Abbie's baby shower

Last weekend Mark & I headed down to Exeter for my friend Abbie's baby shower - she is expecting her first baby, and we're so excited for her! It was the first baby shower we've attended, so we weren't sure what to expect.

We drove down on Saturday to Cullompton to stay with mum and JC. Of course, we were taken on a walk to 'her trig' (seen just in front of Mark who is picking blackberries).

A very windswept look for me...

We had a little play around on the new playground for the new build development. 

We stopped after this for refuelling (chai lattes and flapjack) before continuing on the loop around Cullompton. It's surprisingly really varied, with little paths and waterways. I particularly liked a house that backed onto a small leat where ducks were waddling over their garden - although mum tells me I'm not allowed to buy that house due to the flood risk. 🙄

On Sunday we headed over to Abbie's house to help her and her family make decorations for the baby shower. Well, I helped - Mark and Ben (Abbie's husband) spent the time talking about Pokémon cards.

Abbie helpfully wore a black dress which makes her look not at all pregnant.   

I don't have many photos yet as we mainly took them on her digital camera. There were stations for drawing on baby-grows (spot ours), colouring in blocks, and a quiz. There was a gender reveal with cake pops!! - I won't spoil it here. 🩷💙

Congrats to Abbie & Ben! 

Dyffryn Gardens

Today we visited Dyffryn Gardens, one of the few National Trust places in South Wales (it seems very sparse for National Trust locations around here!). We visited today in particular as it was part of the Open Doors event, where heritage places are opened for free during September. 

The house and gardens were given to the National Trust in 2013, and they still have quite a way to go with the restoration work despite the extensive work done - the house is still closed but the gardens are beautiful to wander around. I believe the house was built in the 16th century, and was then expanded into the house it is today by the Cory family in 1893. After the death of the family, the estate was leased to Glamorgan County Council in 1939 (it was in the Cory family for less than 50 years) and was used as a police building, conference centre, and at once point planned to be a hotel. 

The gardens are gorgeous, and I expect much more so in the sun and in bloom! They're Edwardian and style, with lots of hints of other inspiration. 

I like the hay bales. 

I told Mark 'it doesn't matter if it's a good photo of me, it's just for the blog!'... turns out it does matter. 

We found a hugeeeee pumpkin (reminding me of James and the Giant peach) - see me for scale. 

And sheltered from the rain in a greenhouse, where we found some dead wasps in a fly trap plant. 

It was rainy! We particularly liked the Pompeian gardens (second pic). 

A view back to the house in the grey. 

Overall a good National Trust property, with 2 cafes, a small shop, and secondhand bookshop. At £14 each usually however, I think next time we'll wait for better weather, perhaps in the spring when a parent visits!

Sully

A wee beach trip on Tuesday after work with Mark - as part of my new (and slow going, life is busy!) series to introduce him to more of South Wales and our local area. 

We went to Sully beach, but avoided the tidal island lest we be swept away. 

Mark liked the tetrapods, and I collected some sea glass.

We then enjoyed some pudding in the local pub. 

This week I also earned some fiancée brownie points by finding a bouldering crash pad for a bargain on Facebook marketplace. A pleased climbing boy!

Pose Mii

Here is a random blog post to talk about a new family tradition that I love... my mum's posing. 

A few years ago she did this pose whilst on holiday in Kazakhstan. 

I told her it reminded me of the Wii Play game, Pose Mii (anyone else remember??).

She likes to call this Wii, or Switch, or most recently, Mario.

Since then she's enjoyed send us photos whilst on holiday of her in this pose. I love it!! So here is a blog just to show how much my mum enjoys this pose and how much I love her doing it. 

I am very sure that this is not an exhaustive gallery of all the poses - there are many more!

I think this jeep one is one of my favourites. 

I apologise in advance if I spoil some of the photos from your current trip before you're blogged them mum (to my many many readers I'm sure), but you can talk about the lovely lakes and views on your trip and I will adore your pose. 

I want to play Wii Play now...

Up and down the Malvern Hills

One of our climbing friends (Ellie) turns 30 this week (published on her birthday - happy birthday Ellie!), so to celebrate she organised a lovely walk & party in Malvern, where she grew up. She gathered us from all over, with ~20 of us in the end. 

We walked from British Camp, an Iron Age hill fort. You can sort of see it in the photo to the left of the biscuits. 

The ridge was absolutely gorgeous the whole way.  

Malvern Hills are called hills for a reason - nearly 500m of elevation in 10km!

We made it to The Beacon, the highest point at 425m, where we could see all the way to The Black Mountains in Wales. 

Trig! I look suspiciously shin-less in this photo. 

Can't resist matching with my ring. 

Hello cow, I am sheep. 

My water bottle carrier. 

Ellie actually used these stone arrows as a method of directing her. 

Following the walk we all met in the Brewer's Arms, a lovely pub with outdoor space in West Malvern. She and her family had organised games (of which we won one!), and cooked an amazing vegan buffet of delicious food. 

In other news, I've just learnt that there is going to be an Incredibles 3, released in 2028. As you may know, I am a big big Incredibles fan and am very fond of the films. The Incredibles 2 was released 8 years ago - time flies! Apparently this news came out 2 years ago, I have clearly not been paying attention. Exciting!