Settling into university

Before I get started let me pre-warn you, this is going to be a long one! It's been 4 weeks since the last blog, and that's because life has been wild! I will keep trying to get back on schedule, but obviously uni work has to come first.

Let's backtrack to the last blog: my last week before uni:
I worked two long days and three half days. On the Thursday I had a movie and pizza night with one of my best friends. And my Dad was unfortunately admitted to hospital again as his stoma wasn't working properly. I had a small leaving meal and drinks on the Friday and a couple of the GPs I work with gave me some lovely cards and presents.

Sunday 16th September:
My Uncle drove me and all of my stuff, down to Brighton University and helped me to move in.

There was a small welcome reception in Medical School in the afternoon, with nibbles and cake, so we headed over there for half an hour.

 

But, I wanted to get back and get unpacked and organised before classes the next day.

In the evening, after my Uncle had gone home, I headed back to the Medical School for a champagne reception and to meet my Medic Family. I got two Medic Dads from Year 2, and a Medic Brother and Medic Sister from Year 1. This structure of "families" is endorsed, and strongly encouraged, by the medical school to provide mentorship to new students and to help people make friends. After bottomless champagne (read: a bit too much) one of my medic Dads drove me and a flat mate home and I helped my flat mate bring in her ASDA home delivery!

Week commencing Monday 17th September: Lectures began at 9am on Monday morning but all week it was introductory and admin type lectures.

• Monday I had classes from 9am - 12.15pm then we had our first Academic Tutor Group 2-2.45pm. This is a seminar run by a member of faculty, not a medical doctor. We also got our first lot of homework - to complete a CV template and send it to our Academic Tutor. And finally an IT check 3.30-4. Back at home my Dad had to have another surgery. Key hole this time, to give him a drain type thing called a caecostomy, due to the cancer wrapping around his large bowel. 

• Tuesday I had classes from 9-11.15, and enrolment 2.45-3. Then I got the train into Brighton with one of my flat mates to get some food shopping, and buy some cards to send to the GPs who got me leaving presents. In the evening I had my Medic Parents Evening where I went for a meal and games with my Medic Family, where we joined another 3 medic families for a huge dinner of chilli con carne with rice, and a very competitive game of Articulate. 

• Wednesday was Freshers Fairs all day so the only thing I had to go to was an IT practical 3.15-4. I also went to the BSMS freshers fair and got all the freebies! So many pens! Signed up to the MDU and got a free medical dictionary. BMA gave me a goody bag for signing up. Also had a look at a bunch of societies. It was great! In the evening I went to a Freshers Bowling Night and played two games, and made some new friends.
• Thursday I had classes all day from 10.30am-5.15pm. 
• Friday I had classes 10.30am-1pm, then a Library Tour 2-3pm and a QuickScan Learning Style test 3.30-4.15. Then I had to get on a train at 5.10pm to head up to Watford Junction to meet my family for Warrner Brothers Studio Tour the next day.

Warner Brothers Studio Tour
This trip was supposed to be for my Dad's bucket list but he was still in hospital, so our Grandad came instead for his birthday. Dad was actually discharged later that day.

WB Studio Tour was running a Goblet Of Fire event which meant, in addition to the usual displays, there was additional GoF pieces taken out of storage and displayed. This included the Goblet which spat the paper out in the Great Hall, complete with paper to take home. There were also additional pieces from each task, and Tom Riddle's gravestone. I'll try not to attach too many photos!

I also tried the butterbeer ice cream, which was much nicer than the actual butterbeer drink, still quite sweet and sickly though.

My sister bought me a jigsaw puzzle which is on a piece of cardboard on my bedroom floor slowly getting done.

• Sunday I got the train back to uni and our flat had a meal all together. One of my flat mates cooked a veggie lasagne, which was yummy! And then we all watched Top Gun in the living room. 

Week commencing Monday 24th September: Lectures started properly this week, interspersed with a few remaining admin lectures. On Tuesdays we study Module 101 - Clinical Skills, taught by medical doctors, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays we study Module 102 - Foundations of Health and Disease, taught by scientists of the relevant fields. These modules are both Level 4 modules, so that's Undergraduate Year 1.

