LEJOG Update...

I'm actually seven weeks into this thing and chalked up my 400th Km this week. Not bad progress when you consider that I'm teaching full time, doing some extra work at home as well as all that goes with being dad. I do miss the odd session here and there but I'm getting fitter ... and that's what counts!


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I'm now virtually at Dowdeswell Reservoir near Cheltenham, which I've never heard of!



.. idyllic!!!! If you're interested... Dowdeswell Wood lies on the northern slopes of the Chelt valley and forms the gathering grounds for Dowdeswell Reservoir. There are small areas of semi-natural woodland, the rest being planted conifers. A programme of conifer removal since 1992 is gradually opening up more areas and encouraging more ground flora to flourish. Herb paris is widespread along with bluebell, yellow archangel, early purple orchid and ramsons (wild garlic). Narrow-leaved everlasting pea is evident in the grassy rides. A spring-line arises in the north of the wood, the site of a Roman settlement and a good place to see Roman snails. The common dormouse is also present and nestboxes have been erected to encourage the population further. Breeding birds include whitethroat, sparrowhawk and spotted flycatcher - goldcrest and kingfishers have also been spotted. On the reservoir itself, little and great crested grebe have nested and in the summer the common sandpiper has been seen. A range of wildfowl overwinter on the reservoir including tufted duck and goosander. The reservoir is also a major spawning ground for the common toad, frog and smooth newt. Fallow and roe deer may be seen in the woodland.

Exhibit A and B...

You may be wondering what on Earth we are doing posting a picture of a Tomato and a Plum on the blog! No it's nothing to do with the veggie patch! These were just two of the things that Alfie managed to smuggle into the shopping trolley last week when Mum wasn't watching! The tomatoes were discovered mid shop when Beth reorganised the trolley. The plum however was easier to spot as Alfie was attempting to eat it whole before Beth rumbled him!!! I guess we need to start watching how close we leave our trolley next to things from now on!

Gymbaroo...

With everyone else in the Ivey household making an effort to get fit, Alfie didn't want to miss out on the action! Last week he went to the Gym, or Gymbaroo to be precise. Fitted out with his named muscle vest it was time for action after watching what all the other kids were up to first! With Ben leading the way there was nothing to hold him back...

... Beth has a couple of weeks of work coming up soon but after that she is hoping that his Gym workouts will become more regular!

Beach Life...

With the sun shining at last there was a great opportunity to get down to the beach and dip a toe or two in the water. The weather has been really strange with wet humid conditions for most of the Summer. However without sounding too much like moaning Poms we took the opportunity and went on both days.

Saturday was spent down at the Canoe Pool, which protected Alfie from some pretty big surf, many of the beaches were actually closed. Alfie likes the pool as he can splash his way around, meet some other kids and generally have a great time. We met another family there with a boy the same age as Alfie and we got chatting as they played. By chance Caleb's mum runs a mother and baby group not a million miles from where we live so I think that Alfie and Beth are going to give it a go this week!



We captured this clip on the digital camera. Apologies to Beth as I thought that it wouldn't record sound... what do I know! :0)

On the Sunday is was time to go to Stockton Beach with Kate, Matt and Ben and take the opportunity to get those body boards wet for the first time in a very long time. Alfie was having one of those days and removed his Baby Sunglasses and hat at every opportunity. Ben however managed to keep his on and look quite the Surf Dude. It was a great weekend and a reminder of what Australia has to offer when the sunshines ... which the brochure told us it would do all the time! ;0)

Go the Jets!

Newcastle is buzzing after the Newcastle Jets won the national football (... Soccer to you Aussies!) league. They have a strange system here where the top teams at the end of the season play each other in a finals series. This years final was eventually contested by the Jets and arch local rivals the Central Coast Mariners, with the Jets coming out on top with a 1-0 win. I have to say that I'm not really getting the whole Jets thing, much preferring to keep track with what's going on at the Argyle. I manage to watch a couple of English games a week on Sky. You can't help where you are born I suppose.... however I did get to a handful of games this season and keenly followed the finals from the comfort of the sofa. Football seems to be really taking off over here with crowds growing every year, the number of teams in the league increasing (only 8 at the mo!) and a bid by Australia in the pipeline to host the world cup. You never know even the most ardent Rugby League and Aussie Rules fans could come to love the world game... eh Mitchell!?!? ;0)

Teeth...

