16 May 2009 - From Kent to Plymouth and a new arrival
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16 May 2009 - From Kent to Plymouth and a new arrival
I got super excited when there was a missed call from my little brother on my phone on 14th May. I nearly killed Jo for not answering it, even though she didn't have my phone at the time! I phoned him back...no reply. Phoned my other brothers, then my Mother, all of whom were out. What had got me in to such a state? I knew my brother's wife was expecting a baby in the next week or so. However I had spoken seriously to the bump about arriving on a day before leaving for Plymouth. Benjamin Stanley Goldsmith obliged, arriving after giving his mum more than a little bit of trouble on 13th May at 10pm. You can see from the photo that I was more than a little happy to know that he had listened & paid attention to the wishes of his Aunty! Since we'd broken the mast earlier that day it did a lot to put a smile back on my face. Sadly I probably won't see him until the trip is finished, but they are in my thoughts.
We said goodbye to Hawthorn Farm, who have kindly hosted us for the last 2 weeks, at 4am. Lotti would like to send special message to her boyfriend Harvey, and we'd also like to say thanks to Lyn & Al, Harvey’s "Mum & Dad". They slipped a card for the crew & a present for Lotti (a cuddly toy as she was always nicking Harvey's!) through the caravan door. We will miss their dog walking skills, tolerance of the crew's behaviour (Lotti's was impeccable :-) ) and hope that we managed to fix the hole in their blow up chair, despite Toby's best efforts! We are all looking forward to seeing Barry Walker as well as Lyn, Al & Harvey when we return.
After a mammoth 10 hour journey - via Chichester & Southampton to pick up extra boat bits for the Artemis - we arrived in one piece in Plymouth. Huge thanks have to go to Paul, Terry & Toby for getting the vehicles & boat here without falling asleep at the wheel! Fortunately the sun was out when we arrived, but we haven't seen it since... Terry had an unexpected shower in the early hours of the morning and we now have a large number of adults & one wet dog holed up in the McLouis campervan. Jo & I are missing the disabled facilities in Kent, which were fab, but we all seem to be coping. Frankly it's a bit like one of my childhood camping holidays in Wales...
My Mum flew in from Dublin yesterday to see me (& her newest Grandchild). It was great to see her with my Godparents who live just down the road. She brought with her a photo album with pictures of my childhood, which brought back memories I'd long since forgotten. It was also a great opportunity to laugh at how silly my brothers looked! Considering the distance she'd travelled she understood that we were all completely pooped and stayed just the right amount of time before letting us all crash out.
Page last updated on 28 May 2009 at 15:07