Whitby with kids

Whitby with kids

Whitby is a sedate sort of place. Yes it does have sands provided the tide is right; it even has an amusement arcade but mostly it is a town of small shops and middle aged folk. I experienced a slightly different side with Alice and Ben. Matt has just got a new job starting mid July with the Ministry of Justice and could hardly take a holiday in his first few weeks. So it was that Frances took Alice and Ben to stay with us.

I travelled with Frances while Annette is staying longer and travelling by train. A perennial complaint by Annette is that I’m a rotten passenger always criticising ( I call it advising ) the driver. She made me promise to be on my very best behaviour.  She need not have worried ; Frances is an exemplary driver and it was a pleasure to be driven by her. ( Well perhaps just the small point of unnecessary gear changes…. )

The kids were superb passengers amusing themselves with hand held gaming consoles. None of the expected “are we there yet?” with patience perhaps fraying just a little towards the end of a long journey.

I didn’t take much part on the beach. I went once but sitting on the esplanade walkway wasn’t any fun and I bowed out afterwards.

We went on the NYMR heritage railway to Goathland. Ben at 6 was totally unimpressed not even looking much out of the window. The destination was chosen because the station apparently plays a big part in Harry Potter movies. The kids are both Potter obsessed. However there was just a bit of Potter memorabilia in the shop and otherwise it was a typical 30’s branch line station. We walked the short distance to the village where the ambience is 60’s Heartbeat. To say this is flogged to death is no exaggeration. A few old cars including a 60’s police Ford Anglia is permissible but the pub and garage retain their TV persona while the shops are packed with Heartbeat tat. We didn’t stay long.

For me the week was dominated by flat issues. We have planning issues over the car park. Already small, Scarborough planners want to make it smaller. All is vastly complicated by the fact that Mariners House is a listed building and subject to much more restrictions than normal. We, that is another flat owner and myself,  had an informal meeting with the planners with Frances taking notes. This was quite positive. Then we had our block meeting. We have a management company comprising all the leaseholders of which I am acting chairman. This went fairly well although the man who owns 3 of the 6 flats didn’t come himself but sent a representative.

We interspersed a few walks ( I didn’t go on most ) with beach trips. Annette did play cards a couple of times. Ben seemed to pick up sevens and a form of poker very quickly- perhaps a future card sharp! The kids had brought a number of DVD’s with them and we had plenty of Harry Potter and Lego movies ( called Ninjago ; I never worked out why)

I’m not sure how I am as a granddad. I soon get bored playing and I just haven’t got the right empathy. Definitely the best moment came on the return trip. We called at York Outlet centre and while Frances was waiting at the Clarks show shop I was waiting with the kids near a Cadbury’s store. When I suggested a quick trip round to select something they didn’t need asking twice and were obviously surprised I made the suggestion.. Later during our lunch stop at Trowell services I was able to share out my bar of fruit and nut. They both had an item- well Ben had a mini pack of bars. Going off like this while Frances was away felt very subversive and just the thing a good grandparent should do. I was rewarded by smiles and thanks.

Why did the mathematician turn off the heating in his home?

So he could be cold and calculating