Sunburned Sunday
It’s been a pretty long day. After over-sleeping for the first time in months and not arriving downstairs until 10am, I jumped straight in the shower, had a shave, and then set about clearing the wreckage in the kitchen from Miss 13 baking a cake for the carnival baking competition.
An hour later we found ourselves walking towards the park in town, laden down with food, drinks, picnic rugs, and whatever else my other half thought useful. Somehow her camera got left behind, so guess who walked back to the house, and then back to the park again?
After dropping everything off in the park, I then set off back down the road with our youngest daughter to walk her to Bisham Abbey to join her school friends for a boat race past the park.
I didn’t really mention the Regatta, did I. Each year the town I live in transforms itself for one weekend into every stereotype of “middle England” ever recorded. On the Saturday there are “competitive” boat races, a formal dress code, and the park is locked down to paying visitors only (which I have huge issues with, that I won’t get into here). On the Sunday, the “public” are allowed in to take part in Dragon Boat races, to have picnics, and to have fun.
While all this was going on, our eldest had entered photographs into the “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” competition, and our middle girl had entered the “Cup Cake Bake-Off” competition. We came home with two first places, and photos of the girls with the Mayor.
My job for most of the day – well, all of the day really – seemed to be delivering people to places, and carrying heavy things. I did quite a lot of cheering and shouting on the riverbank too when Miss 12’s boat appeared around the bend in the river, oars thrashing, and somehow travelling forwards.
It’s now almost the end of the day, and I need to turn my attention to ironing clothes for tomorrow. I’m heading away with work (again). I’ll only be gone for a couple of nights, but it’s starting to get just a bit silly. I know I have more travel coming too – both in England, and back to Germany again.