An Even More Belated May Round Up.

 Hello, it’s been a while. I’m going to do a fairly speedy round up of May before I hit the epic month that was June!

Most of my spare time in May was taken up with walking. Himself was doing the Royal Lifeboat Institution’s May day Mile challenge. The idea being you get sponsored to walk at least a mile each day in May.

In his words;

'There is no greater calling than risking your own life to save the life of someone you've never met before. To do this as your job is admirable; to do it as a *volunteer* is nothing short of humbling. The crews and lifeguards of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution are these life-savers. They do this every day. Around the clock. Without question.

My late father was a big supporter of the RNLI. He grew up in a fishing village on the coast of Scotland, and saw first-hand the integral part of the community that the lifeboats were. He saw them save lives, saw them when they couldn't manage it, and saw what happened when they themselves couldn't return from the sea. My dad's no longer with us, but I've taken to supporting the charity in his memory. And their latest fundraiser seems custom-designed for me.'

And as he walks every day it was indeed custom made for him, but being the mad person he is, he set himself the target of walking 400 miles in May!?! Yes readers he did it, I did not.

I did manage a respectable 97 miles though. We did three big walks going from 10, to 12 to 13.5 miles respectively. 

 

It was my Sister in Law’s birthday on the 6th and the plan was for friends and family to come round and sit out in their just finished, newly refurbed garden with a drink or two, but as it poured with rain all day, we all filled their kitchen instead and ordered in huge pizzas.

Himself’s birthday is on the 10th so I took him out for dinner at our favourite pub (walking there and back of course!) I had delicious grilled salmon whilst he tucked into homemade chilli con carni.

 

I also fitted in a lunch out to catch up with a couple of friends. One of whom I mentioned in my last post had just had her breast surgery prior to starting radiotherapy. It was lovely to see her, and better still to find out  the surgery had been a success. Her husband came to join us and it was wonderful to see them both so much more relaxed.

 

The weather held out on the Sunday for our 12 mile walk which was just blissful, taking in 5 local villages, 2 pubs, lots of sheep, some cows, a few horses and glorious views.

 

I also did a quick work trip to Paris the next week. I was told early in the year I was going, then I wasn’t, then I was, then I wasn’t. 

Finally, by the time it was decided I really was going, I had a nightmare finding trains because not only was it the bank holiday weekend it was also half term! I ended up having to travel on the day of the event and pray that everything was running on time, and coming back home the next morning.

This meant I ended up being in Paris for less than 24 hours. in fact I worked it out that in a 24 hour period, I waited for a train for a total of 3 hours, travelled for a total of 9 hours, and worked for a total of 5!

There was a gorgeous full moon that night too, but by the time the event had finished I was so knackered, and the location of the hotel was so far out on the outskirts, that I didn’t have the energy or inclination for anything more but sleep. 

I didn’t even make use of the free bar downstairs. The young man who checked me in must have mentioned it half a dozen times, particularly mentioning and the free champagne or cocktails on offer. I liked that even after a mad dash across Paris and with only 40 minutes to spare to check in and freshen up, I still looked like a champagne or cocktail kind of a woman!  Probably he was being charming, I fear I was more likely to look like a slightly deranged, give me anything as long as it’s alcohol, kind of a woman. Any which way a quick cup of tea in my room and I was restored (much as I might of liked a glass of champagne.)

After an early, surprisingly busy, but tasty breakfast I managed to get to Gard du Nord in good time for my Eurostar home. The train was packed full of very loud middle aged French rubgy fans. It was all very good natured though and I had to chuckle at them sharing round coffee and croissants, playing right up to the stereotype. I couldn't help but speculate that if they had been Brits they would almost definitely have been on the beer and probably a damn sight louder.

 

It was lovely to wake up in my own bed on Saturday morning and have a leisurely breakfast before heading out for a long walk. 

