Aaron's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘woodlands’

Well, we didn’t see this coming at the start of the year!  

A global pandemic hit the UK towards the end of March which meant that the Government issued a mandatory lockdown throughout the country. This basically forced everything to close, including schools, clubs, shops, pubs, restaurants, leisure facilities and for people to work from home or not work at all and be put on a furlough scheme.  Since the start of the year, there had been rumblings that a virus was ripping through China and moving west throughout the World, and it eventually did unfortunately.  So on the 23rd March, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, gave the lockdown order for the entire country which basically meant the country stopped.  Lots of people had started dying so there was really no choice in the matter.  Everyone had to stay in their homes and were only allowed out for a maximum of 1 hour of exercise per day or for essential food shopping.  This lockdown carried on until the 10th May when small changes were introduced such as allowing people out more but having to ensure social distancing of 2 metres between households and the phased reopening of schools, although it was left to the schools to decide when to open.  Everywhere also needed to be Covid secure, otherwise they weren’t allowed to open, so a lot of work had to be done at shops, workplaces and at schools.  On July 4th, most of the lockdown measures ended although people still had to practise social distancing and were told not to hug anybody, especially those people that were elderly.  At this point, over 30,000 people had died in the country and it was the most bizarre and scary thing that has ever happened to any of us!

The boys did really well throughout the lockdown, even though we all missed our usual Easter celebrations, our annual trip to Woodlands Camping, a proper birthday for Coby, Aaron and Kelly and we obviously couldn’t see any family for months.  The main issue was really the closure of schools though, as we were expected to home school the children, even though we were both able to work our usual hours from home.  So it was quite hard, especially as Bickleigh school were quite rubbish with it all really.  They eventually sent home work for them to do but it wasn’t really very planned out and it was quite stressful for us.  We tried to go for a walk after schooling and work every day and actually discovered loads of new places in Woolwell, including paths down to Drake’s Trail, a tramway line and a swamp.  We had lived here for years and didn’t even know all this was here!!

Bickleigh Down School decided that they could open again at the start of June, after the half term holiday, but only for certain years.  So it ended up that Ben and Coby were able to go back to school, as they were seen to be in the more crucial years for education, and Aaron had to stay home and be home schooled.  It was a relief that they could go back and they both wanted to but we had to have a good think first, as the virus was still bad and a lot of other parents kept their children home still.  But we decided to send them back and they both really enjoyed it.  Obviously, it was Ben’s last year at Bickleigh so him going back to school was a very big deal as it was the last few weeks that he would have at primary school.  It was all different though as they all had to take packed lunches, had their classrooms rearranged, on days they did PE they would have to go into school in their PE kit and not change all day as they weren’t allowed to change at school anymore.  There was also a one way system around the premises to drop off and pick up the children and only 1 adult was allowed to on the grounds, so both Kelly and I couldn’t go in and drop them off or pick them up, although we did once by accident and Mrs Conday ‘told us off’.  So it was all a bit surreal and Aaron ended up not going back to school for the rest of the school term, which meant that he had been home since the end of March – 4 months, and missed half of Year 5!

Here are a few of the normal events that took place during the lockdown period.

Easter

For Easter this year, the Easter bunny still came and hid lots of little chocolate eggs around the house but we were unable to go anywhere or visit anyone during the bank holiday weekend.  Instead, we held an Easter games day on Easter Sunday, which we all enjoyed, especially the boys.  The games were nice and simple but were all a bit of fun!

Coby’s 6th Birthday

It was a shame that Coby couldn’t have a birthday party this year but we still had a good day.  I had the day off and so did Kelly.  Coby was very excited in the morning and got up by 7am and we went down and he opened his pile of birthday presents.  His main present this year was a Mario Kart Hot Wheel Track, which he thought was amazing.  He also had some other bits and pieces as usual, which he was very happy with.  We got the track up and running and then went for a walk in the boiling hot, sunny weather.  We went for a long walk around the woods and back along the tramway which we had only recently discovered during mid morning.  We then got home and Kelly started cooking some party food for dinner, which was very nice, and we ate it outside.  We then had a quiet afternoon with Coby playing with his presents and had more party food for tea.  During the day, various people turned up to give cards and presents to Coby, socially distanced of course by them standing on the steps and us by the front door!  Coby had a nice day anyway, even though it was a very strange birthday!

Aaron’s 9th Birthday

Aaron was in the same boat as Coby as he couldn’t have a birthday party either.  We would normally have been at Woodlands camping for his birthday but that was obviously cancelled as well, so we had a similar day to Coby’s birthday.  Aaron was also up bright and early and Kelly and I had taken the day off again.  Aaron practically ran downstairs as he gets very excited when it is his birthday and Christmas!!  His main present this year was a digital motorised Hot Wheels track, which he was very happy with as well!!  He had some other bits as well, including the mandatory Lego set! haha We then went for a cycle up to the field as he wanted to ride his bike around for a bit before coming home and Kelly putting some party food on to cook for dinner.  We ate it outside again although the weather wasn’t as nice as it was for Coby’s, but it was still warm but quite windy!  He played with his presents for the day and we had more party food for tea.  Like with Coby, people popped over during the day to give him a card and present and we had to socially distance out the front.  He had a nice day but was a little sad that he couldn’t have had a proper party with his friends but he will have to have one next year, even though we said 9 years old is the last year to have a party.

