On the beach

A young person crept quietly into my bed at 5.45, wriggled about a bit then fell asleep till 8.30. Of course I didn’t so got up at 7 and put on the heating. It’s still really cold here and nothing has thawed yet.

The children did their homework and then Nathaniel played computer games with Thomas and James.

To get us all out we got them onto packing up their stuff then left for the 45 minute drive to Warkworth beach. A fair amount of sea coal was on the beach. They were surprised to learn that we used to gather it when money was tight in the 70s. There was still bits of ice and snow on the beach.

On our way back to the car we met their auntie Claire and 2 of the women who’d been sharing the weekend house with their mum. Their mum had turned back to drive to Amble. We were meeting her at the Fish Shack for a late lunch. It was delicious and we all had the fish and chips which deserved their good reputation. All, that is, except Nathaniel who opted for 2 starters, one of huge rolls of squid with salad and Sichuan dipping sauce, and the other of king prawns in a chilli oil. He’s wearing my Uzbekistan fur hat for fun - I hope I don’t find chilli oil on it. We kept coats on as it is just a shack.

After all their stuff had been packed into #3 daughter’s car we went our separate ways. I had a hot bath when I got home and now I must change the beds and tidy up as Dennis is coming to stay tomorrow for a few days.

It’s been quite a chilled weekend with no fighting between the siblings, not even when we played mahjong last night.

The blip is them on the beach, Nathaniel with a prawn and the harbour in Amble where the Fish Shack is.