Category Archives: Touring

Bat Out Of Hell: The best music for car journeys?

  By Helen | May 25, 2013 - 10:28 am | ,
2 Comments

I spend a LOT of time in the car. In addition to the every day mooching around, I take Millie from St Helens to Manchester 5 times per week for synchro training (between 25-35 miles depending on which pool). As a result our choice of music to listen to is very important. The rest of the time, I am normally accompanied by Tara – and everyone knows that a 2 year old gets the choice of what to listen to, don’t they?

Our synchro journeys are a chance to catch up on current affairs, find out what the rest of the world is up to and indulge my rather eclectic music tastes. I’m having a bit of an 80′s throwback at the moment with tunes from Human League & Phil Oakey featuring heavily. Millie think they are terrible!

Yesterday though I reckon I heard the ultimate car journey song played on Radio 2 (when did I turn into my mum?) Meal Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell. Fantastic and it goes on for ages. Does anyone else know all the words?

Carcraft are compiling a list of the top tunes to listen to whilst travelling – They want to know what your favourites are too. I’m thinking Bat Out Of Hell might just appear.

If you want to take part, here’s how:

  • Nominate your favourite driving song via a hashtag on Twitter (#carcraftsingalongs) or share a suggestion on our Facebook page.
  • Be part of our survey and nominate the songs you love
  • All the nominated entries will then be added to a list here on the Carcraft website and voting will be opened to find the overall favourite.
  • We hope to gather a list of sing along songs that make people drive happy!

This Wednesday, I’m travelling down to London and back in the same day with Derm (not the best date I agree) to collect Mil from England Talent Squad – Any suggestions of good toons will be gratefully received. We are likely to be in car for at least 8 HOURS!! Comment below otherwise he might make me listen to Coldplay *shudder*

This is a sponsored post however all declarations of bad music taste are my own! I also realise that I have shown my age in my choices ;-)

 

And for your enjoyment …

Saturday is Caption Day

  By Helen | April 27, 2013 - 11:27 am | , ,
3 Comments

From a recent trip to the Lakes – A scene straight out of Watership Down (And no, the bunny isn’t real as I have already been asked). “Bright Eyes…tra-la-la”

To put the photo in context, here is another pic of Tara having a ‘moment’ just before the bunny got launched. The joys of holidaying with a 2 year old.

I’m joining in again with the mighty Mammasaurus Blog who hosts ‘Saturday Caption Day’. Pop on over to see the other entries this week if you can.

Cake of the Week – Birthday Cakes

  By Helen | June 3, 2012 - 11:08 pm | , , , , , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

The cakes for this week may not be the biggest or the most elaborate but they are definitely no less special.

I’m giving you two cakes for the price of one this week. The first cake is a 21st cake for Daniel. Daniel is the son of a good friend of mine, Donna. I met Donna when our daughters started school together and I’m so glad I did. Just one of those people and families that you are glad to have in your life (and she’s good at drinking wine too!) Daniel has complex special needs and is unable to actually eat any of his cake but that really made me want to make it even neater than normal. They were having 50 million people round to their house yesterday to celebrate with Daniel – Hope it all went well!

The second cake for this week is sadly a very quick cake (and another Hello Kitty). Our lovely Violet is 6 today but still wanted a cake to take with us on our holidays. She has requested a Hello Kitty for this week and a Moshi Monsters for her party the day after we get back – Help! The cake has travelled all the way to Abersoch intact and stands a good chance of being dished out at the Jubilee party on Tuesday. There’s no way us 5 can make our way through it all on our own.


Violet has had a lovely day. We realise now that she genuinely doesn’t need much to make her happy – a few presents and being stuck in the van as it is blowing a gale outside has made for a perfect day. She got to choose her tea (chippy) which we enjoyed on Hello Kitty paper plates and cups – complete with paper umbrellas. You can take the girl out of St Helens … Can’t believe V has been with us for 6 years – they’ve been brilliant. She has so much energy and enthusiasm – long may it continue.

How the Costellos celebrate birthdays in the van!