• Monday I had classes 9-11am and 1-4pm, including anatomy and physiology.
• Tuesday I had classes 9-12 and 1.30-3. This was about ethics, and we had our first seminar with our clinical facilitator - basically a medical doctor. 
• Wednesdays we always have a half day, so I had classes 9-10am and 11am-1pm. These were about molecular cell biology and the human genome. In our academic tutor group we got more homework! To complete the 10 numeracy practice questions by the following Wednesday, and our Tutorial Essay by the following Friday. This was a 1500 word essay on the public health focus on cardiovascular disease. This essay was formative, which means we had to do it but we don't have to pass it, although if we don't pass we may be asked to write part or all of it again after feedback. It's basically to check we can write a scientific essay. Wednesday afternoon one of my friends arrived to stay over. We went to ASDA and bought a selection of mini bottles of wine. I cooked dinner and we had a wine tasting and chilled out evening.

• Thursday I only had one lecture about body donation from 9-11am, the rest of the day had been blocked off for us to attend the University of Brighton freshers fair if we wanted to. But instead I went into the city with my friend and we had lunch, and walked along the seafront and had an ice cream. 

He was supposed to stay for a second night but unfortunately had to go home to sort something with work. That evening I met up with some uni friends and went to a Harry Potter pub quiz on campus where, of course, we won and got a mini bottle of prosecco each!

• Friday I had classes 11am-1pm about pharmacology, and then a computer practical 3-4pm where my team also won a challenge and we all got a bag of sweets each! I also finally got my occupational health clearance to go on placements! That evening I had to catch a train at 6.41pm, arriving back in my hometown at 11.31pm. I spent the travel time reading sources for my essay! 
• Saturday I went to work at my old job from 7.45am-12noon, then did a little bit of shopping with my Mum, and had an appointment at the bank at 1pm. That afternoon we had a birthday party tea for my Grandad. I also had to work through some online safeguarding modules and read more essay sources. 
• Sunday meant more safeguarding modules, and more essay sources. I had to catch the train at 3.22pm. The journey back to uni was a saga. A train got cancelled because they couldn't find the driver, the next train stopped at every station, I missed my direct connection to Brighton and there weren't anymore, so I had to go part way and then change trains, and my final leg was rail replacement bus. I finally got back an hour late at 10.15pm. But my amazing flat mates had a mexican night and saved me some tacos with salad, and a home made brownie and ice cream!

Week commencing Monday 1st October

•  Monday I had classes 9-11am about cell physiology. The afternoon had been blocked off for us to complete an IT skills review, which also had to be in by Friday, the same time as the essay. Honestly, I took a nap. Then finished my safeguarding modules, as they were due before Tuesday, and carried on reading essay sources. 
• Tuesday I had classes 9-12 about doctor and patient agendas. In the afternoon I had my first Primary Care Placement, in Eastbourne. I met up with my GP partner, and we missed our train. Great start. Rang the office to reschedule our taxi at the other end and got the next train, half an hour later. Thankfully we made it to placement with minutes to spare! We were there from 2.30-5.30pm before getting a taxi back to the station. It was half an hour before the next train back to campus so we treated ourselves to a subway for dinner. It was almost 7pm by the time I got back to my flat and my brain was exhausted. I took some time out to listen to some music, take a shower and relax, before one of my uni friends called about helping to build some furniture and eat pizza, so I went and did that for the evening. When I got back I finished reading my esssay sources. 

• Wednesday I had classes 9-10am and 11am-12noon. Academic tutor group was going through the numeracy practice questions, and I had to get up in front of the group and show my working on a question that only I had managed to get right. I hate public speaking but I think I'm starting to find it a bit easier. We were also advised that a numeracy mock test paper would be live online later in the week. The lecture was about biopsychosocial perspective. The afternoon was dedicated to working on my essay, after a nap, and I got it mostly done and sent it to one of my 2nd year friends (this was allowed, although we were NOT allowed to share it with other first years) to get pointers on structure.
• Thursday I had classes from 10am-12noon and 2-4pm. These were about DNA, muscles, learning and cell physiology. That evening I picked up the essay feedback from my friend and adjusted some bits I had written and then finished it off. I then sent it to my sister (also allowed) for proofreading and spelling and grammar checking. We worked through it adding in the commas that I always miss out! Then I finally submitted it. I also then had to complete the IT skills review and submit that too. 
• Friday I had classes from 11am-1pm about infection, immunity and medical microbiology - some of my favourite topics! The afternoon was very chilled as I had now submitted all of my major homework. In the evening I had another medic family meal to go to, and I got to meet my my medic "grandparents" (third years). Afterwards I met one of my flat mates, and his friends, in a pub, we were waiting for our other flat mates to come out and meet us, but my phone had died so I could only go where he was going. We ended up going to a couple more pubs and then getting the bus back to the flat. I had the longest night's sleep, it was amazing!

