Category: Katy’s day

The Science Museum has a new show for the summer and one of the HE parents we know managed to get free tickets for a group to go and see it, so we thought it too good an opportunity to miss. After such a busy weekend we were a little slow getting going, so it was fortunate that the show didn’t start until early afternoon. We ate lunch and read Story of the World on the train and arrived in good time for the show but with little time to do anything beforehand. It was in the IMAX but was a live show, apart from the virtual lab assistant projected onto the back wall. The show was very well done, light-hearted and funny but also very informative. All the children loved it and felt they had learned something new from watching it, even J 🙂

This summer the Science Museum presents the world premiere of The Energy Show: explosive family theatre for curious minds. Live at the Science Museum’s new theatre space, this electrifying show runs for 6 weeks only.

Annabella and Phil, two futuristic science students, race against time to prove their knowledge of energy. With help from virtual lab-assistant, i-nstein, and a steampunk workshop full of gadgets and chemicals, they demonstrate live experiments on stage.

Methane bubbles set alight to make fireballs, liquid nitrogen freezes flowers and hydrogen rockets are fired into the audience. Stand back – theatre just got dangerously exciting!

Produced by the Science Museum, this fast and furious summer show is suitable for everyone aged 7+.

After the show we went back to look more closely at some of the things we’d gone past to get there, starting with the Pattern Pod, which the girls enjoyed for a long while, investigating natural and man-made patterns and making some of their own. The boys went a-wandering and came back when they were ready to move on, taking us to a section which had computer-based decision-making games. We stayed there quite a while, discussing the ramifications of each decision as well as playing the games, then went to The Garden (A’s choice) while J took the others off to see The Secret Life of the Home. We finally tore A away from the water play and all went to Launchpad for lots of hands-on activities, which kept us busy until the museum closed.

When we were in London last year for the Paralympics K, L A and I went on the Emirates Air Line, a personal challenge for me given that I don’t much like heights and for A, who is often reluctant to try new things and had to be coaxed on. K and L loved it and wanted to take 6 there too, so we made our way over there (totally the wrong bit of London from the Science Museum, but never mind 😉 ) while J and A tried to make up their minds about whether or not to come on. Once there we stopped to admire a water jet pack user on the Thames and talked about how long it would take to do a round trip on the cable car. A decided she was brave enough to come on again, which made J think twice about being left on his own. He is really very height phobic, so I was quite surprised when he announced of his own accord that he was going to come on with us. Fortunately there was no queue so he had no time to think about it before we were in our car and I held onto him as the doors closed so he couldn’t try to jump out at the last minute and risk injury. He was petrified but trying very hard to be reasonable about it – I was actually rather impressed at his fortitude. A held my hand very tightly, while L and K were happily pointing out to 6 the sights we could see, thanks to the little map we’d been handed along with our tickets – last time we just had to guess so it was nice to have a bit more of an idea. 🙂

As we reached the highest part of the ride J burst into tears and sat on the floor, then slowly lifted himself back up and admitted that it wasn’t quite as bad as he’d thought it might be. We’d got 360 degree wristbands so that there would be no need to get off and on again (I hadn’t been certain we’d get J or A on again if they got off, and didn’t want to be stranded in the middle of Greenwich!) so as we arrived at the other end we just waved our arms a bit and stayed on for the return leg. This time J nibbled on a chocolate bar (he’d just held it on the way over, then dropped it a few times) and felt so much better that he stayed on the seat and by halfway over was even managing to take an interest in working out what we could see in each direction – definitely a successful trip 😀

After such an ordeal we felt that ice cream was in order. There were several flavours on offer, but bright blue bubblegum seemed to be a winner. 6 and I, more restrained, had lemon ices. Mixing and matching flavours (by tasting one another’s) led to some very interestingly coloured tongues: mine was yellow, most of the children’s blue or turquoise but 6’s bright green! We were trying to get a photo of all of us pulling faces to show them when a kind passer-by offered to take one for us. It’s surprisingly hard to stick your tongue out at a stranger, even when he’s told you you may!