I’ll try to put up the linky for Cake of the week but the internet is a bit dodgy on the campsite – If you want to join in but can’t link up just put the url of your post/picture in the comments and I’ll find them when I get back from my hols.

There will be news of Aardvark Cakes next week – its too long to include in this post. Watch this space! For now, enjoy the bank holidays and your parties is you are having them. I’m off to eat more of Violet’s cake!

How to pack a caravan – Five Go Caravanning

  By Helen | March 23, 2012 - 2:23 pm | , ,
2 Comments

How to pack a caravan

It that time of year already – The Costellos are on the move and preparing for our first trip of the 2012 season. Every winter we completely empty our van (even down to putting the cushions in the loft) so we have to start from scratch on the first trip of the year.

If I was organised I would probably have a comprehensive list of everything we need … but I’m not. As you can see from the picture, the clothes cupboards are still very empty (I have got a pile mountain of clothes waiting to go in them but it still seems very empty compared with how it ends up at the end of the season.

Our first excursion of the year is always a small one, not too far to travel in case we forget anything major (I did hear last year of a couple that travelled 250+ miles and forgot their caravan keys!) I’m still panicking though that we will forget something vital – we are somewhat lighter than last year anyway as we don’t need the Moses basket or the steriliser but this only adds to the panic!

Here are some of the items that we have forgotten in previous years (I’m not talking practical items like hammers and water tanks here (Dermot’s job), I’m talking necessities to keep a family of 5 going through a night – I NEVER forget wine!)

  • Real Cups and Glasses – Yes, they are a bit of a faff to roll up and keep safe, but there are few things worse than wine out of a plastic tumbler.
  • Toilet Roll – Its the first thing you do when you arrive at site and the first thing you remember you’ve forgotten!
  • Hand Towels – Every blinkin year.
  • Toys for morning – Invariably, the kids wake up before they should and inevitably we forget the ‘keep the kids occupied while we pretend we are having a lie in box’
  • Pen & Paper – Vital to write down the things to bring next trip.
  • PJ’s – always mine, it was a cold night that night!
  • Dish cloths & Tea towels – every tried to wash up with your hand?
  • Bin Bags – Amazing how much rubbish a family of 5 accumulates.

I’m off now to fill the van a bit more – Place your bets here as to what we forget this time. Anything you can think of that we need to take?

Five Go Caravanning – 2012

  By Helen | January 11, 2012 - 7:14 am | , , , , ,
2 Comments

Well all the Christmas festivities are now over and so our attention turns to the caravan season. It may only be 2 months since we last went on our travels but we miss it already.

Our plans for the 2012 season are slightly different this year. We have decided not to go with a seasonal pitch but instead to explore quite a few caravan parks.

We have loved being in Abersoch for the past 2 years but there are sites in the Lake District, Yorkshire and Cumbria that are really easy to get to for us. Mr Costello is still loving his surfing (and no, I haven’t joined him in the water yet) so I feel a trip to The Gower is on the cards this year too – as well as our yearly trip to the South of France. The world is our oyster as they say!

We are still undecided about whether to go with a new van or hold on a bit longer. Our van is still in good shape but with only basic bathroom facilities. We have discussed perhaps joining in with some caravan rallies but would need a proper shower in the van first. Rallies are renowned for being amazing fun for the kids and I’d love for M & V to experience at least one.

Violet is still convinced she doesn’t like walking but this doesn’t stop us exploring when we are away – she doesn’t seem to notice that she has walked miles when we are at the caravan – especially when we stop off at every coffee shop we find! Millie is happy as long as there is a play area and somewhere where she can explore and have a little freedom.

As for the rest of us, we are looking forward to exploring, meeting loads of new people, good food and plenty of fresh air. Can’t wait – 2012 caravanning here we come!

Five Go Caravanning – The End of Our First Season

  By Helen | November 12, 2011 - 12:26 am | , , , , , ,
2 Comments


So this weekend was our last weekend away of the 2011 season – It marked the end of our first season carvanning as a family of five. And we survived – in fact, we more than survived … we blinkin LOVED it!

