Sucking sweets at the cinema. We had so many left, that they lasted me the week. (I hid them from the kids when we got home.)

Last Saturday: Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkabar. What do you do on a wet Saturday afternoon? Nothing else at the cinema that I could have considered the correct age for them, so we watch, what Amanda would later say, "it'll give them nightmares."

This weekend, after swimming, we go to Bradley's nursery for a fair. We won on the raffle too. Some character chalks for Brad, and a pencil set for Esme. They wouldn't go into the fire engine, but that's quite usual.

Played around the tree, and when some other kids came and made more noise, Bradley wanted to go home, so did Esme, though I think she wanted to play with her crayons.

We also went to a pub for Dinner Friday evening. Lovely food. And I never say that, like ever! I had medium rare steak in a red wine sauce, with a dollop of pate on top, and mushrooms. The current landlord has only been there three weeks, so was very pleased with my comments, and that Manda took Es and Brad with Alex and Francis along again today.

They only reason they look so unhappy is that we have to go. They want to stay. There's a slide, swings and an obstacle course at this pub on Long Lane near Wrockwardine.

Nothing much out at Long Lane...

Just some catching up. Finally have my scanner working nicely, so iI an get some more pictures, and drawings into this blog.

Esme's drawing of Cinderella

It's been loose for weeks. Or, is that days? It seems like weeks. Yesterday she was eating corn on the cob, and it reeaallly was loose. Today, eating an apple while on the computer, I heard screams from up stairs... I dashed up, to more streams!

It's out! Bit of blood, but out. My pretty little girl with a gorgeous smile, now has a gappy smile.

Much whooping, hooping and yaying. She says she doesn't want the fairies to have it, so I call Nanna and she says, "I think you wrote a letter to the faries, Stephen, to ask for it back." Good idea Nanna!

Beautiful day. What else should people do? From the archives: in April 2004 with cousins and in June 2003 when we went to the waterfall.

Always a friendly place, mostly. The young couple across the other side with grand parents are having a stressful day, but Esme makes friends with an older girl of 8 and her aging father come across and we natter about the reservoir at the top of a path we're near to. Brown trout he says, of a pound and a half, feeding of the surface. Hmmmm. Thinks I dreamily.

No pictures of Esme, she was playing with her new friend, or going off to the toilet with Amanda.

Bradley spies people at the top of a mountain.

Apologies about the out of focus pix, I used the close up feature for the kiss shots (earlier) and didn't set it back till much later.

Only around the corner a mile away perhaps, Horse Hay's Telford Steam Railway. We've seen Thomas there before. Today there's a special events day, with Thomas the Tank, Percy, The Rocket, Diesel, and one other, who I can't remember. (Must ask Bradley, he's got a head for these train names.)

Bit expensive, I thought for the ride, £14 for the three of us. But, then, all these heplers are doing it for free. So, I don't complain, and fell like I helped in some small way.

The ride we took on Thomas was a bit of a cheat, a bit funny really. They said when I bought the tickets that there was two miles of track, and when we get to 'the other side' there was a tea shop, and a model railway display.
We steamed up the line at about 3 miles an hour. Stopped in what seemed like deep jungle, and started to go back! Eh? Back we came, and stopped at a station, everybody came off, to the tea house and so on. Took me a while to figure where we were, merely the other side of the rail yard! Though to the kids it was 'another town.'

Out of focus, but adding to the cartoon nature of the 'show.' The Fat Controller in the background, while the conductor on the platform yells out the instructions, to the driver, bottom left, who needs to get water into the black train, The Rocket. But the hose pipe's too short. And he looks down it, to get an eye full of water. The small crowd on the platform laugh their socks off.

And when he does get water in there, he find a fish and a duck. This was Bradley's part of the story that he told Manda a couple of times, while laughing to himself, of course.

Esme heard that if water wasn't put into The Rocket quickly, she may blow up. Esme then moves to the back of the crowd, and won't come closer.

Bradley really gets into character, adopting low crouching positions on the train

Esme is more interested in looking out of the window. Bradley can't reach that high

The Snow Queen

The brave tiger wasn't too happy being so high up.

We vote for the mode of transport. Two to one, we take the bus. Esme and Bradley want to take the bus. The bus is a trip in itself.

We leave pretty quickly when we hear from Auntie Alison that Thomas and Percy are at Telford Steam Railway.

Esme spots some one from her school

Bradley can't whistle, though those juicy pouting lips are delicious.

Go on Brad, try again

Esme can do it between her teeth, but not properly.

Esme is getting pretty good on the internet, well, the BBC sites. Using the back button, closing windows, very confident. So confident she adopts my pose.

While she's on this machine. Bradley's on the laptop in the kitchen, doing more BBC games. I have to run between the two machines when they call. I do a lot of running up and down the stairs. This is good for me also then.

Fridge door in the morning sunlight.

