My Green Summer

I pretty much took a break from blogging this summer - partly I was too busy and something had to give and partly my internet connection was playing silly whatsits and was often so slow (or even dead) that it made working online almost impossible.  I am keeping everything crossed that will behave itself from now on.

So I though I would take this opportunity to share with you some of my green moments from the summer of 2017.  I'd love to hear what you have been up to too.

Family Time

The boys and Simon went camping in the UK for a while and when they were here we had some great times playing games such as Settlers of Catan and Molkky (Finnish skittles made from wood), visiting local landmarks including our favourite castle at Falaise (birthplace of William the Conqueror) and taking some lovely walks around the Normandy countryside.

Playing Molkky

8 Reasons take your Toddler to Normandy in France

France ... and Normandy in particular ... is crammed full of toddler friendly places to visit but rather than writing another "Best Toddler Places to Visit in Normandy" blog this blog post is all about why I think it is such a good idea to bring toddlers toddlers abroad, both generally and with some specific references to Normandy.

Toddler Friendly France

Culture and Language

Children are never too young to be introduced to another culture and language - they will have no problem conversing with children from other countries as language barriers do not exist when they are young.  They will often love saying new foreign words and this could be the first steps towards a love of languages as they grow older.  Opening young children's eyes to other cultures makes them so much accepting to all that is different and wonderful about the world.

Food Adventures

What a great way to get toddlers to try new foods - ours happily tucked into mussels, at a young age, when we were on a holiday in France before we moved over here.  If young children see their parents eating unusual foods with relish they will much more likely to copy and you may well find you have an international gourmet on your hands before too long.  French restaurants are very welcoming to young children and will often bring their food out quicker than the adults to save the "Hungry Grumps" setting in.

The French adore Les Enfants

The French love children and if you can get your toddler to say a few words in French to the locals they'll be a big hit.  Tom loved saying Bonjour Monsieur/Madame to everyone we met when on holiday and they loved him for it ... although by the time we got home we realised he actually thought everyone was called M. Bonjour or Mme Bonjour! 

...and Normandy in particular

Toddler Friendly Beaches

The beaches here are wonderful - clean sand, shallow waters and no big waves - very toddler friendly.  Beach fronts are not crowded full of shops selling all sorts of "Must-have things" that your toddler never realised they needed until they saw them and went into meltdown when you said "No!".  Just sand, sea and fun.

Toddler Friendly Swimming Pools

The swimming pools are great for toddlers - almost all have shallow baby and toddler pools with lots of toys supplied free so if the weather isn't beach friendly you'll still get them into their swimming trunks!

Fabulous Countryside

Normandy is a beautiful part of France with miles of footpaths just waiting to be discovered.  Toddlers will marvel at the local farm animals, wild flowers, tractors etc and there is simply oodles of space to run around in.  Grab some cheese, baguette and local cider/apple juice and have a picnic in the tranquil landscape.  Great memories are not always made on expensive days out ...

Getting There

If you are coming from the UK (or Europe) then there are no long haul flights and Normandy is just a short journey away.  For toddlers, time spent on a ferry is much easier than being cooped up in a car and there is space to run around, cabins to have a proper sleep in and on-board entertainment to keep them amused.  For anyone travelling with Brittany Ferries we have a code to give you 20% off your crossing.  If you don't fancy the ferry then the Channel Tunnel is an exciting experience for a toddler.  The car journey at the other side is no more than 4 hours with plenty of toddler friendly Aires (service stations/rest areas) along the way where there is always space for some exercise and invariably also a play area.  Live in Paris?  Normandy is an ideal destination for a long weekend in the country.

And of course for accommodation please consider our gite, Eco-Gites of Lenault which has been set up to welcome you and your youngster with loads of toddler kit supplied free of charge, a large play area and our animals.  And as you are not yet tied to going away in school holidays then you'll find we have plenty of availability in mid and low season.  

Toddler Friendly Normandy

You can't deny it - there is absolutely bucket loads of things to do with toddlers here in Normandy and whilst this post isn't about these specifically I couldn't really finish without a link to some of the best places you can visit.  For more details click here - Children Friendly Holidays in Normandy.

Have you been to Normandy with a toddler?  If so, what would you recommend?

Silent Sunday - May 17th 2015

FAQs at Eco-Gites of Lenault

Posted by Rosie

We get lots of questions by prospective guests to Eco-Gites of Lenault so here are the answers to a few of the most common ones!