By now A needed the toilet, so we asked at the Underground station and were pointed in the direction of the nearest public convenience, but it was closed for maintenance. A quick scout round and we spotted a cafe; they had no toilet but suggested a noodle bar a little further along, where the owner took pity on us and said we could use the toilet. Unfortunately, there was someone already in there, with a friend waiting outside. Nearly ten minutes later we were still waiting and so was the friend, and by then so was another customer. Eventually a woman stuck her head out of the bathroom to ask her friend for some tissues. She’d obviously been changing her clothes and doing her make-up (she had a big bag in there with her). Her friend told her to hurry up, a sentiment which we heartily echoed, poor A with her legs crossed by now! Finally she came out and her friend said we could go in first (I think she planned to change too, as she’d been going through her own big bag looking for things) but the first woman muttered about the toilet being blocked and no toilet paper and the whole place disgusting… We went in anyway – A couldn’t possibly have waited any longer – and there was nothing a good toilet flush couldn’t fix – the bowl was full of tissues she had obviously just dropped in the toilet 🙄 Much relief 😆 We bought some noodles to celebrate 😀

Sadly, we arrived at King’s Cross just in time to not catch a train, so had a long wait for the next, which we spent camped out on the platform drinking fresh juice poured over the remaining ice in the frozen water bottles we’d taken with us. It was a good day for ice 😉

It was a very late night, by the time we were safely home, but a good day all round.

On Saturday morning everyone but 6, A and Bob had to leave the house fairly early, guests to get to their conference, L to a Strings Day and J and K to try the county orchestra sessions and see how they got on, with the option for K of switching down to L’s group if it proved too much for him. I dropped them off and came home for a day of pottering and baking, via the supermarket for supplies – packed lunches always seem to deplete the store cupboards incredibly fast!

At 3 it was time to return and collect everybody, with a strings concert to listen to what they’d been doing all day. It was fab, and it was easy to see how much those present had enjoyed their day. L loved it! The boys, meanwhile, had been having a great time too (we could hear them through the wall in the gaps between pieces at the concert so we knew they’d been busy) and J had been quite happy with the standard needed for second trombones, while K had managed three out of four pieces with the help of sectional rehearsals but had to rely on being good at working out where they were so he could pause and then join back in from time to time in the fourth – too many fast-shifting semi-quavers! Still, they were happy for him to carry on since his sightreading was good enough to allow him to do that, so he was happy too.

The rest of Saturday was largely spent baby worshipping 😉 Bob went and babysat for Ruth and Adam (taking my place so I could stay and chat) and the rest of us had cuddles and cooing until children’s bedtime and then tea and chatting until grown-up’s bedtime. Lovely 😀

On Sunday I dropped 6 and L off at church, where they were singing Eucharist, and then took K and J on to orchestra, where I stayed and listened for a bit then walked into town to meet the girls. Meanwhile Bob and A were the hosts with the most, getting their fair share of baby cuddles. We walked back through town and happened to pass the fudge shop just as they were beginning to labour a table of fudge, so we stopped to watch and ended up staying for the entire process, including tasting a little piece of the fudge once it had set and been cut into slices. Since another load had just been poured and set enough to start working it, we felt we had seen the whole cycle of making, so it was only fair to buy a slice or two 😉 L and 6 chose sticky toffee pudding, which reminded L that she’d never actually had sticky toffee pud (I’m sure she has, but she’s sure she hasn’t…) so they’ve decided to make it some time this week. I suggested a dark chocolate fudge for Bob, so we bought some of that too, then went home and iced cupcakes, made Marmite pinwheels and got together some bits and pieces for later.

In the afternoon we returned for the orchestra concert. The theme had been film music and the concert featured snippets of film which the music accompanied in much the same way as early silent movies would have a soundtrack provided by a live orchestra. The accompanying talk was fascinating too, and really made us think about the role that music plays in a film – not just building the atmosphere while you watch but also setting the mood for the next scene and altering how you read things, often in such a subtle way that you wouldn’t even notice unless you were looking for it. The whole thing was really well done 😀 and the boys both came out buzzing, especially K who with a little more rehearsal had managed to play all of all the pieces and was very appreciative of a particularly helpful section leader.

We couldn’t linger overlong because all three choir children had Evensong to get to. While they rehearsed, the rest of us went for a walk and came across a street performer who was setting up a juggling act. He was soon joined by a partner and they did a performance together, culminating in pulling J out of the audience to be part of the finale. He had to lie still and be somersaulted over, to much hilarity as they both made false starts, stopped for jokes and then finally succeeded, earning wild applause and the chance to pass a couple of hats round the watchers before they dispersed.

