Pulp!

Yep, again!
It's a birthday treat and David's first proper gig. Apparently festivals and McFly don't count!!!
But pulp at Brixton Academy is properly cool and properly a proper gig.

To be honest It's probably best if we never again mention that he has seen McFly at all. He was of course much younger and his tastes were as yet not fully developed!

But never mind that we are in full squeal mode now and will be on a music high for days!






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Looking good so far!

Just a quick, art in progress, update.





Looks like they're enjoying it still!


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Inspired!

Inspired by this great book.





And the brilliant bit titled......





We are in the middle of putting this together.





We are then letting the kids have free (ish) reign with a job lot of colourful fabric pens. The only rules are no swears, no bottoms and be respectful of other people's work.

Will let you know how "art in the home!!!" progresses.


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August is slipping away too fast.

I've been reminded that I have a small but loyal following ( hiya Nanny) and have been neglecting my blogging duties of late.

The truth, I suppose is that we have just been doing, nothing extra special, just visiting and pottering and trying to hold on to those last little snippets of summer.

Educationally we do, I've come to realise, wind down a bit, although when the 9yr old in your life gets "A midsummer nights dream" out from the library then it really seems fine to do that!

Anyway, here's a photo from out latest trip to London with just two children! A very relaxed and wonderfully sunny day. And what did they want to do? Museums, galleries, castle???
Nope, hours in Harrods just looking at toys,


puppies and having an ice cream and a walk through the park to play on the pirate ship!!!




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Scotland

We drove a long long way, we got cold, wet and blown about.
We marveled at your stunning scenery, watched your wildlife and sampled your culinary delights.
We explored your ancient lands and peoples from Picts to Jacobites.
We discovered that Irn-Bru should not be consumed by small boys - EVER!

We fell in love and have been crossing our fingers for a lottery win and checking out rightmove.co.uk for likely properties since we returned!!!

changing scenery as we drive further north

Castles wherever you look!

Our very own castle for the weeek

Lossie bay in soak to the skin rain

Ice house at Spey Bay

Ospreys are regularly spotted at Spey, so too Dolphins.

I spy a Jet roaring overhead

Have sword must maraud

Ah, the return of wistful William

Urqhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness in actual sunshine

Walking around Culloden Moor

The Georgian splendour of Fort George

Fort George

Elgin Cathedral

There were lots of skeletons and skull and crossbone decorations at Elgin, must look that up!

Balvenie Castle- our favourite!

Harbour at Burghead

Harbour wall

Mias sneaky rock collection- check your pockets!

Its fair to say it's a bloomin long drive to get there and you could drive to more southerly parts of France in the same time. Knowing this is often our preferred destination for a summer holiday filled with exploration and a little bit of sun, I went to Scotland understanding it would be cooler (on average at least 5 degrees cooler then home). Oh yes, it would be pretty, filled with history and fabulous food. But I was promised one more thing, Dolphins! Yes the chance to see these fabulous creatures frolicking off of our own shores. Did I get to spot them? Um, no. Did everybody else? Of course they did! A whole pod of them. Gggrrrrrrr.

Quick turnaround!

Get home, unload, sort, wash and pack again.
This is our week as we now have only 2 sleeps left until I wake everyone up at stupid o'clock to drive to very nearly the very top of Britain for our weeks stay in Scotland.

Excited already, I am on countdown. The board is once again full of the things that need to be done, shopping to be bought. meals planned, so that we eat well in these few days we're home.

Along the way we are also trying to fit in the bits and pieces of normal life. And so I am thinking what is normal life for us? I have been asked a couple of times recently about holidays and what have the children been doing. "We don't do school and so we don't really do holidays", was my sort of answer when trying to reassure someone . I don't think it helped. We don't sit at tables at set times, though we do often sit at the table. We don't follow a set path for each child or age. I don't compare anymore to either other children or the prescribed curriculum. We are just doing "it" whatever that is. That's not to say that we don't worry or encourage or suggest. We go places that they want and that we want (even if they think they'll hate it they normally don't!).  I think it is still, and may always be, hard for people to completely understand just how and why we do what we do. But I hope that this blog goes a little way to showing something of what life is like for us.

So this week, along with having had some amazing experiences at Camp Bestival, we have all set up and started a summer Journal. Following along with some friends, each day we are sent an email outlining todays entry. Today we have to create a page based on our favourite colour and yesterday was a page about our top five things to do in summer.

We've visited the library and got some new books to take with us. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we may have to go again as Ollie has read both his books. This makes me smile very hard but also makes me think I should have hidden them or got several more! And we have been looking at the maps of our Journey, looking at our route and thinking about what we'd like to do.

working out a spreadsheet

Pleased with himself (I'm pleased too!!)

Working on the "I Am" page

Mummys "I Am" (love the Moleskine)

Sometimes a book's too good and manners go out the window

Festival food is fab, but the green was so good!

It's the return that's hardest.

And washing, tons of bloomin' washing.
And the outside, whatever the weather you just have to be out!

But now there is stuff to be done indoors, things to cleaned. And you have to cook for the kids, not go to some nice lady with a paella van. Ah, post festival blues. Your own bed feels wonderful as you arrive home tired and dusty. A toilet all your own is a blissful thing, but the morning after and reality hits. You return to your normal life and the fun filled crazy days of festival seem to have disappeared in a flash.

So here are the memories. Well some of them. My phones battery kept going down suspiciously fast and I was only prepared to charge it at a cost once and I can't work out how to download the ones off the camera!

Outside our Yurt and ready to explore

Climbing in the kids garden area

Mia and Evora

Not sure what we're watching but it must have been good

On the castle steps looking out towards the crowds at the main stage

Some light reading relief 

Our favoured spot to see the castle stage

It's all too much

And another one's gone

Oh! and another

Barely even bounced to Madness last year, this year raving like a loon to Groove Armada!

Castle just before it burst into life with animation and fireworks- it was awesome!

Lulworth Cove the morning we left. Stunning.

Eloise soaking up the rays.

A picture of calm after a frantic three days. 

It's crazy, busy, noisy and smelly. But it's such fun! There was so much we just could not do it all and some things we only discovered when it was too late. Everyone has their own best bits. Mine? 

Okay, top three, no, top five!

Mark Ronson (with very special guests)

Ed Sheeran - Inspiring and motivating (especially a certain 13 yr old here)

Gentlemans Dub Club - Wow, such energy

Blondie (big, big squeal!)

Bad Sheperds - Ade Edmonsons band, brilliant!