Friday 20 April 2012

High Jinks

So, over Easter, we stayed at Grandpappy J and P's house in the Lake District.  Although, as I mentioned in my previous post, he wasn't there.  No, he's currently swanning about in Western Australia.  Causing mayhem.

Not only did he lose his passport somewhere between the airport and his first hotel in Perth but he's been falling off bicycles - no harm done, thank goodness.  He's also been sleeping rough out in the bush.  Yup, he was walking a small part of the Bibbulum Track (a long distance walk trail of almost 1000 km), armed only with some water and a tin of cooked lentils.  He got lost and didn't find the campsite he was aiming for and ended up sleeping in the middle of the bush for the night.  Eeek!

The silly old fool also managed to lock himself out of his hotel bedroom wearing only a small towel around his middle.  I'm not sure what sort of accommodation he was staying in but there was no one around to help him.  To quote the old codger "For a quarter of an hourI walked around trying all the doors which were locked and then I looked around to see if there were any spare sheets or blankets in accessible cupboards, but not a thing.  I considered spending the night in a bath (what?) which I could have topped up with extra hot water from time to time but I wasn't quite sure what it would do to my skin."  (OMG!).  Fortunately, he was saved from this ridiculous predicament by someone called Wally, who was some sort of night watchman.  Wally managed to climb through the window of one of the other rooms and let Grandpappy have that room for the night.  Hip hip hoorah for Wally is what I say.

While Grandpappy J and P wreaked havoc down under, we managed to do a fair bit of havoc wreaking in the Lake District.  Mr J and P, his bro and eldest nephew went on a 34 mile walk (yes, 34 miles) over 2 days while me and my SIL plus Little Miss J and P and youngest nephew spent the time charity shopping (more of that in another post) and walking around a lake or two.

Later in the week, Little Miss and youngest nephew decided to climb a mountain.  On their own.  It was supposed to be a lovely relaxing day playing, reading and picnicking by a stream as Mr J and P was feeling a bit achey after their 34 mile walk and Mr J and P's bro had done his knee in.  All was blissfully relaxing until Little Miss and youngest nephew went off and started to ascend said mountain.  We watched them go higher and higher, all the while thinking they'll turn around and come back down any minute.  They didn't.  They got to the top and disappeared out of sight.

Now, I'm not a mountain climber.  Not by any stretch.  I prefer terra firma.  The more firma the better if you ask me.  In a fit of madness, I agreed to climb up the mountain with Mr J and P to find the two little buggers.  At least I had proper walking boots on; Mr J and P was wearing Birkenstock sandals on his sainted little tootsies.  Despite this handicap, he managed to race up the slope while I huffed and puffed behind. 

Bloody children reappeared sometime later on crags way above us - both shouting that they were stuck and couldn't get down.  Mr J and P shouted to them to go back up and return the way they'd come up.  Which they did.  Eventually.  And do you know what the most galling thing was?  After they managed to get down from the craggy bit, they skipped gaily down the mountain in minutes while Mr J and P and me (well mainly me) struggled for a further 40 minutes picking our way down very slowly  and shuffling down on one's bottom (ummmm that was me).

What a caper!

If that wasn't bad enough, we had the police, fire-fighters, ambulance service, cliff rescue team, coastguards and the local life boat out to rescue our eldest nephew who got stuck climbing a rocky outcrop on a local beach.  It made the front pages of two of the local papers, the BBC news and the Daily Mail news website.

I kid you not, dear readers.

Here are some photos courtesy of the Daily Mail:




One of the rescue team abseiling down the cliff face to eldest nephew's rescue

Hoorah!

Cripes, it the lifeboat.

What a palaver eh?

Here's hoping you had a more restful time. xx

26 comments:

  1. A palaver indeed! I'm glad all were fine at the end of it.

    Andy and myself once went on a 12 mile walk which accidentally turned into 21 miles .. I couldn't walk properly for five days, so unfit am I!

