POD used to enjoy riding her bike but when the stabilisers came off she refused to get back on it. While the bike has made it into the great outdoors several times, its largely remained in the boot of the car. Scooting has been POD’s preference over the past year and having perfected her skills to and from school over recent months, cycling just hasn’t appealed to her.
How is it February already? It honestly feels like we blinked and January had gone. The Doves have been especially busy recently but we do love the great outdoors. There really is nothing better than escaping to blow away a few cobwebs. POD is finally getting to grips with riding her bike without stabilisers which is very exciting. She’s still a little wobbly at times but relishing the independence. We’ve found we have a new challenge on our hands – finding cycle routes that aren’t too long as we’re literally running along behind her. Walking is so much more relaxing in comparison let me tell you!
Much as we love exploring the countryside, there’s something to be said about an impromptu trip to the coast. West Wittering is always a firm favourite but there are plenty of beaches in West Sussex to discover. Like Littlehampton which has two beaches and an extraordinarily long bench.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and you’re gradually starting to settle into some kind of routine. It’s been great to see so many of you blow away the cobwebs and enjoy the great outdoors. We were hoping to get snow in Surrey but it wasn’t to be. We had a few flakes but there wasn’t enough of the white stuff for POD to build a snowman. She was born on Christmas Day 2010, when it was a very white Christmas, so we’d love to have a day when we can throw open the curtains and she’s greeted with a magical wonderland.
Six year old POD has seen videos of Jonnie Peacock MBE win Gold in the T44 Men’s 100 metres at London 2012 and again in the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games. She knows he got poorly and lost his leg below the knee when he was five but went on to be one of the fastest athletes on the planet. His time on Strictly meant she got to see him learn a new dance every week and with that came a new line of questioning. We talked about Jonnie Peacock a lot over those eight weeks, not just when Strictly was on, and we continue to do so. It’s unlikely we would have had the same in depth discussions about amputees had he not been on the programme.
Can you believe it’s Christmas (and POD’s seventh birthday) in less than a month. Somehow it feels more festive now we’re in December and the temperature has dropped. We’ve had the big woollies out of the cupboard and the fire on at home with any time outdoors making us feel energised. It’s the best feeling isn’t it, blowing away the cobwebs then getting all warm and cosy.
Don’t you just love this time of year, all those autumnal hues are just divine. We had a few local wanders in Surrey over the half-term period and everywhere is looking so pretty. Winkworth Arboretum was just wonderful although so was Hatchlands Park and Alice Holt too. POD even learnt how to ride her bike properly at last!
The picturesque landscape at Winkworth Arboretum near Hascombe in Surrey is a draw any time of year but especially in autumn. Maintained by the National Trust for 60 years, this hillside arboretum has a significant collection of shrubs and trees making it an ideal place to admire those magnificent autumnal hues. So much so we like to sneak in a couple of visits if we can. As luck would have it, POD and I ventured there just over a week ago when she had a rather well-timed inset day.
We upped sticks from London and moved to Surrey seven years ago now so there aren’t many places we haven’t visited. Or at least have on our (ever expanding!) list. Somewhere that has completely passed us by however is The Sculpture Park which we only discovered this summer.
We had the most wonderful family day out at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo yesterday. Not only was it Hullabazoo’s 5th anniversary, POD got to meet her PJ Masks hero and join in with activities which are part of the #BooAtTheZoo Halloween event. We even saw a tiger take meat from someone while standing on its hind legs which was just remarkable.
