So far this year summer has been a real wash out. I can count on 2 hands the number of sunny summer days we have had. It makes it quite disasterous for event organisers. The Bristol Balloon Festival was rained out and numbers were significantly down on last year. A major air show was cancelled due to bad weather and even today we decided to have a look at a well known boot sale out at Trench Lane but this was closed as well.
With bad weather about it makes you look for other options. Last weekend we gave indoor skiing a go at the Snowdome located at Tamworth. Situated just under 2 hours from Bristol it is an easy drive on the motorway all the way there. For only 21 quid this gives you 2 hours skiing including boots, poles and skis. Should you get bored of skiing then you can always go swimming, ice skating, spend some time in the gym or go for a facial or massage. Covering 170 metres there is enough of a run to get some speed on and they have ensured that the run isn’t clogged up with horizontal bodies by not letting anyone up the slope unless they are of a passable ski standard. If not, then you join a ski school at the bottom. This way it keeps everyone safe and the slopes moving more efficiently. As your skills improve then you can move up the slope. By the end of the 2 hours I was getting my ski groove back on again, able to ski without poles and really starting to enjoy it (although I still lack in confidence the coaching by Steve was very valuable in getting me to the “no poles” point).
The Bristol Harbour Festival was on a couple of weekends ago. This too was also getting rained on but we had to go and have a look at the french markets. Hooray for fine french food. I must say though the bread truly was a let down this year. Mind you we had only been in Paris 3 days prior to the festival and had stuffed ourselves silly with bread from there. The memory of it was still lingering so there was no bread that was going to meet the high standard we recalled. I did however pick up some more cheese, Steve found his Croque Monsieur and I indulged in a sausage and vege sandwich. Yum.
This weekend Steve heard about the Hard Rock Festival in Devon so we drove down for the day. Rock climbing, slacklining and the South West Film Festival were some of the key drawcards here. There was great doco called Dying for Everest regarding the media furor surrounding a double leg amputee climber called Mark Ingles. He and a number of other climbers attempting to summit Everest came across a climber (David Sharp) that at first appeared dead, but upon closer inspection proved to be alive at the time. The choice was made to leave David there and continue on. Sir Edmund Hillary even came out to condemn Mark Ingles. I am not sure why the media chose to focus on Mark specifically considering 30+ climbers also took the same decision. It was a really interesting doco and posed a number of different questions for consideration. Although I have never been in extreme conditions such as Everest I do understand and have experienced what happens to your body, your thinking, decision making skills, basic tasks such as eating or speaking when affected by the cold. Also we recently experienced the debilitating affects of altitude sickness when we were in Chamonix (Aigulle du Midi – 13847 feet). If anything it taught me to appreciate the fragility of our bodies and what it means to be out of control of it. A very scary experience I don’t wish to revisit.
When we arrived at the Hard Rock Festival I found a frog. My first frog! Ever!!!! Not counting frogs at a pet shop or zoo, this was the first real, live, wild frog I have ever seen. It was gorgeous. I probably shouldn’t have picked it up as I have no idea what type of frog (or maybe its a toad, I don’t know). Tiny, tiny frog, coloured green with black/brown markings. Just wonderful to see.
Finally, as it was still raining the next day we decided to take another ride in the car for a Sunday arvo drive. We found yet another gem of a town. Malmesbury in the county of Wiltshire. The abbey here is a real gem, very accessible and has the most amazing collection of bibles and antiquities in the Parvise (steps leading up to a tower above the porch. This one can be found to the right of the doors as you enter). Just outside the abbey are the abbey gardens, home of the naked gardeners. Yes, that’s right – naked gardeners. We were rather surprised to, especially to read that it was a “clothes optional day”. At 6.90 each for entry it proved a bit pricey for us. Maybe on a sunnier day and possibly when it is a “clothes preferable” day 😉