wasn’t enjoying my camera either so I didn’t upset him by trying to get any shots.

I was so pleased to catch this one of Louis as we left harbour, his excited face says it all. He wasn’t sure he was going to enjoy it, but almost immediately he was saying thank you for bringing him.

I took about a million photos as I so loved being back out on the water.

The sun came out.

I said to Louis that I had forgotten how the foam sizzled and he said “yes, it is glittery, glamorous water”.

 

Even Louis’ charm couldn’t cheer Ali up!

Mum, Chris and Tony with Ali gurning.

Mum and Chris contemplating the Beach Road.

That’s the one, the white turn-y one up the cliff.

 Millcombe House. What a great spot for a retreat.

We were three-quarters the way up at this point.

Finally on top of the island and Alex stretching his sea-legs to bounce on the grass. Bounce, oh yes, I had forgotten how bouncy Lundy grass is. The grass is so knotted with moss and with the rabbit-warren underneath meaning there is barely any solid surface in some places means a sprung ground.

This was us heading down to our old house and I can tell you I was as churned up as all get out. I only lived there for four years so god-only-knows how Mum was feeling.

The building in front is Castle Cottages which are still available to rent as holiday cottages, again a great place to retreat.

One of my first memories was of playing in Castle Cottages whilst Mum cleaned.

This is Mum and Louis standing in what was her kitchen in Signals Cottage. By anyone’s standard it wasn’t pretty but still it was hard when the trust decided to knock it down. We scattered Dad here all through the ground floor and then we took the last of him down to the cliff wall about 20 metres in front of the cottage.

This was Mum & Dad’s view from their kitchen and bedroom. It’s a wonder there were only two of us! No wonder they were heart-broken to move back to the mainland and then subsequently heart-broken when the island trust decided to knock it down.

We walked back past the church St Helena’s to get to the Tavern for a drink for Lord Loon.

Lovely Lundy Stone Tavern building, made my heart simply throb.

In we go. On my Dad’s thirtieth birthday I was a mere 8 months old and I spent it here with him. He was dressed as a woman and they covered his shoe soles with coal and ‘walked’ him over the ceiling. I remember clearly going back when I was 8 and seeing his ‘footprints’ over the ceiling. Clearly this wasn’t the look they were going for and revamped the place But I knew as someone told me that the Ravenswood sign was in here and I was looking forward to seeing that. And dreading how it was going to make me feel.

Faintly, under the ‘V’ you can see the date 10.10.80 which was when it sank.  So many emotions seeing this sign and so happy it is there and honoured. It was a humble vessel but it served the island and the islanders well.

Louis entranced by the tale of the Ravenswood.

The boys scampering into space.

And then saluting into space!

Mum, Tony & Chris sat in the ‘Ugly’. It was nicknamed the Ugly as no effort was put into it being beautiful as well as being useful!

Quarry Ponds.

A break at Quarry Ponds. We were all pretty tired and emotional by now.

I knew we must try and get to the Old North Light and take the boys up if possible in case we couldn’t get there again for a few years.

Mum, Chris & Tony. Not up the Old Light with us!

 

A lovely, difficult, wierd and beautiful day. I am posting this in September, when this day actually happened in August. I still don’t know what to think about it hence not much commentary.

I hope you still like a glimpse into Lundy and our previous life and thanks so much for looking.

September Colour Combo Blog Hop…

Whooosh….and another month has gone.

Usually I love that the seasons change quicker than when I was a child, but I think now is the time of my life when I just want it to slow down….I mean sloowww right down.

I embrace autumn now. Spring used to be my favourite season, but Autumn is now. I think it is because my children are all school age and autumn term is fun. There is freshness around the potential to do well academically, the honest-injun vow on my behalf to help them all with their homework and general well-being in a structured way. There is also Hallowe’en with all the taste of pumpkins, the fun/scare festival of the night and the turning back of the tick-tock clock that dominates most of us. Then bonfire night with it’s random sparks lighting the sky and worrying every parent and pet-owner in the land.

