WEEKLY BLOG EPISODE 116 | BANK HOLIDAY FUN

Why are Bank Holiday weekends always wet? Do the clouds look at the calendar and think “oh look, the Brits have an extra day to have barbecues and go for walks and enjoy the outdoors… we know what’ll test their resolve…”. And this weekend, the clouds literally rained on our parade!

After dedicating last week’s weekly blog (episode 115) to the Cotswold Way post-adventure blues, this one will be all about how I’ve spent the last two weekends. In my dreamworld, every weekend is a Bank Holiday weekend, but I know that’s not sustainable, so I do try and make something of the long weekends I do get.

A Productivity Problem

To be honest, I can’t decide if the way I spent these two consecutive Bank Holiday weekends count as mundane and a bit lazy, or a good use of my time. I mean, I didn’t get out on any big adventures – hiking or otherwise. I also didn’t do any of the jobs on my at-home list – such as painting the bathroom radiator or the front door. And I didn’t get super productive and write heaps of blog posts either.

What I did do was a lot of sitting down, a lot of consuming of other people’s adventure stories, a lot of listening to music, and a lot of thinking I should be doing lots of other things.

Why does it feel like life has to be productive or adventurous all the time to be fulfilled?! I know it doesn’t really; having two restful weekends on the trot is not a failure in any sense. Yes, there are things I could have done, but I chose not to. And that’s okay. It was nice to have the time and space to be the laziest version of myself.

Anyway, this random and inevitably chatty weekly blog, is about the things I did do, rather than the things I didn’t. You know because I mentioned it last week, that my May Day was derailed by having to unexpectedly batch cook thanks to a defrosted freezer, but I still managed an hour in my kayak in the afternoon and had some lovely relaxing time with my firepit in the evening. My Coronation weekend was not much more active – but I did add some colour to my garden, and squelched in the mud to see some bluebells.

Batch Cooking

I had planned to get out for a paddle in the morning before the car park at my preferred launch site filled up, but that didn’t quite work out. When I got up it was raining heavily, and so I chose to write first, and paddle second, taking a chance on the car park. It’s probably a good job I did it in that order because that meant I was at home when my husband noticed the freezer door in the garage had not sealed properly, and had therefore defrosted over the weekend. So rather than spending my morning writing or paddling, I worked on salvaging the food that I could, and got rid of the rest.

My neat packages of portioned out fresh meat, which I buy from my local butcher, was only just defrosted, and so was safe to cook. I chose to make big batches of taco mince, beef stew, and bacon casserole – 15 dinner-sized portions in total. All the meals are loaded with veggies, and I add carbs when serving depending on what we fancy. I had my slow cooker, oven and hob on the go all at once, and created a dishwasher full of used kitchen paraphernalia. Forced cooking is never fun, but I think I was able to turn the situation around. Future Zoe now has a bunch of nice things to defrost and reheat, she’ll be very grateful for those hours spent cooking!

What Would You Cook?

I’d love to know what you’d have cooked if you’d been in the situation… Please do hit me with your favourite batch cooking recipes. My go-to recipes include sweet potato and chickpea curry, chilli con or not-carne, beef stew (which I serve with dumplings), sausage or bacon casserole, variations on Mexican bowls such as taco filling or fajita spiced goodness, and fillings for cottage/shepherd’s pie.

Generally speaking my batch cooks are done in my Crockpot Turbo Express (here at Currys, here at Amazon), which is just a wonderful bit of kit. I can cook up six portions of something with only a little bit of preparation – normally eating portions of the meal that evening, having some the following evening, and freezing a meal-for-two for a future occasion. But go on, do let me know your favourite slow cooker or batch cooking meal suggestions, I’d like to add more to my currently limited repertoire.

May Day Paddle

All was not lost on the paddling front. After eating lunch at home – I really felt I deserved that bacon sandwich – I decided to bung my kayak in the boot of the car and spend an hour on the river. My favourite launch site was full; it’s not just a great launch spot but also a lovely place to start/finish a walk, so it’s often full. I continued onto a car park I scouted out earlier in the year as a potential launch, and got in there instead.

It’s still a bit silty on the banks of the River Avon after this winter’s floods, but it was good enough for me to get in this time. While it was raining when I arrived and when I left, the skies were very kind and the precipitation stopped for the hour I was actually on the water – a definite result.

