TaskRabbiting

I needed a small piece of cabling done which required drilling through a quite thick outside wall. I didn't have the right drill bit and rather than buy one I decided to give taskrabbit a go. This is an internet service which you can post a job and choose a "tasker" to come and do it for you.

I choose somebody call Laurence who charged about the average rate per hour. He came did the job and I got a bill for 2 hours work (it took 1.5). The total was  £68.76 including the £10.86 TaskRabbit fee and £8.11 trust and support fee. The job was done well and was slightly less than if I had used a traditional electrician. 

Overall happy with the service. 

Millenium walking

It hard to believe how much hype there was about the millennium, from people selling champagne futures to the many people who seemed to want to build civic things to mark the occasion. From the millennium dome to the Millennium walkway in New Mills which we decided to visit on our way home from center parks.

The millennium walkway in New Mills is a partly cantilevered bridge over the river Goyt adding a joining section in the E2 router which runs from Scotland to Nice in France!

It is quite a wonderful piece of engineering and still looks great all these years later. You get to have a lovely country side walk with some industrial heritage to boot, well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Centre parcs

Until this weekend I had never visited Centre Parks. To me, it was the sort of place more affluent or aspiring people visited. However Kath managed to get a deal for a long weekend there. This also included some day passes so our friends Tom, Fiona and their daughter Daisy could spend the day with us.

We choose the Sherwood Forest site, its about 2 hours drive from Wilmslow. On arrival there is a security check in and we were told we could bring the car to unload our stuff but then we had to park in the main car park.

It was pretty crazy coming in lots of people leaving and arriving.

Our cabin was a short walk from the "Village centre" where the shops, swimming area and restaurants are located. To me the town felt more like a theme park than a real place with chains like Bella Italia and Las Iguanas.  Top tip: we couldn't get anywhere for lunch on Sunday so book early to avoid disappointment.  There is a lake in the centre where you can hire a boat. There was also a go ape style forest walkway with a zip wire across the water. I would have liked to have a go on that but Thom is far too young.

There was a nice sandy "beach" next to the lake which the kids enjoyed running around and digging in. There were also parks and outdoor play areas.

We spent the most of our time in the subtropical swimming world. With a variety of water slides for all ages, a wave machine and a pirate themed area for younger children to enjoy it was a great way to spend a day. It is mostly covered by a large dome but there was a heated outdoor section with jacuzzi spa and a river rapid. Thom had a great time with the water play. The only annoying thing was trying to find somewhere to leave your towel. People are quite territorial with the chairs marking their territory. 

The lodges are all set in the woodland ours had a nice view of the trees with plenty of nature outside. Thom enjoyed watching squirrels, ducks, moorhens and geese. 

The bed was comfortable though the couches were a bit too soft for my liking.

There is a food delivery service so you can order takeaway to the lodge. The kitchen was actually better than I expected so I think I would take more food to make next time.

Overall had a great time, yes its expensive but there was plenty to do and I enjoyed the setting. It would be great to have a BBQ outside when the weather was a bit warmer. Id probably use the restaurants less, they were really expansive I even got charged 75p for a small sauce to go with my chips!