Here’s some pics above (it will hopefully be changed into a slideshow just as soon as I work out how to do it!) and some stats to sum up our first year of Five Go Caravanning:

5 – The number of sites we visited

13 – The number of holidays we had away in the van this year … plus 3.5 weeks in France in it! Not bad considering some of these were 5+ nights in one visit and we had a baby this year.

Hundreds = The amount of friends that the girls have made this year.

A Lot = The amount of arguments the girls had with each other (Yep, unfortunately even though caravanning is a fabulous family time you still take arguing siblings with you!)

12 = the average amount of hours the children spend playing out per day at a campsite

12 = the amount of hours sleep the girls need at the end of all that playing out

0 = The amount of times it felt too much like hard work

 

All-in-all it has been a fabulous first year as a family of 5 – We have great plans for next year. Lots more touring, maybe a new van and loads more fun!

Five Go Caravanning: A trip to the Caravan Show, NEC – will we get a new van?

  By Helen | October 12, 2011 - 6:30 am | , , ,
2 Comments

I’m still mad about our caravan but sadly haven’t been able to go for quite a few weeks. It is festering away still in Abersoch – if anyone is passing, would you be so kind as to check on it and empty anything I may have left in the fridge?!

I’ve got loads to update and review on the Five Go Caravanning part of the blog but have to tell you quickly about our day out that we are going on later today.

Me, Mr C and Baby T are all off to the NEC in Birmingham to the Caravan Show. Tis most exciting as we are looking at the possibility of a new van. It may be a bit of wishful thinking but we are talking to a few people to see what offers there are and what we can get for our van (not very much if we don’t get that fridge emptied soon!)

This is the van we have in mind:

It has an area at the back for the girls that they can partition off for a little privacy and quiet time but yet has separate bunks for each of them. We really don’t like the vans that have the 3 bunks on top of each other. I would feel claustrophobic at the bottom.

Last year when we went to the show, I had a bump – it will feel very strange this year taking that bump in a pram. It also feels that little bit naughty to be having a day out without the older girls whilst they are in school.

Not holding my breath that we will come back with a new van but hopefully we may be one step closer to getting the right van for us!

This isn’t an advertisement post. We really are looking to buy a new van and this is the one we fancy – unless anyone else has any other ideas?

Listography – Last Week

  By Helen | August 26, 2011 - 1:13 am | , , , , , , ,
5 Comments

Not taken part in Kate’s Listography for ages but when I noticed that this week’s was all about Last Week (you still here?) I thought give it a go.

Last week was no ordinary week around here – well, actually we weren’t even around here. Like most of the UK we were on holiday which brings me to …

Point 1: Biarritz

We started the week here on a campsite near Bidart, Biarritz. Our 3rd time there and my spiritual home. Love it. The pic was taken on our day out to nearby St Jean Pied du Port – even the tweenies were amazed at the view.

Point 2: Missing Body Parts

V started last week by losing her first tooth (blog post to come – why is V ALWAYS blog fodder?) The only thing I will say is her tooth wasn’t wobbly until a few days before – I think she gave it a little help!

Point 3: A Death

Imagine the scene: Our last night socialising with some friends and over runs a Dutch lady in a state of panic. She asked if anyone knew how to resusitate and said a man was in trouble in the caravan opposite to ours. We all ran over to find a man had collapsed inside – Dermot went in to help with our friend but found that there were already people working on the man. I stayed outside with Baby T and tried to keep the millions of kids away. Sadly, the man did not make it. He was only 45 – he had suffered a massive heart attack (his family originally thought he was choking). A very sad last night as the Paramedics told his wife and his daughter at the scene. Not one any of us will forget in a hurry. Rest in Peace.