This weekend we did our 13.5 mile walk. Himself had decided we should do a circular walk to Wittenham Clumps an ancient hill fort near the Thames. It’s been many years since we last did it and we are both much more seasoned walkers now. The start was a bit confusing as they have started to build a huge housing estate on what used to be farmland, but thankfully the footpath was still there. We also got a little lost trying to find the right footpath to the base of the hill but we got the map out again, figured out where we might have gone wrong and doubled back to find the entrance tucked away and overgrown. 

You walk right past The Earth Trust which has an activity centre and a hall they rent out. There was a wedding in full swing with lots of guests milling about outside enjoying the sunny weather. We did get a couple of double takes as we yomped past. 

We did the main Round Hill first and the view was so worth the climb, it was wonderful to look down on the Thames sparkling in the sunlight as it meanders through the Oxfordshire countryside. The amount of buttercups was just astonishing, as you can see it was just a carpet of yellow.

We walked all the way around the enclosure at the top, encountering a herd of cows who took no notice whatsoever of anybody as they made a slow descent towards the farm at the bottom, pausing to crop the grass here and there as they went. 

We the crossed over to Castle Hill where my enjoyment of the views was spoilt by spotting a pile of discarded cans and food wrappers. Why oh why can’t people tidy up after themselves??

We took a meandering walk down in the village of Long Wittenham, passing through the most glorious ancient meadow

Our plan was to stop for a drink at The Plough, a tiny pub with a huge garden stretching right down to the river., before heading home.

We found a table outside and were enjoying our well-earned pint when I spotted Nephew Number One and his partner Shannon walking up from the river with empty glasses in hand. What a coincidence, we bought them another drink and they sat with us whilst we caught up on news. We were having such a good time we got another drink and walked back down to sit on the riverbank to chat. 

We sat with our legs dangling over the river and spotted Mr heron on the opposite bank. I wasn't sure I would get a picture in time but he obliged.  We finally left together at about 7.30pm!    

Shannon and I walked ahead when the path narrowed and looking across a field I spotted a tawny owl flying. I pointed it out and as it flew closer you could see it had a mouse in it’s talons, so it was clearly feeding owlets somewhere. There were a couple standing on the path ahead of us with binoculars and a camera, so I asked them if they were watching the owl. They said they had been coming out for several evenings now, and proceeded to show us the most fabulous photos they had taken. What made me sad is there is only one field left between the footpath and the relentless building. By this time next year the owl’s hunting ground will be a concrete and brick housing estate. (I have a lot I could say but won’t get on my soapbox.)

 

The following Wednesday was my brother’s birthday so I headed over that evening with his card and presents to enjoy whatever takeaway he fancied for dinner, which turned out to be fish and chips. I haven’t had fish and chips in ages so it was a lovely treat.

Saturday was technically the first of June, but I shall include it, as alongside the Friday, it was an Experience event we put on for incoming students. The Friday night they had a college dinner and for the Saturday we did a boat trip down the Thames, with ironically, fish and chips for lunch. 

The boat stops just after Iffley Lock in Oxford and staff from the local chippy meet it with a trolley full of freshly cooked fish, chicken, and burgers, plus mountains of chips. There was way too much and as the chips weren’t great I ended up eating 2 bits of fish instead. 

 

It was a grey day, rather than the sun we had been promised, so a bit chilly on the river. 

There was another boat that set off just before us which contained a wedding party. When we got back to Iffley Lock there was a brass band playing for the wedding party much to the delight of our passengers and all the passersby.

I had been going to walk back to the station with a load of the incoming students, but as there had been a free bar on the boat, they were pretty lively shall we say. I decided to decamp to the pub with 4 of my colleagues instead. Frankly I figured nurse-maiding a bunch of pissed people goes above and beyond the job description!

I got home early evening and just in time for BBC2’s Bon Jovi night which I thoroughly enjoyed. The fact that it was to celebrate the band having been together 40 years not so much so, I am in denial it's been that long!

 

So that was May, there's a lot to pack in for June but hopefully I can do that before it's August.