Him and Me

 

Early on Saturday morning (well half past eight, is that early? Felt like it was...) me and my Little Man went out.

Just the two of us.

Just Him and Me.

Me on my crocs and Him on his scooter. 

Out the door, turn right up our street. Turn right again at the end. Up to the crest of the hill and step/scoot onto the blossom-lined path....

 

It's been a windy week and sugar pink petals are flurrying around all over the place.

Along to the end, follow the path through the little copse of greeny woods.

Out onto the green green grass, still wet with morning dew...

 

...down the hill weeeeeeeee, Little Man flies down on two wheels.

Turn and look to see our trails stretching back behind us, lines of wheels and feet.

 

At the bottom of the grassy park slope, turn left onto the path. 

Through the old iron gates, past the little ice cream van already in place.

At the canal side now, wait for the swing bridge, it's being slowly pushed closed after a boat has just passed through.

Over the bridge and turn left along the tow path.

Its the first day of our towns annual Waterways Festival.

Even at this early(ish) hour, we can already feel the festival atmosphere, sense the excitement and the cammeraderie amongst the boat owners.

There is laughter, chatter, dogs and people, hustle and bustle.

And there is bunting.

Oh my heart skips and flutters! I absolutely love love love coloured, jaunty, decorative, festive bunting flags. Uh-huh, I really do!

We walk along this little stretch of the Leeds & Liverpool canal every day on our journeys to and from school, so it has become very familiar to us now. We recognise the "regulars" which are a mix of hire boats being used for holidays, day boats being taken along for short trips, and permanent residential boats which are lived on all year round. 

It's always busy and always interesting on the waterways along here, but on Saturday it was extra busy and extra interesting. Our regulars are joined by many many visiting boats all here for the Festival.

The canal is so busy that many boats are moored up two-deep.

 

The boat owners are busy.

There is decorative work to be done.

This is a Festival after all.

 

Each year the Festival has a theme.

This year the theme is "At The Movies".

It's competitive.

It's creative.

It makes us laugh, smile, admire.

The above boat was decorated to represent the film "Towering Inferno" and later on when the boats would sail along the canal for the Twilight Cruise, this tower was actually set on fire.

 

There were quite a few variations of "Pirates of the Caribbean"....

 

...and our favourite which was "101 Dalmations".

It's beautiful. The colours, the bright Spring weather, the feeling in the air.

We stroll/scoot, look, point, exclaim, admire, breathe it all in.

We take in the panoramic views...

...and the decorative details.

And we finish off our stroll with a stop for coffee/apple juice/cookie at a favourite coffee shop in town. We sit outside in the morning May sunshine and chat about all that we've seen.

Yes, it really was a very jolly outing along the Waterways for me and Little Man on Saturday.

He is great company. He talks a lot. He asks a lot of questions, expresses a lot of opinions.

He tells me (not for the first time) how much he enjoys it when it's just Him and Me.

How rarely we get to go out together, just Him and Me.

And he very thoughtfully suggests that on the way home we call in at the bakers to buy a cookie for his little sister, who is at home on the sofa and poorly. So's that she doesn't feel left out.

Love my Little Man, he is so much like his Daddy.

xxxxxxxx

Comments

["Pirates of the Caribbean isles of war hack"]

What's up, constantly i used to check webpage posts here early in the break of day, as i love to gain knowledge of more and more.

[loveaphid]

Such an amazing place in which you live. The beauty and the whimsy all in one place. And the little man sounds like the best play date ever. Just lovely. Enjoy, as I enjoy hearing about it. Thank you for sharing.

[Sumea]

I was so entranced with this lovely post yesterday that I went off in a dream without commenting.
I just had to come back and tell you it really is a lovely lovely post, all the photos are wonderful and your little man is so totally precious and priceless x
xxx
Sumea

[Simply H]

What a lovely post! Made me want to spend a little bit of time with my little man all on our own - it doesn't happen enough!
You have an amazing walk to and from school, the blossom lined path is so beautifully british! I want to run along it!!