Back to Evensong and it was lovely: all the choirs were there and it was a fully choral service, followed by the end of year party (hence the cupcakes and pinwheels) and the traditional giving out of envelopes. Despite having only arrived partway through the term and then missed several weeks because of Kentwell, 6 had still earned enough by her regular attendance to have an envelope of her own (and not the slimmest one there either) while L and K had a little more because of their full first half-term.

All this time out and about, dumping Kentwell things before rushing off to camp and generally making more mess than we managed to sort meant that the house was becoming unbearably awful! We had visitors for the weekend, in the form of an imaginary friend from t’internet who was coming with her baby to a conference on PWS and would be with us from Friday night until Saturday morning. She needed somewhere to sleep (spare bed/sofa covered in Kentwell stuff) and to be able to get into the house without tripping over things (hall floor ditto) and, preferably, to be able to sit at the table to eat (kitchen table ditto). Being able to go up and down the stairs (covered in clean washing waiting to be put away) unimpeded would be a bonus too 😉
We wrote out jobs on little scraps of paper, making sure each one was small and self-contained and including things like music practices, then put them all onto a tray, spread out so they were easy to see. We then spent the day picking out a job, doing it and then moving the slip to a second tray so we could easily see what we’d done – positive feedback 😉 We didn’t get everything done, but by the end of the day so long as the dining room (everything not Kentwell shoved in there out of the way) remained firmly behind a closed door the house didn’t look too bad 🙂

I took the girls to choir, leaving J, K and A at home still valiantly doing chores, and dropped them off for Bob to collect later, meaning I could go back and cook tea. Then I took K in for his choir, pretty much as Bob arrived back with 6 and L. By the time K and I got back our guests had arrived and the children were on their way to bed. Baby G was gorgeous and it was lovely to have a bit more time to get to know R, whom I had met once a few years ago but only briefly, but knew mostly from online conversations on a parenting forum we both frequent.

Wednesday should have been Historyetc, but it wasn’t. It could have been local HE group sports day but it was too hot to face the journey and we needed a day at home by then really, anyway. So it was a rest day, and a catching up on washing day, and a doing normal things at home day – and it was very good 😀

It was still choir, though, so we left A and J at home (with Bob just around the corner on his way back from work) and 6 and L got some work done while K sang, then we did some shopping (needed things for packed lunch next day as well as picking up salad for tea) and ate our tea in the churchyard of the Round Church before the girls’ choir. K worked while they sang and then we drove home planning what they could all wear to be at least vaguely in character as WWII evacuees.

K’s friend KH came for a sleepover so that he could come with us on Thursday to Stibbington, so there were six children to get up and at ’em in the morning, but fortunately he had his clothes, gas mask box and lunch all with him, so no extra hassle at all. Bob and I, having forgotten about the need for gas mask boxes until the last minute, were up late on Wednesday evening emptying boxes from the shelves so we could reshape them as gas mask boxes, printing off and filling in labels and thinking about how we could package lunch without using any plastic. Fun!

It was an excellent day in the end. I have lots of pictures (but need to get round to putting them up) and the dressing up was definitely worthwhile, in much the same way that I think it is at Kentwell when parties come who have obviously made an effort to fit in with what’s going on. I still have very faint eye pencil marks on the backs of my legs – clearly it’s very tenacious stuff! 😆

We started off with an introduction from our guide, soon to become both headmaster and billeting officer, telling us that once we had got into the railway carriage we would all be in character and it would be a much more worthwhile day if we managed to stay in character from then on. Each child and several of the adults had been assigned a person to be, all of them real people who had been evacuated to Stibbington or Wansford or school teachers who had accompanied the children. J, K, L, 6 and A were all Wilsons, ages ranging from 16 to 7, while I was informed I should be Miss Winston (that’s what you get for dressing up!).

We followed our guide round the station to our train and boarded together, then he took a role call and introduced himself as the children’s new headmaster, Mr Stafford, and explained to them why they had been evacuated and what was to happen to them next. Alighting from the train we walked through the village, stopping at various places so that he could tell children where their billets were to be and a little about their host families. We heard about special paint on post boxes, which would turn black if there was a gas attack, saw cows “probably for the first time” and were told to look out for the black ones with a white stripe painted on them, then discussed the importance of being alert to the presence of strangers near the waterworks.The farmer’s house had no room for children, because it was already full of landgirls, while the vicar couldn’t take anyone in because he had airmen in the rectory, but there was a youth group there on a Sunday evening after church. Another house was being used to accommodate another sort of evacuee: old folk from Great Yarmouth, who were at risk because it was the last British town on the way back to Germany so any bombs not already dropped tended to be dumped there. We had to be quiet at Stibbington Hall because the convalescing airmen there needed their peace and quiet and we learned to listen out for the church bells, since they would only be rung should there be an invasion.

