The hot start to the School Hols with my teddy bears

 

There has seldom been a moment from being by birth age a boy to remaining so throughout this life where teddy bears have not featured in some capacity.

From objects I slept with to things I have this deep need to cuddle up to, stroke, talk with and hug they've always been in it and in all sizes from the dinkiest to really big ones.

Life without them would be unbearable!

It's not long before I go away for a few days which is as well as the last couple of days have been really really hot feeling like a damp exhausted rag than my usual self. 

Part of the preparations for all that involved having my hair cut which with all the other stuff is a rather sensitive subject but I decided to get it back to more like it was with a short cut which keeps some of natural curliness in but is tidy as it doesn't take much for my hair get messy around the ends.

With it being like it has I've been in skirts and given it's school hols for many  shorter shorts and skorts with t shirts and short cure girls ankle socks.

I'm back to how it all was now and I'm glad of it.

Day trip to Blackpool

Well I'll start this blog entry with saying as I continue to explore some of the problematic aspects of my childhood we'll continue with everyday stuff too.

Okay guess where in the UK this might be seen? You see I went off on another little adventure to a place you might have childhood memories of  and is surrounded by fun things you might want to do.

This place has trams a plenty running up and down some like these are modern ones but at weekends and high season the old types are run.

Okay that place is Blackpool, Lancashire, North west England, a place that is  unapologetically loud and I travelled on as coach using the Motorway network although we as a bit naughty and used the slip road but a few miles from my main road to join it!

Being very near the entry point to one of the principal motorways has its advantages.

Like a number of UK resorts it's has a pier that jets out into the sea with various attractions including amusement arcades on them. This one had a Victorian Photography booth where you can wear and be photographed in period attire.

 You can see just how far out it goes! It's as well there were things undercover as it rained hard for a period in the afternoon. I went to Harry Ramsden's for lunch where the service was exemplary and the Plaice lovely and moist.

One prominent landmark is the Big Wheel although going on that is out of bounds for me as I'd lose my head if I went on on it.

That's the big Tower which is being restored near the Sealife Centre, Dungeons  and the waxworks museum. I spent quite a bit of time in Toymaster looking at the dolls, train sets, colouring books, sylvarian families toys and that. I'm sure the assistant clocked me!

In the foreground is one of the illuminations that was one of the main reason for going as these lights have partially renewed allowing for more fantastic effects. There were fairies, teddybears, diamonds and at a Quarter past six, we assembled to go through them all illuminated at Seven PM. It was beautiful.

By Eight-thirty, I was back home for a light snack before putting my jim jams on  as this little gurl was dead tired and needed hur sleep.

Revisiting a childhood holiday haunt helped me get back in touch with myself and what it meant to be a young child.

Holidays of the past

I didn’t go to Blackpool, Lancashire in the 1960’s as my family tended to go to caravan sites in North Wales which isn’t far from the North-west Midlands.

We did go in the early 1970’s when my Nan was alive – just as she survived attempted suicide following a nervous breakdown and delusions – and in an album currently MIA there are pictures of me in shorts and t shirts there.

My shorts were not as long as his but made of white cotton, held by a snake clasp belt and usually stripy coloured t shirts.

At the time it still had some of its glamour not that was as refined as it’s opposite along the coast Morecambe but started losing its way in 80’s and 90’s as families with children seemed to go overseas more and more as Disneyland Fla and Paris become must visit places instead.

Late Summer Hols 2007

For this week I've been away on vacation so here's a few images of Llandudno where I stayed.

Playing at making sandcastles using your bucket is so me.
While I was away, Mommy took me on the train to the top of the Great Orme.

This is Victoria Station where we joined the line waiting to get our tickets and get on board.

Here the train goes travelling for a part of the way  along track that has been embedded into the road surface. The tramcars are old with wooden panels and seats.

I visited a record store and bought myself some new lps and a few used cds and lps for my collection.

Summer Hols 2006

Today I'm writing about my visit to the Snowdonia national park, in Wales recently as I had been experiencing a lot of stress and it was having a serious effect on my mental well-being.

I was greeted by exceptional hot, sunny weather affording superb views of Mount Snowdon and the isolated moorlands surrounding it.

The lambs were all out in the fields young and old some having a chew of the grass, others sheltering in the shade of nearby hedges, walls and trees.

A few had the bright idea of exploring the human domain of the narrow roads and we needed to slow down to allow them to cross back into the fields.

I liked the solitude up there but I’m not sure the idea of being literally miles way from the nearest market town would really do for me which I guess is a reflection of my urban upbringing.

Betws–y-coed is a place I like to stop off at as here are good range of shops and spectacular waterfalls. There are a lot woodlands in the area and I took a lot photos – on my ageing Minolta XD7 of the trees, sometimes lying underneath the branches to get the viewpoint I wished to capture.

Llandudno: It remains a largely unspoilt Victorian seaside resort with excellent shopping facilities. The Theatre is really good and many amateur choral performances are hold during the summer season in local churches. On Tuesday there was a Brass Band concert taking place, appropriately enough, on the Bandstand along the promenade. The players were really good – I’m no great fan of Brass Bands but the musicianship couldn’t be faulted.
Bangor: 

I visit here a lot, being a University town with bookshops and some good Pubs that serve meals. 

There is an excellent record shop on the High Street, Cob Records, whose staff really know about music. 

The main store is in Porthmadog – this is a ‘satellite’ store – it has a first rate second hand vinyl department that is well worth rummaging through and stock new vinyl releases too.

I took the bus to Conway - there is a very frequent service - travelling on the river, strolling around the town and enjoying the castle

Things that didn’t go as they should: I days filming got wasted as a Fuji film become tight and tore whilst rewinding it out of the camera – we came close Basil Fawty worthy meltdown!