Monday 26 April 2010

Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga... Chooo Chooooo!!!

Saturday 24th April 2010 we had a very early start... 5.30am wake up!!!

It was an important day for Duncan (my husband) as he was having the experience of a lifetime with the chance to drive a steam train!

We left for Loughborough at 7am as we had to arrive for 9am, his Itinery for the day was as follows:


  • 9am: Welcome by host for the day & meet with other participents to be paired up with for the experience. Lunch orders will be taken & a video highlighting the main driving controls of a steam locomotive will be shown to you & you will be fitted with a smock coat.
  • 9.45am: Depart in the diesel multiple unit for route observation trip to Leicester North returning at 10.45am.
  • 10.45am: guided tour of locomotive shed & signal box.
  • 12.55pm: You & your partner board the footplate of a main line steam locomotive & have the chance to take the controls to Leicester North, sharing the driving on the double track main line returning back at 1.49pm.
  • 2.15pm: Lunch is provided on this service returning at 3.28pm.


The weather was on our side & the sun was shining, we went with Duncan's parents & we also took the children for the day too, although the passengers had a lot of waiting as the train drive was just the engine without carriages... I am glad I took 'Breaking Dawn' with me to read!



Just as well the children didn't get too bored waiting, it was also lucky that Nanny & Grandad took snacks with them as the wait till lunchtime was a very long time considering we had breakfast before 7am!


Eating lunch in the train was fun, even if the plates did move around a bit, LOL! The food was excellent which was also a bonus too :)

When we arrived at Leicester North we had 10 minutes off the train to stretch our legs while the steam engine topped up it's water for the return journey... time for me to have a quick cigarette break!


Doesn't Duncan look just the part with his smock coat on, he really enjoyed the day so much that he came home saying he wanted to buy a train!!!

I am so glad that Duncan got the opportunity to do this experience as it was a dream he has had since he was young... I haven't really got any big lifetime experience's I want to try, but I am starting to think if there is anything that I fancy doing before I get too old to enjoy it.

Well I have a few years yet to try & think of a good once in a lifetime experience that I'd like to do, although I am not sure I could top this!

If it was your choice... what would you choose to do?!


Thursday 22 April 2010

Ready for a year of thrills... Well almost!!!

Well we're almost there... just one more Merlin Pass to purchase & we have a year of rides, rollercoasters, thrills & white knuckles at some of the best attractions in the UK: Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventure, Legoland. With access to some great attractions too: Madame Tussauds, London Dungeons, London Eye, Warwick Castle & all Sealife Centres also!
Personally I can't wait as I love the theme parks & this year I am hopefully going to get to experience the rides at Alton Towers that I haven't been able to do yet: Rita, Air & the newest ride Thirteen.
As you can see from the pictures we had a lot of FUN last year, when we first took advantage of the annual Merlin Passes for the very first time... we went to Legoland a whopping 7 times, Alton Towers & Warwick Castle twice, Chessington, Thorpe Park & the London Dungeon once!

You deffinitly get your monies worth & more, with FREE entry to the attarctions & upto 20% off food & gifts... if you LOVE theme parks then you should deffinitly think about investing in the annual passes.

I wonder how many times we will visit each attraction this year & if we'll get anymore trips in to some of the places we haven't yet experienced with the passes? We have done the London Eye before, but I have never yet experienced Madame Tussauds & would really like to do that one!

Saturday 17 April 2010

Rubbish Blogger!

Ok, I am sooooooooo rubbish... I've not blogged in nearly 3 years & I've absolutely no idea where the last few years have gone, I blink & life just seems to fly by at the speed of light these days! I would think that having one crazy husband, one ASD son, one day-dreaming girlie & one very cheeky & mischievious toddler girl might just have something to do with it!!!


So what's happened in the last 3 years then??? Cameron (number one son) was diagnosed with high-functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder/Asperger Syndrome in June 2009... I always knew something wasn't quite right but couldn't put my finger on it & it was a long struggle trying to get teachers, health professionals & friends/family to listen to me - we got there in the end though, so although it doesn't make living with his symptoms any easier there is a name for it & a reason why he behaves the way he does :)



Hermione (the piggy in the middle) is such a day-dreamer with her head in the clouds, although when the bubble has been burst she is the most loving, caring, wonderfully helpful little girl you could ever wish for & considering she is still 6 she has a lot of strain livin with her brother but copes amazingly well with it all!





Anneliese (the ickle baby) is now 3!!! Where did that time go??? She is the most cheekiest little thing you have ever met, but whatever she does even if she is really naughty you can't help but smile at her as she has the face of an angel but the cheekiest grin ever!!!





I discovered I have a real talent for Cake Baking last autumn, I have always loved cooking & baking but decided to get a bit more creative with it & have a real flare for it now & I am baking a cake of some description almost every week if not 2 or 3 cakes per week... here's a picture of some cupcakes I made recently!!!





We now have a dog, a little West Highland Terrier that we rescued from the RSPCA in January 2009... he is a typical terrier but we love him, he get's into absolutely everything & is forever needing a bath! This is a picture of him with his girlfriend my friends little King Charles Spaniel named Ellie :)





I have put on some weight recently so it is now time to go back to fat club & shift the extra weight I am carrying around, it's not so good when you have lost the weight graduly but then it piled back on quickly & people assume you are pregnant... wouldn't mind so much but I was sterilized when I had Anneliese, so it gets me down a bit :(

Well, that's a quick sum-up of a few key events... I am going to try to be a more active blogger & get this show on the road again :)