Flat tyres and ducks

Some days things just don’t go according to plan. And when you have an eight month old baby, this can make things quite a challenge.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to take advantage of the fine weather to feed the ducks in Ellesmere. What could be better – and more relaxing – than a leisurely stroll around the mere on a Sunday?

Things started to go wrong the moment we arrived. I lifted the pushchair out of the boot, only to discover we had a flat tyre. Had we remembered to put the pump and a puncture repair kit in? No. We’d had the pushchair a few months with no problems and we’d got complacent.

Unfortunately, as nice as Ellesmere is, finding a puncture repair kit and pump on a Sunday is no easy task and the best we could manage was stopping at a garage and inflating the tyre at the air and water station, attracting some very strange looks from motorists in the process.

The tyre stayed up for approximately one minute.

Determined not to let it spoil our outing, we dragged the pushchair to the mere to feed the ducks. When we arrived, however, a dog show was in full swing, which meant the ducks had all disappeared to the other side of the mere.

As the old saying goes, though, every cloud has a silver lining. Melissa decided to put Harry on the swings in the play area and he loved it. In fact, he laughed almost non-stop for half an hour. It was great.

We then retired to the Black Lion pub for an excellent Sunday lunch. Thankfully, the staff were more than happy to heat up Harry’s lunch, which meant we could all relax.

It rounded off what turned out to be an enjoyable trip after all; the ducks will have to wait for another day.