Monday 1st was younger HE sports, which K and L very much enjoyed, and which meant a double dose of activity for L as she had gymnastics in the afternoon as well. Bob was ill and at home, so J and M were able to stay at home and do quiet work. In the evening K had Beavers – one of his last sessions before moving up to Cubs.
Tues 2nd was violin for L, J and M, then gym for the boys in the afternoon.
Wed 3rd was quieter than usual, with no Latinetc and no cello, but there was Baby Music, during which Bob and the boys made gas mask boxes for Fri, and then K had his second Cubs taster session, which also happened to be our turn on the parent helper rota, so I stayed with the boys and helped them turn batteries into bugs with glowing noses 🙂 Other experiments included static electricity and tissue paper snakes and rubbing a neon tube with plastic bags to make it glow… or shatter – only M could do that!
Thurs 4th – Tots and Nots and Philosophy Club. K went to play with the other K, coming back with delicious choc chip cookies 😀
Fri 5th – WWII Evacuation day with the Nene Valley railway. Dressed (more or less) appropriately and carrying lunch and a few belongings with us, labels on coats and background reading done, we were evacuated to Stibbington. It was very well done, I thought, with enough authentic touches to make it feel real if you wanted to make it so but also enough reassurances to keep everyone happy. We walked through the village, with billets pointed out as we went (each child had chosen an identity from a list of actual children evacuated to Stibbington, so they were able to see where they would actually have been staying), marched smartly past the grumpy colonel’s house and eventually got to the school, where the billeting officer/schoolteacher gave the children identity cards to fill in and a quiz to do based on posters and slogans – all about Doctor Carrot keeping children healthy, careless talk costing lives and so on. Then there was time to look at the Anderson shelter and play with some appropriate toys in the playground before lunch and a chance to spend their pocket money (£1 changed into two old pennies) on souvenirs from the shop before going into the schoolroom to write a postcard home (or draw – she was very good at differentiating and providing age appropriate work, especially given that she said this was the first time she had ever had a mixed age group), learn spellings (reciting and writing), do copy work (with a dip pen and ink) and maths and then drill in the playground. Somewhere in there we sang It’s a long way to Tiperrary and listened to an address from Princess Elizabeth on the radio. Oh and there was an air raid, which meant a loud siren telling us to go to the shelter (indoors – the Anderson shelter in the playground wouldn’t have been big enough!) where they did more maths, sang derogatory songs about Hitler and generally kept a stiff upper lip and carried on regardless 😉 except A, who screamed and had to be taken out to look at the pictures in the corridor, even if it did mean we might get bombed! All in all, it was a really good day, and brought everything to life very effectively for the children – and adults too, I think!
We followed it up rather nicely with a trip to see Bob’s parents, after Music school on Sat. Bob’s mum was old enough to remember bits of the war and they both remember rationing, which went on for long enough afterwards to have become a major part of their childhood. Gran-gran and K, with a little help from L, made a couple of things from the recipe book we had borrowed form the library, while Grandad, J and M put together a flying thing from a science kit he’d been saving to do with grandchildren 🙂
My plans for a tidying and sorting weekend having been thoroughly overthrown, we came back on Monday via a HE gathering. Paper weaving happened and possibly a little chess, building with Lego and stickle bricks, socialising and lots of running around and climbing on outdoor play equipment. It was a good way of letting off steam after a long journey 🙂 Then L just about got to Gym and K to Beavers, where he was swimming up – I discovered too late that J and M were meant to be there too, to help with the swimming up ceremony – a weekend away, with delayed return, is not good when people try to make arrangements by email 🙁
So, Tues 9th and M’s last violin lesson. He wants to carry on, but I don’t know how likely that is once he’s back in France, especially given that he wants to keep up piano and recorder too. Last Gymnastics session too – the end of his stay seemed to be rushing up on us!
Wed 10th – Latinlite at Merry’s – yeast, sugar and warm water in jars with balloons on top to catch gas emitted, then we tested the gas 🙂 French games on the landing for those not yet doing sewing, lots of play and chat… Cello and Baby Music as usual, then M’s last Cubs, marked with a card and some little gifts 🙂
Thurs 11th – Tots and then HE sport. Chris looked after girls for me while I went and spent far too much money on cake decorating supplies to put finishing touches to silly numbers of cakes – not that I ever bake when I should be doing housework 😛
Fri 12th – day at home (at last!) and a chance to rattle through a few chores, make lists of games to play at party, bake and/or decorate cakes, get party food made (as working on morning of party) ensure beds sorted out for guests staying over…
Sat 13th – half term so no music school, but I was working (and usual 10 – 2 opening became 9 – 2:30 thanks to NCT training) so lots of dashing round. Michelle and Chris helped save the day, going far beyond the line of god-parently duty by getting here mid-morning and doing lots of sandwich making and general party prep – thank you 🙂 – and I got back just in time to help Bob get everything to the hall and set up. Completely manic party – lots of children, lots of games, lots of food, no idea what was going on but I think most people either enjoyed it or were able to hide from it – and the pink chocolate fountain was a hit! Cakes all made it there successfully too, thank goodness.
