Started, and I really wish it hadn't, by a discussion about poo transplants, courtesy of Sherlock (subject banned for the duration of breakfast.) Then a lovely breakfast of pancakes and fruit. A quick tidy up, last load of laundry on, and rooms clean and tidy, everything put away etc... fresh clean clothes (including underwear) packed, and we headed out.
Sky was very grey, but there were only a few spots of rain on our way out of town. Definitely no sun to be baking dry our mudbaths we were heading for :)
We had a small snack, because our session wasn't until after lunch, got all our gear together...and went for it!
To say it was muddy is an understatement. It was completely glorious. You couldn't see anything apart from mud, mud, muddy trees, muddy fences, mud, mud, mud and mud.
Generally brilliant. Occasionally hilarious.
Because the going is, you could generously say, 'soft', I like going fast. We all do!
So when I was half a wheel deep in a puddle, barrelling along... and my front tyre caught in one rut, my back tyre wedged in a different rut... John described the splash I made as I did a front flip over the bars and into the water as 'blotting out the entire landscape'.
That was the point, as liquid mud washed around in my boxers, that my first conversation of the day came back to me...
Anyway, here's John's boot, when we stopped about halfway around.
It took quite a while to get us all washed and showered after we were done. Even longer for the bikes and kit.
Then John took Sherlock on his bike, and I let Mycroft have a go on mine. Mycroft described it as 'powerful'. Which is very true. It was a little bit...tentative at first, a bit jerky, but all in all I thought he did very well. A moped really will be a disappointment :)
And then, we headed home, made pizza, and I tried to weedle more clues about the holiday we're going on TOMORROW out of them.
This is the ONLY thing I've been given. One picture. Of my bed (well, I checked, mine and John's bed! Not just mine. That would be a little disappointing.)
looks AMAZING, right?? But I have no idea where in the world it is! Or quite how the mechanics of sleeping in a hanging pod will be... but I want to find out!
Oh, and I'm not a person with a large amount of self-preservation... Here's Mycat Holmes -
79 comments:
that is a great cat, which is a good thing because it is probably the last cat you will ever make ;-)
Sleeping in hanging pods will be rather an experience I should think but that's what holidays are for isn't it? :-)
Lestrade cannot come to the internet right now.
Or ever again.
Now, Mycroft, I think his Mycroft-cat looks quite dignified...if a tad disapproving.
did the cat finally get him Mycroft?
He has sadly become the victim of a feline-related incident, yes. Completely inexplicable.
That's so sad :-( he's tried so hard to make friends with the cats in his life!
He went a tabby too far.
There is an eerie resemblance...
You are only safe for the time being, John.
As Mummy once said to Sherlock - to lose one guardian in a day is unfortunate. To lose two is carelessness.
So your mum is a fan of Oscar Wilde, Mycroft?
I could not attest to her being 'a fan', but she does have catholic taste in Literature.
wouldn't have thought Catholics went in for much Oscar Wilde.
(I know, I know.)
Heh, heh, L. ;)
You should give "The Importance of Being Ernest" a look-in, Mycroft--very witty. (Better in performance than reading, I think, if you can find a good production.)
right, better drag my husband away to bed - our last night when I'm guaranteed not to et seasick every time one of us twitches ...
You are a brave soul, L. But your Mycroft cat (Mycat?) seems sleek and self-contained and observant, all fine qualities. Also, disapproving, which is appropriate.
As expected, a Mycroft-Sherlock collaboration in holiday planning seems not to be at all boring, even in the details. Those beds look like fun, like sleeping in a hammock, maybe? Twitching - pfft!; one wonders about the result should the inhabitants choose to engage in a bit of friendly . . . athleticism.
fA
RR - I believe it was Lady Windermere who had the fan, not Lady Bracknell.
Enjoy your time away, guys, those pods look far too much fun to actually use them to sleep.
I am ridiculously excited.
Mycroft has banned use of the word 'glamping'.
