Team Triplet

Our Times in Leicestershire

Shepshed Edition                                                                                                                               December 04

Home 2004 Photo Review Market Bosworth Family Tandem WE 2004 Netherlands 2004

Ann gets stitched up

In January, whilst Ann was undergoing a burst of energy, she decided to rearrange the bedroom furniture by herself.  This included attempting to carry a spare bed down the stairs by herself.  Attempt is the right word as the bed took her down the stairs and landed on top of her.  In the process she nearly decapitated one of her fingers. Some nifty stitching, 8 in all, by the local walk in centre managed to put it back together.

Can We Have More Please?

At the end of the summer term Ceri-Siān had a barbeque in our garden for her skool friends.  They thought it was great being allowed to have such a barbeque and being left to it.  The all wanted Ceri-Siān to have another one.

Easter Walkies to the Vultures

At Easter our friends the Jeffery’s came up from Oxford.  This time they left their bikes at home so we did something different and went for a couple of walks.  One of the walks was to the vulture sculpture on the Cloud Trial near Worthington, where on cycle rides we would stop for a brew up, so we did the same on our walk.

Breaking Shepshed Curfew

Having followed the construction of the new tram system in Nottingham over the last two years, 9th March saw myself and two friends from London get up very early and head to Nottingham to ride on the first tram, the 05:58 from Phoenix Park.  I eventually bit the bullet and started my “unofficial” website for the system, www.nettrams.net, which has got some very good reviews.

Ceri-Siān Provides a Cookery Demo.

In August we had our main holiday with all of us camping.  This holiday was disrupted by Ceri-Siān having an appointment with the Orthodontist Consultant on the Monday.  So we had a weekend at Quorn, followed by a few days at Weston Super Mare before going onto the Association of Lightweight Campers Birthday meet near Stroud.  They had picnic for their birthday tea.  As I had popped out for short ride before tea, we joined the picnic after most had eaten, which meant Ceri-Siān had an audience whilst she cooked.

Ceri-Siān Flies High and Gets Stamped

Our previous trips aboard, we have gone by ferry, and Ceri-Siān hasn’t flown before.  When easyjet.com announced a new route to Budapest, I quickly booked a trip during Spring Bank Holiday week for Ceri-Siān and I.  I had been in 1982 when the visa took a whole page of the passport.  Now that Hungary is part of the EU they don’t stamp your passport.  However I asked nicely and we both got entry stamps.  So did most people behind us in the queue who thought it would be a good souvenir!

Ceri-Siān Requires Retail Therapy

As I had been to Budapest 22 years ago, I was more interested in exploring the tram system and seeing how the city had changed.  Ceri-Siān was happy to be patient and follow and wait for me as we explored the complete tram system as it got to parts of the two cities not normally taken by the tourists.  However that patience came at price – Retail Therapy, where by she managed to get a nice top and even a skirt!  This worked well in some places – she would look around the shops whilst I hung around watching the trams go by outside.

Ceri-Siān Changes Skool

In Leicestershire they have an upper and lower skool system for secondary education.  That meant she was between skools during the summer holidays as she moved up from Shepshed High to Hind Leys Community College.

Quorn Camping

We had three trips to our local hideaway site at Quorn.  The second trip we camped by car, the first time for us at the site.   That trip we took one of Ceri-Siān’s skool friends.  Our third trip in September was Ann’s last camping trip of the year, when we went with our friends from Oxford.  Ceri –Siān and I managed another weekend camping with the ALC at Napton in mid September.

It’s a Wise Child That Knows Her Father!

For our main holiday this year, Ceri-Siān and I went cycle camping in the Netherlands, using the simple NTKC sites.  We took her Cousin Melissa with us who rode the back of the tandem with me.  As Melissa’s father is my twin brother Philip, she got confused a few times and called me Daddy rather then Uncle!  In all we did about 400 miles, riding from Maastricht and the hills of Limburg, up to the east of Winterswijk and back west to Amersfoort. In addition we managed to visit Belgium and Germany as well. 

Ceri-Siān goes from Rookie to Principal Bassoonist in 3 months!

At the end of last year Ceri-Siān was looking for another instrument to play.  She chose the Bassoon as it is an endangered species and hence there are always vacancies for Bassoonists!  After researching the instrument and finding a teacher etc, we bit the bullet and brought one just before Easter.  By the end of the Easter holidays she had learnt the basics herself, and by the autumn term she had graduated to the post of Principal Bassoonist for Shepshed Community Band!  She is even being honoured by playing the only instrument in the Hind Leys Community College production of West Side Story that is not backed up by professionals!

Wall Climbing

Ceri-Siān has continued her wall climbing throughout the year, and she even ventured out onto the real thing at Harborough Rocks in the Peak District.  For Children in Need she organised a sponsored climb, for her class to climb the equivalent of the North Face of the Eiger.  She even impressed her climbing teacher by telling him he had to join in dressed as a white spider (the name the ice field on the face that has thwarted many climbs).