Rather more chilled evening, with tea, leftover cake and a house full of friends – lovely 🙂
Sun 14th – Babs and co took M to his usual church. I took our children to our old church. Bob took Chris to railway station. Had to pop out for more food, leaving Barbara with numerous children, and got back to find Goddards and Manorborns had arrived 🙂 Joined by Beans (without Helen 🙁 ) and some Kentwell friends. More food, chat, tea etc – very nice way to spend a day 🙂 In the evening we had a visit from Father Valentine, knocking on doors and windows and leaving gifts – not quite as elaborate as in the past, but still fun.
Mon 15th – Sports day all day for older Rainedrops, M, J and K. Meanwhile I took R, L and A to soft play while Barbara went to a lecture with her sister, then we met up at soft play and went back to college with sister to eat in rather elegant hall. Back home to pack before collecting sporty ones, then Rainedrops went their way and we came home ours.
Tues 16th – dropped K, L and A off with Gina so J, M and I could go to radio studio to do Woman’s Hour recording. Jenni Murray was great – nice to actually have some sensible questions! Horrible talkback on headsets though – really hard to concentrate when you can hear yourself a second or two later. While that was being sorted the boys got the giggles, which probably helped to settle any nerves, anyway. Quick pick-up,which disappointed children a bit, but Gina had other things to do and we needed to start M’s packing and make sure all his clothes were washed and dried. Wednesday was a quiet day, filled with not much more than finding things, making piles, fitting them into suitcases – and a fair bit of playing games too 😉 I had hoped to get to Twilight at the Museums, but it would have been silly to squeeze more in, I think.
Thursday 18th was M’s last day here, which he spent with J and Bob in London. They met up with M’s mum at the station and went on from there – Bob’s story to tell, I think, as I was at Tots with K, L and A, mostly sorting toys and books ready for our move while the church is refurbished.
Friday 19th was a catch your breath day, I think, although we had intended to go and help Tadcu with clearing Grandad’s house, then Saturday was filled with baking and soup making ready for a ceilidh at church in the early evening. Sunday found the children dancing again, and also learning about how a violin works, at the second of the dancing sessions organised by Gina and friends. It was also an all age service at church, followed by a fair-trade lunch.
I think M going made the others realise how little time there was before J went. They seemed to close in together, sleeping in the same (fortunately large) bed and spending much of their time playing or reading together. HE work took a back seat as I felt they needed down time together, but at the same time we were trying to fit in visits to see people J wanted to say goodbye to before he went, or who asked to see him. On Monday we had again intended to see Tadcu, but bad weather intervened so it was put off until Friday, when we went to Auntie Norma and Uncle John’s on the way. Tues was violin, then gym for K but not J. Wed was Latinetc, with pea planting to see what conditions they like best, and lots of extra music for those taking exams soon. No Baby Music, so I took K and E to cello, which meant I could stay and watch the lesson for the first time, while Gina and Helen stayed here with all remaining children – which meant extra bonus time for play and chat before Cubs 🙂 Thurs was Tots and then multisport and on Fri we managed to squeeze in a trip to the dentist for J – all fine but he has the same problem I had/have of having unusually deep grooves/holes in molars which means you have to be extra careful to clean food out; the first I knew about it was when I had a precautionary filling at 15, so I’m glad this dentist has at least warned us beforehand. Then we went to Grandad’s house, which was bittersweet. We came away with a box of books which were presented either to Grandad or to my great uncle Alf when they were about 10, which my dad and uncle read at about the same age and which my dad has now passed on to J to read because he’s the right age – or will be when he gets back from France 🙂 I also have notebooks with all Grandad’s sermon notes, some children’s address props (but I’ll need to hunt through 70 years worth of sermon notes to find the talks to go with them!) and a great sheaf of papers which are my grandmother’s sermon notes, plus lots of their preaching books and resources. I need to set myself up a corner and do some proper work again soon, I think. The post-baby lull is finally wearing off. J talked all the way home, processing Grandad’s death and the circle of passing on memories and things. Not very easy to deal with at 70 mph on the A11.
Despite a late night we got the children to Music school on Sat. J had taken some En Famille International leaflets with him because he said he was tired of having to explain about it to everyone who asked. I don’t know how many he actually handed out though! L tried the violin ensemble this time, hoping it would be a fun way of getting a bit more violin into her week. It turned out to be rather prescriptive and distinctly lesson-like though, with a teacher who disapproves of “coloured strings” and likes things done her way. Poor L spent most of the time waiting to be told what to do, which eventually happened via an older student explaining things to her rather than the teacher actually giving any kind of instructions or explanations 🙁 On Tuesday we spoke to Christina, our violin teacher, and she said she had already come across this particular teacher and sadly her advice was not only to not do the sessions but also to speak to the organisers and point out that this was not an ensemble and that it would be unhelpful to most of the children there. Back to recorder ensemble then, I think.
In the afternoon we went to our favourite toyshop where J managed to buy L’s birthday present (the cuddly seal she has been saving up to buy) without her noticing, then went on to choose a present for A (jointly with L and K) again without her suspecting 🙂 Lots of browsing and playing later we had chosen a game or two for M’s family and some little bits and pieces for ours and it was time to come home.
