2026
When Jamie told me she was coming home early from DTI I was excited but then she informed me that she would not be home until about 11pm which was a little disappointing because I was hoping to spend the evening with her but I consoled myself that at least we would have the weekend that would make up for it.
Jamie was disappointed to feel FOMO when she eventually got home maybe slightly regretting not being there for the rest of DTI?
So just me a Billy again…
With the family still all at DTI, after work I went to me shed and threw some darts to unwind for an hour, Billy kept me company dropping a ball just through the doorway for me to kick each time I retrieved me darts and also making sure I didn’t forget he needed a walk…
I fixed Jamie’s Sonos speaker which was not reacting to Alexa commands (it was a button on top that toggles it on and off, doh) then thought how to better distribute the speakers we already have moving kitchen to Bedroom bedroom to bathroom and bathroom to kitchen meaning we now have and Alexa speaker in the bedroom which might be more useful we’ll see
YouTube a bottle of wine and a bubble bath took up the rest of the night and a good nights sleep, apart from the dog not the cat howling at 05:30am not sure why but it pissed me off enough to go down and open the door before returning to bed…me time over I guess?
Jamie Reagan and Lincoln left for DTI at about 10:45 leaving me to work the rest of the day and fend for myself after that, but with it being Wednesday I intended to got to the Legion and play pool so not really rattling around the house much with most of the day and evening doing stuff
Managed to tidy up everything that was just left by the family before they left and had a chippy tea, which I shared with Kath next door before going to the pub.
I do notice that I lack focus when they all go away leaving me on me own something I will need to work on next week when they go to Hungary
Straight after work tonight we set off to Staffordshire Show Ground to set up the Marquee for DTI which starts tomorrow (Wednesday?) meaning there would not be much if any help as most people would be at work. There were 14 helpers so we got the marquee up in under 2 hours but then people started putting tents up which was not on the agenda when I said I’d help. Running on no food or water since lunchtime the joke was wearing quite thin by the time the last available tent was erected just before 10pm with light fading and a 45 minute drive home ahead of us.
I just went to bed when I got in too late to eat too tired also. The good thing is the campsite was pretty much ready for the youth the next day with only 4 more tents to erect and they would just need to sort their stuff into their tents and enjoy DTI from there
Having listened to Reagan excitedly looking forward to doing her second ever shift at the Fox & Hound all through the holiday and constantly telling us what was being discussed on the employee WhatsApp chat, it came with slightly less excitement this morning for me to return to work…!
Cat: (As Billy walked into the house) At least ‘you’ got to go on holiday!
Billy: Did i fuck! I ended up at the big house again, where the fuck were you?
Cat: No fucking way
Billy: Where were you?
Cat: I was left here all alone, although someone did turn up everyday to feed me and let me out into the garden while she watered the plants and fed the fish it meant I could just lay in the sun for a bit.
Billy: Lucky fucking you, I was at the big house we were both at last time
Cat: oh shit, were they barking all night again?
Billy: It was worse this time they never stopped, it was horrendous I barely slept
Cat: You got walks though?
Billy: Oh yeh twice a day, on the lead, no ball chasing no trust but omg it was quiet it was peaceful it was a bit of me time
Cat: What then?
Billy: Nothing back in lockdown then repeat day after day until…
Cat: Until what?
Billy: 3 toots the BEST sound ever then another 3 then I could hear his car then 3 more toots. The screws come to get me and I knew I could smell dad I knew which way to go so dragged the screw through open and gate and there he was he was back. He took me lead off me neck I didn’t need an invitation I jumped in the car
…and here I am I ain’t leaving again!
Cat: Well welcome home, oh and don’t eat me food ya cunt!
Home…
We left the digs immaculate as clean and tidy as we could possibly do
We went to Wetherspoons for breakfast it was noisy but we found a table that was tolerable and had our last meal at a window seat overlooking the ocean for one last time. We walked to and from the pub along headland allowing the most exposure to our little paradise before getting in the car to head home…
We called at Lidl to get our money back for a pair of sandles that broke within an hour of purchase. They still argued that they’d been worn and that we could not have a refund, until Jamie pointed out that although its 4 days since we bought them we did try to get the refund within 2 hours but didn’t bring the right debit card. He gave us our money back and we were on our way.
