The Sami Family go on an Adventure (Part 2)…

You might have read my post last year about our family weekend away. Well, this year it was my turn to plan the Sami Family Adventure, and I picked a cute little cottage in the centre of Tewkesbury, right near the Abbey.

We got there on Friday evening, and made a dash in the rain to get to The Boathouse for dinner, drinks and lots of chatting to catch up. The Boy could come this time as he had got his annual mountain trip out of the way beforehand (Ben Nevis this year), so he got to catch up with Mum and Dad too. And it was nice to talk to Big Sis and her fiance about their wedding plans too.

On the Saturday, we went to see the John Moore Museum, a little tudor cottage and church, and then went for a boat trip down the river. By this time it had stopped raining, just in time for a wander down the river to see the Mill.

After some lunch, we visited the Abbey and then chilled out before our BBQ. We had to move it inside because of the rain (The Boy calls this a “Welsh Barbie”), but it was still lovely. After that we chilled out, watched Glasto on the telly and then went to bed.

On Sunday, we packed up and drove to Snowshill Manor, a National Trust place nearby. It was right up my alley, as I love anything to do with collections, collectors and collecting! A guide told us the story of the eccentric Charles Wade, who owned the manor. After an idyllic childhood, Charles was moved to live with his Granny. Granny was stern and didn’t like visitors, noise or playing. But she did let Charles play with the Oriental objects in her large cabinet. This started an interest (obsession?!) that prompted Charles to buy a manor house and fill it with collected items after the war. He lived in the small priest’s house, and filled the manor with objects; everything from looms to ceramics, pictures to bicycles, furniture to model boats, and way more, including his room of Samurai armour!

It was a fascinating place, and I’m sure you could visit time and time again, noticing new things each time. I really liked the fact that Charles collected items that probably weren’t valuable or even wanted , which probably would have ended up in the bin; at that time the emphasis was on the new, not the old, and Charles saw the beauty in these objects despite this. He went against the norm, the fashion, the trend, and picked items because of his own interest rather than their value. And because of this, we now get to see some fascinting items.

Even the garden was full of hidden items..

What a lovely weekend!!

Love,

Sami x

Car Danger, Dawlish and a Scrumptious Cornish (Cream Tea)…

To escape the chaos of house-renting, car-buying and decision-making, I went to see my angels, who I see every 3 months. (You might remember Bath in March and Bournemouth in June) and it was Princess Helen’s turn to host this time, in Dawlish.

I now think that Dawlish is lovely, but my first impression was a bit odd… I got on the train in light, dry weather. I got off in dark, stormy weather, with the sea crashing over the barrier about 3 metres away from the train tracks. I was a bit befuddled! But that was the only bad bit of the weekend. My angels always cheer me up, and we had such a lovely time, eating chips on the beach and cream tea; falling in love with Helen’s cats and her lovely house, and catching up on all of the gossip. Oh, and a teeny bit of shopping (be rude not to).

There was a small car incident (which I promised I would tell you about in my last post). On our way back from shopping, we nearly all melted in the car when the heaters were blasting out really hot air when on the cold mode. Gem suggested that the engine might be overheating, and I asked Helen about coolant (NEW CAR KNOWLEDGE ALERT). She had never heard of coolant, didn’t know what it did, and was seriously low on the stuff. We double checked with my dad and had a not-so-reassuring chat with a lady in a petrol station, about the time her car radiator blew up on the motorway. Then Helen tried to sort out the problem like a pro. I feel very proud that I read my manual and have a small amount of Car Knowledge to- hopefully- keep Yohan the Yaris out of trouble. We’ll see. *note* It was actually a problem with the heater and Helen had to pay lots of money, but at least we tried.

Anyway, I was sad to leave the angels and Dawlish, but we’ll be meeting up again in January/ February so I’ll let you know about our latest adventures then.

Love,

Sami x

The Sami Family Go On An Adventure…

I love my dad. He’s the best.

