Ben's Blog

During the first weekend of half term, we went and stayed in a caravan at Tencreek in Looe. We were originally going to camp there but a huge storm was meant to hit us over the first part of the weekend (and it did!) so we decided to upgrade to a caravan, which was a very wise move!

The caravan was very basic as we only wanted the cheapest one but it was fine for us.  The only problem was that it was a little small really, as Kelly and I had to sleep on our airbed in the main lounge area and it got really cold there overnight! We did take out little camping heater, but it was too small for the caravan so it didn’t make much of a difference. Aaron and Coby had a single bed each in a little room and Ben had a double bed to himself and another room, so they were fine!

We couldn’t hardly sleep during the first night as Storm Brian hit, so the caravan was shaking and the wind was gusting around outside making loud noises. I think Kelly and I had about 2 hours sleep in the end but Ben and Aaron slept fine (though Aaron did fall out of his bed at one point) and Coby ended up coming into our airbed half way through the night. This meant that I ended up on the sofa trying to sleep which was actually more comfy than the airbed! It was even colder for me there though, as there was an awful drought coming through the window right behind me, so I had my trousers and hoody on as well, trying to keep warm! There was a gas fire in the lounge but our bed was too close to it and would have caught alight. We survived the night anyway and all slept much better on the second night.

Each evening there, we went to the clubhouse and met Kelly’s friend Bridgette and her family there, as they were staying for the weekend as well. We ate there on the Friday and Sunday for tea and the food was actually quite nice and not too expensive. There was then a children’s disco at 7pm, followed by Bingo and then either Karaoke, or a band playing or something else depending on the day. There was also an arcade there, so the boys spent some time in there whilst we were around and enjoyed it.  We took part in Bingo on the Saturday and Sunday night’s but didn’t win, which was a shame as the jackpot was £130 on both nights! We stayed to listen to the Karaoke as well and to a Welsh band playing cover songs on a couple of the nights, which was interesting!

There was also a swimming pool on site, so we took the boys swimming a couple of times, and they all did very well. Ben showed off what he could do now and he is very confident in the pool. Aaron was less confident but we managed to get him to swim from one side of the pool to the other, which was the furthest he had ever swam in one go. Coby was jumping in as well into the inflatable ring and had his other inflatables on as well, and he wasn’t too scared really, which bodes well for swimming lessons in the future. The pool was only a basic thing, but it was good enough for us, though it would have been nice to have had a couple of slides in there.

On the Sunday afternoon, we ventured into Looe to have a walk.  It was surprisingly busy there with lots of people walking around.  We stopped in the arcade and the boys went on the 2p machines and won a few prizes, before we walked out to the beach and into the RNLI centre, which had an open day.  We managed to go into the locker room of the coastguards and the guy there showed us all of their uniform and Ben even tried on one of their helmets. It was very good really. We stopped in a few shops and had a look, but there wasn’t really anything to buy, apart from our usual fudge! It was a nice bit of fresh air though.

We had booked the caravan until the Monday morning, when we had to be out by 10am, but due to the lack of sleep that we had had, we decided to pack up and go home on the Sunday evening.  It was a very late decision as we only decided this at 22:15! So we packed up and were home again by midnight.  The boys were sleeping in the car, so it didn’t make too much of a difference to them.  We asked Bridgette to hand out key in on the Monday morning, which she did, so all was OK.

Overall, we had had a fun time in the caravan. It was just a shame the weather was so bad as we were all looking forward to camping really, as it would have made things a lot cheaper. We would definitely go there again though as the facilities were pretty good, as were the prices for everything.

Ben was off ill from school the week before half term, after being sent home on the Monday morning. Everyone else had or was ill as well, so it was only a matter of time before Ben caught it. It turned out to be a bit of flu which was causing body aches and feeling sick and tired.  He hardly ate anything all week and looked awful throughout really. Typically, it was that week that Ben (and Aaron) were meant to have their flu jabs at school! By the end of the week, he was getting better again though, and he definitely wasn’t as bad as Aaron got, luckily!

This past Sunday was Ben’s 9th birthday! Crazy!

He had a weekend full of fun which started off on Friday evening when he had 3 of his friends from school stay over the night (Iwen, Jake and Tom). They slept in the conservatory and had a great time.  They didn’t go to sleep until late and Ben thinks it was the early hours of the morning before he went to sleep, but we don’t believe that! 😉 They all had party food for their tea and then played around until it got lateish at which point they settled down in the conservatory, in their sleeping bags, and watched The BFG and ate popcorn. Both Aaron and Coby were out with them as well until it was their bed time.  There was some crying and shouting though, as Coby wanted to sleep in the conservatory! They managed to sleep until about 7am, at which point Aaron got up and went down and made sure they were awake! Kelly and I followed shortly and sorted out the conservatory as it had started raining which meant it was starting to leak everywhere! As the morning went on, the boys’ were picked up by their parents and were all gone again by lunch time. Ben had had a great time with his friends.

On the Saturday afternoon, Grandma, Uncle Darren and Aunty Marina came over for tea. They gave Ben his presents and he opened them with extreme excitement! He got a homemade Harry Potter cushion from Grandma, as well as some Everton pyjamas, Minion pyjamas and a notebook and pens.  He got a new Qixels set and K-nex Nerf set from Uncle Darren and Aunty Marina.  He was extremely happy with all of these presents! We had party food for tea and played a game on the Wii before they left, well into the evening.

On the Sunday (which was his birthday) Ben managed to stay in bed until gone 7:30am, which was a miracle! But we then went down and he opened up his presents and cards. His main presents were a full Everton kit with ‘Rooney’ on the back, a fitness tracker watch, a Lego Brickheadz of Captain America, an action camera (for cycling etc) (from Gramps), some clothes, some more Lego and an SD card for his tablet so he could buy and download Minecraft! He was very happy with all of his gifts and cards (which included a fair amount of money!). 

As lunchtime approached, Kelly’s side of the family started to arrive for the afternoon and some party food. Ben had more presents and cards and was happy to open them all, though he was too busy playing with his cousins to open everything straight away! We had some nice party food again and Ben had a great afternoon playing.

He had had a wonderful birthday day weekend and said it was the best one he had had! 😉

Thanks to everyone that gave him a present, money and cards, etc!

This morning in assembly, Ben received his Man Of The Match trophy from last Thursday, and also another Silver Merit Award.  I think this must be his 4th Silver Merit Award so he is doing very well. The deputy head teacher, Mrs Conday, congratulated him on his efforts and told him to keep up the good work! 😉

MOTM and Silver Merit Award

Last night at football training, Ben was awarded the Man Of The Match trophy by his coach. Well done Ben!

Man of the Match