Wet Wales.

We've been away. But I'm always reluctant to say we're going away before we actually do, just because all you have to do is look me up on Google and hey presto, you can come and rob me blind while I'm sunning myself in Spain (or Wales...). But that's probably just paranoia... Especially as we have on site security... Anyway, I digress!

Just thought I'd upload a couple of shots of our most recent trip to Wales. We were there for a few days, hosted by some fabulous friends of ours. Joshua's big passion was the swing.

As you can see, he got some 'good air', as they say. It was on a slope, which meant that you could walk backwards up the slope and then propel yourself off, giving the impression of having gone further that you really had (though you were definitely high up!).
Just out of shot, to the left is this:

Which, for the uninitiated, is Snowdon. Well, it's dead centre, a long way away...
Fantastic views. There are better pics on the camera (these were 'phone) which will come along in due course. Just thought you might like to see a wild boy on a rope while you wait.

Been away awhile.

Well, not 'away' in the physical sense, just not blogging. In fact, just not blogging here. Spun off a couple of book blogs.
It's half-term, and time to rest, recharge, regroup and prepare for the next few weeks. So here's the plan. We're actually staying put. For the first time since arriving here almost two years ago, we're not going anywhere for the holiday. Don't get me wrong, we'd love to go and visit people, but it seems to make much better sense to stay here. We've had a truly draining (half!)term and running around the country during the holiday doesn't allow us to rest.
Having said that, there are a few things we're doing/have done.
1) We went to Big Church Day Out on Saturday. There was a point at which I could happily have fallen asleep (which would tick the 'rest' box) if it weren't for the fact that Joshua was on top of me and being very wriggly indeed. But the day did help to tick the 'recharge' box. So good to have time to 'worship' in a relaxed way, with both a whole bunch of strangers and a few friends from church. Something we're really missing at the moment.
2) We went for a walk round the village yesterday. Nice to do something as a family. We don't get to do stuff like that enough during term time. It wasn't particularly exciting, but it was together, which was the important thing.
3) We're all hoping to have slept more this week than any other week since records began...
4) I'm aiming to have completely cleared my desk of detritus by the end of the week
5) Have planted corn and runner beans, and dug a new bed for squash and pumpkins (believe it or not, that comes under 'recharge', I think)
6) We've got friends visiting (some just for meals, others for stays!) which will contribute to the rest and recharge (because we like them!) (That's not to say we don't like anyone else ... just that when we have 'work' guests, it's not always exactly refreshing...)
7) I need to plan how to use my Wednesdays, when Joshua will now be at school for the next four weeks. The most obvious use of the time is book work, but that might not be the right one.
8) Plenty of time needs to be devoted to prayer, chillaxing and hanging out together

Morocco

Just thought I'd blog some likes and dislikes about Morocco, but will blog further and with more photos when I've got some more time.
We went to Marrakech for four days this last week.

Likes:
The traffic - absolute chaos
The orange trees that grew 'wild' along the pavements.
The smells - some unfamiliar, some all too recognisable :)
The fact that you could shop after 5.30
The people
The bartering
The weather (though it did rain a fair amount on our first day)
The architecture
The mint tea
The call to prayer
The snake charmers
The monkeys in the marketplace
The couscous royale (mmm tasty)
The airport (seriously stylish)
Having to hold the torch for the guy who came to fix the electrics in our hotel room
The mini taxi we travelled in that leaked rain onto us

Dislikes:
The dishonesty of some people (like the guy who said he didn't want money for having his photo taken with us, and then gave us serious grief when we didn't give him any)
The olive trees that grew 'wild' along the pavements (I'm not an olive fan!) (nah, they were cool in concept to be fair)
People manhandling Joshua (ruffling hair is fine, but grabbing is pushing it...)

There were more of both - I'll probably add to this post from time to time, as they come to me.