However, he has one flaw… he is completely IMPOSSIBLE to buy presents for. He never knows what he wants for Christmas, and he always gets shortbread for his birthday simply because he likes it, and me and my sister have been fresh out of any other ideas for around ten years.

So when my sister came up with an actual birthday gift idea, I nearly dropped down on my knees and kissed her feet! We decided to arrange a weekend away for the family, as a present for my parents’ birthdays, and dad’s Christmas pressie too. (We’re making the most of having any kind of idea, okay?) Luckily, my sister is sooper dooper organised and basically organised the whole thing, which I do feel a bit bad about. But anyway, we set off for an adventurous weekend away, somewhere in the Cotswolds.

We stayed in a little lodge (top left) around a lake, and did a mammoth SEVEN HOURS walking over the weekend, which was well-timed to tire me out just before work started back for a new term the next day. Yawn! But it really was lovely. It was so nice to spend time with my parents, who I’m really close with, and also to see my sister and her boyfriend more too (The Boy couldn’t come as he was up Scafell Pike. As you do.)

We played crazy golf, went out for food, walked, and walked and walked. And then on the Sunday we walked some more, round some Rococco gardens (fab!) and a town called Painswick, doing a murder mystery tour which had incorrect clues; always fun!!

The most important thing was that mum and dad enjoyed it, and dad suggested it becomes a regular thing. Finally! We don’t have to watch him grimace at dodgy socks, chocolates he’s never going to eat or CDs he won’t listen to!

I won’t be mad if you adopt the idea for your own parents. Just let me know if it works!

Love,

Sami x

“…Cause We’re On Holiday!”

Hello!

Sorry it’s been a little while since I last posted… a lot has been going on! I’m gona fill you in over a few blog posts; otherwise it will be ridiculously long and my eyes will go square.

This year, me and The Boy decided we should save our pennies rather than going on an expensive holiday. And seeing as I now live in Bath- which is a great UK holiday destination- we decided to stay at mine, meaning we could justify doing extravagant things 😀

We (I) decided a trip to the sea was a necessary “cause we’re on holiday!” so we got on the train to Weston- Super- Mare, played on the 2p machines, had fish n chips and ice cream,  and a snog under the pier 🙂

We also went to see an outdoor play (Dracula), and cuddled up with wine (“cause we’re on holiday!”) and a blanket outside at Prior Park College, watching a 60-strong cast of young people. It was really good… even if The Boy laughed in all the “atmospheric” and “eerie” bits!

Next- a really extravagant activity in my eyes- we went to a SPA! (“Cause we’re on holiday!”) I had a back and neck massage and a facial, and The Boy got all pruney in the pool and sauna. Oh it was lovely! I think the best bit was all the lovely smells of the lotions; I am a bit funny about smells and have quite a sensite sense of smell, so it was lovely just being surrounded by flowers and fruit and sweetness for an hour.

One one of our holi-days, we went for a lovely long walk in the sunshine to nearby village Newton St Loe. My sister had told me about the farm shop there, which sounded lovely, and you can walk to it from the side of Bath that I live, through the stunning countryside. So we packed some tea loaf (“cause we’re on holiday!”) and drinks, a map, and some waterproofs just in case. But the weather was beautiful, and Newton St Loe ended up being one of those pretty little villages that are on actual postcards and you can’t believe anyone really lives in.

The farm shop was as lovely as my sister had said, and I had a great sausage and hash brown sandwich. The only downside was being attacked by wasps. But, we got to see some pigs (cuuuuute!) so that made up for it. And we (The Boy) bought some farm shop cookies for the walk back (“cause we’re on holiday!”). It really was lush, and so nice to get home later and snuggle up with a Thai takeaway after about 3 hours walking.

Along with all this fun stuff, we also went out for meals, and had a couple of lazy days in. AND… The Boy got a second interview for a job in Bristol!

Did he get it?!

Well, you’ll have to read the next post to find out…

 

Love,

Sami x