And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

Thanks to the lovely Sun (gawd bless ‘er and all who sail in ‘er) we got to go to Alton Towers yesterday (let’s be honest, we couldn’t have afforded to go if we hadn’t had free tickets). Sorry, I’ll rant quickly and get it over with - £38 for an adult??? I suppose it’s justified if you get your money’s worth of being scared out of your wits but it seems steep if all you do is act as a glorified golf trolley. Note to theme parks – how about a subsidised ticket for non-riders? We could have neon brands on our foreheads to show we’re party-poopers and are Not To Be Allowed on Rides...

Anyhow, we picked up James’ friend Nathan at sparrow’s fart and hurtled up the motorway for four hours. Adrian argued that someone had to look after the Soul Puppy and that he would nobly pluck the short straw, eschew the joys of Nemesis and Oblivion, and take the SP to visit Thornbridge Brewery instead. Cue gnashing of teeth (why hadn’t I thought of that?). But hey, I figured that, for once, I could nail this pukka parenting lark. I could give the children a relaxed, calm, fun perfect day. Think about it - with a theme park, someone else has done the organising, no? There is endless entertainment and child-friendly food – no risk of boredom, curled sandwiches or nature raw in tooth and claw biting you on the bum. Seriously, what on earth can go wrong?

Umm, let’s try a thunderstorm. An all-afternoon monsoon with flashing lightning, growling thunder and pathways turned into log flumes. There is clearly some minor deity whose only purpose is to watch me and open the heavens every time I set foot in a theme park. I can still remember Legoland in a downpour, watching the children kicking water at one another while I swabbed mascara from my sodden cheeks.

I wouldn’t mind but I’d been a responsible adult for once, had checked the weather forecast (occasional light showers) and had even Taken Sensible Precautions and packed spare clothes, towels, umbrella. All of which became duly soaked.

Despite it all we had fun. The boys even coerced me onto the Rapids water-ride which was fab. And I dragged them into Hex which is absolutely mind-blowing (you think you’re doing a loop-the-loop while actually barely moving). I liked Alton Towers – more than most UK parks actually. It is well-designed around the park’s beautiful natural assets (lakes, trees, gardens, hills, copses). Food was good too – James and I had really good chicken fajitas while Nathan opted for the all-you-can eat pizza/pasta (£4.25 for kids). My only quibble – we had to sit through lunch twice as we wanted different things – why not go for a USA-style plaza with outlets round the edge and central seating so everyone can pick what they like and all eat together?

But in the last flurry to get onto rides we got seriously soaked. By the time Adrian arrived we were literally drenched to the skin. Luckily he’d been given a T-shirt by Thornbridge so I slipped into that while the boys put on swimming trunks and towels (the only dry bits of kit we had). With one pair of flipflops between them (and James’ bum covered in mud) they looked odd, to say the least, as they hopped (literally) into the service station. I could almost hear the thoughts. ‘Will you look at those boys? She’s got them in swimming trunks and won’t even buy them a pair of flipflops each, for pity’s sake.’



Ah well. We tried.

Fab competition - throwing up involved

Ah heck, just looking at this picture makes me feel ill.  If you read my blogs from Walt Disney World last year, you'll know how I feel about rides.  Yup, I'm the woman who cried (really truly cried) on Expedition Everest.  I'm also the woman who managed to evaporate the entire queue at Chessington World of Adventures by screaming all the way round the Dragon's Apprentice (the roller-coaster for teenies).  Parents snarled and children cried.  One (deeply logical) child announced firmly: 'If that mummy is scared, I'm not doing it!'
Anyhow, James feels entirely quite differently.  He still hasn't forgiven me for not taking him to Florida. He says 'Thorpe Park' and 'Alton Towers' in tones of deep awe, respect and intense yearning.

Which brings me onto this rather neat little competition.  As you know, I don't do many of these but this one is pretty good.  You could win a year's worth of fun at our home-grown theme parks if you're smart (or plain lucky) and can guess where this picture was taken.  Yes, yes, it's blurry - that's part of the sneaky tough bit (rather than my poor photography skills).

I'll give you a clue - it's one of these....(and last time I looked Madame Tussauds didn't have a lot of screaming going on - but hey, it could have changed!). 

Thorpe Park
Chessington World of Adventures
Alton Towers
Legoland
Warwick Castle
Madame Tussuads
Lego Discovery Centre

Get it right and you will be put into a draw to win a Merlin Annual Pass - this competition isn't going out over a huge number of blogs, so it's really worth having a shot.   But do it quickly as the competition closes on July 31st
If you don't luck out then it might be worth buying The Sun from Saturday.  The paper is giving away 2 for 1 vouchers for more than 700 UK attractions. Check it all out here....

Go on, get guessing!!   Post your answers in the comments below...fingers crossed.....  C'mon, how hard can it be???