It’s become a Christmas tradition for us, a trip to see the Lights at Doncaster Wildlife Park. Takes about an hour to walk around and it’s so worth it. Definitely starts to get us into the Christmas spirit. The odd thing is that although the music and the atmosphere is very festive, the actual lights are mostly NOT. But it definitely works
I always wanted to stay a night here. Maybe one day. Almost touching distance of The Eiger, the famous mighty Swiss mountain.
The winter months, the inhospitable weather, deserted paths and seasonally closed cafes. This time of year always makes me more reflective, some would say EVEN more reflective.
I’ve been thinking about parenting, specifically before our family world changed and I fumbled my way into single parenting. With parenting you sometimes get things right, sometimes get things wrong and sometimes you kinda just drift about on the tides of life. Given that there is no parenting blueprint to follow and the propensity of our little raptors to transform the seemingly straightforward into sleepless, stress filled angst maelstroms, we can forgive ourselves for not always being perfect. As a couple we were very different with very different takes on how to bring a child up. Sometimes we agreed, more often we negotiated (possibly argued) our way to compromises. And YES we didn’t get everything right, sometimes we got it spectacularly wrong. Looking back that doesn’t frustrate me, we did our best.
But now, in 2025 something does bother me, frustrates me, makes me feel sad. It’s not the decisions we got spectacularly wrong, it’s the decisions and opportunities that we kicked into the future. We didn’t say NO, we just said not now. ‘Not now’ because of some fairly unimportant work stuff, because it took us slightly out of our comfort zone, because it will complicate things, because we don’t need to push now because we have loads of time to sort this out in the future….
Let’s think about it again next year…
Let’s not do that now but maybe later….
Let’s talk ourselves out of this even though it could be so wonderful, no pressure, plenty of time to get round to it….sometimes sitting doing nothing can seem better than having the time of our life’s.
We were fooling ourselves, time ran out….
I keep going over those moments. Often trips, adventures or holidays that didn’t happen. Like the big Christmas adventure, the chance to take Hawklad to Lapland to visit Santa. Never happened even though we could have done it and we both knew it was a great adventure. Yes just the two of us could do it now but it’s not quite the same after the pesky Art Teacher decided it was time for some festive tough love… What a missed opportunity because we thought there was plenty of time.
Then there are those moments, missed opportunities that yes we can still do (and sometimes have already addressed) but we left it too long for his mum. She missed out. Hawklad never got to experience these moments with her. Disney Florida, Panto, trips to see Whales, Horse riding, skiing, Yellowstone, Kennedy Space Centre, Patagonia….. I could go on. Especially this little beauty, I managed to film Hawklad’s first walk on an old video camera, his mum was at work. The camera wouldn’t connect to the TV, so I needed to get the tape converted to VHS. I never did get round to it, I put it off (plenty of time) and then it was forgotten in both our life’s. She never did get to see that special moment.
Now I feel sadness over those moments, moments his mum never got to experience, Hawklad never got to share with her. It’s a painful lesson.
Time will run out……
Oh yes it’s a trip to the Panto…
On no it’s not…
Oh YES it is…
That might make no sense to anyone not used to Panto World. A big Christmas tradition in the UK. Outlandish costumes, songs, dances, bad jokes, family jokes, some not so family jokes, getting as many children in the audience to shout out and get involved as possible. So much more, most which are beyond rational explanation.
The Panto at the old York Theatre Royal is always brilliant entertainment. The hard work that must go into this to be this good.
One established Panto Law is that if you are a Dad, don’t sit anywhere near the stage and never ever on the front row. As you can see from the photo I was safely hidden in the roof…..
At every performance, one poor soul is going to have the longest couple of hours of his life. Picked on during the Panto to be a part of the show. A friend of mine was asked to pretend to be a Lion from his front row seat and I once was subjected to a custard pie in the face by the Panto Villain. At the show we went to last year, one Dad was picked on and at random times had to shout out ‘words of affection’ to the Panto Dame on stage. Panto Dame is probably unexplainable, just look it up….. Looking at that Dad’s increasingly red face, he was so hoping the torture would stop way before the 3 hour show’s big finale.
He got off lucky…..
This year a poor Dad from the front row was picked out. Oh boy was he picked out. Initially it started off like last year, with the Dad having to shout out a few embarrassing things from his front row seat. But then….. He was donned with a costume, brought on stage, given a sheet of written lines and tried as best as he could to act. Not exactly Oscar level acting unsurprisingly. Very funny but the other Dads in the audience also sharing in his discomfort, that could have been me….
When he returned to his seat, he clearly slumped thinking the torture was over….I was reminded of that Simpsons scene where Bart says he’s having his worst moment of his life and Homer chips in ‘SO FAR…’.
