Easing out of lockdown, Bury Arcade Club

As a family, we are easing out of Covid 19 Lockdown. Which personally, as I work from home and don’t drive, seems to have gone on since the end of March last year. There’s a draft of what’s happened in that time, which I’ll get round to finishing off soonish. But I thought I’d post this as a quick return to blogging.

We went to Bury yesterday afternoon, and it was a time of great excitement. Our first proper family out since we returned from our Lanzarote Holiday last March (one for another catch-up post). We’ve had small outs, a trip out to the local garden centre to pick up a spade, and the girls have been out shopping a couple of times, but with the opening of food places inside, this was a return to the classic Newport family out.

Food first, since it was lunchtime, so did family favourite Pizza Express. I was especially happy since I thought it had closed down during the 1st lockdown. The pizza was grand and quick to come out (always important when small impatient bellies need filling) and one of the increased number of vegan/veggie options.

Then while the girls did shopping at the Rock, I and H went to the Arcade Club (arcadeclub.co.uk) – three floors of arcade classics, before they joined us later. Everyone agreed that level three with its collection of old machines was the best, although I was a big fan of the Japanese game where cats rode pigs in a mad race.

When we got home, the weather was gorgeous, so Callie dog got a second walk.

: abad9 me h at pizza express

: b7571 bury pizza

: 24624 bury donkeykong

: 68c16 bury pacman

: 87722 bury pacman2

: 72d19 bury pinball

: f493b bury pinballclassics

: 63d10 bury kittypigs

: 8267a bury callie

I’ve missed this over the last year or so, and I feel somewhat shallow for saying that, given some of the big huge things going on in the world at the moment. I’m noticeably more bouncy and content today. I’ve tried to stay positive during the lockdown, but I’ve had moments of depression and rage. Each time we go out to the outside world (strangely, my local dog-walks don’t count, they are like green corridors ending in large living rooms where we play ball), it’s like I’m a child again, gleefully running about rediscovering stuff.

Next up is a weekend away either in a cottage, city-Premier Inn or perhaps even the return of camping WITH THE DOG!

Oh my poor hearties, the excitement! 😀

Jess returned!

One of the things that reinforces my faith in the fundamental goodness of reality when it waivers is the adventures of our Henry’s Jess the Cat. This black and white soft-toy has been with Henry since his first Christmas, courtesy of my brother George. He/she (I and Rachel aren’t exactly sure) is his constant companion (excepting school and the occasions where we or Henry decide its best to leave her at home). I’ve lost count the number of times that we’ve lost her on trips out. When he was really young I was forever having to retrace our steps and ask shopkeepers or customer care people “have you seen our Jess?” Sometimes it’s an overnight stay as we have already left the attraction, and we ring them when we get home. But every time, and I mean every time, Jess is returned to us. Noone takes a fancy to her, throws her in the bin, or just can’t be arsed to look for her when we ask and shes be found on some sites that are frankly staggering in size and super busy. Consider the odds of that for a moment.

Her latest adventure was at the Heights of Abraham (which fits the big and super duper busy category), which we visited last week on Thursday on our way home from our short holiday in the Peak District. Henry had wandered off to play in a playground without telling us (which was an anxious 20 minutes in itself) and left Jess on a nearby table. We only realised a couple of hours later when we reached the car, and for a variety of reasons couldn’t simply go back up the cable car to look for her. So Rachel contacted customer care there and then and left our contact details. I politely chased up over the bank holiday weekend, but they were so insanely busy I didn’t actually get through to a human being until Sunday! In parallel, I had also emailed them, and this started a conversation with their office when it opened on Monday. On Tuesday despite a search, they hadn’t found her, and I politely thanked them for their time especially in light of Henry’s attachment to Jess.

Notice at all times I (and Rachel) were polite. No point being otherwise, but it really is part of the magic. People really go the extra mile for you and some really magical things happen as a result. So I send my email conceding defeat in this instance and then five minutes later the nice lady got back to me saying that the park rangers had found Jess in some brambles, a bit soggy but otherwise ok. She then got her washed popped her in the post and she arrived first thing this morning so that when Henry got up he was able to give her a big hug

December 2016

It seems so long ago, but I had a cracking end of 2016 with the family.

