My lovely daughter of who I am supremely proud and adore more than cake and chocolate (no, really, it's possible) asked if she could write a guest blog for me, I could hardly refuse and so here it is, please if you ever meet me, don't ask me to repeat the dance....

"It is universally accepted that all teenagers will come to a time where they hate one or both of their parents. I am not one to break this norm however, I may have reached this period earlier than most! It seemed that the second I turned 13 I began hating my mother with a passion.   

Now at 14, almost 15, I am taking this time to reflect. What would have irritated and agitated me a year ago I now laugh at?  This laughter and mockery has become what I have begun calling "Today on my mum" moments. These moments are so full of embarrassment and surprise that it would be a crime to deny them to the world any longer! 

For the first time, you will all see how truly bonkers and weird my mother really is, though I expect many of you will not be surprised. 

To begin let's delve into what I have decided to call "The unfortunate tale of a mother in Scarborough"

It was a lovely day, we were just coming to the end of our activities (and money), so decided to go for some ice cream at a very well-loved ice cream parlour before a longish trip back to Newcastle. 

It's important to note that during the day I and Laura had been repetitively performing a small dance that we found online. It was super simple! Remember that! This dance was super simple and could've been performed by a goldfish! 

We managed to get our mum to 'perform' the small dance.I regret my choices! It was going fairly ok until the final move, a simple move. "Put your arms out and pull your body forward" is what we said to do. My mother did not quite do this, and so, in the full view of the ice cream parlour and the passers-by, she, with confidence, did a very large thrust. Not the move we had expected! What followed was a chorus of shrieking plus uncontrollable laughter! We were subjected to many, many worried looks. The only words I could think to say were "ah, today on my mother" which only fueled the fire and caused more laughter. I can safely say she has not thrust lately.  

That day also stuck out for another reason as in the car on the way home I happened to ask if she had taken her medication, she hadn't! Funnily enough, though I didn’t really care! This was the first time in possibly 10 years I had seen my mum actually laugh! Not a forced laugh but a genuine, heartfelt laugh. Of course, I was worried that she hadn't taken her medication but it was more of an afterthought! Now she is the happiest I've EVER seen her and I'm very much looking forward to having many laughs with her in the future. 

This was the first true "Today on my mother moment" (and arguably one of the best yet!). 

I hope you enjoyed this little jaunt we've had and that you’ve become just a little bit more aware on the weirdo that is my mother! 

Yours, a very opinionated and often stroppy teenager, 

24 hours in Scarborough part 2, Scarborough Castle

If you read part 1 of 24 hours in Scarborough you'll know that I just felt I had too many images to share and putting them in 1 blog post, well, it would have been one of those where you're still scrolling three days later and I felt that Scarborough Castle deserved a blog post all of it's own.  In all of the years I've been going to Scarborough I'd never made it up to the castle, perhaps because my fitness levels were nowhere near what they are now and it is perched high upon the cliffs separating the north and south bays.  It actually wasn't too much of a walk from our hotel though and it required little effort in comparison to the walk up from the south bay up the hill down in to the north bay and back up again to our hotel.

Apologies for the less than stylish photo of me, I've ran out of reasons why I just look odd or like a bag lady in photographs, perhaps I actually look like an odd bag lady in real life too?  Please answer that only in your minds ladies and gentlemen!  Anyway, I digress, back to Scarborough and within about 5 seconds of entering the castle I decided to renew our English Heritage passes, it's £4.30 a month for a year for 1 adult (or £6.30 for 2 adults) and I can take up to 6 children in, this seemed to me like a bargain when it would have cost £11 for Looby and I just to go in the once.  It's my considered opinion after many years of mumming that with a National Trust and English Heritage card in your pockets the country is your oyster and don't all children love castles and beautiful historic buildings which are often combined with quaint tea rooms and adventure playgrounds, just take a picnic and you could have yourself a practically free day out.

The best thing about Scarborough castle is I think are the epic views over the whole of Scarborough, it's the only point in Scarborough high enough to see both bays and let me tell you right now, from high above Scarborough is the most beautiful place on earth (I'm quite fond of it at ground level too). the rugged cliffs and wind swept vistas, the salty air that you can taste on your lips and the smell of fish and chips as you descend into the south bay below.  We spent a couple of hours at the castle but like most things Looby likes to skip and hop through the days cartwheeling wherever she can, a young lady with boundless energy and a mostly sunny disposition which is only clouded by occasional teenage storms, mostly she saves those for home though, I think because the doors are noisier and more slam worthy.

I know we shall return to Scarborough again in just a couple of weeks, not just because we've 3 visits to fit in to the Sea Life Sanctuary over the next year but just because we love it, it makes us happy and holds the warmest of memories, the years of the girls childhoods may have been filled with ups and downs but rarely did we have a day out which wasn't fun and joyful.

Beautiful Scarborough, scenic Scarborough, gaudy amusement arcade filled Scarborough with your cheap souvenir shops and bay filled with fish and chip shops, I love every part of you, you have my heart in the sunshine and the rain and I cannot wait to visit you again.