After the intermission that Dad had to endure a few more thankfully for him, briefer moments of embarrassment. Then the Big Show Finale. The Cast are leading the crowd in singing some famous songs and suddenly they announce they need to change costume for the ending, so the poor Dad was pulled on stage and left by himself to lead the audience in singing ‘I’m Gonne Be (500 miles)’. Stood all alone on stage in front of the sell out 750 audience, with the cast stood in the wings looking on. Poor poor man. I have a weaponised voice but not quite as out of tune as this Dad. He gamely tried some moves as well but you could almost see this man’s soul leaving his body as the song went on. Finally the torture was over for him, hugs from the Panto Cast and a standing ovation.
I bet he never ever sits on the front row of a Panto again. I will look out for him in the roof next year….. Where the coward Dad’s sit.
Can you figure out what this years Christmas Theme is at Castle Howard?
Alice Christmas Wonderland….
I’ve finished putting up the Christmas Trees. A small one just in front of our front door.
And another tree in our small entrance hall.
Hopefully not too pretentious this year…..
In my dreams.
Maybe in reality we went to see how Castle Howard does Christmas…..
An early online college finish for Hawklad and off we went for an adventure. Into the mist and drizzle…
We found ourselves by the famous old fishing town, Whitby. As the light faded, the weather closed in…
Definitely felt a bit more Gothic Dracula than Festive Cheer, but still fun. On nights like this you can imagine how Whitby inspired Bram Stoker to write the famous horror masterpiece.
Finally a few signs of the festive period…
Could the diet survive walking past one of the countries finest Fish and Chips restaurants…
NO…..
We arrived as the clouds started to roll in. The clouds definitely looked increasingly threatening as darkness rolled in.
Storm Darragh is coming.
Part of the Christmas tradition now is to visit the December Illuminations at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. They are definitely the largest illuminations around here, taking at least a good hour to walk round. Looking at the forecast, wind and rain due to hit Doncaster just after 5pm, this year time was short. Maybe I’m old fashioned but walking around outside illuminations works way better when you’re not dripping wet and frozen.
We made it to the last section before the heavens opened up. I really felt for the families (lots of them) arriving as we headed out to find warming hot drinks and food. There would be no cover whatsoever for them on their 2 mile trek from the now set in wind and rain. I so hope they could still enjoy the experience, we definitely did.
We were so lucky to get to see the lights as the site was closed today on weather safety grounds.
Is there anything more festive than hanging precariously off the side of a tree, trying to hang some Christmas lights. Yes there is…
Hanging precariously off the side of a tree, trying to hang some Christmas lights, in the freezing Yorkshire rain. Wow it was pouring down. The ladder was slowly and relentlessly sinking into the ground. Why do Christmas Lights instantly form into multiple wire knots that increasingly form into a massive birds nest like lump.
Unbelievably I managed to finally get some lights up, with just two mini wire ball nests. No time to bask in the sodden glory, a village resident approached with a bundle…
“Hi, just give you this leaflet. Great news, the Village has been successful in getting Dark Skies accreditation. We are officially a great place to see the stars and planets now…”
Perfect timing as I’m just about to switch on some 80 outside lights. I could see the look I was getting, one of those LOOKS….
Still that LOOK didn’t take into account two important factors.
ONE…. These are solar powered lights needing many hours of sunlight… Apparently 6 hours of Sun produces 12 hours of Christmas Lighting.
TWO…. This is YORKSHIRE, we don’t do hours of sunlight.
A rough calculation based on the last few weeks weather would seem to suggest we should get about 10 minutes lighting sometime in March…
I think the Dark Skies Accreditation is safe…..
And finally some blue sky.
What have I become…..
This week I booked the Christmas food delivery from the local supermarket. It’s arriving on the 23rd December, that’s over THREE MONTHS away…. For years I was the supreme last minute panic shopper, now I’m living the dream as Mr Forward Planning.
I’m on a roll now.
Time to book a Christmas trip out. Tickets pre booked for the Pantomime at the local theatre.
I could get used to this. Maybe I can start buying presents, booking family visits. I could start writing Christmas Cards…..
BUT you can never take the MUPPET out of my personality. Muppets don’t forward plan, they just move cockups into the future. I’ve just realised that I’ve double booked my two Christmas bookings. Food coming at exactly the same time as the Pantomime will be starting…..
I’ve started messing Christmas up and it’s only early October. Marvellous…….
Truly Living the Dream …….
Trying new stuff is always a good idea. Well kind of. For Hawklad new stuff has to be carefully mapped out, introduced slowly. If you get that right then it is a good idea.
This time it was me that got caught out by NEW.
A trip to see some Christmas lights at Doncaster. Really enjoyable if not exactly very festive at times. A little more Lion King and Star Trek than Santa. But still good and Hawklad enjoyed it as long as we kept our distance from the crowds.
So all great until I was dragged on this torture device.
I am petrified of heights, yes I admit it, that rather held back my climbing career….. Even a couple of rungs on a ladder is an issue for me.
This is way too high and most certainly not part of the carefully mapped out plans. Camera focusing is not easy with my eyes firmly shut….
A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. 