First off was Dragonmeet, a RPG Convention/Trade show/Shopping Day down in London at the beginning of the month 🙂

Me at Dragonmeet 2016 in fighting form

Dragonmeet: Stuck in a lift with my homies Steve and John

I wrote more about Dragonmeet over on my D101 Games Blog.

Then the endless parade of school concerts/nativity plays that dominated weeks 2-3. My favorite was the Christmas Concert held at Oldham Parish Church, which Evie’s school choir was invited to sing at.

Evie at her Christmas Concert at Oldham Parish Church

Splatface comes to the Newport household

Out in Oldham Christmas shopping

Christmas itself was a quiet affair. I got loads of presents (which I still haven’t played with all of them), but me George and Evie did manage to get out on a cold and blustery Boxing Day to do the traditional walk thing 🙂

Boxing Day walk up to the Monument in Tandle Hills Park with Uncle George

Rach and Henry went to Guliver’s World in Warrington with our H’s Beaver group in October, and were keen to go back to this themepark/fairground aimed at 6-preteens. Just before Christmas Rachel noticed that they did a New Year’s celebration, so we signed up and spent from about 4-9 in the park before retiring to a nearby Premier Inn. As well as being fun in itself its the first time I’ve celebrated New Years in the last ten years or so!

New Years Eve at Gulliver’s World: Entering the park at 4pm

New Years Eve at Gulliver’s World : Darkness descends over the little castle

New Years Eve at Gulliver’s World: Farmyard ride, Henry is not impressed

New Years Eve at Gulliver’s World: Whee sliding!

November 2016

November was a quiet month. Work was briefly a bit bonkers. A sink hole opened up down the road. Other than that life just pottered on.

Henry and Evie are at that age that sometimes they don’t get on

Manchester tram

H (front far right) gets his second Taekwondo belt

Rainbow on a surprise snow day

Giant footstep in the road

Nearby Shaw on a clear day

Arggh the Knitting Monster

October 2016

October and the weather is beginning to really go down hill, but we still have the odd surprising really sunny day.

Highlights this month:

Work sends me on a training course for a content management system we don’t even have access to
Crypts and Things finally gets released to the general public yay!
Having fun at Furnace 2016 despite the whole con being ill.
I start staring 50 in the face (thanks Carl Greatbach for that horrible metaphor that is stuck in my head!) as I hide from the world celebrating my 45 birthday!
An efficiently run Halloween 🙂

H and his conkers!

Rach is cross at Christmas being in the shops this early!

Off to Furnace on the train, something I’ve not done in about 10 years

First cuppa of the Con (oh how old I’m getting, this used to be beer!)

Cueing for games sign up (me out of shot laughing, because as a GM I don’t have to do this)

The Magic Stall!

MItch my secret Hendos advisor

River of Heaven in full flow!

Our pair dressed up for School Book Day

Help I’m in Computer Nerd Central

Cats in Catnip debauchery shocker

Monkey!

Best Birthday Present Ever!! Tony the Tea makin sloth 🙂

Grrr! I be Capt Breadhook, where be my enemy Peter Flan!

This year’s pumpkin effort

Halloween at the Newport’s

September 2016

The main thing I remember was me thinking “Dang I was just getting into Summer!” and feeling a succession of jolts as the ambient energy dropped (that’s seasonal downturn to all you people in normalsville).

Life progressed as normal. Kids where settled back in School. Work continued to be vaguely annoying and indecisive, but I kept my cool and played along.

Henry had an ace small boy birthday, full of toys, meals out with family, a party at a local play place, and the realisation is that he’s now beyond his littlely years and growing up fast!

Big personal news for me was that the final proofs of Crypts and Things landed, and I had it my hands after spending a good two years developing it. That was a feeling you can’t beat! 🙂

Cats have the right idea

H with his birthday MInecraft Lego

Its grim op norf

I finally have it my hands! (Lunch to provide idea of scale)

The Sun hadn’t vanished entirely – still time to be hunted by cats!

Off to school you pair!

Arrgh! Stalked by Ninja + Vader!

August 2016

Although most of August was dominated by the holiday, the weeks before and after it was fun. I vaguely remember the weather being much better than usual. Although nowhere near the high summer days of my youth, at least it wasn’t grimmly overcast and raining all the time (yes 2011-2013 I’m looking at you).

Henry playing Pirates of the Caribbean

Crypts & Things progresses in the proofing stage

Ow me eye!

Our duo swinging at the park, in front of a petrified Alien from the last invasion.

