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Day 2 at All About Dogs Festival: From Competitions to Camping, A Tale of Canine Adventures Near Norwich | Day 240 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Aug 28, 2023

I am so happy I convinced my friend Sascha and her family to join us at the All About Dogs festival, which took place over two days at a showground just out of Norwich.

We booked the camping option and parked together. It is always so much more fun to do things with a friend! Or two.

Our sons, less obsessed over dogs (as in not obsessed over dogs), enjoyed two days of NOT driving, unfolding their love for card games, computer games, books, anime, and peace and quiet.

Vanlife is just the thing! At a festival like this, where there is SO MUCH going on, it is best to go home for a while, cook our food, have a cup of tea, sit down, or lie down for a while before re-entering the chaos.

It is also great to do something for just one of the kids while the others have their home with them, making way for them to do meaningful things instead of just waiting.

We joined more competitions on the second day of the festival because it was fun. The most fun was the musical sit competition, except Silke joined with the older and very chill dog, who will obey but in her own time. So, she lost one level before winning prices. How annoying!

We also took our time to see a show by a woman with four dogs doing tricks and dancing. Great inspiration! When the day was over and the festival closed, we shopped for food, had vegan GF hotdogs at the parking of Sainsbury's in the sunset, and took off for a crazy drive down to the Shuttle, where we had to sleep at their parking as our options to move the ticket we had for the next day was:

A. Too expensive, and

B. Too much interfering with sleep.

It is not optimal to sleep at the parking at the shuttle, especially not when they are doing construction work. But sometimes that is how it goes, and the people at the shuttle were very friendly and helpful; we felt welcome (contrary to many places in England where cameras are combined with big signs saying “no overnight” and talking about substantial fines).

So, all good, just a bit sleep-deprived.

With love

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Cecilie Conrad

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Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

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