I spent six hours trying to catch my supper. Lost one, when I wasn't concentrating — didn't strike fast enough, and it had gone. Lost another just when I was getting dusk, on a daddy long legs. I could see them constantly sharking at the surface, taking buzzers, probably, so I tried everything, and decided to see if I could tempt them with something big an juicy, but as I struck, my knot gave away.

There's one. And it totally ignores everything I test out on it.

A day in the park. As usual Bradley takes off hell for leather and we have to catch up. He loves going down hills. Soon, time to take off those stablisers.

Today, Esme learnt to skid, and Bradley tried to climb the big spider web climbing frame. Much bigger than the one in Aberdare Park.

Telford Town Park's version is much, much bigger.

Amanda went nuts again and bought a water slide, since our car paddling pool has sprung a leak.

First down was Bradley, who lay on the slide, unimpressed with the water spraying over the top of him, and waited to move, thinking that he'd be moved, automatically.

Then, Tom our neighbour, showed him how to do it. From then on all hell broke lose.

Amanda tries to get Bradley moving before he knew he had to run at it.

As first Es Pes comes down carefully. This doesn't last long.

That's an excited dance Bradley's doing.

Now, does he want a pee with all this excitement?

During the holidays (last week) Esme decided to have a birthday for Baby Anabel (or was that Baby Cho-cho?)

She wrapped some toys up in toilet paper, and demanded that we bake a cake. Now, my cooking days are long gone, and I was never very adventurous with baking anyway. I decline. In truth, I'm really not into the mess kiddies baking makes.

Hours later, and much badgering, I find myself in the Coop, looking at the cakes. I persuade her that a pre made one would be better, and we can cover it with icing and other sprinkle bits. Bradley insists that he wants some baking/making to do as well. So I end up with some Scooby Snacks, which involve baking, anyway.

The weekend in Wales involved two birthday parties, I think this is where the idea came from.

The unwrapping. I persuaded her to paint the boring looking bog roll wrapping, with splashed paint.

Teddy's coming to the party, so may as well be in on the unwrapping.

That's a good false smile, Brad.

Esme does the final check over the party spread. Can we start?

Yes, let's get tucked in, after singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles five times.

Brad points to his Scooby Snacks.

Shop bought cake covered in three colours of icing sugar, and plenty of sprinkles.

Bradley was sent home from school the next day, for having the squits. Maybe it was these cakes. I ate one, Esme didn't have any, Bradley ate quite a few.

Another trip on the bikes. This time we head in the other direction, toward Cwmaman.

I'm more interested in panoramics on this trip.

Two cars to Aberdare Park. Nanna and Grandad join us, and bring some bread for the fishes. Or is that ducks? Or is that pigeons?

The park used to be the pride of the valley, though it's still nice, it's fallen into disrepair. The band of seats that used to follow near the whole outline of the pond have gone, the water is now churned up and muddy looking. Once it used to be crystal clear, so you could see the golden carp deep in the waters. The fountain, while it never worked even when I was small, is rusting and in need of repair before it's too late.

From the archive: a wet park with pigeons in December 2002 and after our holidays, when the Aberdare Carnival was on September 2003.

So we feed the fish...

Round and round he went again and again, "WHAAA!"

His hands are doing the monster, "WHHHAAAA!"

Brave little boy? Or just little boy?

Some of the larger kids come on and are told off by Bradley as their weight makes the whole apparatus wobble while he climbs.

Of course, Esme gets to the top, but not all the way to the top.

This thing whizzes around reeaallly fast

After a bubble gum flavoured lollipop.

The biggest, widest tree trunk ever!

Just an hour over the Hayfield. I used to play for hours over here when I was a kid myself. Then it was split into two. The top half an abandoned allotment with apple trees, gooseberry bushes, rhubarb plants gone mad... A whole wonder for us. But it was uprooted, and turned into a plain old field like the rest of the Hayfield. Esme took her bike, and Bradley took Dad's shoulders.

They played Good Guys and Bad Guys on the helicopter, climbing around like monkeys.

Brad scratched his elbow, and it's giving him some grief, but being a brave lad...

Later, we put a plaster on it. That makes it better, instantly.

My weekend was spent in Aberdare. Godreaman to be precise. On Saturday we went on a bike ride up The Line. An old railway line connecting up many of the pits on my (West) side of the valley. It goes all the way from Glynhafod to Cwmdare. About 5 miles.
We headed towards Cwmdare. I expected we'd go as far as the Tanyard, about a mile and ½. As it was we went all the way to the Country Park in Cwmdare, where the stables are and a little cafe where I could get a cup of tea and the kids pop crisps. Maybe 3 miles there and 3 miles back.

We had numerous debates whether we should continue. And several rests. Bradley gave up peddling about half way there, so I had to push his bike, which was hard work for me to bend down and try and get him to walk faster to catch up with the riders.
Eventually, I pulled him with a jumper around the handle bars, and he just sat admiring the view.
They were to sleep well that night, a six mile ride surely wore them out. From the archive: the last time we went to the Cwmdare Country Park in June 2003.

Bradley shot off several times peddling like a mad man.