Kelly’s Birthday

It was also Kelly’s 36th birthday after the easing of lockdown had started and typically it was on a Saturday!  We didn’t do too much during the day, just relaxed at home and watched a movie in the evening with some goodies as we were still very wary of going anywhere and not everything was open anyway, such as public toilets, etc.  Most places were still shut so it would have been a walk on the beach or up on Dartmoor that would have been our options, but we decided against it still, as there may have been lots of people doing the same.  We did get a takeaway for tea though – our first one for months!!

P.E. With Joe

The Body Coach, Joe Wicks, who has been doing fitness stuff for years, suddenly came into the spotlight when he started doing a live PE session each weekday morning at 9am, for the duration of lockdown.  It was an amazing idea and now the entire country (and World) love him!  It was basically a child friendly HIIT session for 20-30 mins each day where he also had a bit of fun and asked questions on various topics and mixed the sessions up with roulette wheels and dice to determine which exercises would be done when.  It was really good.  He also put together some PE With Joe T-Shirts whereby all donations would go straight to the NHS to help staff who were basically working 24 hours, trying to save people’s lives who had been infected with Covid.  Needless to say, we all got a T-Shirt although they were out of stock for several weeks and our only arrived towards the very end of lockdown.  He made absolutely loads of money, which was great!!  The boys did several of the exercises and it ended up being something to put on at 9am every week day, before they started their home schooling.  They had great enthusiasm to begin with but then it waned a little to the point where Aaron would rather get on with his actual schoolwork to get it done and finish early!  Ben and Coby still kept up with it on most days though.

BBQs

I think we ended up having a BBQ every week of lockdown as the weather was mostly glorious.  It was hot and sunny for weeks which gave us no option but to have a BBQ! haha

What a strange few months it was!!!

This year, Aaron’s birthday fell on the Saturday when we were camping at Woodlands! 

The night before, Kelly and I decorated the tent as much as we could with balloons and banners and put his presents out ready. We had to take them with us in the car so we took loads this year!

Aaron was very excited when he got up and opened his cards and presents. This year, he got the new Everton 3rd Kit with his name and age on the back, which he was hoping for, a brand new scooter, some Minecraft Lego, a child’s Garmin watch that does loads of things, a boot bag, some walkie talkies (that were very useful whilst camping!), some money and a few other things such as clothes. He was very happy with everything that he got and was straight out on the scooter with his friends, with the walkie talkies! He then got to play in Woodlands as well, so he had an awesome birthday weekend!

In the evening, we did a birthday cake for all the children (and adults) and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. It was a very nice day and Aaron really enjoyed it all!

Over the bank holiday weekend in May, we camped at Woodlands again. This was our third year taking part in the rally and we all really enjoyed it again. The weather wasn’t as good as last year but it was dry all weekend although cold in the evenings and in the shade. I took a half day on the Friday so I was able to go up with Kelly for 2pm (when we were allowed on the pitch) to set up the tent. There were several other families from School who went as usual (more this year though!) so one of the other mum’s (Faye) went back and picked up her and our boys from School, so we could finish setting up. We also did a BBQ for a few of us that night as part of the arrangement for Faye to go and get the boys. Alex, Josh, Caleb and Sophia came again this year and so did Josh’s brother and family. All of us were in the same field which was great, so all the children were off playing as soon as they arrived again – only coming back for food and drink! I managed to watch Everton beat Burnley 2-0 in their final home game of the season on my phone that evening, so I was happy with that! After the boys had eventually gone to sleep, Kelly and I put out Aaron’s birthday presents for his 8th birthday on Saturday and put a few decorations up (banners and balloons), ready for the morning.

The following day was Aaron’s 8th birthday, so we started the day with him opening his presents (see his 8th birthday post here) before we had a nice cooked breakfast and spent the day in the park walking around and going on the rides. There were a lot of us this year so we were a big pack! Ben and some of his friends were allowed to go off on their own for a couple of hours at a time before meeting us again, as they are old enough to do this now, and have mobile phones in case of any problems. They were all fine, which was good. We did meet up with them for lunch at the very bottom of the park next to the sand pit but they didn’t stay long before wanting to go off again. Most of them were wet at this point as they had been on the water rides! The rest of us spent the afternoon walking around other areas of the park and ended up in the indoor soft play where I went around with Coby and a couple of his friends until I was sweating buckets! The weather was nice and dry but chilly in the shade but I wore shorts especially for the indoor soft play as I knew I would be sweating!  About an hour before closing, Aaron and I went down to the water rides and had a couple of rides on the Twister. We both got quite wet and it was very cold queuing up for the ride in the wind! We then met up with Kelly and Coby and some of the other families that had wandered down before walking back up to camp where we had a BBQ for tea. It had been a very nice day but the evening came in pretty cold indeed!