Eventually we arrived at the school, where we paused for a drink of water (tea for the grown-ups 🙂 ) and an apple, then sat and filled in identity cards, using information about the real people we were playing at being and the places they stayed. Then the children were given a choice of quiz sheets to fill in, based on the public information posters plastered on every wall, which encouraged them to have a good look around and think even more about what everyday life might have been like and what fears and concerns they would have had, had they really been there then.

After all that work it was time for lunch – most people, including us, had sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof or brown paper – and then a play in the schoolyard, with toys such as stilts and hoops, and a sandpit with sacks to be filled and placed around the Anderson shelter. Playtime over, the children were told to form two lines, girls one side and boys the other, in height order, and file into the classroom for their first lesson with their new teacher. The routine was strict: stand behind chairs until told to sit, then hang gas mask boxes on right side of chair back and hats on left and sit as silently as possible, arms folded. Most important things first: gas mask drill. We were shown the gas alarm (like a large football rattle) and the all clear bell and told that as soon as the alarm sounded the first priority was to put on masks and keep them on, come what may, until the all clear bell rang. Each desk had a gas mask in it and we were shown how to put them on then told to practise until it could be done smoothly. Mr Stafford sounded the gas alarm and we had four seconds to get masked up or be dead. Then he told us it was safe so several people removed their masks – only to be told that they were dead too, since the bell hadn’t yet been rung! It was deeply unpleasant wearing the masks (and these were only mock-ups of the real thing) and to have to wear them for real must have been awful.

Besides gas mask drill we listened to a message on the wireless from Princess Elizabeth, learned a song (It’s a long way to Tipperary), revised the meaning and drilled the spelling of words such as siren, evacuate, coupon and Government, then got out our pens and began to write them – one ink pot between two as ink was scarce. We had hardly begun when there was the sound of a plane overhead, then another, a quick rattle of gunfire and finally a siren. It was time to take shelter.

We all filed after Mr Stafford to a small, narrow, dark room with taped windows, where the children sat on a bench along one wall while Mr Stafford raised the morale by encouraging us to sing songs – first the one we’d just practised and then another some of the children already knew but many didn’t. Since it was based on Run Rabbit it was easy enough to pick up anyway and the Hitler verse made them grin 🙂 Songs sung, the all-clear still hadn’t sounded so Mr Stafford announced that lessons would have to continue in the air-raid shelter. Children took it in turns to spell the words they’d just learned, then to answer times tables questions – and were saved by the bell as the all-clear finally rang and we went back to queue outside the classroom once again.

More writing – and then an inspection to check for inky fingers – oops! Pens away and pencils out as it was time for Maths, which led to some careful cogitation as sums were done in columns of £ s and d rather than hundreds tens and units. Remembering how many d you could have before needing to bounce over to s (12) and how many s made a £ (20) was an excellent exercise in mental agility 😉 It promised to be even more interesting when he wrote up a multiplication sum, but not many had time to get that far. We might have to try it at home, I think…

We were nearing the end of our day at Stibbington, but it seemed there was a surprise in store as Mr Stafford was called from the room to go and collect the children’s new guardians. He came back apparently chatting to some people just outside and about to bring them into the classroom to meet us, then stopped and asked how the children were feeling. Emotions mentioned were fear, concern, nervousness, but also excitement. We came out of role and explored it a little more, as he confessed that there were no families there to meet them – but many admitted to having almost believed that there were. In fact, afterwards one mother said that her child had been disappointed to find that the day and the experience ended there. She had been quite ready to go off and spend a night with her new family!

Since it was incredibly hot and sunny, Mr S (now in his other persona as Richard) offered to take parents back to the station to collect their cars and save the children from having to walk back. This gave them an extra chance to play, so everyone was happy 😉 He also suggested a different route home, to avoid the southbound A1 which was still closed from a diesel spillage earlier in the day – much appreciated!

