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Church Farm, Stow Bardolph…

is fab!!! :mrgreen:

Some time ago my aunt promised my cousin’s little boy that she would bring him on the train to Cambridge to see J, K and L. They finally got round to it yesterday, but we decided to meet at Ely (also on the train journey for them) instead. We met them at the station (late due to an accident on the A14 meaning traffic was diverted up the A10 so we were travelling with lots of lorries 🙁 ) and tried to find somewhere to park, but everywhere in Ely was full except for short-stay and we didn’t fancy having to keep moving the car, so we got back on the A10 and headed up to Stow Bardolph, which I had only heard of yesterday – and it was great!
Somebody has obviously put a lot of thought into the way things are set up, so there are lots of little touches which make a big difference. As an example, the main picnic area is roofed and has thick netting around one end, which means it is lovely and shady even on a hot day (and I should imagine also sheltered on a windy one). The picnic tables are large – and there are high chairs too (yes, even outside in the picnic area!) – and it’s right by the sinks for handwashing and near to the toilet block. Another example: there are three large trampolines, all of which are sunken so that the bouncing happens at ground level and there is no need to worry about lifting children on or off or catching them when they fall.
The sandpit is enormous and largely undercover (fantastic on a day like yesterday when it was so sunny and useful too when it suddenly changed to torrential rain) and as well as lever controlled diggers has ordinary buckets and spades and a tap, so that anyone can get involved in making sandcastles, rather than having to just jostle and queue for the diggers 🙂 There is also a wooden rail with tipping wagons to push along it and a turntable to operate – lots of fun and necessitating a fair degree of teamwork.
Then there’s the straw barn. Now I remember as a child visiting my friend who was a farmer’s daughter and spending hours playing in the straw (and then suffering for it as my hayfever flared up 🙁 ) but it’s something my children have never had the chance to do until now – and they loved it!
K, L and I went on a tractor and trailor ride round the main part of the farm while J and J continued playing with sand and straw; we saw rare breed sheep and goats and managed to catch a bit of breeze whizh was worth the £1 in itself! The children all enjoyed rushing around on toy tractors too 🙂
As well as all the activities there were animals to see, but the heat had forced the closure of the petting area so we’ll have to go back sometime to see that. We did meet the sheepdogs who help look after the 100 or so sheep, though, and stroked a large and friendly goat. The small animals (and the large, but it was most noticeable with the small, especially compared with other places we have been) had loads of space and were able to chill out unmolested (ie small children couldn’t reach them 😆 ) – our favourite was the seriously relaxed ferret

We also saw lots of pigs, including some babies and a shepherd’s hut.
A well-timed rainstorm helped us to lure the children into the cafe for tea and cakes, then we reluctantly set off back to Ely and thence home.
Definitely a place worth a second visit, though 😀 (and Kath, is it anywhere near you?)

More Fun and Games

Having failed to organise birthday parties of any description for the children this year, and wanting to help J and K keep contact with old school/preschool friends, we decided to set up a few half-birthday picnics, the first of which (nominally for K) was on Tuesday. Unfortunately many of the school friends were already on holiday so turn-out was not great, but Naomi, a childminder who used to do science sessions with J and a few other CHEF children, was able to come, which made the children very happy, and she brought with her three of her charges who also happen to be both school and Sunday school friends of J (and K, I guess). We played a few very silly games, including Tidy Your Room, where two teams have to attempt to clear their side of the room (or skipping rope, as the case may be!) of balled-up socks by throwing them over to the other team’s side whilst shouting “Tidy your room!” Also attempted (and failed 🙁 ) to remember a few elastics rhymes and actions and ended up using the elastics for limbo dancing instead 😆 How is it that Chinese elastics were such a big part of my school life and yet I can’t remember anything now except broken bits of rhymes and chants?
A couple more friends turned up later, bringing with them delicious cake (thanks Rebecca!) and Bob came along to join us after work, which meant we stayed a little longer than planned – just as well, as it happens, because a preschool friend of K turned up with his mum and seemed totally surprised to see us there. Apparently the invitation we had given to his teacher had never made it to his mother, so they had no idea the picnic was on! Of course we then ended up staying and playing/chatting for another hour or so…
The next picnic, if anyone would like to join us, will be on Friday 11th August for lunch and the last on Saturday 2nd September for brunch – email me if you’d like to join us and I’ll let you know details 😀

