Not-stagram 27th July – 9 August
Ok so we totally ran out of time/energy to get round to our notstagram last week so prepare yourself for a mega round-up of the last two weeks!
A: So the start of the week was mostly us frantically tidying/working in preparation for my family to arrive. They decided to holiday up in fife with us which was ideal in some ways and tiring in others. But it was a lovely time in all. We got to show the fam where we live and gave them a quick go on the ebike….
A: I got to take my family out on the kayak in Burntisland (the safest part of the coast I could think of) and enjoyed ferrying each of them around. My dad even gave it a go! Pictured on the left are my brother James and his partner Sadie, cheering the ebike on. And the other picture is my brother Tom and his partner Amy on the left, and my Dad and stepmum on the right. My 15 year old brother Edward came too (you’ll spot him later on, he’s the one who is visibly a teenager).
Photo Credit: Climate Camp Scotland
L: I absented myself from the family holiday on Saturday in order to go to the Climate Camp Scotland’s Mossmorran Action Weekend, happening just up the road round Crossgates. Mossmorran is a gas and oil refinery which is only a few miles from where we live, its a massive polluter, with recorded health impacts on the local community. The action weekend was organised to support local campaign Actions Speak Louder Than Words. Although I couldn’t go to the protest at Mossmorran’s gates on the Sunday, it was great to be able to attend the camp for a bit, and I learnt a lot in the short time I was there. This included a great workshop from SCALP (scottish activists legal project) on knowing your legal rights in scotland, and I’m going to follow this up by going to their legal observer training this month – you can too, find out more here.
A: Lili was having trouble with their pandemic-anxiety-stomach-issues, and so stayed home on Monday when we headed to a distillery (something my dad wanted to do) and then on to the kelpies and the falkirk wheel, which was much more my cup of tea.
Yes my brothers are 6″5 and 6″7 respectively. I am the shortest in my family. It is a cross to bear.
A: We also got to check out 1703 restaurant in Dunfermline which was lush, especially the cocktails. We’re going to head back and check out their more extensive vegan cafe menu.
A: And then we were into week two…
We had basically a day and a bit in between my dad’s family leaving and travelling down to Wales to see my mum and that side of my fam.
L: Yeah we wouldn’t have scheduled it like this if we had a choice, because with covid we would have liked more of a buffer, and we would have also liked more of a rest. Balancing and negotiating risk is hard, and IDK, we are learning how to do things differently.
A: Also six and a half hours on trains is not something I would ever plan to do usually, but North Wales is pretty gorgeous now we’re here. We got off the train in Bangor and decided to walk to Voltaire, the vegan restaurant we had booked, since it was only spitting with rain. Reader, it did not stay just spitting, we got soaked, trudging along this A road, and I had a little meltdown…but the food saved us!
L: Yeah the food (and drinks) were great – we had this like sharing platter of onion rings, ribs, sticky cauliflower, and wedges. And also this vegan calamari salad. And also a rum cocktail and an iced coffee float. Annndd also a brownie and a doughnut.
L: We spent some quiet time in Caernarfon from thurs-sun, just trying to rest and regroup. The weather was a little all over the place, with more rainstorms and thunder threatening. But amongst that we enjoyed some walks, and exploring a new place (something we haven’t done for a while), and the occasional burst of sunshine.
A: I enjoyed Caernarfon a lot more than expected, we had some good vegan pancakes and a nice breakfast and enjoyed exploring the town. I would love to come back whilst walking the Welsh Coastal path.
L: Abi loves a boat, so ofc we took a trip along the Menai strait.
L: We’ve only been in Abersoch (which is south from Caernarfon on this little nobbly bit) with Abi’s mum, step-dad and younger sister for a day and a bit so far, but it’s been really nice and yet again we’ve been out kayaking (on a sit on top rigid kayak this time) and also for a swim (the sea is so much warmer here idk why). But really my favourite thing about this trip so far has been the beach hut that you get access to with the accommodation. Could just sit here listening to the waves for hours…
A: Yeah the swimming here is gorgeous and I’m looking forward to more kayaking as I may have had a little breakdown this morning because the kayak wasn’t going the way I wanted it to…. But a single kayak should?
L: I probably wasn’t helping by loudly singing the soundtrack from moana and not really paddling the boat…
