Swimming Paddling Pool

We have seemingly nice neighbours, yet they do not invite my youngest to play in their paddling pool despite the fact that their child is forever playing with guns and other toys belonging to my youngest. Mean, I call it.

NG was incensed, so when she espied a bargain paddling pool in Leroy Merlin, she called upon the cavalry (me) to set forth on an expedition across town to secure the booty. I tried calling first to see if they had any left, but the girl on the phone refused to pass me through saying there was already a long list of people waiting.

Monday was Pentecost. It was that funny sort of holiday that we are supposed to work to help the aged, but no one does instead preferring to add a minute a day to the rest of the year's work day. Untidy, it all is, but much umbrage is being taken by the unions over working a day and not getting paid. The word 'solidarity' is obviously a nimby word here.

Leroy Merlin was packed. The car park was packed. I've never seen it so full. Eventually I found a sort of space and we set off on our voyage of discovery, trolley in tow doing its own thing. NG tried not to look at such enticing sights as taps, tiles, baths, cupboard space, garden furniture and other delights. She used to do a lot of house renovating, and Leroy Merlin was her Mecca. I would have offered blinkers, had I had any handy...

After walking round the whole shop in pursuit of the pool, we found a chap up a ladder and asked him. He told us, merrily, that they'd sold out. Bugger, we thought, and left immediately looking neither to the right, nor to the left.

Back at the car, we wound our way out, and drove next door to Carrefour. There, not only did we find a pool, but it was cheaper, slightly, and had a special Pentecost 20% off! Ha!

Flushed with success, we took it back to maison NG, and that afternoon, I came with the boys and revolting friend to set it up. There was training video for the serially pool-setting-up-challenged, but it wasn't that difficult. The main problem seemed to be stopping the revolting friend from grinding the garden gravel into the bottom and puncturing the lining before we'd actually set it up. In the end I had to take everyone home because revolting friend was being a bugger, and setting my youngest into bugger mode too. It was too much, so I chucked them in front of the tele and told them to be quiet.

Later, I went back (alone) to see how things were coming along. It was much too cold to paddle, even. I don't know what's happened to global warming this week, but it's definitely doing it elsewhere! It's been freezing, with a charming northerly wind making us rush to re-patriate our winter woollies!

That was Monday. Today was slightly warmer, and the boys had their first real chance to try the pool. It has a diameter of 3 metres and is 70cm deep, so they can play in it safety but get other than their ankles wet. The blue inflated sausage around the top leaks air, naturally, but the pump is permanently attached, so can be put right at any time.

It's not quite what NG has been used to in the past, but it's great fun for the boys who don't need acres of water to enjoy themselves, and I think, quite prefer being able to walk about and splash each other with impunity.

I'll wait for it to warm up a bit before I dip my tootsies in!