Old friends, new house, lovely day

Monday found us on the train to London, off on a visit to E, O, M and F (recently moved and much missed 🙁 ) in their new house. After walking the length of the train looking for enough spare seats with at least one facing in the right direction (I have to face the engine!) we were rescued by some very kind people offering to shuffle about for us so that we could have two seat forward and one back, with a table in the middle 😀 Followed a few scuffles about who would sit by the window (sigh) which were solved by agreeing that the boys could change over halfway through the journey. Then L and K did lots of counting (using flashcards with fish pictures on) and J made a start on an English workbook (by reading all the way through the story and ignoring the writing exercises – ho hum!) while I inserted appropriate words of encouragement and praise and answered random questions about the passing scenery :mrgreen:
Negotiating the Underground was surprisingly easy (thank goodness for the Ergo and for travelcards which mean you don’t have to queue to buy tube tickets 😉 ) and we arrived in South Ealing with only a couple of delays.
It was lovely to see them all again, and to catch up on news while the children played. In the afternoon we even did some artwork (painting with lavender – inspired idea E 😀 ) and then suddenly realised quite how late it was, ended up staying for tea and walked back to the tube station with surprisingly little fuss from the boys and L sound asleep on my back within minutes.
Now we’ve done it once, we’re looking forward to doing it more often – and maybe getting in the occasional museum trip too. J would happily make the Science Museum his second home 😆

Juggling in church!

I was preaching at our home church this Sunday morning. Unfortunately there was nobody to do Sunday School in my “absence” – so I ended up doing both! Split the sermon into two parts, each with a reading as intro, with suitable activity for the children as part of that and then Bob took them over to one side of the church and made their own version of what we’d been using. Not clear! Example: Jesus and disciples crossing the lake to find a quiet place; crowd see this happening and get there first. Two paper plates, joined with a split pin; smaller top one painted blue, larger back one with finger painted people on one side… while tell story move a paper boat across the blue plate lake and spin larger plate round so that people are there when boat arrives. Clear as mud!

It went okay, I think, and a couple of people spoke to me afterwards about how they think this must be the way forward for the church (or at least for our church) as we don’t have enough helpers to sustain Sunday School, if we want children to come we need to make them feel welcome, modern attention span seems to be getting shorter and shorter so split sermon is easier for most people to concentrate…
I did feel as though I was juggling and coming very close to dropping all my hoops at times though 😆
Not going to get into philosophical debate about the future of the church right now, but it’s something I think we really need to reflect on 😕

Sunny Hunny

Shame about the rain 🙄
Annual church family outing to Hunstanton was today – and the day started with a little thunderstorm which set the tone…
The boys made us take buckets and spades so they could play on the beach and studiously ignored our mutterings about wellies and raincoats 😆
Thank goodness for the Sealife Sanctuary! We spent a couple of hours there (and L would happily have stayed for much longer at the Rock Pool section, where you could handle starfish, crabs and anemones) before being lured out by the promise of sun and some time on the beach – and then got side-tracked by the amphibious vehicle waiting to take people on a trip and did a cruise to the cliffs and lighthouse instead of building soggy sandcastles 🙂
On the whole it was a good day (although it cost a fortune!) but a couple of things were really sad, including an overheard (could hardly have avoided overhearing as it was at top volume) exchange from a family walking ahead of us at one point: Woman to girl (presumably daughter) “If you don’t stop your bitching I’ll smash you one!” There were several people there so I assumed (not sure why) she was talking to one of the teenagers, but the girl who responded (inaudibly) could only have been about 5 and mum replied, with great venom and malice (and round a cigarette) “On your face!” Girl suitably cowed they all walked on 😯
Maybe I’m just soft, but I was so sad that a little girl should be spoken to like that 😥 I know I have no idea what had happened before but in the time we had been walking behind them she had been as good as gold, walking nicely and not saying a word – and she and the rest of the group seemed unsurprised at the threat 🙁
The other sad thing was even worse 🙁
We saw a man with a little puppy, something like a Jack Russell, I think. We noticed because the puppy was very cute 🙂
A while later we saw the man again, this time on a bike in the middle of the road – with the puppy on a lead desperately trying to keep up 😯
The man was veering all over the road, which was causing problems for cars trying to get past as well as for the puppy 🙁 It became clear that he was veering so much because he was watching, and shouting and swearing at, a girl (presumably his daughter) riding a bike along the pavement on the other side of the road (iyswim). One particularly violent lurch to the middle of the road nearly got him run over by a van and he was so busy turning round to swear at the driver that he almost stopped, the puppy managed to run on ahead, then the bike lurched back over to the left again and he RAN OVER his own puppy 😥
The poor little mite squealed and he scooped it up and made his way over to the side of the road, still shouting at the little girl and swearing at the driver as if it had been his fault. The front wheel had gone almost all the way over the poor little thing’s tummy and when he put it down its back legs wouldn’t support it 😥 He got cross and tried to make it stand up but it couldn’t. By this time we were closer and I was asking Bob what he thought we could do, but we just didn’t know 🙁 The man handed the lead to the little girl, who had crossed over by now (not sure how he thought the dog was going to escape, but there!) and disappeared into a nearby cafe, then re-emerged with a handful of paper napkins, which I thought odd until I saw the drops of blood on the pavement. The poor little dog was spitting up blood 😥
I heard the man tell the girl that there was a vet’s round the corner, so presumably he had also asked about that in the cafe, and we didn’t really want the children to see what was going on and be upset so we walked on, but I felt so bad not to have done anything. Bob says there is nothing we could have done, except call a vet and we didn’t know where one might be and it seemed the man was going to take the puppy to one anyway, but I have to admit I’m not sure he would bother. I mean, he was stupid and thoughtless enough to cycle with a puppy on a lead (bad) in the middle of the road (worse) whilst weaving in and out of traffic and concentrating more on shouting at others than on steering (appalling)… I really felt like phoning the police, but I don’t suppose there’s anything they could have done either 😕
Surely he would have taken it to the vet?
Ack – I’m so sorry, this is a totally nonsensical post! I was just so shocked and I have to get it out somehow 🙁
What should we have done?

