Children of the revolution

Although it was my first week at my new job, I took Friday off for a prearranged double whammy family gathering in Somerset.

The Wells carnival is a favourite event for The Boy and I (having not missed one in three years) and this year it was time for my parents to finally see what all the fuss was about.

After a jam packed day in London on Thursday (nine store visits and a trip to the DC) we hopped on a coach (the pro list for getting a car is growing longer by the day) and headed for Hampshire for a one night stay in Titchfield with my parents. Goats cheese salad (alas no picture, I was too hungry) and wine awaited us, followed by an inevitable nap on the sofa for me. I love being home, surrounded my my family and our wonderful, clutter filled house.

Friday dawned with an early morning dentist appointment for me before we set off for Shepton Mallet. We took a lunchtime pitstop at Street where I picked up a cheeky Whistles treat and indulged in a Toffee Nut Hot Chocolate (non-coffee drinkers out there, believe me this is amazing) and arrived at The Boy's parents around 4ish. Just in time for cottage pie and a natter before the action began.

The carnival over the past few years has been notorious for bad weather and this year was no different. Thick fog made driving conditions pretty interesting and halfway through the procession the rain began to fall. But nothing could put a dampener on our enthusiasm and we remained steadfast in the market square to watch the floats go by. Some of my personal favourites featured polar bears, a Disney theme, snow machines, "Children of the revolution", a rather creepy Christmas tale, and of course, middle-aged men dressed as women - basically it was right up my street.

You can find out more about the Somerset Carnivals here, or watch my video below for the kind of thing you can expect. It's important to remember that in most parts of the country these husbands/fathers/brothers would spend their evenings sat in front of the TV, not customising what is essentially a tractor and trailer and learning a dance routine. 

One word: Amazing.

The ties that bind

Brace yourself, this is set to be an overly sentimental post-it's strange what a holiday can do to a person. A little time away from the daily grind, in a different environment, with people you truly care about can really make you see how lucky you are.

 

 

It's funny how easily people can come into your life without making too big of an impact, and it can end up feeling as if they've been there all along. I've never felt this more than on my recent holiday to France for my cousin Rebecca's wedding. 

We have a family tradition for the cousins (me, Mark, Gareth, Megan, Matthew and Rebecca) to have our picture taken in both height and age order and, having recreated this childhood image as one of Becki's wedding photographs, it's strange to think that once there were only six of us. Ali (Gareth's wife), Mel (Matt's wife), Robert (Becki's husband) and Michael (aka The Boy) all play such a huge part in any family gathering that now we're very much a ten rather than six. It's not often that we get to gather as a group, normally only at weddings or special events, but when we do it's like no time has passed, and with everyone getting on so well, I truly feel blessed to have such a wonderful family. I'm not going to lie, as someone who finds large scale social gatherings somewhat of a challenge, I used to approach family  occasions with some trepidation. But over the past few years, with many a wedding and milestone birthday, these gatherings have become more frequent and now I look forward to seeing everyone and catching up on what everyone's been up to.

Had it not been for Becki and Robs wedding this holiday might never have happened but I'm so glad it did, I was in dire need of a break from everyday life and what better holiday is there than good food, fine wine and great company?