My mum doesn't swear but...

Instead of swearing, when she's frustrated she calls out the name of a boy i went to nursery and primary school with.

"Philip Shackleton"

I really liked this boy and sometimes went to play at his house, he had a big garden. Later his mum used to run the Brownie group i went to.

"Philip Shackleton"

Once she was out at a hospital appointment, or somewhere like that, having treatment done by a new doctor and she called out in pain, but instead of swearing she called out "Philip Shackleton" - bizarrely the person who was treating her actually knew who Philip Shackleton was and told her so, they knew him from college or university. 

We all thought this was hilarious and thought that this might stop her doing it  It didn't.

Over the years it's been quite awkward trying to explain to friends and boyfriends why my mum randomly calls out the name of a boy i used to go to nursery with.

Families eh? 😃

My birthday treat weekend (you're only 44 once)

In August I saw a blog post about a local place you could stay, not the usual b&b or hotel melarky. No - this was a bit quirky, a bit unusual and thought it might be nice to try out...

This is Wannie's Retreat, a refurbished, swanky, train carriage. Located about 30mins from us, in the middle of the countryside.

https://www.facebook.com/wanniesretreat/

We stayed here over the 11-13 March, after my birthday. A treat for us all.

The carriage was warm, cosy and had retained a few original features, slidy down window, luggage rack, rickety door handles (probably more that i hadn't realised). 

It had everything you could need, central heating, massive beds with soft bedding,  ensuite bathrooms, fluffy towels, fully equipped kitchen (for cooking and storing food) lounging area and eating area. Outdoor eating space, outdoor star gazing space and hot tub!

As a family (3YO & 7YO) Wannie's had everything we needed, games for the kids (indoor and outdoor), kids crockery and cutlery, outdoor seating (mini picnic table), a secret fairy corner, and acres of space to explore, get mucky and find sticks (why do my kids always collect sticks??).

There's maps and local walks for the walkers, bike cleaning and storage area for the bikers, hot tub and BBQ for the chillers, and views gallore for everyone.

We ordered meat from the farm too, pork, beef and lamb (eggs are also available), most of which we took home for the freezer and on Sunday we met some of the new calves on the farm.

I inspected the underneath thw train because I'd never get the opportunity to again. I noted that those curly things on the line are not curly poos, they're special metal clips.

The weather was a bit hit and miss, but we were fortunate to enjoy the stars on Saturday evening for a short while (they have binoculars and a telescope!).

I'd definitely visit again (perhaps without the kids).