I didn’t go far, but that One Hour Outside on the water was everything I needed on May Day afternoon. While the car park was busy, there were no other kayaks or paddleboards on the river at this point. It was calm, quiet, and beautiful. I had a lovely time paddling up a new-to-me section of river, although the water here is much faster flowing than my normal spot due to there being a lock, so I definitely counted this as exercise!

It feels good to have taken the boat out of hibernation after what has been a very long and drawn-out winter, even if it was only for an hour. After being immersed in the signs of spring during the Cotswold Way, it was good to be able to see some of that from the river. Here’s to more very leisurely paddles in the coming weeks.

Fire and Marshmallows

The other thing you’ll know if you read last week’s weekly blog, is that I finished my May Day Bank Holliday weekend sitting by my fire pit. It’s where I wrote the majority of that weekly blog, and it was pleasing to spend an hour or two outside as the sun set.

It was a bit of a struggle to get it going, seeing as I was all out of kindling and so had to rely on the bark on the edge of the logs I had in the shed, and an egg box or two. But the fire did take, and the effort was well worth it – and not just because I could then have toasted marshmallows. Mmmmm marshmallows.

Like getting out in my kayak, enjoying the warmth and light of a fire in my garden is something don’t do nearly often enough. My neighbours have one most weekends, and every time I smell it I wish I’d done the same.

No such luck of being able to sit outside this evening to write my weekly blog episode though; it’s absolutely chucking it down right now, and has been most of today (Monday). I did at least get a bag of kindling purchased, though, so the next fire will be much easier to get going. I hope – intend – there will be many more marshmallow toasting opportunities this spring and summer.  

Lived History

I had hoped to spend Saturday morning hunting for bluebells in a couple of local woodlands, but like everyone else in the country, I woke up to super heavy rain on Saturday morning. Again. I’m not particularly anti-monarchy (although maybe let’s chat about the expense of it all sometime…), but I was working on the theory that everyone else would be glued to the tellybox for the ceremony and parade, meaning I’d have the pretty wildflowers all to myself. I did similar on the day of the Queen’s funeral – I went kayaking and it was like I had the River Avon all to myself.

In an ideal world I’d like to say I used the time at home wisely instead, but I really didn’t – I just moped on the sofa, joining the hoards by watching proceedings in ultra-HD courtesy of the BBC. I did, though, thoroughly enjoy the music of the coronation, at least, and it was interesting to watch this moment in history live as it happened.

Enjoying the Music

It was so lovely to hear such moving music – both quiet and rousing – and both old and new – broadcast to the masses. I very much appreciated the skill of the composers and musicians (what pressure!). Oh, and I learnt something; I didn’t know until Saturday that the famous Crown Imperial march, composed by Walton for the Queen’s coronation, was arranged by John Rutter. Every day is a school-day.

I was also particularly impressed by the mass start of the mile-long military parade following the ceremony. Drums and left feet all starting at the exact same moment, thanks to an electronic system sending signals to every bass drummer’s ear. Having dabbled in marching myself, I know how much was riding on that moment, and that feat of planning that didn’t go unnoticed. Very nice.

Last night watched the Coronation Concert, and by choice. It was good, probably the best of the recent Royal concerts – they’d clearly rehearsed! The Romeo and Juliet collaboration was fabulous, it was all good, a happy celebration event.

Both the music during and around the Coronation service, and the concert last night, demonstrates how important the Arts is to modern culture; music is the window to the soul, and we absolutely must protect music education and performance. I hope our politicians took note.

Adding Colour to My Garden

I did manage one productive thing this weekend; adding colour to my garden. First, I had some tidying to do; I spent an hour or two on Saturday afternoon weeding the beds and clearing out pots. It looks like my blueberry hasn’t survived the winter, which is a shame after a few years of a decent harvest, but at least both the raspberry and strawberry are showing signs of life.

Then yesterday we went to the new garden centre up the road – a monster of a place – and bought a bunch of colourful late-spring and summer-flowering plants to brighten things up now the tulips are just about finished. Honestly, those tulips looked amazing at first, but they got absolutely battered by the wind and rain in April, and just didn’t last very well this year. Hopefully next spring will be a bit less windy!

