Jul 11, 2014

Canoe Canoe, Kayak Kayak


After the unbridled success of Osborne House - obviously the best birthday day out ever, in anyone's book - in the excitement everything gets a little hazy, but after a short spell at Slimm Towers to freshen up etc we headed of en masse or approximately so to the Trattles Hut for some beach action with the incidental addition of the Famous Inflatable Kayak which Matthew had been given for his birthday by his lovely not-wife Samantha.

The twins had been down to the beach the evening for a little kayak-testing and sibling bondage but if memory serves a critical component had been forgotten and the kayak in fact was inaugurated upon the occasion of Maisie's birthday.

After a spot of food and drink on the grass, we attended to the kayak, assembling and inflating and generally making ready - with half an eye on the sky with its burgeoning cloud. Across the Solent a bank of grey cloud loomed over the Hampshire Downs, grey beneath, brooding.

There was pressure for Maisie to be the first passenger but between them the cousins managed to cook up some sort of crisis of fear and trepidation and general reluctance, the sort of display were getting used to, and the upshot was the Eloise, being the only one that was actually up for it, was the first.


The wind was getting up a bit, more people turned up, food was eaten, games played on the beach. More people went in the canoe, sorry kayak, it's a kayak not a canoe! And the boat, if it's a boat, proved to be a success for the grownups, as well as Eloise and Isla who had a go too. No doubt Maisie and Violet will try it out sometime.

The inevitable inevitably happened and the clouds bridged the Solent bringing with them the keys to heaven, which duly opened. A frenetic yet calm and purposeful clearing away into the beach hut took place and as we made our way back to the car the senior Slimms arrived.

We made our way back to Magnolia Mansions for our final night and a little party for Maisie out in the garden after the rains had passed. I passed the evening getting Lyra to sleep and came back down again just as everybody else was going to bed.

All was not lost however as an inebriated ping-pong mini-marathon was embarked upon as the Slimm boys let me win a couple of games then rather cruelly beat me senseless through the medium of easy points-scoring.

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