How far is the nearest beach, restaurants and supermarket?

Beach - 1hr - the Normandy D-Day Landing beaches which are wonderfully sandy and often have life guards patrolling in summer

Restaurants are in the local towns from 11kms away and we now also have a pizzeria in Lenault open every other weekend.

Supermarket - 11kms with a fabulous bakery just 5 kms away.

Is Eco-Gites of Lenault children friendly?

Absolutely and we provide loads of kit for babies, toddlers and children. Have a look at this page on our website.  We are also great for all adult groups and couples too and hide away the kiddy stuff  for these guests.

What is the nearest airport or train station?

The nearest airports is Caen, Dinard and Deauville and the nearest large train station is Caen.  You can hire cars from all these towns. If hiring a car from Caen (pronounced Con) but be careful if telephoning that they understand you want it at Caen not Cannes. Apparently it is a common problem.

This blog post here gives details of all the different ways you can get to Normandyand details are also on our website.

Do you supply bed linen, towels and loo rolls?

We supply bed linen, a bath mat and tea towels but not towels. If bringing towels is difficult for you please contact us and we can supply you with some towels although I doubt they will be matching!  We also ask that you bring bedding for the travel cot if used.

Loo rolls - of course!

How do we get the keys?

We live next door and are here to greet you.  If for some unforeseen reason we cannot be here we will liaise with you beforehand over what to do.

Is cleaning included in the price?

We offer 2 options on cleaning:
Option 1 - you can clean the gite yourself so that it is in the same state as when you arrived and ready for the next guests (all materials and equipment supplied)
Option 2 - you can pay us to clean the gite in which case we ask that you leave the gite tidy, with everything put away and the washing up done. This cost 40€ payable in cash on arrival.

Does the gite have mobile reception and internet access?

Yes to both and we will give you the WiFi code on arrival.

What is the kitchen like?

The kitchen is fully equipped and should provide all the utensils and plates etc for your stay.  It includes a fridge, microwave, coffee machine, toaster, oven, hob and kettle.  There's also a BBQ in the garden.

Is there a TV and/or DVD player?

We offer this as an optional extra with TV and DVD player for a week costing €25 or €40 for a fortnight's stay.

Is the gite smoking or non-smoking?

Smoking (including e-cigarettes) is not allowed in the gite nor any of the buildings but you can smoke in your garden. Cigarette ends must be disposed of in an outside bin, not house bins.

Is electricity included in the price?

Yes.  The rental price also includes gas and logs for the wood burner.

Will I have to pay a deposit?

Yes, we ask for £100/€150 to secure the booking and full payment 6 weeks before your arrival.  For stays of 3 nights or less or when booked less than 6 weeks before your arrival we ask for full payment at the time of booking.  We also ask for a £150/€200 security deposit to be paid and this will be returned to you in the week following your departure after a positive inspection of the gite.

Is there a washing machine?

Yes

What type of beds are there? Are there cots?

There is one double bed and 3 single beds (one twin room and one bed on the mezzanine).  A travel cot is available free of charge and we may be able to source a second cot if you are travelling with 2 children under two.

Eco-Gites of Lenault website

Click here to send us an email

Or telephone: 0033 231 09 27 51 

(up to 9pm French time/8pm UK time please)

365 days - 365 posts

Posted by Rosie

A year ago I set myself a challenge.  A challenge to blog more.  More than what?  Well more than the rather sporadic blogging that had been the case beforehand.  What it turned out to be was a blog a day for a year.  365 days - 365 posts.

It's been great fun and I have found that I have lots I want to write about ... some of which people also want to read about which makes it all the more worthwhile!  So what else can I tell you this year of blogging?

1.  Our life here in Normandy, France has given me plenty of inspiration for posts. If you look in the right hand column at the blog labels you'll see what the more common subjects have been.  Not unsurprisingly perhaps Food/Foraging, France/Life in France, Livestock/Pets and Seasons/Weather (well I am British) have been my top subjects.

2.  Many of my blogs get formulated in my head whilst driving or walking the dogs and as I am a regular taxi service to the boys and walk the dogs most days I do have plenty of time to get things sorted in my head.

3.  Finding out I could schedule blogs was a great discovery enabling me to continue posting even when I was away in the depths of Exmoor with limited Internet access. 

4.  I almost missed a few days managing to just hit the publish button very late in the evening, not least when our modem went pop.  Luckily I had scheduled a post for the next day and we were able to get a replacement livebox the day after.

