21 July 2009 Part 1

Welcome to the last week of Michael's year 2 education, and the beginning of our summer vacation!

Mikes school trip to the British Wildlife center. He said it was a very fun day, he saw otters and owls, amongst other things, and picked up a lovely 1£ souvenir that split open in his bed that evening, dusting the bedding and the boy, who had to be placed in the bathtub and cleaned off.

We awoke at 5:30am on Wednesday and quickly dressed before heading to Gatwick airport to pick up my mother and stepfather. They were on-time, and a bit weary from the travel, having come from West Virginia via Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, so we headed home for them to get a bit more rest and Michael went off to school.
It was report card day! Michael got the year 3 teacher he had hoped for and we were pleased with his report card. He is reading above average and I have tested him at a Grade 4 level (year 5 here), so approximately two years ahead of grade level. My brother Michael and I consistently tested 2 to 4 years ahead of grade level as well, so I believe that is fairly standard for our socio-economic background.

Maths are a little disconcerting. Particularly when I come in to the picture. I sometimes feel that Michael is not drawing a logical conclusion and just guesses. I become flustered and irritated, but Neil is very good at sitting with him patiently and figuring out ways to explain math that Michael can grasp. He is doing better, and he does meet grade level requirements, but I think that he is bright enough to be consistently ahead in all of his school subjects.

Over the summer Mike will be keeping a journal, and he kept the journal on our trip to Wales. He writes his three favorite things of the day, for penmanship and so that we can keep up with his days while he is gone, and drawing a picture each day. We do Three Favorite Things as a family discussion at dinner time each night, so this was an easy transition to put to paper.

On Wednesday Evening we drove to the pub right down the road from our house, the Hillside Inn. It is a quaint, traditional pub, and we chose a table in the back rear corner. The menu was loaded with traditional pub fair, and we all did our best to keep with the spirit of things by ordering the British favorites, with mom and Patrick opting for the Beef pies, Michael choosing his standard fish and chips, I tried the Toad in a Hole, and Neil decided to for-go the rib-eye and dig into the roast lamb. With a few drinks, some Bailey's and coffee, and truly attentive wait staff, I think that Mom and Patrick had a wonderful pub experience. The food was delicious.

On Thursday morning Mike dressed in his Uniform for the last time this year and Mom, Mike and I picked up his friend Harry for the walk to school. We were running slightly behind, but I chose to take them the pond way since it was the last walk to school for the year. On the way back, I took Mom through Milton Mount Gardens.
After an hour of frantic packing, Neil and I returned to the school to attend "Sports day". Michael was on the red "Saturn" team, and the children had a circuit of events eg. spoon races, wig races, hobby horse races..et al. in which scores were tallied with the final score leader at the end of the circuit winning the event. This year, Saturn won! With Venus in second and I don't even remember the other two teams, but I did make a mental note that there was no Uranus. We had a slight hand injury when Michael dove rather dramatically through the ring of fire, by some miracle, it wasn't a holiday cancelling injury!

Then off we drove to Wales. It was about a four hour drive, with loads of stunning scenery on the way. Once we arrived in the Brecon beacon area, we were met by roads that became more narrow with each subsequent turn, with 10 foot hedges on either side, leaving no room whatsoever for maneuvering, it was quite a shock when a tractor, or large bus, suddenly appeared in front of us, and either us, or them would have to back up to the nearest slightly less narrow spot, so that we could squeeze around each other. I would have been an absolute basket case, but Neil seemed to handle the pressure pretty well.

When we arrived at Wern-y-marchog it was raining and cold. A small, weathered woman in her 60's was washing a vehicle, and she barely gave us a glance, which seemed rather odd since we were sitting in her driveway and were an hour later than our expected check in time. We watched Neil converse with her, and it was looking rather tense. We heard Neil say "Are you joking?"

He walked back to the car, and proceeded to gather the reservation paper. The owner was not expecting us. No. We were not supposed to arrive until August. She was expecting someone else on Saturday. Wow.

All of this was sorted out and apologies accepted. We brought our luggage in and picked our respective bedrooms. The house was a sprawling bungalow, and the furnishings were warm and cozy. It reminded me of a dolls house, and the atmosphere felt genuinely that of a working farm. The kitchen was large and well stocked. The living room cozy with an electric and wood burning fire. Should that have mattered in July? No, it shouldn't have, but it did. In Wales, they never pack their woollies away. That was what the nice lady at the outdoor store told Neil as he picked me up a brand new pullover, as I only packed short sleeved items. We kept the heater on in the living room, and we looked out on the most spectacular panorama from the picture window. The greenest hills and pastures, with hedge fences, full of fluffy white sheep. Streaming water and a wind that pounded relentlessly through the night. We had a lot of privacy, and it was a definite immersion into the Wales countryside.

There were many magazines, local community maps an brochures, children's puzzles and a bookshelf stocked with books for both children and adults, which Michael was delighted with, as they had several Mr. Men books for him to enjoy.

I could comfortably stay at the accommodation for a month or more. It was absolutely lovely and perhaps we will visit again.

After checking in and dropping off the luggage we went to The White Swan. I was famished to say the least. It was 6pm and we were told that they don’t open or serve until 7. In fact, none of the local pubs and restaurants open before 7. They encouraged us to take a seat and wait. Gave us some chips and at 6:30 told us that the cook would make our meals. We were so delighted and it was very thoughtful of them to start early just for us. Neil, Patrick and Mom had the Leg of Lamb, Michael had the fish and chips, and I tried out the Beef and mushroom pie. All of the food was fantastic, but the real treat was the friend wait staff. Upon thanking the manager at the end of the meal, she gave me a warm hug and thanked me for being so complimentary. It really was a fantastic experience.
On Friday, faced with drizzling rain and hoping to see some magnificent Wales architecture, we drove an hour south to Caerphilly. Upon entering the town you can’t help but gape at Caerphilly Castle. A large moat surrounds the expansive and foreboding fortress, you are transported in time to an age of trebuchets and great halls. Cold, dank spiral staircases that led up to circular rooms with vast fireplaces. Murder holes and arrow slits at every turn.
Caerphilly has struck the perfect balance of exhibition and education. It is informative, yet not invasive to the experience. Michael was delighted to “discover” the castle, which, as impressive as it was for the adults, is the stuff of dreams for a seven year old boy.

After wards we had lunch at GLANMOR, and picked up pastries for the next day’s breakfast as well before driving to Cardiff with the hopes of squeezing in Cardiff Castle. We drove there knowing it was a gamble, as it was close to closing time. We didn’t make it, but I enjoyed driving through Cardiff, which is the capital of Wales and has some stunning architecture.

Part 2 of the week coming soon....