Uttoxeter

Uttoxter 10 August.
We left Blacpool and headed for Uttoxter along the M6. We were really blessed in that we didnt hit too much traffic along the way- although there was lots of it along the way. It took just over two hours to get there- as we had stopped along the way for a drink.
I hadnt seen Uncle Tony and Aunty Dolly for around 26 years, so when we arrived we had a hug, and a chat. It was so cool catching up after so long - when your whanau time just doesnt seem to make any difference- whanau is whanau, no matter how much time has passed.
We werent there very long when my Aunty Dolly pulled out her wedding photos- she has been married 30 years. I had just turned 10 when I was bridesmaid at their wedding.  It was funny seeing pictures of people 30 years ago - aunties, uncles, grandparents, and my parents heheheh.
My aunty had been baking during the day, and there were quiches and cupcakes aflow in the kitchen. For dinner she made a huge pot of spaghetti, and equally large pot of bolognaise sauce. As we chatted in the kitchen she appearred to throw a piece of spaghetti at the wall! I caught it out of the corner of my eye, and thought that it had splashed up by mistake - but no- apparently you test if spaghetti is cooked by thowing it against the wall - if it sticks then it is cooked.

The huge dining table was cleared for us all to sit at the table and covered with a white table cloth for 'guests'. I said that they didnt need a table cloth, and we would be fine eating off of the cover that was already on the table.  Then i asked if they wanted to keep the table cloth clean- it was white and we were eating spaghetti. We all sat at the table, and dinner was bought out.  Everyone had theirs, and Aunty Dolly came out and SLOP!!! Hahah about a third of her dinner slopped off of the side of the plate all over the white table cloth.  We all laughed about that for a while.
Had a great evening and got to meet cousins i had never met- Paula, Claire and Steven, and caught up with Caroline who was a toddler when i last saw her.
DAY 2- 11 August.
Spolit again! We all got up and had a big cooked breakfast together. Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, Beans, Mushrooms, and Hash Browns. It was nice to all sit at the table together again and have breakfast with each other. People were still laughing about the spaghetti the night before :)
We all got ready and headed off to the Peak District for a short walk together, and a picnic by a river - Yeah right :o). It was really nice, we drove for about 20 minutes to the National Park.
We parked up in a country field carpark, and walked down a hill towards the path. near the carpark was a really steep hill with a viewpoint on top of it. Dillon and Josh asked if we were going to climb up, but were reassurred that they werent and were just foing for  a walk in the valley below. When we went  down the walk was initially quite easy, a bit like a sealed pavement.  We walked along the flat until we got to the river crossing and then one by one we stepped across the stones. Some people were passling across the river, and some little children were swimming in it having fun. We continued on alongside the river through the valley. it was just like walking in the Waitakeres except that the trees were spread a bit thinner and were different kinds of trees to nz. When we walked up hill there were often stone steps that we climbed up, and the same going downhill.  Dominique walked with Caz, Claire, Paula, Dillon and Josh. Amazingly Dom was always ahead of people, and kept with a fast pace. On the way there, Uncle Tony, aunty Dolly and I walked together- enjoying the scenery as we went.  After a while we reached a little shop where we had ice creams, and sat for a little while.  Then we headed back, splitting into three groups - in the lead was Caz, Clare Dom Joshua and Dillon - in the second was Uncle Tony and Paula, then true to form at the back was me and aunty dolly. Walking and chatting as we enjoyed the stroll. When we got back to the car we were tired as. We later discovered that we had walked just over 7 miles - about 12kms through the bush. The plan had been for us to walk to the stepping stones cross over and then sit on the blanket, and play in the river. we never played in the river or sat on the blanket, but we ate loads of lollies, had ice creams and chatted as we went. It was great - once again i was with family feeling like it had only been a little while since we last saw them - but it had been more than quarter of a century. We came home and had a yum as dinner then kicked back for the night. Another awesome day.
DAY 3. 12 Aug
Everyone got up early today, so that we could head off to church together. It was really nice to be able to go to church with family. We headed off in two cars towards derby. We were about half way there when Claires car got a puncture - but despite their being five people in the car - Claire, Caz Josh Dillon and Dom- none of them realised that they had a puncture. When they pulled the tyre off it had almost split into two pieces!
We continued on to church and it was just like being in Ranui, worship was great, and the people were really down to earth.  It was really nice to be there. As we left I saw a brochure called Celebrate Recovery. I told my aunty and uncle that we have it in New Zealand, they then told me that the program originated in the church that we were at- Awesome eh! What a small world we live in!
After church we went to Markeaton. There was a really nice park there with a lake in it. We all sat and had a picnic lunch together and then everyone went out onto the lake in boats. I chose to be the bag holder and photographer, whilst others paired up and went out on the row boats. They had great fun rowing around the lake, and got wet, partly from the lake, and partly cos it started raining after they had been on the lake for five or ten mins. I was grateful for being the bag holder, as i stood under a tree and stayed nice and dry, when it was raining. Also in the lake, was a swan with three goslings, and a regular brown duck with some ducklings in tow.
After the rowing we walked around to the pool. There was a boating pool first, with remote control boats in the water that you could hire and drive around the water. Next to that was a big pool (perhaps a foot deep) that children and adults were playing in. We sat on the hill  and watched the children in the pool - until...someone started throwing grass... someone named Caz!! hahah it was all on... as people started to throw grass and put grass down each others back. I tried to get Caz a couple of times and she saw...then i got my chance... i snuck up behind her, and was just about to run up and throw grass down her back, when my foot slipped on the wet grass, and down i went onto my bum and back ...i never did manage to get her.
I came home today thinking about how incredible whanau is... quarter of a century since i have seen Uncle Tony and Aunty Dolly, and our children had never met, yet it doesnt feel like it, feels like we are have been in contact for ages, and have just been away for a few years. I have loved being here and feeling so welcomed.