5.  I have linked to all sorts of blog linkies through which I have discovered many other lovely blogs written by lovely people.  I feel I have travelled the world without ever leaving France, I have cooked some delicious foods I have discovered on blogs and I have ...

6.  ... met some bloggers "for real", namely Phoebe from Lou Messugo and Annie from Mammasuarus.

7.  I have not missed a single Silent Sunday or How Does Your Garden Grow linky.

8.  Through blogging, the gite has been featured as both "Sustainable Blog of the Week" in The Guardian and as "Property of the Month" with Brittany Ferries.  

9.  I have started my own linky - #AnimalTales and discovered (much to my annoyance) that when I type too fast this is what I get: ~ANimalTales.

10.  I am a terrible typist and can never see my own spelling mistakes.

If you are discovering this blog for the first time today, then welcome and I hope you enjoy it.  If you are a regular visitor then I say thank you. Thank you reading and thank you for commenting.  And if you have been inspired to want to come and visit Eco-Gites of Lenault then please do get in touch.  I know many of you have school age children and in that case out next free week in English school holidays is Christmas.  If you are in Scotland, Ireland or Europe who break up earlier then we do still have 2 weeks in July and for those of you with pre-schoolers, no children or from other parts of the world with different holidays, then we have low and mid season dates available for you.  Very soon we will also be releasing prices and dates for 2016.

Once again I say thank you - it's been  a great year and here's looking forwards to the next 365 days ... 
 

Interview with Gite Guests - Donna.

Posted by Rosie

Last summer the Donna and her family visited us for the second time and kindly said they would do an interview for a blog .... I finally got some questions sorted out and here is what Donna had to say.

1. Tell us a bit about your family

There are now 4 of us, myself and Neil who have been married for 6 years, and Alice (3½ and Daniel, 18 months).

Donna and family

2.  Have your holidays changed since having children?

Definitely! we used to go on a lot of holidays, last minute and wherever took our fancy. Now we have to plan ahead, check facilities, travel times and make sure that wherever we go is suitable for our young family. Not a relaxing process as perhaps it used to be.

3.  What advice would you give anyone heading off on holiday with babies or toddlers?

Do your research!  Spend time making sure that wherever you are going as the facilities that you and your family needs. There's nothing worse than a long journey with children only to discover that you aren't going to be able to relax on your holiday.

4.  What have been your favourite places to visit in Normandy and why? 

Honfleur (perhaps more before the children), but it does have a lovely butterfly garden to visit. The zoo at Jurques, Bayeux and Caen markets are nice. Carbourg has lovely cake shops and a nice walk along the beach.

5.  What do you miss most from home when you are on holiday? 

Knowing that the house is completely kid proofed!  When you are on holiday you can never relaxed completely as you are aware of dangers / things they can break etc.

6.  OK let's dream for a while. Unlimited budget - where would you go? 

For me personally, China, but that's not really child friendly. For a family holiday I guess Disney or something child focussed.

7.  You have visited Eco-Gites of Lenault twice now. What was it that made you come back for a second visit? 

The fact that everything you need for children is there, I don't need to think about taking high chairs, cots, toys and books etc.  It's in a great setting, that the children love and they can run freely around and I know they are safe.

Toys at Eco-Gites of Lenault

8.  Finally - red, white or rosé? 

Rosé :)

Thank you so much Donna for taking the time to do this little interview.  If you have visited us at Eco-Gites of Lenault and would like to do an interview please do get in touch.  You could also write your own blog post like Cheryl did.

Essential toddler packing - 9 things to remember

Posted by Rosie

I would be the first to admit that I am the world’s worst packer.  I start thinking I will take the minimum possible, end up with far too much and then start all over again before forgetting something really important.  Whilst what everyone takes on holiday varies immensely, I believe the things on this list are essential to have close at hand when you are heading off on holiday with one or more toddlers:

1. Nappies, wipes and a change of clothes

OK so that may be stating the obvious but you need these somewhere to hand in case of accidents.  Packed in the bottom of the boot is not ideal. 

2. Blankets

There’s nothing worse than a cold, sleepy toddler so a familiar blanket is a must.

3. Toddler's cuddly/lovey/blankey

What-ever you call it DON’T forget it … take a spare if your toddler is OK with that otherwise be very vigilant and don’t lose the one you have.  You don’t want to know how many hours I spent searching for “Dog Dog” and “Cloth” when the boys were little or how long we spent scouring the shops in Ostende for a replacement lost muslin cloth.