Then the inexorable march into Christmas (there, now i’ve said it) and all it’s accompaniments.

It seems like no time at all since this time last year, even though so many things have happened.

Amy’s blog hop has reminded me of this, and a card that I have meant to do for a couple of weeks.

The design seeds inspiration can be seen there in the photo as a print out.

This is the ribbon I coloured to match the card.

All finished!

Thanks for looking.

Next up is http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

Here is the full blog-hop.

http://amysoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.vsws.typepad.com/

http://www.scrapworthylives.com/

http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net/

http://www.snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/

http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/

Hmm…not sure about the tie.

Louis was not sure how to tie the tie that he needs to wear to his new school.

Nanny was on hand to show him.

She was so fast her hands were blurry.

Hmm.

Only approximately 975 school days left Louis, chin-up.

Why is the fairground such a romantic memory?

Admittedly I did kiss a boy from the fair when I was 15…. he was cowboy-cute, long floppy hair with blonde high-lights, perfect snow-wash jeans and pristine white tee-shirts. If you are less than 37 you may think that isn’t the height of fashion, but for me, he was the business.

But that is not it, that was a crush and I loved the fair for many, many years.

When I moved back to Ilfracombe (6 years ago) I was thrilled to go again with my children, however, I needed friends or my Mum to come with us so I could go on all the rides. When I say all, I mean two of them. It is a very small fair-affair in Ilfracombe, little offshoots go to all the outlying towns and villages in the area (does this happen in your area?) for a week and then they all meet in the big town Barnstaple for a proper fair for a week afterwards.

Last year was a sad occasion for me, I waltzed my last, I thought I might hurl (ahem, excuse me) during and after

This picture is why.

This year I had to ask Lauren if she would give up an hour going crazy and learning the romance of the fair for herself and take Alex onto the waltzers for me.

No more crazy fair rides for me.

I soaked up the ambience instead, enjoyed watching Ali and Lauren enjoy themselves. Scary moment of aging; watching Lauren excitedly running around with her friend Jasmine, the daughter of my friend Jenny that I used to run around excitedly with

They were on this, that might be her legs.

Alex was on this. Spot the Alex.

Spot the difference.

A wistful look back, a bag of plastic-crap toys^TM courtesy of the Hook-a-Duck and some chips.

Lauren still swinging a million miles above Ilf. Probably.

Farewell fair and my strong-fairground-riding-tummy.

Tradition, generations, scents, tastes and those lights, oh those lights. I am pretty sure that is what makes the fairground such a romantic memory.

Learn Something New Every Day.

Having looked forward to this class so much, I was so frustrated with myself that I got behind immediately. I can’t even pinpoint what it was.

I left work earlier so I could get a tiny little jog in before I came home so it wasn’t that.

I have given up the glass of wine, so I have actually got more time, so it’s not that.

I know I didn’t allot any more than the usual golden hour quality time I normally bestow upon my cherubs It’s one hour no-more-no-less (and they have to split it three ways ). So it’s not that.

I can only put it down to the amount of time I devoted to online shopping for stash over the weekend.

Well here they are then, nothing profound, nothing clever, no rhyme nor reason to it. I am just trying to make a note of the straightforward rather than the prosaic. It feels like that sort of class. It has already become a lot about Louis as he really is LSNED as he starts his senior school years.

I can’t find the one of him in his first school uniform at the moment, but this was in the first couple of weeks of school. I know this as Alex was born on the Friday after he started school. Look how little he was how can he be at big school?

My LSNED day 5 was that he can totally rock a cheapy nylon blazer.

He is sticking his tongue out wierdly, it isn’t just wierd lips.

 

Sorry about the jumble of photos, they make more sense in the jumble book.

Here is the cover, of the said jumble book.

Whew. If you made it this far then I applaud you.