The Beasts of London

School was closed for polling this Thursday so we spread our flexi day over two days by doing our work on Thursday, and our activity on Friday. As it was polling day we decided to learn a bit about the election and what it means to vote, then both boys came with me to the polling station.

Ferdy later wrote his own manifesto.

...Help the animals and birds. I would go to Narnia and kill the baddies
and stop using plastic. I would read lots of books. I would make all
schools have flexi-schooling.

On Friday, we took the train to London and went the Beasts of London in the Museum of London, an interactive and immersive exhibition following the history of animals in London to how they live in the city today, narrated by the animals themselves. We met an eagle, lots of rats both during the plague and when they were being chased by dogs, we experienced what it must have been like in the circus through a sad elephant's tale and we heard the story of performing military horses whilst sitting on carousel horses.

Gil's favourite bit was chasing the pigeons which were projected on the wall and flew off when you ran towards them, and Ferdy's favourite bit was the conversation between a fox on the wall and a dog in his home and who had the nicest life (we concluded that the fox did). I was a still little too depressed about the general election (and the real beasts of London) to to have a favourite bit.

Luckily, we also went to see Michael Rosen in the atmospherically lamplit Old Vic on Saturday, who cheered us up immensely with his silly, irreverent and chair-falling-offly hilarious stories and poetry.

Bah! Humbug!

I have mixed feelings about Christmas. I feel a bit Scrooge-like about the amount of money people spend, and, particularly this year, the quantity of waste generated (dare I ask my family to wrap presents with recyclable tape rather than rendering the wrapping paper non recyclable with sellotape...? Am I brave enough to suggest looking for things second hand rather than going straight for brand new? Is it too grumpy of me to tell my children that polar bears may soon no longer exist if we carry on treating our world like this). However, I also love things like mulled wine (hic), mince pies, Lebkuchen, Christmas trees, and generally getting together with friends and family and having lots of fun/arguments..

This Friday, we went to see A Christmas Carol at the theatre.

Before we left, we learnt a little about one of the greatest storytellers ever, Charles Dickens. Ferdy has yet to discover his stories and I'm really excited for him as Dickens is truly a fave of mine. Because we've been learning something of the Kings and Queens of England (me included) this term, and because we put our tree up this week, we also learnt about the Queen who brought us the custom of decorating trees, Queen Victoria.

I told them a bit of the story of Ebenezer Scrooge on the way, which was lucky as I forgot my wallet and we had to drive all the way home to get it and subsequently missed the beginning of the play. We arrived just as Scrooge was declaring how 'every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own puddling'. A little how I felt at that moment...

The play, however was as rich and sumptuous as a Christmas pudding itself. It was dark and bleak and at times a little scary, and it was chirpy, heart-warming and fun. We laughed out loud, and we/I wept. The music, mainly Christmas carols played by the cast on a plethora of instruments, had us clapping and singing along. Both boys loved it even though the plot was a little complex for Gil who kept saying about everyone 'is 'im a ghost?'. Ferdy's new favourite character is Ebenezer Scrooge and he later wrote all about Charles Dickens.

As for me, well I came out feeling full to the brim with Christmas spirit, crooning carols and utterly in love with Christmas, Who cares about sellotape...?

God bless Us. Every one!

©Derby Theatre

Glorious Games Galore

It has rained all week this week but on Fridays we seem to often be blessed with good weather, so after attending Ferdy's Christingle service, we headed out to Sudbury Hall.

Sudbury Hall is one of our regular haunts and we can generally be found playing hide and seek in the playground, climbing trees in the grounds or scrambling up the chimney in the museum. But we don't often go to the hall itself (it's really borin' in there apparently). However, today an exhibition opened called Game On.

It was brill. You had to follow a trail around the house and in six of the rooms, there were over-sized board games to play.

We began downstairs in the Saloon with a walk on game of Dragons and Ladders. Ferdy won and Gil cried but luckily was quickly distracted by Scrabble in the Library in which we had to search out all the hidden letters and unscramble them to reveal a two-word name.

Upstairs we spent a long time in the Long Room: six tables were laid out with Lego with which we made animals and had to guess each other's creation (no one guessed mine was a tortoise). Then next door was Buzzwire which Gil excelled at. And on the same floor we played an exhilerating version of Cluedo where we had to work out, by reading witness statements, who had stolen the Lady Vernon's jewels.

In the Basement we Guess(ed) Who with the characters who used to live in the Hall, and finally there was a room full of even more board games to try out.

Despite some tears when games were lost, and a few cross words when we had to go around the house again searching for our toy rabbit and both the stamped gamecards which had been dropped, we had a lot of fun.

I think Ferdy may have been thinking about my indistinguishable lego tortoise when he wrote 'The terrifying torture of a tortoise', as an example of alliteration later.