Blast Off and bag pack

This term's choral event with Music for Everyone featured Blast Off! - a short musical telling the story of a school threatened with closure whose pupils attempt to save it with a trip in to space to bring back Jupiter Rock! This wasn't my favourite selection, but did include a range of puns and wider cultural references that we were able to talk through together, and the accompanying selection of songs from The X Factor included Hannah Montana's The Climb, a favourite of Madi's and 'You Raise Me Up', which I can't believe any Mother could watch her child's choir perform without a tear in her eye!

But before heading off for rehearsals, Madi left Nottinghamshire Performing Arts School early and dashed over to Morrison's at Mansfield to take part in a fundraising bag pack. She really enjoys these, and with her friend Holly, was one of the few Rainbows to take part at previous events. This was a joint Guiding/Scouting event though and had a good turnout, and even better for me was a chance meet up with Amanda, whose previously HE daughter returned to school about the same time as JK, for a coffee, chat and catchup in the cafe.

Poolsbrook Pals and the Goose Fair

It's always lovely to meet new home ed friends, and recently we have joined in with some get togethers at Poolsbrook Country Park, not that far from us, but somewhere we had never heard of before.

Some families we had met before in different ways, and others not, but everyone is very friendly, and the children seem to all mix really well in different combinations, and we've been amazingly lucky with the weather!

This week the weather was not looking good and most people had agreed we wouldn't meet up, but in the event it was glorious, so Madi and I took the tram in to the 717th Goose Fair at Nottingham:

Goose Fair is one of Europe's largest travelling fairs with a history that dates back more than 700 years. Amongst the array of Roller Coasters, Water Rides, Giant Wheels, Bombers, Dodgems, Twists, Waltzers and Miamis familiar to Goose Fair there will be a number of new attractions that have not visited Nottingham before.

This year the Runaway Train became the largest ride ever to attend any travelling fair probably in the World! Previously it was a permanent attraction at the American Adventure theme park before the park closed. Since then, it has been completely rebuilt into a mobile attraction by Nottingham-based James Mellors Amusements, using local engineers and craftsmen.

Some facts about the ride: The £1 million ride has 300m of track length and occupies a 2800 metre square area although the height of the train is no more than 8m to make it a suitable family ride. There are eight carriages each seating four passengers with a two-driver engine at the front. The ride proved to be a huge family attraction at this year's Goose Fair.

Along with the traditional Goose Fair food of mushy peas and mint sauce, candy floss and brandy snaps, visitors could eat their way around the world with chestnuts and doughnuts to food from the Caribbean, Chinese noodles, Indian kebabs, Spanish churros, paella and French crepes.

Madi tried several rides, whilst I stuck to my mushy peas and mint sauce at 7th Nottingham Scouts HQ, which is on the Forest Recreation Ground, and where many of our Gang Show friends are based. Madi did have donuts there too, but then couldn't resist a strawberry and marshmallow kebab from the chocolate fountain!

Bunting

This month's Crafty Kids session had a new venue, and a new tutor, and Madi and Evie found a (re)new(ed) enthusiasm too!

They made some beautiful bunting- you can see from the photo how impressed Jo was!- and Madi's is now proudly hanging in her bedroom.

Sadly they were the only two to attend today, so we now have to cross our fingers and hope the group continues.

Sudbury Hall and the Museum of Childhood

The beautiful weather this week, our recent National Trust membership, our new Victorian theme, and a cancelled trip to Stratford-upon-Avon for friends were all factors in today's impromptu visit to Sudbury Hall, starting in the recently refurbished Museum of Childhood.

After trying out some outside games and Madi being very scared of walking through the mining tunnel in the dark, she was overjoyed to find a dolls house...

...and relented so far as trying to squeeze in to a gap the size of a chimney, if not going through the chimney tunnel itself!

And I was overjoyed at first to spot a Brownie uniform just like the one I wore myself (complete with Kelpie six badge!) but then quite disconcerted to realise that I am now history!

In the schools area, Madi and Evie got quite hands on...

But when we entered the storytelling area...

...poor Lucy ended up carrying and leading them out past the puppets and mannequins!

...but only after they had staged their performance.

The boys' toys area was a surprise success...

...as were the very old and unusual toys.

After a lovely picnic lunch, in to the Hall itself...

...with a trail to follow and discovery boxes...

...before checking out the playground, and ice-creams at the cafe :O)

Archery Club Championships

Congratulations to Madi, who today became U16 Girls Recurve Champion in the Sherwood Archers Annual Club Championships!

And to Simon too, who became Novice Champion :o)

Beeston Badgers

A rare chance for me today to watch JK in a field hockey match, as he played for Beeston against Ashby in a 'Badgers' game. Unfortunately I didn't realise that Badgers was a specialist term meaning a team comprising up to 3 adults, playing and coaching alongside juniors starting to prepare for the transition to adult hockey.

As JK is more than used to having shots fired at him from adults, he didn't really benefit from the session as much as the others, and as most of the action was at the other end of the pitch, often found himself a little bored!

He also attended the first session of a GK Academy at Beeston this weekend, coached by Grahame Mansell-Grace aka "Panda", a retired international goalee coach, and which we were very fortunate to have funded by the Club as we couldn't have afforded it on top of everything else, and then trials for the Midlands Ice Hockey Conference, in the middle of the night at the National Ice Arena (fortunately Simon is taking him to that one!)

Victorian Washday

To get us started on our new 'Victorians' theme, we spent this afternoon at the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard, where the very formal and Victorian-like Mrs Crowfoot talked to the children about life in Victorian times and allowed them to help with grating the soap and ponching the clothes in the dolly tub.

Unfortunately the mangle was considered too much of a health and safety risk, and they didn't get around to washing my white blouse which I had clumsily spilt tomato juice down whilst trying to fit lunch in on our mad dash across from Brazilian Soccer School!

But I did like the idea of Madi learning to iron ;o)