Alfie seems to be getting all his top teeth at the same time, and boy are they big compared to the little ones that popped through at the bottom. This has knocked Alfie off his stride a little with the little fella (....apparently!) waking in the night screaming. The Bonjella is getting a good work out being applied by a hesitant mum and dad! .... A nip from Alfie's new gnashers has the potential to draw blood! You have been warned!!!

Soft Play Day...

Some pictures from Alfie's trip back to soft play...

The ball pool is not that bad after all...



Alfie continues with his "study bigger kids, then copy what they do" approach to learning!...




Boy racers... Alfie watching other drivers rather than the road!!!

LEJOG Update

The whole fitness thing is going well at the moment. I managing to get some cycling done, had a lovely run along the beach the other evening and been getting a good run around at football training. The most positive news is that I've managed to shift 10kg over the last four months and got to the point that the clothes I bagged up and threw away, which Beth then put out in the garage now fit again! (She is always right ... most of the time!) Interestingly I've started to put weight back on again but lose the percentage of fat which our bathroom scales regularly embarrasses us with!

On the wheel of steel I managed 76km so I'm now 339km into this ridiculous which I'd never started cycle thing.


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Street in Somerset seems to be best known for a Clark's Shoe factory, an impressive shoe museum (.. so I'm told!!!) and very little else, although it was also where Beth had a part time job in one of those pottery places where groups of kids are sent to wreak havoc, break things and maybe even paint something to take home.



Clark's shoes bring back memories of the last week of the holidays being dragged into town with Mum and having to put your foot in some huge machine that slowly measured your foot, giving the assistant a read out on a huge screen... cutting edge technology of the time! Anybody else remember those things???

Onwards ... Northwards!

American Car Show

On Sunday we went to a Car Show to check out some American Vintage. One of our neighbours has just bought a fifty year old Chevy so we thought we'd go along to see what it was all about.

There were some nice cars there, although I have to say that a VW or three would have been nice! ;0) Some of them were so valuable that we were asked to keep the stroller outside and Alfie's sticky mitts off! They all had "Look and admire, but please don't touch" signs on them, I now have one in the back of my car although displayed with tongue firmly in cheek! Amy and Mitchell made some enquiries about using some of them as wedding cars, I wish them good luck but remind them that the bug is still available on their special day!!!!!!!

Bug Bother...

I had a bit of Bug Bother over the weekend after I found out on Friday that I had a fairly serious petrol leak on my hands. On Saturday I managed to siphon the remaining two buckets of fuel out and arranged to take the bug to the garage on Monday, for what would have been only it's second visit since June 2007!!! ;0)



With a couple of hours to spare I thought I'd investigate! Those that know me well know that I'm not that practical... so any bits I removed I placed carefully to one side!!! I managed to remove the tank to find a very old (... probably 45 years!) piece of rubber tube! I nipped down to the car shop in the sensible car and managed to get hold of some the same size for $4 (... less than a couple of quid to you Poms!) Back at home in the garage I fitted the tube, thankfully found homes for all the bits I removed and started her up!... and she went! I was quite chuffed as the limits of my VW repairs to date were a window winder (Stan and Beryl) and a starter motor (Stan ... although I didn't do much other than pass tools on that occasion!)

He's walking!!!

After a long day at work I came home to find Alfie walking with the help of a push along. Apparently Beth was on the phone when Alfie worked out what to do with it. It's great to catch these moments as you can miss out on these little milestones when your not at home all the time. I still think that I'm coming to terms with working away from home full but everyone else copes so I will get my head around it soon!

Check out this magical video clip...

Alfie's Album Month by Month...

Check out the latest addition to Alfie's album at - Alfie's Album.

LEJOG Update...

Not a bad week on the road.... more football training as well as 91km on the bike! In this wish I never started virtual challenge I have now arrived in Credition. Not a million miles from where we lived in Exeter for the last couple of years at home... just five in fact!


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Crediton...


Heres the overall progress map as it stands today...


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Baby Class Reunion...

With some of Alfie's mates rapidly closing in on their first birthday it was time to get the babies together for a reunion. It was great to catch up with everyone around at our place after the gathering was hastily moved here after yet more rain threatened the planned picnic! Everybody bought something to eat and seemed to have a great time. It was great to see all those little personalities coming through and it was all hands on deck to make sure everybody stayed out of mischief!

