Back from Porthcawl

We've returned from a caravan in Porthcawl, just 40 minutes away. The caravan was organised by LATCH, provided by/in memory of Emyr Owen who passed away in 2009 (you can buy his children's story book online to help support LATCH). Being near home was important in our being able to go 'away' at all at this stage of Pads' illness. It allowed Ally to pop over to check things out (especially the heating!), make the beds, etc. There was less risk with the shorter journey itself and knowing we could 'abort' and return home easily if need be. We curtailed our time away, for various reasons, by traveling up on Easter Monday, coming back yesterday. Pads was reluctant to part with home comforts as we approached the time of departure but the caravan was roomy enough for him to have his own space, which he used almost as much as he would have at home. The caravan and its thin walls made it feel like we were more together.

More photos on Flickr.
Thankfully the week passed without incident. The weather was bright but cold, and colder still in the north-easterly breeze, so we made glad use of the caravan's efficient heating system. We kept things simple, relaxing with a book, game or DVD. Moli's been trying to put in 4 hours a day on GCSE revision too. On Wednesday the siblings shared a hot-tub at Ruth's. Just seconds from the beach, it is easy to imagine the place teeming with families on a warm summer's day. In contrast, following one of the stary nights we took a dawn walk on the sand. Removing my deck shoes to cross an especially wet patch I noticed each step made a sandy impression through a layer of thin ice! We topped off the holiday with a cinema trip on the way home at McArthur Glen, Bridgend. Just mentioning this topic in conversation outside his room was enough to arouse his excitement and he was up and dressed by 9am! To wile away the hours we wheeled him down to the Trecco Bay sea front. This was enjoyable if wearing, and he returned to bed until we left at 3pm.
Pads called for a 'melt' at 6:15 this morning and had another 3 in fairly quick succession. Each melt is enough to ease the pain for a while but this many cause him to become slightly uninhibited, often with comic effect (e.g. starting to whistle Christmas carols).