• Saturday I didn't leave the flat. I did some tidying, and just spent the day relaxing. And I found such a good music playlist on youtube, it kept me entertained for hours!

• Sunday I went with some flat mates to do my food shopping. I cleaned the bathroom, and dusted my room. Changed my bed and did all the washing. I watched a couple of films in the evening - Nightmare Before Christmas and Labyrinth.

This coming week:

• I have my first secondary care placement coming up, in musculoskeletal services
• I have a numeracy test - this is summative - I have to pass - but the pass mark is only 50%
• I have a flat mate's birthday celebrations and night out 
• And, of course, lectures every day! 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about how uni is going so far. Stay tuned for more updates, they will be as regular as I can manage!
Thanks for reading.
Katherine x 

1 week to go!

It's the final week before I move to university. The packing is done, all the online bits are done, and all the paperwork is done. All that's left to do is get through this week, load the car and move.

Strangely, the closer it gets, and the more ready I am, the less ready I actually feel. Last night I started to feel a little wobbly about it all. I guess because I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing. I just feel a little too old, like maybe I'm crazy to take it on now. Five years is a long time and, let's be honest, university is just the beginning of a medical career. I'm going to be a little way from home, from my family, my Dad, and my friends, and it's all just going to be strange and new.

I am looking forward to getting there though, and getting unpacked, and trying to make it feel homely. I just hope I can fit everything in the car, along with myself, my uncle and my Mum!! It's going to be a squeeze, that's for sure! And this is after I've condensed down my packing at least twice. I just own too much stuff!

This week I'm working two long days and three half days, and on Thursday afternoon I'm going to hang out with one of my friends for a movie and pizza night, which will be nice before I move. I'm hoping some of my friends might even bother to come and visit, but I won't be holding my breath! One of my sisters will probably visit at some point, which will be nice. And I'll be making regular trips home.

Freshers events are being advertised like crazy, and honestly I can't even be bothered to think about going out clubbing, but I may go to the occasional thing. There's a pretty good looking Halloween party that I like the idea of as I love Halloween! It's actually on Brighton Palace Pier which has a sort of theme park on it, with fairground stalls and scare actors. There's afterparties too but it's a weeknight so I doubt I'll be partying! There's a paint party and a UV party too which look pretty cool, but again they're on weeknights so it's unlikely I'll go, especially as all of the Brighton freshers events start after BSMS students have already finished our freshers and started class.

BSMS has their own freshers events but we don't know much about them yet. All we've heard is some suggestions for fancy dress we need to pack for certain themed parties... I haven't packed any fancy dress because I'm a bore... haha! I'm sure I'll have something in my suitcase that I can make work if I decide to go out.

We've also had a leaflet about a bunch of Students' Union Events which has some good looking things such as:
Rock and Roll Bingo
Powder Paint Party
Murder Mystery Evening
Quizzard: Harry Potter Quiz
Casino Night
And even a board games cafe and a mature students community cafe.
I think I'm more interested in these events than the clubbing!

My first weekend at university I'll be heading to London anyway to spend the weekend with my Dad and some other family and friends, and we're going to Warner Brothers Studio Tour, so that'll be fun! And the second weekend I'll be coming home to visit family and celebrate my Grandad's birthday, and work a shift on time and a half.

I've got a few other bits planned throughout first term. A few weekends home. Bonfire Night at Lewes. And possibly the Battle of Hastings reenactment.

I'll be home for Christmas before I know it!

Thanks for reading,
Katherine x

2 weeks to go!

Reading Festival - There was no update last Monday due to a trip to Reading Festival with Dad and one of my sisters. We travelled on the Wednesday as my sister was working and had to be there by Wednesday evening. Dad and I spent a night in a travelodge to make the most of an extra night of comfort and a decent shower! We did an Aldi shop when we arrived to stock up for the weekend. Wednesday evening we ate at Benny's Diner, which was great. Thursday lunchtime we took at taxi to the festival and pitched our tent. Then walked to the on site supermarket to grab bottles of water and a few other supplies. Thursday evening we just chilled out. On Friday the music started. Favourites from the weekend were Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Mike Shinoda, Skindred, Sum 41, Waterparks, Creeper, Pendulum, The Regrettes, and David Morgan. We also went to the signings for Waterparks and Sum 41 which were great, and Dad really enjoyed them! On Monday we were packed up by around 10am and had to queue for a shuttle bus back to the train station, but we were there before 12. The earliest I've ever managed to arrive at the train station in 6 years at Reading Festival!! 

