Friday 15 June 2012

The Reaction to the Attraction

We're starting to think about getting away from it all here at HIgh in the Sky. Another couple of weeks and school will be out and we'll be free.

I've been making plans: something for right here on the blog (it's coming together nicely and I hope you'll enjoy it) - but those other kind of plans too. You know the ones - making sure everyone has had a haircut; buying an extra card for the camera; deliberating over whether last year's sun cream will do or whether I really need to shop for fresh stuff at inflated prices..

I pulled out my writing-in-on-holiday notebook and was delighted to find a couple of observations and conversations I'd forgotten about. Hurray for writing things down! One centred around the reaction to the attraction. Everyone in the family sees a thing slightly differently, don't they? A couple of years back we went to Bath to see - the Roman Baths. Can you guess who in this family might have said -

- "Oer, I was nearly in the water there. My rucksack's dragging me down.."
or
- "These statues were only made a hundred years ago. That's not very Roman at all. I want my money back."
or
- "Where's the shop? I've got enough for a sharpener and a pencil and some stickers and.."
or
- "I can smell damp. I can feel dry rot. It'll cost a fortune to put this right.."

Ah, you can tell a lot about someone by the way they do their sightseeing

..and every evening I went back to the tent and wrote about by the light of the lamp

31 comments:

Cheri said...

no guesses here, but I love the observation "not very Roman at all. I want my money back."

scrappyjacky said...

Last year's sun cream will definately do,Sian....it won't last a third year though!
I'm guessing you're going overseas....cause if you were staying in this country....you'd be saying "do I need to buy another umbrella?"....never mind the sun cream.

Melissa said...

What a great bunch of quotes/observations. I'm planning a couple of little get-aways also - a few short weekend trips for the summer & trying to confirm our plans for the Thanksgiving holidays. I love the planning and anticipation! I have the sunscreen right by the door to the garage because I have to use it often here whether we are on vacation or not! LOL

Denise said...

Hmmmm- I'm guessing it's overseas too.I always love that bit, the planning,but don't love the bit right up close to going away when you begin to think 'Is it worth it' and then when you get there- it is!! Great post today as always Sian x

Katie said...

Hehe, this made me smile. xxx

Jennifer Shaw said...

Fun post! For sure it was your daughter who wanted to buy a pencil, a sharpener and stickers. Always so much preparation for a family holiday. That is terrific that you record memories. :)

Jo.C said...

I love that you have written down the conversation. I really need to do this more. Brilliant post. Superdrug had a great deal on suncream over here. I stocked up last week and I don't think it has stopped raining since :0)

Mel said...

I think your son said the first comment and your husband said the last one - am I right? Or maybe you said the last one....no I think he did.

Rhona said...

I love looking back at books I've written in on holiday though I don't often think to write down quotes. I'll have to be more aware of that in future. I've had my guesses on who said what so I hope you're going to tell us ;o).

Alana said...

Because I burn so easily I use a factor 40 or the nearest to it. Because I won't take out three different types of suncream each day every one has to use mine....and they all come back white:)

Scrappi Sandi said...

Be careful with that sun cream..shouldn't really keep it year to year...the SPF decays!! Aldi's Lacura suncream is excellent & very inexpensive...recommended!!

This post really made me smile..love the comment about 'too young' statues!! :D

Lizzie said...

I like the "I want my money back" comment! And I also guess it was T(ns)SO who had enough pocket money for the various items of stationery!

I have to admit to using the same sunscreen on a second year, but I tend to buy smaller quantities of the high factor stuff and renew that yearly. The Boy has that all-day stuff for school days, as he can't be faffing around with sun creams at break time. He gets quite good about applying it when he's had his shower. No sunburn from school breaktimes, so far. Can't say the same for days at the beach... oops!

Do your schools really finish in two weeks' time? Ours don't break up for the holiday until the end of July - I think we have 5 weeks left now. Still, we are looking forward to a family week away at the seaside - us 3, my niece / husband and 2 babes, my nephew too. The other niece/ husband and baby are hoping to come and visit for a day out too!

Where are you off to this year, I wonder? I'd love to know more about your Norwegian holiday last year, actually, as DH wants to go crusing the fjords next summer...
Anyway, hope you have fun!

Irene said...

Such anticipation for what's coming along on your blog... and in the meantime, like you, I will keep writing down those comments. The grandchildren are particularly good at seeing things in a different light than I. Me: This pond is very pretty. Him: This lake is enormous. Her: It's for ducks.

Alison said...

I can never believe the price of suncreams..must check out Aldi's-yes, we DO have Aldi (and LIDL) here!
Alison xx

Beverly said...

I think it was you, TTO, TSO and the Accountant. Love that you are so good about recording this kind of stuff. Excited to hear your plans .... vacation and blog wise! Can you imagine, I already have my story written for July!?!

Lou said...

That's a pretty posh lamp you have for your tent!! :) had to smile at your bath comments x

Karen said...

So glad to see we're not the only ones who vacation in a tent. We did it almost exclusively when the kids were younger, but now it's usually just once every summer. We're trying to find a site for a month from now and finding most of them are already taken. I wish I'd recorded such observations in those days.

Nathalie said...

Totally made me smile, reminds me of listening to other people's conversation when sightseeing... always entertaining :)

Fiona@staring at the sea said...

How wonderful to have those quotes recorded for posterity. I think the T(NS)SO was after a pencil sharpener and The Accountant was counting the cost of repairs. As for the other two, I think they could have been either you or TTO!

Maria Ontiveros said...

I'm guessing they're all from the same person (The TNSSO).
Rinda

Sandie said...

It's great that you jot these sayings down Sian... it certainly makes the visit more personal and interesting.
Love the lamp in the tent... there's nothing quite like it, is there? It reminds me of the Gypsy Caravan I stayed in.

Ginger said...

I'm going to guess TNSSO, TTO, You, the Accountant :)

You all must be very excited!

Gem's Crafts said...

You are good writing things down whilst on holiday :) We won't be needing suncream where we're going this year, I very much doubt we'll get too much sun in the Lake District!

Kirsty.A said...

Enjoy your hols. Lucky you for even contemplating sun cream

Abi said...

This made me smile. I love the idea of writing quotes down. I am half tempted in doing a summer journal too.

Missus Wookie said...

We do the summer holiday write up too. Around here there tends to be talk about engineering a lot too. Thinking of going away for a bit too.

Amy said...

We go through several tubes of sunscreen each summer, the sun is vicious down here! Actually, we can always tell the European travellers, they are the ones sunbaking and looking VERY red.

A girlfriend and I were just discussing how people react differently to various attractions - finding something to suit children and adults can be a challenge!

Cheryl said...

Great observations Sian and I just love that lamp x

Jane said...

this made me smile, a great idea x

Wanda said...

I'm guessing that wherever you go and whatever you do, everyone will have a wonderful and memorable (thanks, among other things, to your notekeeping skills) time.

Clare said...

I love the planning almost as much as the doing - the anticipation! It's fascinating to hear how differently everyone reacts to something, that's what makes families so interesting...

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