4. A bag of surprises

Pack up a bag with a variety of things to keep your toddler amused over along journey and bring things out at regular intervals.  Include items such as a cuddly toy, a game, a book, some sensory toys and snacks.

5. Potty

If your toddler is at potty training age it’s worth popping a potty in the car.  Ben decided to start training himself when we were on a 2 week break in France and although the gite supplied a potty we didn’t think we could really take it out and about with us each day.

6. Favourite toys

Even though your destination will probably supply some toys it’s best to take along some favourites.  However don’t think you need to pack loads, plenty of “normal” things will often keep young hands happily amused.  Some crayons and a colouring book are a sure winner as well as anything popped out of that Bag of Surprises.

7. A First aid kit

Include whatever medicine your toddler is used to for pain relief or reducing a temperature, a thermometer, plasters, bandages and some sterile gauze pads, antiseptic cream, calamine lotion, rehydration powder, insect repellent, sunscreen and lip protection, a cold pack and some tweezers.  Check all the medications can be used on a toddler.  Also once at your destination add the local emergency numbers to your first aid kit and take it with you when-ever you go out.

8. Snack food

Things that are easy to eat and not too heavy on the sugar – also include plenty of drinks and a bag to put the rubbish in.

9. Sick box

No-one wants an ill toddler but if the worst does happen be prepared – have a lidded plastic container to hand as well as a large plastic bag to pop it in afterwards.  A container is much easier for toddlers to throw up in and easier for you to dispose of.

How much more stuff your toddler will need will very much depend on how much your holiday destination supplies.  Having had to cram so much into a boot and roof rack when travelling with boys aged 3 months and 19 months we knew it was essential for parents' sanity to supply as much kit as possible at Eco-Gites pf Lenault.  This link gives you a list of everything we supply free of charge.  With none of that to pack you may well find you can get away without the roof rack.  

So, did I forget anything?

Easter at Eco-Gites of Lenault, Normandy, France

Posted by Rosie

Bookings have come in thick and fast since Christmas and now we only have a handful of school holiday dates left for 2015.  One of those is Easter week.  Could we therefore tempt you to come and spend Easter in Normandy this year?

Sat 4th -Sat 11th April 2015 is currently available and whilst we cannot be flexible at the end of the week, due to an existing booking, we can at the beginning.  So if you wanted to come a bit earlier that would not be a problem.

Do you need a bit more convincing?  Here is just some of what this region of Normandy has to offer at Easter time:

Chocolate

French chocolate is delicious and their Easter creations are wonderful.  Eggs feature but also you'll see plenty of chocolate chickens, fish and rabbits, all beautifully wrapped.

Spring

By Easter spring will be on it's way.  The road verges and paths will be full of wild flowers and the swallows will be on their way back for the summer.  We may have ducklings by then and if the weather has been dry our piglets will be out in the fields.

Warmer weather

In fairness I cannot guarantee this but on many Aprils in the past it has been warm enough to eat out in the garden, and the gite garden is nicely sheltered. 

Tourist attractions

All the main tourist attractions will be open but considerably quieter then in summer.  You'll have more time to marvel at the Bayeux Tapestry and less crowds to deal with at Mont St Michel.  You never know, our local zoo at Jurques may well have new arrivals.

Chocolate

Did I mention chocolate?

Wine, cider and calvados

You can come and stock up on plenty of white and rosé for the summer ahead at delightfully low French prices.  And seeing as we are in Calvados with all it's apple orchards you could also take home some cider and calvados, the spirit our department takes it's name from.

Events, Exhibitions and Activities in April

If you are wondering what to do on your break here this page gives a list of what's on  in Normandy in April 2015.  Or you could just chill in the garden whilst the kids wear themselves out in the play area! 
 

Chocolate

Don't forget the chocolate!

Talking about chocolate, if you visit with children, we will be happy to arrange an Easter Egg Hunt for them.  For adults we'll add some Easter goodies into your welcome box.

Eco-Gites of Lenault sleeps 5 plus a baby and the week at Easter is just £425 which if my maths serves me right works out at less than £61 per day and a mere £12 per person per day if 5 people stay.  We also have a code to give you 10% off with Brittany Ferries and we are just an hour south of Caen ferry port.  Further details on all the ways to get us can be found on this blog post.