Where I’m from (Katy)

It’s taken a while and I’m still not sure it’s right, but here it is:

I am from tracing paper toilet roll (“Now Wash Your Hands Please”), from the ZX Spectrum and tobacco packed tightly in a pipe.

I am from the bungalow near The Hall, with the treehouse by the field (tall golden ears stretching into the distance, a hunter’s playground).

I am from the nettles I found (painfully) under a log, the bougainvillea and red hot pokers by the roadside, from yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I am from keeping a stiff upper lip and getting on with things, from a brave or foolish mother whose name was whispered if spoken at all and a perfect brother much mourned but barely mentioned, from Granny Green and the Grooms.

I am from teaching and shopkeeping, from using your hands and using your head.

From “look after your sister” and “you’re a goodie-two-shoes”. I am from never being good enough, or being too good.

I am from Methodism, from local preaching, reading, singing and getting involved. I am from making a difference, even when it seems nothing can change. I am from God filling the gaps, holding me tight, from seeking and finding and being given with open hands.

I’m from Kitwe and Norfolk, from mealie-meal and mangoes and braais in a 50-gallon drum, from tea in china cups (or mugs for the garden) and Norfolk shortbread.

From the houseboy who fed us half his ration and blew on hurts to make them better, the teetotal grandmother who downed a glass of Bols and choked, and the nanny whose dog chewed dominoes and had to be carried down the stairs he gambolled up so happily.

I am from the boxes and bags I don’t need but can’t let go of because everything else I failed to guard has disappeared, from the gold earrings preserved as a memento and “lost” by a jealous stepmother, from the family tree in the family Bible which no-one will admit to wanting but all will fight bitterly to keep when Poppa dies, from my mother’s long ponytail which turned out to be the same shade as my grown-up hair, from the happy memories I try, and fail, and try again, to make for my children because I have so few of my own.

I am from (Bob)

I finally got around to doing this, and then nearly bottled out of actually posting it. If you want to see how these things should really be done, look at one by Jax or Merry and I’m sure Katy could do a better one too. If you fancy doing one yourself, and to see the original poem it’s modelled on here are some instructions.

I am from the cul-de-sac and the main road, from Araldite and the S-shaped skid mark I made with my trike.

I am from the hard and slippery parquet floor lit with light from the French windows.

I am from the mock orange bush hidden in blossom, the yellow daffodils on a green lawn that I tried to miss when I flew from the swing.

I am from shunning service station food and eating in the carpark from orange stacking lunchbox trays, each with a drum kit of tupperware lids and a little inkwell of tomato ketchup. From Chris and Joan and not many others.

