What I did on my holidays, by Vin Petrol aged 38 and a half

[vin_petrol]

CenterParcs was reasonable fun. I was reminded why my 'real' holidays are the weekends when I can be away on my own (Whitby, InFest), and that holidays like this have a certain amount of work in them for me. Rather cutely, evie_petrol pretty much ignores Trash when we're away. Trash was able to sit in a corner of the lodge and read three books over the week. Evie would leave her too it, and jump all over the (clearly far more exciting) daddy instead. So I got to take Evie for rampages around the forest, or trips to the adventure playground, or do jigsaws with her. I suppose she sees a lot more of Trash, so I'm something of a novelty. Fortunately, my parents were there too to provide lots of helpful distractions and childcare (hurrah for grandparents!)

Swimming was interesting. I can't really remember the last time I went swimming. I suspect I was still in my teens. I've never been a particularly fantastic swimmer, but I can swim "to save my life", which I always figured was the important thing.

I did the contact lenses and goggles thing for the first time ever, and was therefore able to see underwater for the first time since the 1970s! I spent huge amounts of time underwater, just marvelling at what I could see. Don't breasts wobble in an interesting manner when they're supported by water? Oddly, I seem to have vaguely forgotten how to swim well in the meantime. I can still propel myself around, but I do recall having lessons at school on how to swim 'better', for front crawl and breast stroke. I can't actually remember what I learnt in those lessons though, so I have this uneasy feeling that I used to be a lot better than I am now.

Sadly, we make a small parenting error with evie_petrol and didn't take her swimming till now, when she's nearly two. This meant she has a certain amount of intelligence, and can intuit a fear of water, particularly if she can't touch the bottom of the pool with her feet. She quite likes splashing around in the shallows though, and chasing an inflatable ball around. However, she prefers to climb things on dry land. I spent a lot of my time in the swimming pool stopping her from trying to climb on the simulated rocks! Oh well, at least I don't seem to have passed on my arachnophobia.

CenterParcs was a very mellow experience if you've got sprogs though. Clearly, everywhere is sprog-friendly, and there's a soft play area next to *every* bar :-) Although, in the end, I didn't drink anything: I had a *very* nasty headache early in the week, which kinda put me off drinking, in case the same thing happened again. It resembled a nasty hangover, but without the fun of drinking the night before. You know a headache is bad when it makes you throw up too. I get these perhaps once or twice a year. They're probably migraines, but I doubt there's much clever that can be done about them. I'll just have to live with a day or two a year where I go and lie in a dark room with a black t-shirt over my eyes and groan.

It was nice to cycle around, but it did remind me how much I miss my cycling. Ah well, once Evie is older and not so much work to take care of I can start cycling again.

It did rain a lot though. Serves me right for going to Cumbria, I suppose... ;-) We're all going again next year, but to Sherwood Forest next time. It rains less in the Midlands.

Comments

[rich-r.livejournal.com]

I'm slightly concerned about the proximity of the words "breasts wobble in an interesting manner" and about learning how to improve your "breast stroke" technique in the pool. Amazing you didn't get chucked out...

[cazzioc.livejournal.com]

"It rains less in the Midlands"
Not this week me duck!