On the Sunday, we had some normal breakfast, washed and went down to the park again. The routine was mostly the same as the day before apart from we went to different areas of the park that we hadn’t been too yet. Ben and the others his age went off again on their own and met us for lunch in the same place. Ourselves and a few other families then went on the pedalos in the bottom lake and had good fun chasing after each other! haha It was hard work though as I was the only one who could reach the pedals in our boat (as Kelly was in the back with Coby) as Aaron couldn’t quite reach! My legs were tired after that! We had good fun in the Master Blaster zone, where I got whacked on the nose twice by a lady we didn’t know, and got wet again on the water rides. This time, I went on with Coby a couple of times, but he didn’t want to get wet so gave up. On the way back up to camp, we stopped and got takeaway pizza, which was as nice as it had been the last couple of years that we had been.  I then had a play around with the rugby ball with Coby and Reuben’s Dad, Brad. Nearly all of the other children were in bed fast asleep by 8pm as they were all shattered, so it was a much more settled and quiet evening. It was also even colder and there was frost overnight, so not at all like last year when it was boiling all day and all night!

The Monday morning was quite hectic as we decided to pack up our stuff and tent before we went down into the park. We had a big cooked breakfast to use up all of the remaining fresh food and set about packing up. It took us quite a while and we couldn’t fit everything back into the car, due to Aaron’s birthday presents, so we had to send some of our stuff back with other people! haha Once we had managed to pack everything away, it was nearly lunch time, but we walked down to the park and met everyone else in the big indoor soft play. The boys, and I, had a run around there for a while before we split off from the other families and headed over to the Master Blaster and the last few goes on the toboggan with Alex and Josh. We didn’t want to go on the water rides as we didn’t want to get wet as we would have to stay wet until we got home! Ben stayed with us for most of the day today as he had been off with his friends on Saturday and Sunday so we had hardly seen him during the time in the park.  We stayed on the dry rides until nearly 4pm when we had to leave and go back to the car and drive home. Coby even went on the big pirate ship and another big ride and loved it, but then got in a mood and started stamping his feet when it was time to go (he was tired out!).

We had all had a great weekend again, for our 3rd year at Woodlands Camping. All the families got on well and all the children enjoyed playing with each other inside and outside of the park.  The weather was nice and dry although quite cold in the shade during the day and very cold overnight to the point of frost! So not at all like last year when it was boiling all day and all night. We are already looking forward to next year!

Over the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, we camped at Woodlands again, but for 3 nights this year. The same families from School (plus a couple new ones) stayed as well and we all had a great time. The weather was perfect all weekend – clear blue skies and hot! We were in a different field this year though, which was a shame as we were actually on a slight hill which meant we had trouble sleeping and not sliding out of the bed! It was a nightmare really as Kelly and I had hardly any sleep at all due to it! Hopefully next year, we will be in the other field again.

The boys had an excellent time all weekend, especially as it was actually Aaron’s birthday on our first night there. So we took some party food with us and, once the tent was up and sorted, we put the food out so Aaron and all of the other children from school came and had a good scoff! There was hardly any food left at the end! Kelly also brought the cake that she made for him, but we held off eating that until the next day, as it was nearly 21:30 by the time everyone had stopped snacking on the treats.

On both of our full days there (Saturday and Sunday), we spent the entire day in Woodlands, looking at the animals and going on the rides. Towards the end of the first day, myself and Aaron plucked up enough courage to go on one of the big water slides – even Coby came on! It was the twister that Coby and I went on and we got absolutely drenched when we reached the bottom! It was good fun, though I did think we were going to slide out of the tube at one point before a massive splosh of water went right over mine and Coby’s heads! The poor boy was crying afterwards as he was so wet! 😉 By this time, Aaron was happy going on the other water rides (which was a complete change for him!) with other adults. We also went on the Toboggan Run, as it is a firm favourite for us all, and the boys went in the climbing frame areas. We had a BBQ on the Saturday night for tea and then we got takeaway Pizza on Sunday evening, which was delicious. We also had a good game of Rounders on the Sunday evening and I ended up being the last one standing (men vs women), so Ben and I were pleased with that!

The Monday was our final day so we had to start packing the tent and the other bits and pieces up and cramming it all back into the car. We did some of it in the morning before leaving the rest and the tent itself until later on in the afternoon. We had until 4pm to leave the pitch, so we had plenty of time. So we went into the park again and into the indoor soft play area where I ended up climbing around with 5 of the little ones (inc Coby) as they were too small to go in there without an adult. I was absolutely sweating by the time I got out! The children were fine though and were still full of it and wanted to go back in, so one of the other Dad’s took them back in again! Phew! After we had finished in there, we went and got some food and then ended up on the water slides again. This time we had come prepared for getting wet though! I went on one of them with Ben and all of the boys went on with their friends as well, apart from Coby, who went on with one of the Mum’s. Coby loved them even though I, and even Kelly, wouldn’t go on two of them! They all loved it! By this time, Kelly and I had to go back to camp and finish taking the tent down so the boys stayed with the other parents and carried on having fun. We eventually got the tent down in the searing sun and packed it all away into the car.

We had had an awesome weekend and were sad to be packing up and going home as we could have easily stayed the week, especially as the weather was so perfect! Roll on 2019! 😉