Never really sure what the trend is with ‘coming of age’ these days. It’s all academic in one sense – 18 has it, really – there’s not much left in statute that you need to be aged 21 to do. But 18 seems so young… especially when it’s your own ‘child’ that becomes 18.
Continue reading “One child left: Lily’s 18th”
In the strangest of years, the simplest of lovely holidays. When we’d originally planned to go to Portugal for the summer hols and meet up there for a spell with Sally and Simon & family, the idea of a COVID compromise of a trip to Scotland seemed a bit of a poor cousin. And in the run-up to that trip, it seemed like even that might be a stretch, too.
Continue reading “Summer in Scotland – COVID calls for last minute panic holiday plans”
I always saw ‘winter sun’ holidays as being something involving the Canary Islands or such like. But with the winter we’ve had, I came to realise that even plonking your weary winter body 6000 feet up in the snowy mountains provided more than enough vitamin D to cheer up the winter blues. Our holiday certainly did the trick of topping up the cheer.
Continue reading “Ski holiday in Champagny en Vanoise Feb 2020”
Another new country ticked off for Katie and me, and for the first time, us four Haygarths all did a new country at the same time. I’m not sure what my expectations of Croatia were beforehand, to be honest, but they were surpassed. A lovely country.
Just a short blog… mainly photos, but an evening of reflection for us Haygarths. It’s that time of year when 16-year-olds have done with exams and are in that hinterland after a load of heads-down stuff.
As a parent of Lily, our first daughter to be going through this, it’s a time of intense reflection on what happened to us, as parents, at a similar time.
Continue reading “Parenthood and the coming of age for Lily”
Parenting can be quite a drag sometimes. Asking young people to put phones away. Tidying up after young people. It could get quite a drag. But then, of course, you can sometimes subvert things – make use of these little people’s sense of adventure and fun – and go and create some memories. You just need to remind yourself that it’s there to be harnessed. Continue reading “Mini adventures and the spice of life”
Significant double figures for our youngest. The Haygarths are growing up and the last one on this generation is now a double-digit pre-teen. Lovely day had including … Continue reading “Elsie – Ten”
Another family holiday definitely of note. These things define and mark important times in childhood and I am happy to build up the year’s work around affording great memories for the children. Skiing is not cheap – especially skiing overseas in half term, but each time we do it seems incredibly good value for money in terms of unforgettably good memories Continue reading “Sauze D’Oulx family ski holiday 2018”
We don’t normally get to do stuff like this. It was a real treat. Dave & Elsie went to the Saturday and Sunday racing, Lily and Mum just to the Sunday racing and spent Saturday enjoying the beautiful and very chilled city of Maastricht. Continue reading “Family visit to the 2018 World Cyclocross Championships”
It’s a fixed date in my diary. My 20th start in the 3 Peaks Cyclocross was, like other years, just another year of ‘of course I’m doing the 3 Peaks‘. But this year’s 3 Peaks stands out in a lovely way in that it not only saw the return to the race of my brother Phil after a 5 year absence, but the next generation of Haygarths took to the race. My nephew Matt was what I think was possibly the youngest of the 650 entrants and I was gushing uncle-pride when he’d entered … never mind actually competed. A real landmark for me. Continue reading “2017 Three Peaks Cyclocross – a family affair”
Third year on the trot. Each time you learn and refine. It just gets better and better until you reach a pinnacle like this. Continue reading “2017 Family Road Trip – Les Français des Jeux”