Despite the trek to Harlow, the children all very much enjoy the half-termly sessions at Science Alive, including J who begs to come along whenever he can and claims he would happily miss school for them. Hmmm.

On Tuesday 16th July the topic was The Body. Friends had been on the Monday and said it was good so although we were sad to have missed them we were looking forward to it, and it didn’t disappoint. The only issue we had was that the Tuesdays seem to attract slightly younger children, which meant J and K were both older than anyone else there (on the Monday they wouldn’t have been) but fortunately there are now enough children attending that the groups get split by age for activities so it wasn’t as much of a problem as it might have been if the leaders had been trying to hold together the full age range at once.

They started with a presentation on bodily solids, liquids and gases, in which K, L and A all got to help at various points. This made them very happy 🙂 Time for a bit of exploring (and some new exhibits to play with – more maths than last time I was there) and then A went off to her first workshop, making snot/slime while J, K, 6 and L extracted their own DNA and put it into little tiny bottles to hang on necklaces. The second workshop was DNA bracelets for the older ones (making a DNA-type code from their names and translating it into beads on a bracelet) and cardboard skeleton assembly for the younger, while in the third session A drew her organs onto a t-shirt while the older ones made a working model of a lung in a rib cage, using plastic bottles and balloons (J said he’d done that at school already so went off to look at more exhibits; he doesn’t get to go as often as the others so I guess that’s fair enough) and an articulated hand using drinking straws and string – very cool.

I left them to it for some of the time and walked over to investigate the shopping centre nearby and to find out about the big Water Gardens sign we see from the roundabout – on such a hot day it sounded hopeful 😉 Sadly, it proved to be just another shopping centre – disappointing 🙁

Science done for the day, we all went swimming. A was worried as she couldn’t put her feet on the bottom in the main pool and the small pool was busy with lessons, but she gained confidence as we went along. Next time I must remember to put her floatjacket in the car so that she has that as an option too.

Many months ago I was looking at holiday music courses and came across one at Gresham’s school, which I only really looked at because my uncle used to be a housemaster there and I have happy memories of playing hide and seek in what felt like an enormous house during holiday visits to spend time with my cousins 🙂 It appeared to have a very strong emphasis on choral work, when what I’d had in mind was something more orchestral, but L and K both thought it sounded great and were interested. Nevertheless we kept looking, as it was very early to be making decisions and there was a minimum standard of grade 4 on first instrument, which at that point we thought might preclude L as she was only grade 3. Before we had booked anything Bob lost his job, so we said nothing would be booked until he had a job. This took rather longer than we’d hoped, but while we were at Kentwell he finally started work again. Meanwhile L’s violin teacher had started to talk about missing grade 4 and going straight to grade 5, so that barrier was no longer such a worry. At the same time J came home from school saying that his music teacher had suggested he should do some singing as a way of extending his music a little more. Lots of things pointed to the course being the right thing to do, if only there were still places left, but since it was now less than a week before the start that was by no means certain.

On our return from Kentwell, therefore, we phoned to see if there were any spaces left and were told that they could squeeze three more in, especially as J was a trombonist and K and L were strong singers. By now there were only a couple of days to sort out and pack what they needed and on Thursday we set off for the North Norfolk coast, arriving at Gresham’s in time for lunch and then bidding J, K and L a fond farewell while 6, A and I went on to Sheringham for a brief walk on the beach (I paddled, 6 dodged about near the water’s edge and A stood firmly on the dry bits telling us to hurry up) and an ice cream. We couldn’t stay very long, as 6 and A had a guiding party to get to in the evening, so all too soon we had to head back homewards. We’d taken their uniforms with us, to save a little time, so they quickly changed in the car and then went off together to spend time learning about Switzerland, eating party food, playing games and tasting chocolate. Much fun had by all, I understand 😉

We spent Friday doing normals and then on Saturday Bob had a work-related meeting so we dropped him off and went on to the last music school of the term, picking him up afterwards to find that he hadn’t had a meeting after all (the other person hadn’t turned up) so we could have gone with plan A of going to stay with my aunt the night before. Ho hum. At least this way 6 and A got their last sessions of singing and theory.