The Birds are Back

Weirdly, giving the garden some love and attention seems to have finally brought the birds back, which is an added bonus. Not sure what was wrong with my bird feeder this winter, maybe they were getting better pickings down the road? Still, they’re back on the feeders now, and I’ve been enjoying their company.

I’ve also got a bunch of seeds growing on my dining room windowsill in the hope they will sprout well enough to move into the pots I have left over. I missed out on growing my own veggies last year, and so hope to have a little bit of home-grown produce in 2023 to make up for it. Most of the seeds were courtesy of my good friend Sarah, who sent me some in a surprise package. I’ve got tomato, cucumber, cayenne and pepper on the go, oh and a solitary runner bean seed I was given at church last Sunday. I’ll let you know if I manage to harvest anything successfully!

Bank Holiday Bluebells

That brings me to today – I’m writing this on the evening of our extra Bank Holiday Monday, gifted to us for the Coronation. Cheers Charles! The weather did exactly what the forecast promised – I woke up to very heavy rain, again, and it was due to stick around all day.

I set myself up for a writing day, quite content with that, getting the majority of my first Cotswold Way adventure journal post drafted before 10am (to be published later this week). But chatting to a friend whilst making a(nother) cup of tea gave me an “oh I’ll go out anyway” spike of motivation, and I shut my laptop and grabbed my waterproof coat!

Lush Wet Woodland

It was wet – and very muddy – but I enjoyed being out for a couple of hours. I did what I hoped to do on Saturday morning, and went to my local woodland to see the bluebells. The rain seemed to have kept everyone else away, so I had the woodland all to myself, and it was really wonderful in there. There is something about damp woodland that makes it even more special, lifting the colours – and smells.

I had thought I might walk a handful of miles from there to another woodland I’ve not been to before, as I’ve heard that also has lovely bluebells. But once out in the open it really wasn’t a pleasant walk anymore. Instead, I took a shorter circular route. Being out for a couple of hours was everything I needed today – just as my hour kayaking last Monday was. Call it forest bathing or whatever you like, being outside in nature really does work wonders.

How have you spent your extra Bank Holiday today? Did you have an “oh I’ll go out anyway” moment like I did? Or did you practice everything hygge at home? I hope you had a good one, whatever you did with it.

Trig Bagging with OS Maps

Here’s something I thought worth mentioning to you… There’s a new feature on the desktop version of OS Maps that is pretty cool. Introduced during Trig Week (read weekly blog episode 114), you can now push a button to find your nearest trig pillar. Nice!

There are thousands of trig pillars dotted across Great Britain, in cities, on top of hills and next to the sea. You really are never far away from one. First used in the re-triangulation of Britain 87 years ago, trig pillars are now icons of the British countryside. Many people make bagging trigs their weekend mission – but even if you don’t, they make for great inspiration for short walks, whether you are close to home or somewhere else.

How to Find Trig Pillars

To find your nearest trig pillars without having to hunt on the map for the little blue triangles, start by opening up OS Maps on your desktop. Click the top icon at the bottom right of your screen, which allows you to display a bunch of useful places, including trig pillars.

You can zoom in to find the exact location, and click on the trig pillar icon to see the name and height of each one. You can then plot your own route from your chosen starting point, or use the ‘find routes’ feature to have someone else do the work for you.

The feature is currently only available on the desktop version (not mobile), but I asked my friends at Ordnance Survey and they say it is coming to the mobile app in the near future. But as I do all my route planning on a computer anyway – and I’m sure most people do – it’s a really cool feature to have a play with.  

If you are not already subscribed to OS Maps, I’d highly recommend it. I’d love it if you would use my affiliate link to sign up – which gives me a little bit of commission (at no charge to you). Cheers!

See you Next Tuesday!

As anticipated at the top of this post, this weekly blog episode has been a very long and chatty one. If you got this far then thank you very much – it’s nice to know that people are enjoying my weekly blogs.

If you’ve got a minute to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you below… Given that this episode has featured the rain quite heavily, how about you tell me what your favourite rainy-day activity is? Or answer my plea for batch cooking recipes!

It’s back to work tomorrow for another busy-looking four-day week. And next weekend is only two days – what’s this?! I don’t think I like that much! It’s looking like a fun one, though – and I’m expecting two very cool deliveries which I’ll be sure to tell you about next Tuesday in the next episode of my weekly blog series. See you then!

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