Ha! Very true about the fan, SH. (But the "to lose [bioth] looks like carelessness" line is definitely Lady Bracknell. ;))
Mycroft is soooo strict.
fA
P.s.: Are the dogs going? Do they get to sleep in a hanging pod? Will they want to? If their persons are all in pods and they are not, will they be disgruntled?
Inquiring minds, etc.
fA
Of course you're excited, Lestrade. A surprise holiday with your favorite people, and things that are interestingly well-hung. What more could you ask for?
Not so sure about 'interestingly' well hung. I'm happy for regular old 'well hung' ;)
Maf will be very jealous of our beds. This place is amazing!!
Even rain cannot stop this being great fun.
Awww. Glad y'all are having a good time. :) How long do you get off?
Even rain cannot stop this being great fun.
Well congratulations Sherlock & Mycroft (& John for your assumed facilitating)! No better compliment.
fA
feels more like it's my birthday than John's or Mycroft's, I think.
if there is one thing harder than putting a Sherlock to bed, it's putting a Sherlock to bed in a swinging pod, on the first day of a camping trip, when he's full of marshmallows.
There is nothing harder than that. In the history of the world.
If we'd been the only people staying in this campsite I'd've said 'sod it' and gone to bed myself and let him run amok. Probably found him asleep up a tree in the morning.
This trip sounds like the most fun ever already. Hope you did eventually achieve your mission, surely the chance of sleeping in a pod would win over the tree every time. ;) Hope you have a wonderful time for the rest of your holiday. Now, no swinging the tent off its hooks before morning. ;)
Sounds amazing!
Sounds like a super day for all....one way or another. :)
I somehow doubt that you will be allowed a lie in this morning, so hope you all have a good day!
I hope you managed some sleep and that Sherlock didn't have you all up too early :-)
Enjoy your day whatever you're up to :-)
I was dragged out of bed at dawn to find eggs and milk a cow...
And did you all have a go at milking cows?
Cows had a lucky escape, there was not one nearby who looked like she needed milking. Sherlock was disappointed.
Aw. Maybe tomorrow! ;)
Cows are bigger than a city child--as I was--had imagined...
Tomorrow we should try to hunt a pig for bacon.
Are there wild pigs in England? Because I'm thinking a farmer would not appreciate it if you stole one of his pigs and ate it.
Ella
I'm fairly sure all pigs in the locality are safe. Except the ones heading for the butchers already. Which may end up over our camping stove.
There are definitely wild boar in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.
Yes! We should find some!
No, we really shouldn't. Not to eat, anyway!
We'll see if we spot any signs on our bike ride tomorrow.
How were you planning to hunt them?
we should make a pit with spears in and make ourselves spears and maybe a bow and arrow and then catch a pig and kill it and eat it.
Wild pigs are pretty dangerous I think. Assuming we were allowed to hunt them which we're not.
I'm suddenly feeling very 'Lord of the Flies'.
But if they're wild why can't we?
It's not a spur-of-the-moment thing to do, Sherlock. A pit with stakes/bows and arrows is a very slow way for a pig to die, not to mention requiring a lot of skill and labor from you. And in the states at least, animal populations and hunters are monitored to make sure the population doesn't get depleted, nobody's killing a nursing sow and leaving her babies to die, etc. just because they're wild doesn't mean it's okay for anyone to take as many as they want (even just one).
Not to mention that wild pigs are generally large, grouchy creatures that you don't want to get in a tangle with.
Ella
If we happen to see a wild boar/pig, we won't be doing anything but looking at it.
The shop here does a fine line in pre-killed food :)
Pre-killed sounds wise to me. My web-poking indicates that the wild boars in the Forest of Dean are the descendants of illegally introduced boar, and that they need (or needed) culling. That said, authorities are not amused by un-pre-approved cullers--and I don't think boar pits qualify as a humane method of culling likely to win approval from animal rights protectors... ;)
Butchering is pretty interesting, technically. Or gross, depending on one's point of view. It's a different application of knowledge of anatomy. Not one I'd volunteer to perform on even "pre-killed" livestock. ;-) I'm quite happy with what they sell in the store.
fA
I can only do fish, poultry/gamebirds and rabbits.
