Back to the grind.

We have had a nice weekend, make no mistake it was seriously good.

Friday started with a serious outbreak of social worker. Meetings that got on the boring side of interminable. For a large part because they had serious concerns that we refused to own but rather re framed in ways that meant SW would have to act.

We were not confiscating every child's mobile phone at 9 every night because one adult was not sticking to an agreement about phoning one child.

At the end of the day why should any child be sanctioned, the adult was the problem and therefore the issue needed taking to them.

Making us the bad guys for taking every one's phone was not a way for a SW to avoid confronting an adult about their behaviour. After all, we get paid to look after children they get paid to be SW...

But eventually they all went and we went into holiday mode.

Kids all rounded up and the motorway blasted up.

Daycastle and looked after ones left with mum and gran it was footlose and fancy free for the ferry.

It's hard to explain to someone who does 37 hours ever week and then goes home to their other how life how this feels.

As foster carers, we have a good life, but, we work all day every day.

We get up we get the kids to school, then we sit and deal with all the paperwork of recording, and of course we are there for whatever meetings or phone calls the SW decide to hold, but strictly in office hours. Then the kids are home and we carry on as late into the night as it takes.

So when we get the chance to have time out it's a rare event. I think we have had about 10 days properly off in about 10 years, at one stage we worked 3 years straight through. I am not sure this is good for our health.

Off we went and spirited driving saw us in Plymouth with time to spare.

When i say spirited perhaps it does not do the trip justice. Left to it's own devices the Xantia consumes miles and in a ridiculously short time we were on the ferry and ready to go.

The first thing to do was have lunch, yes with all the meetings and the day we had skipped every meal since breakfast. Still you cannot fault Brittany Ferries, for not a lot of money I got as much langoustine as I could eat followed by a steak which was perfect and a desert that I could not really understand how I could possibly have one helping of, never mind go back for two....

The beds though were a new experience and not a good one. The berth in the Pont Aven were tiny before they were put in the shrink machine and I like the idea of marble but not as a material to make mattresses out of.

Next morning and out of the ship and down into Guemene. The house was fine and the lawn mower still in the garden (coff coff). With everything sealed up again, apples collected from the garden, it was time to head off, we got all the way into town and the Trois Marchands. The most fantastic traditional restaurant. 4 fantastic courses and change from 30€ as well.

The trip back to Roscoff was suitably uneventful and not at all like us. Stoped in Morlaix to look at bathrooms (oh dear, work to come). Then admitting defeat by having just the one crepe for tea.


Fully refreshed by the last evening we were in bed before the ship sailed and asleep before the ship sailed. That's something about us having time off, we always spend a lot of it asleep, it's as if we don't get enough in a normal week.

Still it's home now and another standard Wednesday with me having a list of things to do and her off ripping down trees.

I have however booked our next trip away, next February and a early trip on the new ship the Armorique.

R