Day Out in Dedham

What to do on a rainy Bank Holiday Monday, with a 6 and a half week old baby - who has no idea of what's going on and just wants to eat, sleep and poo - that's cheap and fun? Get out into the countryside of course. Constable Country - situated on the Essex-Suffolk border - to be precise.

It's an area my parents took my brothers and me to when we were younger, we'd walk (or row) from Flatford to Dedham along the River Stour. I took my husband for his first time a few years ago, and we have since been back several times.

Row boat hire is available for either £5 for half an hour or £8 for an hour's hire, but we didn't think that was a suitable activity with a baby...

Usually we drive to Flatford and use the car park which cost £3.50 (free for National trust members), but this time we drove to Dedham and found a free parking space on the street.

After getting a Rossi ice cream from the Art and Craft Centre we took the 40 minute walk along the river, over the flat fields with awkward kissing gates and a herd of cows, to Flatford. The kissing gates were only awkward because we had the pushchair/travel system, or whatever they are called these days. We only had to lift if over 2 gates - we were able to get it through the other 2.

After a look around Flatford, which included Morris dancers, we took the walk back to Dedham and got some lunch. We could have taken a picnic but I'm not that organised at the moment - so we got a toastie and drink each, from Pandora's Box, before heading home.

I got a few photos, but what with pushing the buggy or holding Aurora, I didn't actually get photos of Flatford or the river!

We started off in lovely Dedham

Rossi ice cream - Southend's finest.

A rather pointless kissing gate - an easy one to get through

Nettles...

Ah...

The gate to get to Flatford was on the other side of the herd

 

Baby's Blankets

I put off creating this post about blankets as the weather has been so sunny and warm, that it seemed a bit pointless. Sadly, it's grey and raining and Aurora and I are snuggled up in one now.

When I was pregnant and thinking about what I wanted for the nursery and the baby, I knew I wanted lots of cosy knitted blankets, clothes and, as it turns out, toys. 

This post is about the blankets, some of which I managed to get at really great prices from the pop-up charity shop at Southend Hospital: handmade by the volunteers and sold at (far too) reasonable prices. I was also lucky enough that family members, friends and even strangers are much better at knitting and crochet than I am, as well as being generous. 

Here are a selection of my favourites:

Blankets one - four were all bought from Southend Hospital's charity shop. Although it doesn't show on the photo, blanket 2 has sparkly thread running through it!

1) £9

2) £3

3) £3

4)£3

I bought one or two each time I had a scan or midwife appointment.  

Number five was also from the hospital's charity shop and cost £1. Number 7 is a shawl which was a present from my mum and dad's neighbour, who has also knitted Aurora an all-in-one (which I will post about another time). 

Six and 8 were knitted by people I had never met which I think is lovely (not that I've never met them - the fact they are generous enough to make and send lovely items to a stranger). Eight is a cot blanket knitted and with lining, which was a gift from my husband's friend's mum; whilst 6 is a shawl knitted by Aurora's great-gran's hairdresser!
5) £1
6) gift
7) gift
8) gift

To give an idea of the sizes, here's Aurora to give perspective (dressed as Toby from The Labyrinth as we were watching the film and singing and dancing along that day).

Although I love them all, I have two favourites. One is a child's blanket that my mum picked up from Norfolk and Norwich hospital, also knitted by a volunteer from the charity shop. For this blanket the lady - in her 90s - said she had used a pattern from the 1960s - which is obviously right up my street. It's amazing and the lady only wanted £19 for it!

My other favourite blanket is one that Aurora loves, she's very happy when snuggled up in it. Her great-gran, the mother of my husband's late mum, began knitting it before she died last year and was completed by my husband's aunt. It's very special for that reason.