Here's a picture of the dads and the bubs...


Left to right...

Dave and Darcy
Adam and Paige
Dave and Jacob
Me and Alfie (...Wearing Argyle shirt to celebrate overnight win!)
Matt and Benjamin
Brett and Elliott

... more pictures will be posted if (... sorry when!) Kate emails me some! ;0)

A day on the "Soggy" Green!

Beth and had been looking forward to a Day on the Green for quite a while, although after a couple of weeks of rain we made arrangements not to take Alfie. A Day on the Green are a series of live gigs up in the vineyards about an hour from where we live. The idea is that you take your picnic blanket, chair, food, drink this years crop of grapes and chill out in the sun whilst listening to some music.



With the ground sodden after the heavy rain during Sunday and the threat of thunder storms Beth and I actually got to the point where we decided not to go, although the skies did clear and we made the dash. We were glad we did, we were lucky with the weather and enjoyed the evening.





Top of the bill was the John Butler Trio who put on a great show...

Check them out in this video clip.



Better Than is one of their better known songs. I love the lyric "Why do I look to the other side, cos I know the grass is greener, but just as hard to mow!" Something we need reminding of from time to time!

LEJOG update...

Not much to report this week, well to tell the truth nothing. I've been so busy with one thing and another I didn't manage to hit the saddle once, in fact I'm kinda shocked it's been a week!



... okay so its not in the garage but it does have a towel draped over it!

It's not all bad though as I did manage to do my fastest couple of laps around our neighbourhood and turn up for our first football training session today! I'll be back in the saddle this week though...

Beach Buddies...

I've been so busy that I forgot to post these last weekend. Last Monday it was a public holiday so we took the opportunity to enjoy some what has become very rare Summer sunshine and get down to the beach, but not before having a lovely lunch at Matt and Kate's.

Down the beach Beth went in search of shells for more sculpture mobile thingies, while I painfully managed to find some shells while body surfing. Beth also managed to find some new real estate for the hermit crabs to move into, just in case any of them fancy a change soon! The boys looked after the boys while the girls took a dip, we passed the time by making a sandcastle which Alfie thought looked good enough to eat before taking a huge mouthful! There was some hurried scooping out of sand and rinsing of mouth before things returned to normal.



We left our footprints in the sand and had a wonderful day all round. We left repeating the mantra we use on such occasions "We really must do that more often!"

News from the Greenhouse...

With lots of rain showers, sunshine and humidity it's been perfect conditions for stuff to get growing in the greenhouse. The pumpkins, lettuce, sunflowers and peppers are all coming through nicely, and there are signs of life in the salad tray too!




We also have some more established plants thanks to Mitchell across the road and so we are looking to move them outside soon.



The veggie patch has now been filled with soil which took five hours and more wheel barrow loads of dirt than I care to remember. Thanks Mitchell for coming to help a very tired looking neighbour towards the end! On top of the soil we put a dripper hose and covered this with mulch. This stops the sun getting to soil and drying it out too much. John our other neighbour provided the railway sleepers so that we can get to the middle without stepping on all the plants in the process.



We're quite excited about the veggie patch and hope that some "produce" arrives on the table soon...

Back to School...

This week was a strange one as I was thrust back into the working world. The school is about thirty minutes away and with a school day starting before 8am an early start is essential. This is often before Alfie wakes up in the morning, with daddy returning during his afternoon sleep (5pm ish)! It's been quite tough but it has certainly made me realize how lucky I have been to have shared in all those special moments over the last nine months. Having to have done the "normal" dad thing and returned to work after a week or two would have been awful.



School itself has been fantastic, a world away from any of my previous experiences but most enjoyable. I have a wonderful class (pictured on the front row above! This is a picture of Years 5 & 6) and the staff have been very welcoming. On Friday evening Beth and Alfie were invited along to have some Welcome Drinks to kick off the new year. It was a good opportunity for them both to see where Daddy works, see some of the fantastic facilities and put names to faces. It was particularly good for Beth as they are keen to get her up to do some casual work...

I feel really positive about the year and excited to be back in the classroom. Even at this early stage I can see that I would love to stay on beyond my one year contract. It has been a busy week as I've also been doing some Hamilton work in the evenings (... early hours!) so I'll keep this brief. However I'll make sure that I update you on what's going on at work throughout the year.