For further details please visit our website or email us by clicking here. You can also ring us on 0033 231 09 27 51 (Up to 8pm Uk/9pm French time please).

Will it be you who we wish Joyeux Pâques to this Easter?  

New (ish) books and toys for the gite

Posted by Rosie

The boys have been having a grand sort out in their bedrooms.  Ben has pretty much outgrown the bunk bed he has had for 4 about years (he regularly now bumps his head on the ceiling when he sits up!) so he needs to be brought back down to earth as it were.  Tom needs to get back into his room now the wasp nest has been removed but before either of these take place we thought it would be the perfect time for them to have a sort out.  

Junk and broken things were thrown away whilst books and toys, now outgrown, were piled up on the landing.  Some of the books we will try and sell on the local expat site but if that fails we may see if the local library wants them to boost their rather meagre English section.  Within the piles of books and bags of soft toys were some though, that I just could not bring myself to get rid of.  Books I absolutely loved reading to the boys, toys that that hold special memories or just books with wonderful illustrations.  That is where having a gite is a great advantage and today I took 2 piles of books and a large bag of soft toys into the gite. Hopefully these will bring many happy hours of play and reading to our younger guests.

New (ish) books and toys for the gite

The pile to the left are all books in French and with more French guests now staying it's nice to know there will be books for them too!  And we do know that our younger visitors enjoy our books and toys: this was the comment left in our Visitor's Book by guests who stayed here this weekend:

"A lovely cosy gite is a beautiful setting and great toys and books (including Thomas The Tank Engine - all we need!). Thank you very much Rosie, Simon, Tom and Ben for such a warm welcome and delicious food ... and piglets!"

Whilst we cannot always guarantee newborn piglets there will always be a good selection of toys and books for children of all ages.

Do you find it difficult to part with certain toys and books?  Have you some favourites you just cannot let go?

Silent Sunday - November 2nd 2014

October in Normandy

Posted by Rosie

Bonjour octobre !

 Hello October!

Good grief, it's October 1st.  How did that happen?  After all, here in Normandy we still have daytime temperatures in the early twenties and we have not had any rain for over a month.  However the mornings certainly do belong to Autumn:

Autumn cobweb at Eco-Gites of Lenault

So what what might October offer us?  Weather-wise, who knows!  We have had hot beach days up to the second Sunday of the month and we have had frosts before the month starts.  Sometimes it's calm and sometimes it's windy!  

October on a Normandy beach

However we know we can offer you autumn colours, pumpkins, conkers, Halloween fungi and all sorts of festivals.

Here then are a selection of pictures taken over the 7 Octobers we have lived at Eco-Gites of Lenault:

 

  

 

Would you eat a mushroom called The Trumpet of Death?

Playing conkers!

 

Halloween

October sunset

October fungi

Normandy also has a large number of events throughout October on a wonderfully wide range of subjects including festivals on:

Shrimps, apples, fungi, soup, gastronomy in general, autumn plants and  the Battle for Normandy in 1944. 

  
Quite a variety of subjects then and there are more details here.

Have we tempted you to come and visit Normandy in October?  If yes, we have some availability and would love to welcome you here at this beautiful time of year.  Our available dates are up to Oct 12th and then Oct 23rd - 29th.

Please do visit our website or drop us an email for further details and prices.

I am linking this blog post to All about October hosted by Amanda at Expat life with a double buggy

                                                          

Words to Describe our Front Drive

Posted by Rosie

Friends who visited us in July took this photo of our front drive.  It's the view you get as you leave Eco-Gites of Lenault and I do think it sums up well what a visit here is all about.

Beauty

Normandy is such a beautiful part of France with many rural areas so unspoilt. Lenault is just one such area.  

Verdant

With grassy fields and wooded valleys we certainly live in a very green location.

Wildlife

You can't see it in this picture but I am sure you can appreciate with so many trees, hedgerows and fields that the countryside is alive with wildlife.  We see buzzards daily and any number of small birds.  Hares are a common occurrence and we have deer in the local woods.  I wrote a blog post here about 4 rare birds I have seen from our front drive.

Charm

We found the old hay turner to the right of the picture when we started to clear the overgrown area that was to become the play area.  I wonder how many miles the horses walked who pulled this lovely machine and what stories they could tell of Normandy gone-by?

Quiet

Road?  What road?  The nearest road is 300m away so you shouldn't be worried by traffic noise when staying here!  

How many more words could you use to describe our front drive?

