Rebecca_In the Slow Lane

I didn't do it at Christmas, or New Year, or even Valentine's Day, but I finally did it for my birthday.  I made a bit of an effort: freshly washed hair, face scrubbed and moisturised, even a hint of make-up.  I would have taken the dressing-up a little further, but the only place I wanted to go that day was the woods, so my brightened face was paired with a snuggly woollen jumper, loose jeans and mud-caked hiking boots.  I did, however, reach for my pink wool beret, which is my way of saying "I don't know or care if it's fashionable right now, but it makes me very happy." We feel so blessed to live on the edge of the town, in walking distance to the canal where kingfishers, coots and cormorants dart, float and fly, close to the woods where red deer stroll and red kites soar.  Being able to enjoy and trust in Nature has been one of life's gifts from my parents, which I am passionate about passing on to our boys.  You might remember the RSPB bird watch, whi

Versions of this letter have already been sent to our MP, Lead and Local Councillors, Feb 2021. We have spent the last few months studying Dacorum's housing plans for Berkhamsted and Tring; we are shocked and saddened to see the overwhelming extent of the plans, a 55% increase of housing in one single step for Tring, carving up vital Green Belt, beautiful biodiverse countryside and precious farmland.  As well as the increased pollution and traffic, we are extremely worried about the environmental impact, including the tragic loss of habitat and the continued irreversible damage to our precious rare chalk streams, severely endangered by this unprecedented housing plan. Tring is the friendliest of towns we've ever known, welcoming all who travel through, or choose to settle here to make it their forever home.  Within commuting distance of London Euston, it has grown organically and comfortably, expanding gradually to accommodate those, like us, seeking open skies, bucolic charm a

Photo: Lyndsey Abercromby Photography Like an ice storm in an abandoned teacup, Week 6 began.  I was feeling ill, the boys were squabbling because the oldest wanted to re-classify all the animals into geographical groups, a task fiercely claimed by his younger sibling; our youngest was adamant that all the jigsaws should be emptied onto the kitchen floor and then keep him in my arms all day.  After a tense start to the day, the dust settled. I distracted our four year old with a game, involving sounds written on a board, us reading them out and a spatula for bashing them with, whilst littlest joined in with the milk brush (jigsaw pieces remaining on the floor).  Our eldest was smuggled upstairs to secretly classify animals under the desk whilst his Papa led a whole year school assembly online. But somehow (thanks to A pushing back meetings to help me out and supply the ibuprofen), we made it all work and by lunchtime we were reunited on our now well used sofa, watching the heavy snow f

Week 5 began with fresh determination to make a go of it.  After giving up on the previous week, I felt a renewed sense of responsibility to make this a week to count.  It all started well, very well indeed. While the boys watched a little bit of morning CBeebies, I prepared some (screen-free) versions of the Reception activities to try to catch up on Week 4 .  If you've been reading my blog, you might recall that our 4 year old doesn't want to do any of the tasks if it involves a screen, which is a bugger because all the tasks have instructional videos, interactive slides and documents.  I had spent most of my Sunday night reading through all the tasks and ensuring I'd understood the Learning Objectives.  First activity was a quick matching animals to classification groups (easily done on a tablet) but our version was a to sort out our animal model collection (a beloved assortment slowly built up over years of regular trips to Whipsnade Zoo, which we miss so much at the mo

Week four was hard. So hard that by mid week, I declared that we were on early half term break.  Here's the negatives: Our youngest has been teething, cutting his back molars: an evidently miserable experience with a mild fever lasting a few days, which was especially bad in the evenings and all through the night, with lots of extra cuddles, tears and night feeding.  By day, he would become very upset if I ever tried to tiptoe away to make lunch/dinner/anything.  I had some tiresome PMT, making the days that bit harder.  All I wanted to do was curl up with a hot water bottle, cuppa and a good book.  Instead, I was content with round-the-clock Numberblocks and some sofa time with my babies. Tried to get some of the School Reception tasks done, but the resistance was strong.  Our 4 year old runs a mile from online video calls now and is showing all the signs of screen fatigue.  He's started talking about stuff now, which is huge progress and a big relief, saying: "The Corona