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  2. You had fun then!!
    Julie xxxxxxxxx

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  3. OMG Loo, what an adventurous (or should that be crazy and foolhardy?) bunch the J and P clan are! I hope all the wanderers are home safe, with aching limbs rested, clothing retrieved, and no more emergency services involved!
    See, charity shopping is SO much safer! xxx

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  4. Oh my what adventures you all have had ,im glad all turnrd out well and safe at the end too xxx

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  5. Omg, i waslaughing my head off until i got to those last photos! How on earth did he get there? Crikey, maybe you lot should go to butlins or something, safer next time?!!

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  6. What larks Pip :) Glad all safely home though.
    Jean

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  7. What larks Pip:) Glad all safely home though.
    Jean

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  8. your Dad is hilarious!! I hope I'm like him when I'm older! Can't wait to see what else he's gotten up to. And what charity shop wonders you picked up

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  9. Goodness, you lot do get into some scrapes whilst on holiday - you're nearly as bad as the Famous Five!! Glad it all turned out OK in the end, though.

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  10. I'm laughing out loud at this! Grandpappy sounds like Frank Spencer! Great to see someone of that age out having fun though. Good luck to him!
    Oh my word, what a holiday! Perhaps next time you might go somewhere a little less adventurous. Can't wait to see you charity shop buys,Mrs. And thanks for the comment on my blog yesterday too.
    xx

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  11. OMG you have made me smile ;-)) Your granddad sounds like a right scream bless him and good for him to living life to the full. And OMG to the rescue time that will be the talking point in your family for years to come ;-)) dee xx

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  12. Good grief! Very pleased to hear that everyone was safe in the end.
    Lisa x

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  13. Gosh, what excitement.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  14. Dear God, the J+P clan are a real menace to society! Glad everyone was ok in the end. Grandpappy is obviously an absolute legend, although the night in the bush sounds a bit hairy. The trip to Edinburgh with my lot was positively sedate by comparison.
    xx

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  15. Oh my, i must admit ive had a good chuckle over your family adventures - god bless wally! My nan has good friends who are a married couple called 'Wally and Dolly' - you can always count on someone called 'wally' :o) Scarlett x

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  16. I am so sorry... sorry that I am in complete fits of laughter at this very moment in time! I was giggling about 'Grandads' antics, by the time I got to the 'shuffling on bum' I had tears ! So glad all was well xxx

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  17. Goodness me you have had a fun filled Easter. Your Grandpappy is awesome! Glad he's having a great time, ha!

    Great read, made me smile a lot!

    Barrina x

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  18. Jeez what dramas Loo!!!! Glad all is well now, sounds like you need an *indoors* holiday to recover.

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  19. This made me laugh...and laugh...and laugh!!!

    Sxxxxxxxxx

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  20. Oh gosh what a series of unfortunate events! Hope all is well with family now, and you can have a well deserved rest from all the madness of the last few weeks! xxx

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  21. My Easter holidays are just plain ol' dull compared to yours and your grandfathers. Glad to hear everyone was all right. You will sure have some memories of this holiday.
    just to let you know I nominated your blog for a blogging award..I just love your posts. (Please don't feel like you have to take part though if you don't want to, or are too busy..I just wanted to let you know I really enjoy your blog)
    Magie x

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  22. Wow, what an adventure!!

    Thanks for your comment :) I'm not tiny, but vintage kids clothing seems to come up larger. I find most vintage clothing in my size to be huge. xx

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  23. Oh my word Loo!! Wish I'd been with ya', I could do with a bit of excitement! :D

    Have a happy quiet week my dear and take care.
    xx

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  24. Oh my goodness Loo, that's a story and a half isn't it. Thankfully everyone is safe now.

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  25. oohh Loo, what a great story! Our friend did the same thing and had to be rescued on a rock face, too funny. He will never live it down. So happy nobody got hurt! Enjoy your week, T x

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