Dad Update - At Dad's oncology appointment last week we were told that his new CT scan shows that all of his tumours are shrinking with the chemotherapy, apart from one which is slightly more prominent, but could be down to a recent infection. This doesn't mean he will get better, but it is the best news we could hope for at this stage. He continued his chemotherapy, starting cycle 9, on Thursday.

Work - I've been working late into the evenings at the end of this week, which meant I felt like I barely had time to do anything other than work and sleep! 

Bank - I had two appointments with the bank this week to try and open my student account, but the first time my driving license had the wrong address on, and when the new one arrived, it wouldn't let us open it because it hadn't been 30 days, so I'll have to come back to that one next month.

DBS - Once my address was updated on my driving license I could finally get my DBS sorted, so I got up early on Saturday to get the bus into the city and do that.

New uni outfit - While we were in the city my sister treated me to a new outfit for uni, which I absolutely love!!

Farmer's Jam - This weekend I've spent most of my time at the local dry slope as they had a competition/little festival going on, and one of my friends was competing, so that was nice. Both of my sisters came with me on Saturday and Sunday, and I was pleased to see the little one developing a similar interest in sports. The sun shined all weekend, perhaps slightly too much, the competition was great, and my friend won a new pair of skis, so an all round good weekend.

Packing - After I got home from the slope on Sunday I sorted through a couple more boxes and, I don't want to jinx it but, I think I'm practically ready to move, which is good because the 16th is fast approaching and I have to work every weekday! 

Thanks for reading,

Katherine x

4 weeks to go!

University is getting pretty close now. 4 weeks! Enrolment timetables and provisional timetables have been released, and I'm so ready to get started!!

From what I've seen the things we're learning in the first term should be a fairly nice start, after my first degree and 9 years in a GP surgery, there's nothing looking too intense, a few things I haven't covered before though, and I have to learn a brand new method for referencing, which I'm really hoping is easier than Harvard as I'm rubbish at that! But I'm looking forward to getting stuck in!

Last week I had to start back at work, which certainly wasn't in my plans, but student finance, after telling me earlier in the year I would be entitled to a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan, have now told me I am only entitled to a maintenance loan. This means I have to find £9250 a year to pay my tuition fees for the first four years (the NHS fund tuition fees in year 5). It's a hell of a lot of money to suddenly be told you have to find. But my parents are adamant that I've got this far and this close that I have to go. They are both going to loan me some money, hopefully I can ask my grandparents for my inheritance and fingers crossed I will get a bursary from the university. The rest I'm going to have to make up with working, and possibly a loan towards the end of my degree. So, I'm working all the hours I can get and should be able to put £1000 away before I move.

I'm also looking at part time work at university for the first two years of the course, before it gets crazy intense. There's student ambassador jobs, events reps, bar work, and phlebotomy and HCA at the local hospital, so I'm sure I can find something to do for a few hours a week just to help out. But my maintenance loan is pretty good. It covers my rent and I've budgeted the remaining amount and I can definitely live off it, so that's one good thing.

Apart from working this week, it was my 27th birthday. I'm feeling pretty old! Virtually all of my presents were practical for university - packet food, cleaning products, coffee, wine! But I did also get a cute succulent planter from my Mum, raspberry vodka from my Sister, an enormous box of sweets from my Dad, and a Japanese art colouring book from my grandparents.

And today I've been sorting the boxes to go to uni. It turns out I'd packed a few too many so I had to have a little rethink, but it hasn't been too bad! Still might have to take some of it another weekend, after moving day, but hey, I like my luxuries, and I've accumulated a lot of stuff over the years, and the places I've lived.

I'm definitely looking forward to a bit of freedom, I've been living with my grandparents for the last 5 years, and while I have my keys and can come and go as I please, and they don't mind if I have friends round (not in a group), it'll be nice to control all aspects of my life again. Even the little things like the food shopping will just be nice to do myself, and cook and eat what I want, when I want.

This week I'm off to Reading Festival as my Dad's P.A. so there won't be an update next Monday, but updates will return the following week.

Thanks for reading,
Katherine x

Boxes, boxes and more boxes!