I am from maths from Dad and cuddles from Mum and Buddy Holly tapes played in the car.

From being too southern, too spotty, too poor at sport and too clever.

I am from “You’re not getting me in that dump again”, from being washed clean under a gushing tap, from slowly, fitfully building a relationship that I sometimes stretch like elastic. From mind and heart and song and quiet.

I am from two different commuter belts, home-grown tomatoes and really short mince pies.

From the end of the holiday on the boat, Dad’s spanner slipping and smashing his glasses. From the drive home with the boat behind the car, Mum reading the signs and Dad negotiating town centre traffic by feel.

I am from home cine film free from Dad’s work showing holidays on the beach, and a photo of a happy but squashed Daddy being a bus to two sons, a daughter and a nephew pinned up next to black work words on white work paper.

Fun and Games

Somehow the CHEF sports day got missed out last week (I think i was too busy being steamed up about the LEA visit!), so I’m going to blog it now, then fiddle the date to get it in the right place 😉
It was a stinking hot day and we were late because of waiting around for aforementioned LEA meeting, then picking up K and rushing over to Cherry Hinton Park – still haven’t found a route which feels sensible! – in a boiling hot car was not a good start. We got to the car park to find that there was one beautifully shady space left, all the rest being in full sunlight, but that we could not get to it because of a bin lorry parked in the way! Decided to get everything ready before unstrapping children and fortunately by the time that was done and we had waited and grumbled for just a few minutes the lorry was on the move and we could get to the space. A few minutes well spent, it turned out later!
The sports day was great! Really laid back, with Chris doing his usual combination of fun, enthusiasm and just enough scariness to keep everyone on the hop :mrgeen: J joined in with everything (except for one wobble when an activity seemed to need a partner and he was sure nobody would want to be his 🙁 ) and generally had a whale of a time, K joined in when he felt like it and L wandered around trying to be like the big boys and girls – and also spent a fair amount of time riding an enormous bike (rather bigger than her!) and actually getting it moving 😀 I, meanwhile, was able to have lovely chats with real grown-ups under the shade of the trees, enjoying a cool breeze – definitely a good place to be on such a hot day.
Once the organised activities and the picnic were over we bowed to pressure from the children to move across the park to the paddling pools, where Helen and I paddled in the shade, chatted and tried to keep our children more or less covered up and/or in the shade. The ice-cream van did a brisk trade 🙂
The boys and L paddled and swam in tee-shirts and pants, so when the time came to go we were able to just pop off wet underwear and put on clean dry pants, trousers and socks – which L and K promptly soaked by going back into the pool while I was getting J changed *groan*
Then we made our way back to our nice cool car (see – those few minutes waiting for the space were well worth it!), with a minor detour into the woods, a brief pause to rescue SB from a tree, a couple of arguments as to how long was reasonablt play when each extra minute playing meant about 10 extra minutes in traffic on the way home… the usual sort of thing really :mrgreen:

Friday and Monday

On Friday we went along to the end of a Friday Club meeting to see if we would like to join. It might have been more helpful to have gone to the whole thing, but K had special things on at preschool so we just went for the picnic at the end and the chance to meet the other families. It’s a group of Christian HE (or flexi) families who meet fortnightly for various structured activities and then a picnic and it sounds great. It should give J and K a bit of structure and togetherness (working with other children), which I know J is missing and I think K will miss once he is no longer at preschool, but in a very friendly and low-key environment. I’m hoping it will also help J with some of his ponderings about God. School, for some reason I haven’t quite fathomed, was very destructive of his faith and he has become very antagonistic towards religion, which I find difficult as I am his Sunday School teacher at least half the time; hopefully this will give him a chance to discuss things with another adult and to see that other children are Christian too (we have only three families at church with children so he is very much in the minority there). At the least it may stop him rubbishing K when he makes statements about his beliefs.
The mothers also meet on Mondays (fortnightly or monthly, not sure) for prayer and mutual support, as well as to plan the Friday sessions, so I went along to that meeting this week and found it immensely helpful. We went round the group talking about our concerns and then had a time of prayer. I can’t remember the last time I did that and there is something so special about sharing prayer together and hearing others pray for you.
There is only one more Friday meeting this term, then a break until September, so we’ll try to get to all of that last one. I really hope this works out (we’re kind of on trial for now) as I can see that many good things could come of it 🙂