Directions were pretty simple:
Stay on A30 for 98 miles
Stay on M5 for 161 miles
Stay on M6 for 58 miles
Two loads of washing and Kebabs for tea before tiredness got the better of me
Bed
A great holiday comes to an end!
Define relaxing:
Today was our last full day and it was decided by the adults that it was going to be a beach day, doing nothing but relaxing and taking in the surroundings.
For me it was perfect, I did nothing just sat on my chair, built a footrest from sand and thought about nothing, rarely even picking my phone up, I just relaxed!
Jamie similarly sat and read her book but did venture into the sea with Lincoln during the brief time he came to our pitch by the rocks.
We watched the tide rise to its highest by 2pm and watched it go out for the rest of the afternoon before eventually returning to the digs to shower before dinner.
For both children this is just a holiday a week in a different place, away from what they know and love best but not far enough to miss it. Phones are their crack and so long as they’re online they’re fine. We wanted to spend time with them but they don’t need to, because they have their whole lives in front of them do that it doesn’t matter that we are only at the seaside for a short time which cost a lot to achieve and is our point.
Bucket of blood the last let down of this holiday, promised a Cornish seafood extravaganza online but in reality pub grub with the “catch of the day” Hake with chips…? Good food but Cornwall yet again fails to live up to the hype when it comes to serving fresh fish? Maybe we’re just not eating at the right places but come on, all the pubs we’ve been in are by the sea!
The boat trip…
Below mom’s excitement at organising this trip was trepidation amongst the ranks that non of us have sea legs and that two hours at see could be torture if we got sick!
As I boarded the bus back to Hayle I was the husk of the man, that alighted the train at St Ives station hours earlier, I was frail and running on fumes needing to eat to replenish much needed fuel.
The day began with a brew and a round of toast not enough to replenish the night before nor broke for the day ahead. I didn’t eat again until 1pm by which time I was desperately in need of sustenance to keep going. By the time we paid to sit on deckchairs for an hour my body was working on a coke and a pasty, which would have been fine but for the looming boat trip at 3pm.
As we boarded the boat I was fine and looking forward to 2 hours at sea, and it was still ok as we sped 6 miles out to sea into a northerly wind but as we turned and slowed to watch 30 to 40 dolphins surround the boat I was ill, very ill!
The dolphins were tremendous, possibly the highlight of the week but all I could think about was dry land and not be on this boat. I managed to compose myself enough to enjoy the trip back to shore but by the time we walked off the jetty I was drained, struggling to function, completely empty, with no fuel on board at all.
At Gilberts a couple of beers and a good feed sorted me out but that was not how I saw today going…..
Sunburn is painful and yes its avoidable if you wear sunscreen but on our first day here we were holiday happy and applied it sparingly instead of liberally and all of us were caught out.
Reagan was the most sensible making sure her perfect skin remained perfect, with Mommy a close second only catching the sun after joining me in the sea which washed of her sunscreen. I applied mine to hot-spots which I thought was sensible but burned the tops of my arms really bad and the top of my man boobs which burned before I applied protection.
Lincoln lay on the beach for ages but both mom and me asked him “Did you apply sunscreen?” To which he replied “Yes”
He lay in the sun for ages before jumping in the sea by which time he was already feeling the burn, but today it became unbearable.
After a lovely walk down to the beach as we did yesterday afternoon we decided to have a cheeky little drink at Spoons where we got the call that Lincoln had taken a turn… I was left waiting for a Stella and a Pear Cider as mom dashed home.
I followed eventually after necking me Stella and carried the cider home to find Linc “in agony” with mom and Reagan on the phone to 111 for fucking sunburn?
The boys been a tit he’s in pain and needs to man up take the care he’s being given and get on with it! Paracetamol Ibuprofen and shit loads of aftersun like I’m lashing on to me arms…
Oh by the way we went to St Michael’s Mount today such a beautiful place and should have been the main thing about this blog but hey ho