Lovely relaxed time with my aunt for the rest of the day, then we headed to Gresham’s in the evening for the first concert of the course (in fact, our first but K, L and J’s second), where all three played in the orchestra, J was part of a trio, K played in a three hands piano set and L was in a folk band and also did a solo. It was all very good 🙂

On Sunday we had another relaxed and relaxing day, which ended in a trip to King’s Lynn. We’d decided that the concert was both rather long and rather expensive for 6 and A to sit through, so Bob took them to the cinema to see Monsters University while I got a lovely evening of The Best of British (Handel counts, apparently, because he lived in London and the music is used for British state occasions 😉 ). It was truly excellent and the children did a section by themselves as well as singing with the Festival Chorus. Really, really good – and so nice to see J enjoying singing too 😀 They’re all very keen to go again next year; J is hoping they’ll raise the age limit so he can go too!

While we were relaxing and pottering, the three we’d left were kept very busy – I’m hoping I can get one of them to write about it, but in the meantime the programme was more or less this, with a few minor tweaks as they went along:

Thursday 11th July
12pm Arrival, greeted outside Music School
12.20pm To Kenwyn lawn or dining hall for buffet lunch with all parents, course attendees/staff
12.50pm Course introduction for parents & students. All staff to be present.
1pm Bags to dormitories, parents depart
1.30pm Choral Workshop 1 with Tom Appleton (TA) in Music School
2pm Loughborough Choir arrive at Prep – to Crossways
2.30pm Loughborough Choir to Auden Theatre to rehearse
2.45pm Workshop break
2.55pm Choral Workshop 2 with TA
4pm Initial instrument session
5pm BBQ Supper on Kenwyn lawn (weather permitting!)
5.30pm Change into BMC uniform & walk to Auden Theatre
6pm Concert 1 in Auden Theatre
7pm Concert finishes and return to Prep School for evening activities
8pm To Boarding Houses

Friday 12th July
8am Breakfast
8.45am Choral Workshop 3 with TA in Music Room
9am Loughborough Choir depart.
10.15am Break
10.30am Choral Workshop 4 with TA in Music Room
11.25am Break
11.30am Choral Workshop 5 with TA in Music Room
12.15pm Lunch
1pm Afternoon games/activity
4pm Wind/String/Vocal Ensembles/Individual workshops
6pm Pizza & Film night
9pm Staff Dinner
Saturday 13th July
8am Breakfast
8.45am Choral Workshop 6
10.45am Break
11am Choral Workshop 7
12pm Lunch
12.45pm Afternoon games/activity
3.30pm Instrumental Rehearsals in Chapel/tuition
5pm Supper
5.30pm Change into smart casuals for concert, walk to Chapel
6.30pm Concert 2 in School Chapel
8pm Return to Prep School and dormitories

Sunday 14th July
8am Snack breakfast
8.20am Packing, load minibuses
9am Choral Workshop 8
11.25am Brunch
12pm Board minibus King’s Lynn
1pm On-stage rehearsal (BMC)
2pm Rehearse with KLFC
2.30pm Leave for Oasis Sports & Leisure Centre and beach Hunstanton
PM Afternoon spent in Hunstanton
Packed tea in Hunstanton and get changed into concert uniform
6.15pm Leave Hunstanton
6.45pm Arrive King’s Lynn and warm up
7.30pm Concert 3 in King’s Lynn Corn Exchange
9.30pm Meet parents in upstairs bar of Corn Exchange, collect bags and sign out

Wednesday was a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) team day at Duxford, which we managed to book on as a very small group 🙂
We’d been given places on workshops as two twos, so I decided to keep A and 6 together, partly so that I could be with both of them, and K and L together. This fitted with the activities they each wanted to do, so it worked out nicely. The day started with a talk/show presenting the topic of air and the same speaker then went on to do a Science Show session, which L and K had chosen and said was very good. Meanwhile 6, A and I were designing and building bridges from K’Nex, investigating which shapes were strongest and how to incorporate them into a design.
After a short break we all switched groups, K and L to do work with wind tunnels and aerodynamic structures, while 6 and A experimented with acids, alkalis and indicator paper, then made molecules from sweets and cocktail sticks.
We had lunch outside, including sweet molecular structures 🙂 and then walked to the Historic Duxford hut, which we had spent a short time investigating when 6 was first here, but wanted to see properly. It was good and we stayed there for a long time, then meandered back via the hangar where working/flying planes are maintained and finally the gift shop. We’ll be back again in July for a Big Bang session 😀
Thence we went to choir, where Bob joined us to collect A and take her home for Rainbows. 6 and L worked while K sang, then K worked while they sang.