It feels like I've been packing forever! I'm moving out of my current bedroom at my Grandparents house so my sister can move in. This means that everything I own needs to be sorted. Probably more than I need will come to uni with me, some has been binned or recycled, some has gone to charity shops, and some will go into storage in my Mum's shed! Trouble is, I already have some stuff in storage at my Mum's and at my Grandparents because I used to live in my own house, and when I moved out of there I had to store some of my things. So to make room for the new things to go into storage I also have to sort through all of the old things. It's a long job to say the least but today I finally felt like I was making progress.

Because of this, packing has been a bit disorganised. Instead of just neatly packing the things I need I've been opening each cupboard and deciding where each thing is going. So, I don't really know what I've actually packed for uni! This could turn out to be a nightmare!

For this reason, I won't be publishing a suggested packing list until I've arrived at uni and unpacked my things so I can see what is actually useful!

I'll definitely be glad when the packing is done, and I can't wait to get to university and unpack and see what I can do with my room.

You may have seen my earlier blog post about "Design Plans for my University Room" and seen that I've decided on a theme for my bedroom. It will be themed around nature colours, so greens, whites, browns and greys, with woods, but also metals, and some contrasting colours such as pale pink. I've been gathering various things for this theme and can't wait to see it all come together, hopefully without being too chaotic.

I've also since decided on a classic nautical theme for the en-suite and just have a few little themed bits to go in there, as I know it will be very small, so I'm looking forward to seeing that too.

Kitchenware I already had in a black and white (mostly) theme, and so I'll be sticking with that but some other things will be coming which don't fit the theme, but I'm less fussy about my kitchenware.

I mostly just want to make sure that my bedroom and en-suite are spaces where I feel calm and peaceful, where I can escape, where I can study, and so I've chosen my themes around colours which make me feel calm. Hopefully it will work!

Thanks for reading,
Katherine

P.S. Not all of these boxes are mine, my Mum is having a sort out too!

Dad's Secret Holiday!

14th January -
11 days post discharge

Dad's secret holiday was a holiday my family and I planned for us to go on with my Dad. The location was planned around a specific activity we wanted him to do. After he was discharged from hospital at the beginning of the year after his cancer diagnosis and major surgery he bought himself a sloth cuddly toy. He later informed me that sloths are his favourite animal, something I didn't know. He's gradually been accumulating a collection of sloth toys and pillows, and now t-shirts too! 

Sloths are pretty laid back animals and so I thought I would have a look online and see if there were any zoos in the UK that offered sloth holding or feeding experiences. I found one called Drusillas Park, which is sort of near Hastings in the South of England. And so Hastings became the holiday destination. 

I contacted the park about adopting a sloth for Dad and getting a plaque put up with his name on before we arrived, which was something they offered on their website. There are three sloths at Drusillas Park, Sophocles, Flash, and Gordon. We chose Flash for Dad to adopt as we thought he would find it funny that Flash is fast and sloths are so slow. 

Here's the adoption certificate and photo of Flash:

We started the adoption certificate from Father's Day, 17th June, but he wouldn't find that out until we arrived at the zoo.

The park also offered the sloth encounter experience we were looking for and as soon as the holiday dates were finalised we booked this too. 

For the holiday we chose to stay at a Haven Holiday Park simply because of the convenience of having things to do at the park so we didn't have to go out every day if Dad wasn't feeling up to it. 

We hadn't told Dad any of this, the only thing he knew was the dates. He told us later he thought we were going to Wales! 

Without further ado, here's the photos! The sloth experience was Tuesday if you just wanted to see that.

Saturday 21st July

Arriving in Hastings

On the train

Giant deck chair

Dad having his first alcoholic drink
since the surgery

The oncologist told him he couldn't ride a real motorbike
anymore... he was straight on this as soon as he saw it!

Sunday 22nd July 

Okay, so I had to borrow a photo from the Haven website to show you the waterslide they have at this park. Dad went down this slide, in swimshorts and a rash vest, and whizzed round the bowl three times! It was a pretty fast slide, I've been on one at another Haven site but this one was rougher and faster.

Image from Combe Haven

Dad at Party In The Dark

Mum and me at Party In The Dark

My sisters at Party In The Dark

Monday 23rd July

View from West Hill, Hastings

Hastings Castle

This stone was swapped from
a castle in Normandy, France

Smugglers Adventure, in the caves

Tuesday 24th July - The secret Sloth experience day!