Music

Ceri-Siān is still very active in playing the flute and has just taken grade 4 and still plays flute between bassoon pieces for Shepshed Community Band.  Ceri-Siān will try her hand at anything.  She has given positive encouragement to our friend Caroline who took up the Saxophone last year, having jamming sessions with whenever we get together.  It was at Easter that Ceri-Siān tried the Saxophone for herself and soon managed a few tunes.  In addition Ceri-Siān still occasionally plays the piano, and has also blown a few notes on the bombard and recorder and clarinet.

Ne Venez Pas a Trogland

It has been a standing joke, encouraged by certain Loughborough people that I refer to the primitive nature of Shepshed and that only Trogs live here in damp caves with a 9 o’clock curfew etc.  So when Ceri-Siān’s French class had to do an advert in French for a place to go or not go to, she did a piece with the above headline.  Her class being made up by fellow Trogs didn’t get the joke (could be because Trogs can’t speak French!)

Redundancies in the Kitchen

Whilst in Netherlands Ceri-Siān cooked virtually ever meal.  This interest in cooking is not restricted to camping, she now cooks most meals at the weekend.  When we went camping at Quorn with our friends she even cooked the Friday meal and Saturday breakfast – historically the task that Caroline has kept to herself.  Caroline was very impressed and was frustrated because she wanted to help, but could see Ceri-Siān was managing very well.

Triplet is no more

As we have not ridden Mikado very often in recent years, we sadly decided it would be better to retire her gracefully and trade her in for a new half bike.  In addition we got Ceri-Siān a new half bike as well, hoping that she won’t grow much more!

Photo Published

During our trip to the Netherlands, I managed to capture a photo of a tram under test in the new tunnel in Den Haag.  I sent the photo off and it got published in the November edition of Tramway and Urban Transit.

Ceri-Siān's Brace

Ceri-Siān’s brace has made big improvements on her toothy pegs.  Her hospital consultant resigned in the summer, which meant the consultant’s firm was dissolved so Ceri lost the benefit of continuality of care in having our own dentist, who was doing a hospital training post, perform her treatment under the guidance of the consultant.  After a short period of uncertainty a new locum consultant was appointed who Ceri-Siān likes as she has a nicer nurse assisting and understands the need to make appointments around music events.  Her November appointment was nicely slotted 2 hours after her flute exam and just long enough before West Side story for Ceri-Siān to get used to playing flute and bassoon properly again, and more importantly her appointment to remove the brace was slotted in just after West Side Story finished, although due to running out of time, a day before another concert Ceri-Siān is doing, so she decided to play piano for that concert rather then attempt top blow a flute or bassoon.

Double Reed Trio

Ceri-Siān was invited to form a bassoon duet, which soon expanded to a trio of endangered species.  Her friend Amy on Oboe and the junior bassoonist from the Shepshed Community Band have played together a few times at our house.  I keep threatening to make it a quartet by playing the bombard which is also a double reed instrument.  This trio was put together so they could do a spot at a concert at Shepshed High Skool.  Due to brace removal this graduated into a bassoon, oboe and piano trio with Ceri-Siān tickling the ivory.. 

Six Sigma Weight Loss

I reached my target of a body mass ratio of under 23 during the summer, after taking 15 months of gradual and controlled weight loss I am now maintaining my weight.  The key secret is eating normally, eating fruit for snacks and run chart your weight.

Ceri-Siān gets Cross

Ceri-Siān is becoming a real lady.  Apart from being seen in a skirt or dress occasionally, she has taken up the martial art of cross stitch.  She has completed many little pieces and is now hoping to do a cross stitch bassoon.

Ceri-Siān becomes a true Dee

Ceri-Siān when she was knee high to a grass hopper many years ago used to drink tea.  Like most kids, she grew out of tea and would drink anything but tea.  During the summer she turned to the demon drink tea.  She now enjoys a drum up on our rides.

Market Bosworth Finale

We organised our fourth and final family camping weekend for the Tandem Club at Bosworth Water Trust, near Market Bosworth at the start of July.  We had a good turn out with some families who had attended all four events.  Hopefully the younger families will continue with similar events in future years.  The event took is traditional format of family rides combined with quizzes and an entertainer for the kids young and old.

Ann’s bit

I thought I’d fit myself in here at the end – as always squeezed in as an after thought by Ceri-Siān and Stephen.

 

Hello, I’m still around and would like to say sorry to anyone in the family that we missed, Birthdays, anniversary, this year and in advance for next.  Things are going well with us and looking forward to 2005.  When Ceri-Siān and Stephen go off on their trips I keep our neighbour company and the garden tidy.  Stephen would want the grass replaced by concrete and even then wouldn't sweep it!.

Wheelie Bin at long Last!

When we lived in East Herts many years ago, we had the best thing since sliced bread - Wheelie Bins.  Having moved from East Herts, first to Stevenage and then to Shepshed, the one thing we missed was the wheelie bins.  That is until now - Shepshed joined the 21st Century this autumn and we got our a wheelie bin.  Like sliced bread - you either love them or you hate them.  Reading the local press the subject of wheelie bins seem to off created the same emotions as in East Herts 20 years ago.

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