We were very lucky this week to be offered four groundling tickets to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe. My initial plan had been to take K, L and 6 with me, but then we realised that K and L needed to be elsewhere (last music school before exams and a choir concert) and that we would have Fortune with us, so plans evolved a little. Accordingly, Saturday morning found Fortune, 6, A and me getting into our Tudor clothes and catching the train to London, where we met up with MDJ and C, the latter also in Tudor garb (MDJ chickened out 😉 ). Sadly, M had decided she had too much to do, so had not come 🙁 The silver lining, however, was that this meant there was a spare ticket for Fortune’s friend, who had only come to say hello and then found herself coming in to see the play too 🙂
It was fab! I had been worried about such a long time standing, but in fact it was part of the experience. A could not see without being held up so I spent most of the performance with her on my hip (Fortune and her friend helped with child carrying too, but I guess I’ve had the most practice 😉 ) and I could certainly feel the after-effects of that later and even more so the next day, but she enjoyed it so much that it was worth every ache 😀 We had read a children’s version of the story on the train, making sure 6 and A knew what was going on, and the production was very lively and visual, which helped, I think, so both 6 and A were able to enjoy the action and the humour without worrying about the difficulty of some of the dialogue. The occasional rather blue joke or action went, fortunately, sailing over their heads 😉 We were well and truly ready for the interval though, and relieved to sit for a while!
After the play we sat and picnicked on the steps outside for a while, discussing what else we could do. MDJ suggested walking back via Postman’s Park, a little church yard he thought we might appreciate, where there is a memorial to heroic self-sacrifice. To get there we crossed the Millennium Bridge (windy!), skirted St Paul’s Cathedral (good place for a pause chocolat) and crossed Paternoster Square (watching people put their small children onto the backs of the sheep for photos – very odd!). We fielded a few questions and comments about our unusual attire, wished we had Kentwell leaflets and gave the website address to a couple of interested people.
Postman’s Park was lovely, a real oasis of calm. We looked at the tablets first, read several out loud and discussed possible circumstances, drollery or sadness, then sat on the grass for a restorative drink and cereal bar. MDJ mentioned that he had found a geocache there once, so the girls were keen to look for it and excited when they did, but it proved to have nothing of much interest so they just wrote in the book and put it back, richer by a two rupee coin donated by Fortune 😉
A little rested we walked on, skirting round a rather cool penny farthing race (and collecting some neat souvenirs on the way) to Farringdon, caught the tube and returned to the station, where MDJ and C were able to catch a slightly earlier train than we were, leaving us just enough time to buy takeaway (noodles and spring rolls) before our train left too.
Lovely day – thank you to Em for tickets and to MDJ, C and Fortune’s friend for company 😀

On Wednesday we went to the Beans’ with lots of sewing. Fortune made a partlet, HH and I hemmed, the children played, chatted and did music theory. It was a lovely relaxed day. A had chosen not to come with us, as she wanted to get to Rainbows easily, so she stayed with Bob (dual parental availability is one big advantage of not working – there has to be a silver lining somewhere, I guess!) and did jobs at home.
We suddenly realised how late it was, so dashed off to choir, dropped K off then made a detour to the music shop to get L’s flute repaired again. I’m a little disappointed with this flute, I must admit. It’s lovely and light, easy to use, sounds good and is reassuringly sturdy – but we’ve been back three times now to get it mended, each time a minor issue and quickly sorted, but nevertheless it is starting to feel as though each time L has a flute lesson she is told to take the flute back for another fix. If it happens again I think we will need to be pushy about asking for a replacement rather than a repair :/ We got back with enough time for a short work session while K’s choir went on, then sent a while in the library before tea.
Girls’ choir was in yet another new venue: St Columba’s this time.

Thursday was E and S and Multisport. It was lovely and sunny, so the class was in the park and those of us waiting decided to sit in a shady corner of the garden and picnic. We played Sherlock – I’d forgotten how good it is; interesting enough to keep adults playing but simple enough for S and A to join in very happily, and great for language learning. We’ve played it several times since, to help 6 learn new words in a fun way 🙂

On Friday J went off to school with a suitcase, for two lessons and then a flight to France. He’s doing a French exchange, but his exchange partner won’t be staying with us; he has a host family rather closer to school. It feels a little odd to be doing something like this with no reciprocity, but a relief too, as it means a whole week with no school runs 😉