Up North

On receiving the news that I had a few days off, due to a forthcoming suspension, the car was filled with petrol, and children, and was soon thundering down the motorway, heading North - destination Cleethorpes. For those of you who don't know where Cleethorpes is, it is next to Grimsby. For those of you who don't know where Grimsby is, it's near Hull. For those of you who don't know where Hull is, I suggest that you either do a GCSE in Geography, or for ease check out a map of Britain.
Anyway the wardrobes were emptied, the milk was cancelled and we were off.
With the football season as it is, and the school term times non-negotiable, getting back to see the folks is very difficult - so any opportunity to do so is welcomed with opened arms. The fact that it is a five hour drive also makes nipping home an epic event, especially with three children. With the DVD players on the blink and the pack-up being demolished in the first half-an-hour ( by the 'Beast')the journey was always going to be a test. In fact the relief was immense when we finally rolled in to town after five hours, two service stops, four arguments, seventeen shouts of " Are we there Yet" and the same of " How long left".
Last night we stayed with Fiona's parents, Joan and Iain. Today we headed to my folks, Martin and Avy, to surprise them with impromptu visit. Already the trip has involved, in no particular order, a cooked ham, a fish and chip supper, a trip to the beach, presents for the children, a brunch!, two bike pick-ups with Martin ( for Cam ), a sleep-over and six bottles of wine.
Full report on the 'East Coast Riviera' tomorrow but for now all I can say is that although the weather has been rough in Devon lately, it's cold up North !!!.

CH