post lockdown escape

the lockdown has cost me 3 concerts and meant my wedding and subsequent honey moon is delayed a year. Also it means I will not be able to visit my son for his 30th birthday and he wont be able to see mine for my 50th. He lives 50 miles from me and due to his autism and other needs he lives in a supported living care home. He seems to be coping with the lock down so far as he hasn't been in contact to complain.

I support adults with autism myself so I know how hard some find this uncertain time. for them a routine is crucial. When this is over and we can safely go back into the big bad world I will arrange a visit to the national museum of wales with him, somewhere we have been a lot when I lived with him and his mother.

Its a museum made up of historic welsh buildings that have been dismantled and brought to the museum so people can explore them. We will probably start at the café in the entrance area for a joint birthday meal. Its no more then a nice café but the food is usually good. There is a small choice of welsh food such as stew and beer battered fish. There's plenty to eat and drink as you walk around the site as well.

Behind the shops seen in the picture at the top of this is another restaurant and to its right a short walk to an ice cream parlour. One of the most popular places is roughly where the photographer took this shot from. Its a bread and sweet shop next to the traditional bakery that supplies it. You get long queues for the bread and cheese rolls that you can eat within minutes of them being baked.

The traditional bara brith fruit loaf is another speciality that I would probably go for and save the ice cream for later. If you do all the site its a lot of walking and includes St Fagan's castle. Many people will recognise bits of the site from numerous episodes of doctor who. Indeed the title picture backdrop has been used a few times. As my son is both a doctor who fan and has visited the site many times he loves to show people around the site and his favourite places.

The time spent there will depend on my sons attention span and my fiancés energy levels. Its easy to lose a few hours there without always noticing. Even better is that its entirely free to enter, you just pay for parking.

Afterwards my son will want a stop at a shop to buy his treats for the week , they then get put in his allotted cupboard at his home. After a chat with his carers to see how he's doing and a quick goodbye it will be time for my fiancé and I to return home. She will probably want a quick drive through burger on the way home as she's not keen on cheese rolls, no matter how fresh.

My mental health isn't great and this simple thing will do me the world of good after this lockdown. Hopefully it will also work for my son in order to make up somewhat for missing his birthday and possibly mine. Its generally a great day out there and there are often special events going on in the main hall or out on site. There's enactments and displays of old fashioned skills such as being a blacksmith.

This will be my perfect day of freedom before looking forward to my wedding next year and hopefully the holidays that got cancelled this year.