Brownies and Big Bang!

I need to post about Kentwell but it’s in draft form on the laptop and we’re getting behind so I’m going to catch up on what’s been happening since then and add a long Kentwell post in when I get the chance.

We got back from Kentwell on 7th July, late, so having to rouse everyone in time to go and look after S on Monday was not much fun. However, Bob was at work (yay!) so it had to be done. We all came home and did nothing much in the afternoon!

Tuesday was another very gentle day, with lots of sleep and just as much washing, plus some music practice to get them all back in the swing of things, then Brownies for 6 and L, including 6’s induction 😀 The session was at the local country park, so they had to wear smart uniform for the induction and then take a change of clothes ready for den building and getting soaked when the dens were tested for waterproofness. Brown Owl was very impressed with 6, who was word perfect for her promise and recited the Brownie law flawlessly and clearly 😀 She is now a fully-fledged Brownie, with the badge to prove it 🙂

On Wednesday we set off early to Duxford for the Big Bang Fair, which was excellent. We started with a talk about String Theory, interpreted through the medium of rock guitar by Dr Mark Lewney then went on to the Science Sleuths show, where the children solved a crime by using clues and forensic methods to work out who had broken into the Science Made Simple office. We had hoped to squeeze in a talk by Johnny Ball too, but the sleuthing finished too late and a higher priority for us was the Steve Allman Best of Science show – the highlight of the day and so good that we’re now trying to work out how we could possibly get enough people together to make his special Christmas show manageable (£650 for three shows).

In between shows we looked around the stalls, made balloon-powered racing cars, found out how particles can be removed from exhaust fumes, met a milk snake, a stick insect and a giant African snail, found out about special effects in films and much more – and had fun with Em and her children 🙂

We had to leave Duxford fairly promptly to get back and collect instruments ready for an extra rehearsal before the Music School Family concert. K and L were both singing solos in Adiemus but had missed lots of classes thanks to Kentwell, so this was a chance to polish what they were singing. J, despite having missed the whole term, was playing trombone in the orchestra too – all good sightreading practice 😉 The concert followed and was really very good. I think this will be the last music school think for K and L (assuming we find something for them to move on to) which is sad, really; they’ve got so much out of it over the years and it’s been lovely to see it grow around them. Hopefully A will still go, though, so it’s not really goodbye yet.