Not your normal Monday to Friday…. not even our normal Monday to Friday. Hmmm, normal.
Monday was supposed to be a fairly relaxing day with all of the pre- Rum exiting stuff taken care of. But of course life doesn’t pan out like that. Firstly we had a minor crisis of ringing the car hire company to see what car had been booked and discovered that none had. Argh! Cue frantic trying to get hold of Sarah at Eden to find out what was happening and being unable to reach her. That threw the whole thing into chaos as without a car at the other end there was no way we were getting on the ferry and leaving Rum.
Then Tom Pig started mating with his smallest son. Understandably his smallest son was not only a bit upset by this he was also rather injured and his back was covered in blood. It was disturbing Barbara who had some sort of primal reaction to her offspring screaming and we felt there was no way we could leave that sort of situation for nine days and expect other people to come and feed them and deal with it. So Ady rang Marcel and he came up to assess the situation for us. Googling turned up nothing even slightly helpful about male pigs having sex with other male pigs – plenty of suggested websites and youtube videos but nothing of the sort of helpful advice I was looking for I can assure you 🙁 😯 Marcel said that while no serious damage had been done to the young pig there was a high risk of infection to the damaged area which would not only be unpleasant for the pig but would also mean it was no good as meat either, so a plan was hatched for the pig to be killed that evening.
In the middle of all this Vikki came up for lunch and then, as Vikki does, she stayed until about 4pm seemingly oblivious to all the stress and trying to sort things out going on around her. Finally we got confirmation of the car being booked.
Vikki left, Ady and Scarlett took Humphrey down to Lesley and then collected Marcel. I cooked dinner which the kids had and I kept back Ady and mine. The shot rang out (it was SO loud) and 90 minutes later Ady ran Marcel home and returned with a black sack full of pork. He had given Marcel about a third but we have 10kg of delicious looking meat now in our freezer. Many lessons learnt, not least that those piglets were indeed ready for slaughter a good six weeks ago and if we’d only done it we would have four pigs in our freezer rather than one and another to sort out when we get home next week. Still, we now far more ready for the next lot of piglets, hopefully later this year.
A really late dinner, everything finally packed up and to bed.
Tuesday morning Ady took Bonnie to Mike & Casey’s. We decided it would be better for just Ady to take her and although she was a bit confused at being left there with her crate I have had pictures from Casey of her looking very happy. Then more stress over the car when we rang to let them know what time we’d be arriving in Mallaig for them to come and collect us and were told the car was a little one not suitable for four people. Argh! We had to leave them to sort that one out as we had to catch a ferry. Sure enough they did and we have a Ford S max which is lovely and plenty big enough.
Ferry trip was smooth, it’s nice to be on the boat without Bonnie who always find it stressful and we have to sit in the small designated dog area with. Picked up the car hire guy in the smax, back to the office to complete paperwork and then on the road. Glasgow by 8 finally found our Premier Inn by 830 and sitting in the restaurant by 9pm. A nice meal, lots of attention from hotel staff, baths and all slept well despite the heat of the room.
Wednesday – breakfast then on the road Manchester bound. A smooth journey, stopped at our old house for a photo, stopped at Boots for cosmetic supplies (top up of nail varnishes :)), Asda for some clothes shopping (new pants, new pjs for Scarlett, new jeans for Ady, jeans for Davies, wine glasses for me, I’ll be amazed if they make it back to Rum unbroken!)). Arrived at Lynda’s for chats and cosseting – all our favourite foods there waiting for us and lovely clean beds. Had a nice evening with them.
Thursday – back on the road after a quick stop at Tesco for some more supplies of various things. This time destination Sussex. Arrived there just before 3pm.
A lot of upset over various things belonging to us that had been got rid of. Lots of comforting Scarlett 🙁 Was very tempted to gather everyone up and just leave but managed to keep a lid on my temper. Kat and Robin there when we arrived, Frazer came after work. Went out for a meal with Mum & Dad. A late night with lots of drink consumed.
Friday – Back in the car by 10am, destination Eden. We stopped for a coffee and a browse in Lidl and Sainsburys (don’t forget how shop deprived we usually are…) and arrived at 430ish. Will blog more about the Big Lunch Extras thing later but very well fed, felt like minor celebs as everyone had heard of us. Missing kids lots, not helped by being in a family suite in the hotel with a seperate room with bunk beds in. Were it not a ten hour round trip I’d have been most tempted to drive back and get them. Sorely regret not having asked if they could have attended the weekend.
Have rung and skyped with the kids tonight and confident they are happy and settled. I’m struggling massively with not having my kids, dog, animals, home etc where I can see them all and panic everytime my phone gets a text or email. Sure it will all be fine and the weekend looks good ahead, just exhausted with the emotional toll of it all.
Hotel is nice, have had a bath and drank a glass of wine in bed while watching TV and blogging, feels most decadent! Sleep is calling now, a busy weekend ahead and then all of the travelling in reverse.