Oddly enough, Dad had picked up a leaflet for Drusillas Park in the Haven reception and said he'd like to go, he likes zoos. We brushed it off and said if we have time we can go later in the week. So, when we rocked up at Drusillas on Tuesday morning he was already pleased. I spoke to the reception while he was in the loo so he couldn't overhear anything. 

The sloths aren't far into the zoo, still inside the building which houses the main entrance, but typical Dad walked right past them! We called him back and said did you see the sloths? So then he came over and we showed him the plaque with his name on and we pulled the adoption pack out of my brothers backpack and gave him the certificate and photo. 

The enclosure information

The adoption plaque

After a while of looking at the sloths we carried on around the zoo. His encounter wasn't until 3pm so we had to keep him busy until then (he still knows nothing about it). Later on in the zoo there's a walkthrough area (where the animal encounters take place) and one of the sloths is there. Dad spent ages looking at him and taking photos, while the rest of us were grinning at each other because we just know he's going to love his feeding experience. We finished looking at the animals and had some lunch, and around 2.30pm we started heading back towards the entrance/exit, to the visitor centre. The park has some other things to do as well as the zoo and Dad was trying to look and getting stroppy because he didn't know why we were rushing him! We managed to get him to the visitor centre just in time and then we handed him his sloth experience pack and when he realised what he's doing he got really excited. First the keeper took Dad and me to the kitchens where he showed us all the food stores, explained the animals diets, and picked up the food for the encounter. He asked us if it's a birthday surprise, and Dad openly told him he's very poorly, I gently explained it's a bucket list surprise, and we kept chatting so it didn't get depressing. Dad was very interested in the foods, and asked lots of questions! We even went inside the walk in freezer! It was lovely on such a hot day! Then we headed out to the encounter walkthrough.

Dad with the food

Dad feeding Sophocles

Dad feeding Sophocles

The keeper called Sophocles down from his box, it took a while but eventually he came down for some food. Dad could put the food in his mouth, or in his "hand", and he did both. Some vegetables Sophocles didn't like and he would drop them on the floor. Dad was chatting away to him and really enjoying himself. One of my sisters was also in there taking photos. My brother went in too but I don't have a photo of that. Dad also got to touch Sophocles' head and he fed a fruit bat as they were also in the enclosure. One of the fruit bats even climbed over Sophocles and stole a piece of food right out of his mouth! We learned the Sophocles is the Dad of Flash and Gordon, and that Flash had to be hand reared because her Mum died after birth. The zoo are hoping to find a new partner for Sophocles. The keeper let Dad have over his 30 minutes that the encounters usually last, and then he offered to let Dad go inside the sloth tank and feed Flash as she's the one he adopted. So we went back to the main sloth tank near the entrance and collected the bucket of food for Flash and Gordon, and Dad and one of my sisters climbed inside the tank. It was very hot inside, but Dad got to feed them both and Flash even came out of her box to get more food from Dad after Gordon dropped his own piece and stole Flash's piece out of her hand! Dad touched Flash on the head once but had to be careful because she's got quite a feisty personality. By the time Dad had fed these sloths too his encounter had been over an hour long, and the keeper was perfectly happy for him to take as long as he wanted, but he needed the loo! I couldn't thank the keeper enough for the experience he gave Dad, he went above and beyond for him and it really meant a lot to us. Here's a link to Drusillas Park if you're interested in going or seeing what other animal experiences they have. One of the keepers told us that the Beaver Experience isn't very popular, and I felt sad for the beavers, so if you love Beavers go give it a look!

Dad inside the tank

Flash sitting in a basket

Dad feeding Flash

Wednesday 25th July

The view from East Hill

East Hill has the steepest Funicular Railway in the UK and I can safely say it felt pretty hairy going up there. Thankfully the way down wasn't so bad! We also went to Blue Reef Aquarium and the Fishermen's Museum before heading back towards the park on a miniature railway. 

My brother and sister racked up
16,000 tickets in the arcade by
Thursday to buy this drone!
Safe to say they're all over the
Space Invaders leaderboard

Thursday 26th July

I didn't leave the park on Thursday. In the morning we did a Pirate Treasure Hunt, and then we went swimming. I spent the rest of the day relaxing. Dad and my brother went into Hastings to go antique, and army surplus, shopping. Mum, Glenn and my two sisters went to the beach. 

Mum having a water fight with my littlest sister

Friday 27th July

Battle Abbey - Built on the site of
The Battle of Hastings

Riding into Battle

Thanks for reading!

Katherine