When you feel like doing nothing else, there are always games to comfort you.

Being ill isn’t fun, but games are. Mostly. The fun ones, at least. I’ve gotten back into Horizon Forbidden West, a game I have had on the go for a long time now. It’s a densely packed experience and one I find a little tricky to get into at first, but once I’m in it is immersive. There is a lot to do between the main quests and many side errands, and the difficulty level scales well with your advancing skill set. Fighting gigantic beasts feels like a real challenge and pushes the limits of your resources and nerves.

Killing bandits and robotic dinosaurs isn’t always toddler compatible, however, which led us on to re-explore Astro’s Playroom. This is the game built in to the PS5. “Built-in game” rarely conjures positive imagery, but this particular example is tremendous fun. The platforming action integrates and showcases the functionality of the PS5 controller, and the game theming is based on the console’s internal components. Apparently it’s exactly the mix of visuals and gameplay elements required to captivate a not-quite-four year old. The design is really tactile, although the bit my daughter enjoyed the most was the capsule toy machine. “Can we play the other game?” “Not yet. We need to collect more coins.” “Can we play the other game now?”.

There’s a lot of fun in collecting pieces of PlayStation history, too. All of the hardware bits you collect are showcased in a huge hall where you can mess around. Jumping on the eject button of the original PlayStation cases the bots sitting on the lid to fly into the air, for instance. All these little touches are really fun and, again, captivate the less-than-four year old.

Camping

After a beautiful first day and a challenging hike back up the hill to the campsite, the weather refused to remain on side. The winds picked up and the rain restricted how much time we spent outdoors. Being stuck inside a tent is less fun whenever the world is trying to blow you away, although it was a good opportunity to spend less time online and read a few books.

The fossil walk on Charmouth beach was not quite successful. We split a few large rocks apart but not a single fossil was to be seen. That didn’t mean leaving empty handed though, as there are plenty of fossil shops in Lyme Regis and a couple in Charmouth.

The dreadful weather created some culinary challenges. On Tuesday evening I successfully prepared three packets of three minute ramen…in just over an hour. The wet and windy conditions threatened to blow out the stove and slowed the process considerably. We managed to run out of fuel after coffee that morning and noodles in the evening. Needless to say, I have ordered a proper windbreak for next time. I am also very glad of our large tent. It felt impractical when hauling it into the car, but when the weather is as miserable as it was, having a decent living space was essential to enjoying the time away.

Our camping trip had to be terminated early, partially due to how uncomfortable our self-inflating air mat was, but mostly because of the high winds threatening to blow the tent away. Packing up in those conditions was a challenge. It did aid in the drying of the tent though. Small mercies.

Speaking of wet things, here’s an aquarium

Living in Plymouth has a few advantages, including being close to the National Marine Aquarium. There’s nowhere better to spend a rainy morning.