Heading North (From Western Telegraph)

Heading North

11:53am Wednesday 15th April 2009

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So, this blog entry is really more 'away from Newport' news than 'Newport News'. The Boy and I went to visit my Dad in North Yorkshire over the Easter weekend. Where my Dad lives (and I used to live) is lovely, but it is very far away. I think of going from Newport to my Dad's as being like going from one place in the middle of nowhere to another place in the middle of nowhere. It's nice to be in the middle of nowhere, but not so nice to drive there, and as the Boy does not drive, I had to do the 5+ hours each way on my own.

But we managed to not kill each other, and it was worth it (the driving, not the non-murder, although the non-murder worked out well too). While we there we went for a drive into the hills and had a minor wander around cooing over the amazing views. I've finally worked out how to use my new phone, so I've posted some pictures I took while we were up there, and I'm crossing my fingers that they work, because they might convey some of the brilliance of the scenery that I am apparently incapable of describing.

A bonus of going away over Easter was that we missed Newport during the hectic period and got to annoy other people by being tourists ourselves for a change. Where my Dad lives attracts holidaymakers, particularly walkers, so it was quite fun to mill about in the crowds for a change, walking far too slowly and stopping at inappropriate times to point and look at things. I even found that I was not irritated by people taking half an hour to buy a loaf of bread so much while I was away.

On our way back to Newport on Sunday we stopped at the red kite centre near Aberystwyth, above which there were literally dozens of red kites gliding around. I've been past the centre several times when going to Yorkshire but I've never seen anything like it. I would have been quite happy to sit and watch them for hours; it was mesmerising. I tried to take some photos but I am not a talented photographer and I only had my phone (I broke the Boy's camera, ahem) so they didn't come out well.

Back in Newport, I went back to being annoyed by people dithering around almost immediately. I find it impossible to comprehend how a family can just not notice that they're taking up whole aisles of Spar at a time. I should try to avoid going to shops at busy holiday times really, it just turns me into a grumpy old woman.

On a slightly unrelated note, while I was visiting my Dad he asked me what makes good writing. I'm thinking about rambling on about this in my next entry, but I always need help so any ideas on this would be more than welcome. I think it's really too big a topic for my brain to cope with, but I will try. And probably become very confused.