Holistay

So this last week was half-term for the kids, usually a time we would pack a bag and go and do something that involves staying away from home. Not this time. Limited funds and extensive flooding around us as a result of 2 back-to-back winter storms have not done anything to fuel our enthusiasm. So we decided to stay put and see what we can do locally. This is an account of our half-term staycation or, I prefer, holistay.

Did I mention that 2020 was also going to be a year of firsts? Well it is, feeling the need to up my game when it comes to adventuring, I felt the need to push myself more. Why? Isn't what I'm doing enough already? Nope, there's always room for more. I've made a pact with myself that I need to try at least one new thing every month. So far, I've tried magnet fishing, climbing and laughter yoga – completely bonkers. So far, I've exceeded my one a month quota!!

We decided to stay put and gave ourselves a £75 entertainment budget for the week. We managed to go over budget by only £3.20, so I'm super proud of that. Here's how how half-term shaped up:

Saturday and Sunday, not much because the weather was a real shocker. Just local dog walks and quite frankly, they were not impressed and really did not want to leave the house. Tough love little doggies, you need to poop and I need to escape these 4 walls!!!

Monday wasn't much different to be honest, except a trip to the vet for the poorly cat. £78 later and the cat is now fine. It was interesting trying to safely navigate a none flooded route to the vets and back home again.

Tuesday and the real fun begins after a few days of a really slow start. First was a lovely long dog walk - Dominic on his bike, then leaving the dogs at home we head off to attend a willow weaving session. This isn't the first time we've attended a workshop run by the wildcraftist, last year we made some really amazing lanterns and they're still proudly displayed in my lounge. This time we made willow hearts and they're proudly hanging up on the wall.

Wednesday was a non-exciting day, we spent the day at the local hospital. Just routine, but something we have to do every so often.

Thursday back on the half-term fun, though not necessarily adventure related! We went to the cinema to watch Dr Doolittle and then to Pizza Express for tea. Why have I mentioned this on this adventure blog? Only because I used what I call 'free money' to pay for it. My nearest petrol station is Tesco and I always use my clubcard when paying. They currently have a deal on their vouchers where they treble them up. I spent £25 of clubcard vouchers (I had £50 of vouchers in total) and this paid for a meal for three of us + drinks + pudding and a trip to the cinema. Use your loyalty cards peeps, this would of cost me nearly £90 out of my own pocket!!

Friday and we're back in the world of adventure. Axe-Throwing. Oh my goodness, I have never done this before and I honestly did not realise it would be so much fun. We got a mini-league going between us and ended up leaving with both Dominic and me deciding that we're going to have our birthday parties there. The best thing is that they can print out poster size pictures of people or things and they'll stick it on the board so you can throw you axes at it. You can literally throw axes at the head of someone who you hate, its brilliant! I NEED TO GET THIS DONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY PARTY – who will be in the poster I hear you ask? You'll have to wait and see x

Saturday was archery and luckily it was indoors. This was the first time at this club and it was organised by the Shropshire Scouts. This is a really fun way to spend the morning. All three of us enjoyed this and we'll do this again I'm sure. I've had a go at archery before, but this is the first time I've actually had an instructor on hand to give me a few basic tips. It really made all the difference. All three of us showed huge improvements in just the 2 hours we were there.

We thought we'd utilise the local swimming baths for a change on the Sunday. Again the weather was crap and I personally hadn't been swimming in a long time. The kids beat me into the pool and I found them alone in the deep end. I decided that I was going to bomb myself into the pool and nearly drowned them both in the resulting tsunami. The funniest part for them was watching the lifeguard trying to telling me off whilst trying not to laugh. The kids decided that I must have annoyed him as the wave I created managed to soak him too. You'd think getting wet would be an occupational hazard for a life guard hahaha.

So how much did we spend:

Willow Hearts £15 (£5 each)

Cinema and meal £0

Axe-Throwing £45 (£15 each for 45 minutes) (add £6 for the poster next time!!!)

Archery £9 (£3 each for scout members)

Swimming £9.20 (not sure how much each)

Total £78.20

One thing that I have realised is that I haven't done on these blogs is to actually tell you my name. I'm Fran and I live in the most beautiful county of Shropshire. My nearest town is Ironbridge and I get to frequently drive past the iconic bridge that is a world heritage site.

Sadly, at the moment Shropshire and surrounding counties are struggling with the worst floods in 20 years. Its terrible to hear the stories of those effected. Floods, fires, polar caps melting its all impacted on by the threats we as humans pose to our planet. We can all do our bit to help and in my next blog, I will talk about the little things that I do that will go towards helping the environment. Take care x