I'm impressed. All I can do is fish. (And the minor dismembering one does on a whole grocery store chicken, which already has all the hard part done.)
fA
I'd hope John would be a dab hand at working out all the anatomy and a bit of knife work ;)
At least Sherlock understands the connection between animals and food - so many kids don't, and their parents/guardians have no interest in telling them in case the kids start refusing to eat meat...
no danger of him refusing to eat it :) But yeah, it is terrible.
Our tent is alive with the sound of panting and tails wagging (both courtesy of the dogs, before any of you get any ideas.)
Do the dogs have a hanging bed? If not, are they o.k. with their persons being up in the air when they're not? (Yes. I am just a tiny bit obsessed with those pods.)
fA
they don't, they don't like them. We tried to see if they'd get in one, but they wouldn't jump in. They just lie under Mycroft's bed.
Thanks for satisfying my dog and bed curiosity. Hope Sherlock sleeps the sleep of the dead, at least till it's full daylight.
fA
Mycroft has brought us to the most amazing bit of woodland. Its fantastic! Can hardly believe it's real, not out of a fairy tale.
Excellent planning, have you brought all your equipment to do some stargazing whilst you're out in the wilderness tonight, Mycroft.
Have a great night everyone. Xx
Sadly the weather has not been good for stargazing.
I only brought binoculars with me, but I do not believe we have seen a single star at which to point them.
That's too bad, Mycroft. Interestingly, I was on a camping trip just Wednesday with my daughter's class. On our night hike, the teacher pointed out a star in the Big Dipper/Ursa Major constellation that has another much less bright star above it. The story goes that if you could see both of them, your eyesight was good enough to be a legionnaire.
Mycroft has got a 65536 tile in that game....
Well that's just showing off!!
Hope you're having a nice day :-)
I know!
We have, but now is time to pack up and head home :(
Comfort oneself that Mycroft entertains himself with impossible games and planning (with Sherlock) awesome holidays. (So far as we know . . .) Should he decide to turn his brain to mischief, the consequences could be frightening! (Though most likely we'd never know.)
Safe trip home.
fA
Home again.
John has Madtet attached to him. Think she missed him.
Maftet I mean.
glad you're all home safe from your adventures :-)
Home safe, first load of laundry done, Sherlock refusing to go to bed - all is normal! :)
Can't believe we have to give Mycroft back tomorr...later today. Feels like we've only had him a few days! :(
He'll be back soon Greg and for a nice length of time as well :-)
It's a strange thing is boarding school!
I hope you have some fun before the time comes :-)
Well we've eaten our own body weight in French toast, been out and bought Mycroft some clothing essentials for the warm weather (yes, I am in shorts and flip flops) and now Sherlock wants ice cream... Not a bad day so far!
Hope everyone else is having a good one.
That sounds like a perfect kind of day. :)
You mean you're out in public in shorts and flip flops and Mycroft is actually being seen with you! ;)
Hope you both have a good last term before the big holidays, Sherlock and Mycroft and good luck with the remainder of your exams too, Mycroft.
Enjoy the rest of your day. :)
Shopping with you in your shorts & flip flops - greater tolerance hath n'er been shown by Mycroft. (Well, except maybe to Sherlock.)
I'm off to finish the weekend in a blaze of glory by completing the heavy yard work. And watch some time-delayed tennis in between.
As Joolz says, hope you enjoy the rest of the day.
fA
The entire shopping expedition was for Mycroft's benefit! He clearly decided it was worth having me along, despite the summer clothing.
I went away over night this weekend also, and my cat is attached to me too.
now I just have to stay awake till it's actually bed time so I don't mess up my wake-sleep schedule.
S
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