Point 4: A 20 hour ferry crossing, a chat with Rowland Rivron and family and a 9 hour car journey to Abersoch

We know how to treat our kids! Wednesday saw the end of our French adventure and the start of a 36 hour journey to Abersoch (we would eventually reach St Helens on Saturday night)
Our ferry journey is from Santander to Plymouth (oh yes, I missed out that we had to travel from France to Spain to catch the ferry too towing a 24 foot caravan) – another blog post in itself!
At the ferry terminal we bumped into Rowland Rivron and his family who were staying at the same site as us – I had become crazy cookbook stalker lady earlier that week as I had just received Mrs Rivron’s new fabulous cookbook!
We eventually get off the ferry and decide against staying a couple of nights in Plymouth in favour of heading straight for Abersoch to drop the caravan off at our seasonal pitch – Hey ho, does every family embark on a 9 hour car journey at the drop of a hat? £23 spent at a service station, 3 reruns of Rainbow DVD and several arguments over bodily space later we eventually arrive in Abersoch and …

Point 5: Its My Birthday!

Im 38! We are knackered. We are grumpy. And its peeing down. Happy birthday Hel! It’ll be better next year, right?

For more Listography entries, click on the badge below – I promise they’re not all as manic as our week.
Going for a lie down now in a dark room for a rest …

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What’s Going On?

  By Helen | August 23, 2011 - 7:42 am | , , , , ,
1 Comment

I have said for a few years now that the end of the summer holidays and as the children are getting ready for returning to school feels like New Year to me. I mentally go through my New Years’ resolutions of what I plan to do and this year is no different. Well, actually it is a little different in that I now have 3 children and am that little bit more hectic (read: manic)

We came back from a fabulous holiday in Biarritz (finished off with a couple of days in Abersoch) on Saturday night and I’m now raring to go. The next couple of weeks will be really busy with getting ready for school and a couple of cakes to do but that’s life. I didn’t want to put on the blog about when we were due to be back – lets keep those burglars guessing!!

So what’s Going On?

What are we watching?
It seems like the TV schedulers are in synch with me and start loads of new series around this time – I can take or leave X-Factor or Big Brother but my ultimate favourite has to be The Great British Bake Off – Series 2 started last week and we are hooked. M & V love it too. It really inspires me to bake more and try unusual recipes and tastes. I had a serious chat with myself in Jan/Feb when it was time to think about applying – Baby T was due and arrived in Feb and if I was honest with myself I could not have given 10% as a contestant. Still time for future years?!? Just love Mary Berry and even Paul Hollywood doesn’t seem as grumpy as last year.

What are we listening to?
We did a marathon journey last Thursday when we got off the ferry at Plymouth (see picture – I know its rubbish and I really need to get a grip with photos!). We decided instead of pitching up at Plymouth for a couple of night as planned to travel straightaway to Abersoch. This was a 9 hour journey (straight after a 20 hour ferry journey) and serious entertainment was needed for the little Costellos. We stopped at a service station and I declared I was going to buy a DVD – easier said than done. The only one available was a compilation DVD of Rainbow. 9 hours later I was ready for killing Rod, Jane & Freddy. Played 3 times+ behind my head. Especially the one with The Ugly Duckling …

What are we reading?

V has really forgotten a lot of what phonics and numbers she has learnt in Reception so I have been going through a couple of workbooks with her – not in a strict way but hopefully to give her some confidence once she goes back to school.

Holiday reading was not as prolific as normal but I completed 3 books and started 2 others (reviews due shortly) I’s currently about a third of the way through The Postmistress and not finding it as riveting as I thought I would – I’ll keep plodding though.

What’s going on in the Costello kitchen?
This week is all about weaning Tara – I’m definitely going with the homemade. Will let you know how we get on.
I’m itching to get baking but realistically know that it will be next week until those eggs get cracked – I’ll make up for my absence though!

What’s going on this week?
A lot of catching up with friends – the girls are desperate for a sleep over (every parent’s nightmare) and I’ve just had a fab evening with one of my closest friends.
Boring dentist’s appointments and school shoe shopping but preparation for September when I will kick ass!! Watch out cake world!

What’s new with you – I’m intrigued to find out how everyone spends the summer – I do find it difficult with the 3 at home – Constant tidying but never seeming to get anywhere but also wanting to provide fun.