[Susie]

CrochetSoiree.com.
Is a new crochet site that I think you might enjoy. My friend Tamara Gonzales has a blog on it and a video. She is a great inspiration especially with embellishments. I hope you can get around the site and find her stuff, like I said I think you will enjoy it lots.

[Shelley in SC]

I just love your little town!! I enjoy so much when you tell us some about it and even take us on an exploration . . . like today! Makes me feel like I've left the country for a few minutes!

[Tracey]

What a beautiful walk, you are so lucky I would love to have a canal in walking distance from our home. The barges look fantastic with all the bunting and displays. You have an adorable little boy it is so lovely when they think of others at a young age. Hope your daughter is feeling better. Have a lovely day
T. x

[Mandy]

What a perfect morning to cherish. Hope Little Lady is feeling better.

[Adrienne]

Hi. I popped over from Twisty Lane to check out your blog. Love all the colors in these photos, especially the last one. I've never seen such narrow boats before. (Well, I've seen a canoe, and that's pretty narrow, but not anything like what you've got there.) I love that you took time to turn around and photograph your trail through the wet grass! Such a cute reminder that it was a day just for you and your little boy.

[hoodedlicious]

Both of you are so sweet..thanks for sharing this with us..those pictures are so sweet, colorful and soothing..

[Rachel]

That is just the sweetest thing ever! What a lovely day... and a lovely post to share with us!

[tien nee]

what a darling, your little man:) Enjoyed yr pictures and those beautiful blossoms....How i wish i can be walking underneath those beauties and admire their glory. Tks for sharing these precious moments.

[frances]

Know that you already know it, but you're raising a special Little Man, Lucy. That was was sublime. Have you all every taken one of those boats for a float along the canal?

xo

[Jo]

Hi Lucy, what a wonderful way to spend your morning. The canal looks amazing, and the way everything has been decorated, how fantastic for you and your little man to share that.

Hope you have a fantastic week

Jo

[emma]

Hi Luce

What a lovely post. The water/boat images are great - very different from where I live so great to see. The blossom is also lovely too.

I looked up a previous comment that you left for me - I had remembered it and it was just what I needed to hear today so have quoted it in my blog today if you dont mind.

Virtual hug to you Luce.

Love Emma xxxxx

[nelly]

how lucky are you......what a fab walk that was.....

[Izabela]

wow amazing! I love it I so would like to live in the place where people do things like that!
but wow before 9am on Saturday nobody can move me out of bed ha :)

[louise]

Your canal festivsl looks wonderful, we have one here later in the summer, hopefully I will be able to post some photos of it then. Our house backs onto the canal but it is out of bounds at present as they are resurfacing the tow path. I so miss walking into town this way or the other direction takes us to our allotment, Thankyou for sharing and what a lovely little man :)

[Paula]

What a lovely walk. It read like a Martin Waddell Big Bear and Little Bear story. Just perfect. Thank you.

[Janette]

beautiful
xx

[Lucille]

What lovely places you walk in.

[stella]

thank you !
for the walk by your side, on this loveling
morning...

i like to visit you in u.k. !!

i wasn't there for many,many years...

stella

[Sally]

Hi Lucy - what a great post. My son is nearly 11 and I love to keep that closeness with him - a day out to a place that I may take him on my own when his dad is at work, or a trip to see the latest kids film. He still asks so many questions, that I feel like changing my name sometimes! Keep them close for as long as you can that's what I say! It's lovely to see a canal with lots of boats on it - a rare sight these days. Take care. Sally.

[Anne Bebbington]

Gorgeous photos - the town looks so different when viewed from the canal - thanks for sharing

[cathleen]

This is such a precious post. Lucy, it brought tears to my eyes because of the memories of spending time with my twin little boys, who are all grown up, and sweethearts just like their Dad. Glad you and your little guy spent such wonderful quality time together. He will always remember that.