Lego!

On your marks! Get set!

A sunny day at Hollingworth Lake

Hollingworth Lake: That Green Man gets everywhere!

Hollingworth Lake: Of course there was Ice Cream!

Back to work, Bowie tells me to behave

More Manchester Murals

Glastonbury Tales 2016

This was our big two week holiday in the Glastonbury area of Sommerset. It was slightly delayed due to a bit of drama on Evie’s part. Two weeks before she had broken her front tooth in two, and our dentist very kindly stuck it back together. A miracle of modern science! However we had to have a breif check up (something to do with roots possibly dying) on the Monday afternoon of what would have been our first week. So we delayed driving down until mid monday afternoon, which was a good thing because our Rach wasn’t well (she’s been having problems with her gall blader) and I did all the packing of the tent + clothes + kitchen sink over the weekend. Drive down was cool. Rach got used to our new trailer (verdict great on the motorway, less so on small countrylands). Bristol was a bit bumpy! Just as folk were tired and tempers were flaring we reached our stop off point, a trusty and chilled out Premier Inn.

Leaving the Land of the Pies aka North West of Englad

Chilling out at a Premier Inn just outside Gloucester, abotu 2/3 way there.

Chilling out at a Premier Inn just outside Gloucester, about 2/3 way there.

Outside the Premier inn, my new trailer just in view at bottom

Next day after breakfast we did the last third of the drive and after me and Rach put up the tent, she took the kids to the local supermarket while I did the pegging and moved all the ‘stuff’ into the tent. Which was a good way off doing it 🙂

The first glance of the Tor as we arrived

The big green beast

Its not glamping its “comfatable family camping”

Smores!

Rach cooking smores!

Smores too!

This time out we did alot of loafing around the campsite, because after last years holiday we realised we were spending too much time on a mission to visit places every day. There were complaints from the kids who wanted to spend more time playing with their new frieds. Also Rach was taking it easy due to not feeling well. But that be said we did Longleat Sarari Park as a big day out, Glastonbury muliple times, and we had a couple of trips to Wells. We also got to go to an outdoor swiming pool a couple of times and visit Rach’s friend Hema (some of you might remember as one of Rach’s bridesmaids at our wedding) and her big BIG Bull Mastiff dogs. So overall we had a good venture out.

Longleat Safari park, as you do 🙂

Sleeping penguins

Cheeky Eve and a stingray

At the Temple of Doom

Laziest beasts in the Zoo

Hema & John’s Biscuit and Fudge, our Henry.

Evie and Fudge

Greenbank Outdoor swiming pool at Street

Sign at the counter at Bluenote cafe in Glastonbury

There be dragons!

Way up to Glastonbury Abbey

Witness the epic ruins of the Abbey…

..oh hang about we are too busy playing on our tablets…

…or photobombing in the crypt! 🙂

I loved this holiday. From the moment we got to the campsite the whole experience was magical. People joked about “feeling the ley lines” , but I felt a rise in energy the whole time I was there, which hasn’t really gone away since I’ve come back. I would quite happily come again, but the family now have their sights set even futher south ( after realising we can break the journey quite happily by stoping at a hotel ) and at this point Eurocamp in the South of France is on the cards. Rach is even learning French! But I hope to return the Isle of Avalon at some point – if only to finally walk up the Tor which I missed out on doing this time out.

Glastonbury Tor from our campsite

The enterance to our campsite

Another beautiful night at our campsite

Eve stargazing using the Ipad outside our tent

Evie siting pretty at the playcenture in Wells

Wells Cathedral

H and the kite at the campsite

July 2016 in Photos

Most of July was us just kicking back enjoying the summer and gettnig ready for the camping trip to Glastonbury that was coming up in August. Weather was pretty meh, occasional sun, a bit of rain (but not very much for our neck of the woods) but mainly overcast. Lots of quality home time though including games and a new barbeque.

Our teeny weeny barbque!

Nom, Nom, Nom

July was the month that Pokemon Go hit Newports

Henry’s first Taekwondo belt

Playing Crypts & Things with the home group

Pirates of the Carribean, rescued from the attic, with our H.

Html 5 Training course with work, find out you’ve been doing it right all these years without knowing it

June 2016

After Disneyland Paris and Games Expo it was time to take it easy and just well have a family summer. Which is what according to my photographic record is what we did 🙂