I am joining in with MumturnedMom's weekly Prompt linky where this week the prompt was view.
 

Two Eco-Gites of Lenault?

Posted by Rosie

A couple of days ago I was flicking through this local tourist guide.  We are right on the edge of Suisse Normande and Falaise is our favourite local castle so I thought there might be some other things to see or do locally.

There were a few possibilities and then as I turned the page my eye was drawn to the photo below.  It was only small but I really had to do a double take and it looked so like here at Eco-Gites of Lenault.  For anyone who has been here maybe you will see how closely this resembles the view from the play-barn, across the boules pitch to the old house/pig pin.  I even had to go out to check that it really had not been taken here!

So anyway I decided I might like to try and recreate the photo.  It wasn't my best re-creation as I was a bit rushed.  The two younger children in the photo were our gite guests at the time and were just about to head out for the day (and we were lacking a fifth child!).  But I think you will see the similarity between the two photos.

Now I really want to know where the other photo was taken!  Is there really somewhere else just like Eco-Gites of Lenault out there?!

25 MORE Child Friendly Activities to do at Eco-Gites of Lenault

Posted by Rosie

I recently drew up a list of 25 things you can do when visiting Eco-Gites of Lenault that do not involve leaving the gite at all and often are totally free.  However I quickly realised there was far more I could suggest so here are 25 MORE Child Friendly Activities to do:  

1.  See how many bird songs you can hear
2.  Ride a bike on the boules pitch or up and down our track
3.  Have breakfast, lunch and dinner in the garden
4.  Play Tag or Hide and Seek
5.  Play with all the toys we provide

Some of the toys at Eco-Gites of Lenault

6.  Do a Nature's Treasure Hunt
7.  Make leaf pictures 
8.  Toast marshmallows
9.   Do a puzzle
10. Feed the chickens
11. Make a photo diary
12. Play football

Football

13.  Have a race
14.  Have a water fight
15.  Have a snail race
16.  Paddle in a stream 

Paddling in our local stream

17.  Blow dandelion clocks
18.  Look for animal tracks
19.  Learn how to use a compass
20.  Jump on the trampoline

Fun on the trampoline

21.  Make a den
22.  Stay up and watch the bats
23.  Lie back on the grass and watch the clouds pass over
24.  Write and perform a play or have a fashion show

And finally:

25.  Turn off all the computers, TVs, phones, DSs etc, remove all headphones, disconnect from everyone except yourselves and have some quality family time together!

Word of The Week - Holidays

Posted by Rosie

Holidays

ˈhäliˌdā/

noun

plural noun: holidays

a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done

Both boys are finally on holiday.  Tom broke up earlier than Ben but now they have both now bid farewell to lessons and homework for what is an 8 week break here in France.  But before you think it is unfair that they have longer holidays than back in the UK do bear this in mind:

For secondary schools the hours are 7.50am to 4.35pm 
and for primary 8.45am to 4.15pm.  

Those are very long days and both boys are now enjoying a well earned rest.

We do not have anything particular planned for the holidays - it is nigh on impossible to get away as a family when you have a gite and animals on a smallholding.  Simon will however probably take the boys camping for a while (yay - I get the WHOLE bed to myself!) and we will fit in various day trips as and when.  We are only about an hour from the beach so I am sure we'll be up having some beach days and there are a few WWII museums I would like to visit up along the coast.

For the boys though, living here at Eco-Gites of Lenault has some huge advantages:  

• There is a steady stream of children coming to stay in the gite with whom friendships are usually quickly forged.
• We have space - lots of space.  The boys have oodles of space to do all the things that boys should be doing - running, cycling, den building, playing etc.
• We have the play area - swings, towers, slide, climbing wall - all perfect for creating the sort of adventures 11 and 12 year old boys love to act out. 
• Friends - the boys are old enough now to head off by bike to meet with nearby friends - we might be out in the sticks but they have plenty of friends locally.
• With just a little imagination there is plenty to occupy their time - they may be a little old for a few of the ideas here but I am sure they will be doing some of these things over the next few weeks.

8 weeks holidays may seem like a very long time but I know it will pass all too quickly. Now though I am sure it feels like an eternity to the boys, a time of everlasting play and just the odd nagging from Mum and Dad to practice the saxophone, do a bit of catching up on French grammar or TIDY UP YOUR BEDROOM NOW please!!

Are your children on holiday yet or does holidays mean something different to you?  Please do let us know in a comment.