Stripping the Willow

This evening after work, Rhodri and I met up with some other villagers in Canary Wharf to celebrate our friend Julian Wild's art exhibit opening night. His exhibition is called "Stripping the willow" and is a sculpture exhibition in the lobby of some big office building. It was a really fun Tuesday evening, although it felt quite strange to see the familiar faces of our neighbors in the context of Big City London.

Birthday pizza party

Tryfs went to Jake's birthday party today which was held at Pizza Express. Look how cute they all are in their little hats!

Communal worship

Every week at school, one of the classes hosts the "Communal Worship" session which parents of that class are invited to. This is a fairly new way of doing things as it replaces the Friday morning assembly where the former headteacher used to recognise a few pupils each week who had done something special or notable. Parents were pretty reluctant to be excited about this change, but actually it has been so wonderful. Each week there is a theme for the school, such as humility, enjoyment, generosity, friendship, etc... Nice themes which the school then explores throughout the week to really understand what the word or concept is.

This week was Foxes class who were presenting something about the theme(s) of "Enjoyment and love learning". They sang 3 different songs and also explained the 5 ways to pray to God: praising, saying thank you, saying sorry, asking for help for someone else, and asking for help for yourself. After each way of praying was presented, some of the kids played soothing inspiring background music on the xylophones while the audience was invited to pray. One might expect that such a scene populated by about 25 6-7 year old boys and a meager handful of 6-7 year old girls would create a rowdy din of gong banging and giggles, but actually these kids were so earnest in their attempts to create soothing music it brought tears to my eyes.  Their grand finale was a song called E-N-J-O-Y which I wish I had videoed but my phone's memory was full by then. What made it great was that everyone was invited to stand and sing along and/or dance. It was such a joyous song. The song was accompanied by a slideshow of nice things, so the song went something like this: "Birthday cake! Birthday cake! It looks good. [repeat] E-N-J-O-Y! God is good, God is good. God is great!" and then repeating with another something that sounds good, tastes good, feels good, and all done to a samba beat.

Anyway, the video I did take was pretty cute too. It is just so sweet to see all these gorgeous kids singing and dancing so earnestly.

Sports Day 2015

Today was Sports Day and it was a truly gorgeous day. Tryfan had been gearing up for the annual running race where he would try to beat Harrison while Rhiannon was hoping to not come in last for her running race. Both of their ambitions were not realised today, but they both ran really well in this race and also in the other 5 events. Tryfan came in 2nd and showed great sportsmanship, and while Rhiannon was technically last in her race, all 5 of the girls were pretty close together so she wasn't last by much.

Rhiannon doing standing jump

The events were: standing jump, throwing distance, throwing accuracy, sack race, obstacle course, and then running.

The Year 2 Fox class - Tryfan is in the back row, middle

 It was actually probably the hottest day of the year so far - around 28 deg C/ 85 deg F - and so we all clustered in the shade for a picnic lunch at the end. This was the first time the school has done it this way and it was so lovely to just gather together in the soft grass and picnic!

Village Day in the Gate

...Chelwood Gate, that is.
A few years ago the parish council bought the piece of land adjacent to the Chelwood Gate village hall and established a village celebration day sometime in mid-June. This year it was held on Sat 20 June, which was also Solstice, also the day of a sponsored walk with the school (along the same route as the one a few days ago with Beavers), and also the day of a party for our friend Roland. So it was quite a busy day.

Tryfan dressed up in party accessories

Kids tug-of-war which morphed into general tug-of-war

Girls side pulling their way to victory

It was a fairly overcast, mild day which eventually turned to drizzle. Not too glorious weather-wise, but we had a fun and full day anyway. 

Friends in the Gate

Our long lost friend Sarah came over this afternoon with most of her kids and also her new husband. Sarah used to live around the corner from us here in "the Gate" but moved to another village a couple of years ago. It was really nice to see her again, and the kids fell right back into familiar playing as if no time had passed.

Tryfan, Joe, Rhiannon with Maisy and Hattie with Poppy

 Later this afternoon we had some other friends around for dinner - the Denslows, who have really looked after us as we've been undergoing the house renovations. We had a lovely afternoon although the sun wasn't shining quite as brightly as we expected it to. The kids played "Grandma's Footsteps" while we adults sat around chatting.

Rhiannon as the Grandma in Grandma's Footsteps - boys trying to sneak up on her

Our little monkey

Today Tryfan went on a sponsored walk with his Beavers troop. Bentley and I came along too, since they needed an extra adult and the walk was in "our" part of the forest anyway. The whole troop dressed up like monkeys and just ran around the forest like real monkeys.

Monkey Beavers in the rhododendren

BBQ at Little Bridge

Our friends Rob and Macha invited us around for a BBQ today and it was all rather spontaneous and wonderful. There were a herd of kids there from our 3 families and soon they were riding on wheeled vehicles down the lush, grassy slope.

Flossie, Leonie, Rhiannon, Tryfan, Carter, Ellis and Teddy

Tryfan on a wagon coming down the slope

Many kids coming down the slope!

Elderflower champagne triple batch

This year we decided to go big with our elderflower champagne and we invited Ms. Wain and her daughter Brooke over to make it with us. As always, we followed this recipe. We started on Friday eve after work and then Sunday morning we reunited to strain the precious liquid into sterilised bottles.

We ran out of bottles though, so we did have to make a quick trip down to the recycling bins at the village hall. Fortunately we didn't have to dig too deep before we found some perfect bottles to use for our champagne.

Girls outing

This week has been half term at school so the kids have been off although I have been at work. Rhodri has done a good job (as always) of holding down the fort and keeping everyone sane. Today Emma and I took Rhiannon and Sophie into East Grinstead to see the long awaited "Pitch Perfect 2" in the cinema. We all enjoyed it so much, but these two girls who are only 9 years old sure can act like teenagers sometimes! They kind of even looked like teenagers today... I don't know what the heck they are doing in this photo, though!

Camber Sands, Eurovision and more static photos

It has been fun to kind of live trashy and watching telly while it is still daylight and just hanging out in this trailer park. We have also been able to do some nice little trips around the area, like to Camber Sands beach which has the only sand dunes in Sussex.

Camber Sands

    

View of the pool area

 Rhiannon and Tryfan made friends with some girls who were in a nearby caravan and they spent a lot of time in the pool even though the heater was broken. Actually, Tryfan didn't last very long inside it but Rhiannon was pretty much in there until the pool closed at 5pm every day.

Inside the Static, playing board games

We played some good games, had loads of treats, and then stayed up late watching the Eurovision song contest on Saturday night.  We really wanted Serbia to win with this awesome song "Beauty Never Lies" whose performer was so great, but Sweden won in the end.

So anyway, it was a memorable weekend of just us doing something we've never done before. Now that its all over, I am not too keen to do it again but maybe under the right conditions it might happen. There is definitely a different demographic of society who spends time in places like this, but it was fun for a weekend.

The Static

This weekend was a long one with Monday as a holiday, so we actually booked to stay in a "static" caravan at a Holiday Park in Winchelsea. We booked it for 3 nights and got there on Friday night. The kids have been begging for some time now to go on a caravan holiday. We didn't want to rent one and drive around, although that might be fun someday under the right conditions.

It was a bit of a strange context for us because Rhiannon was on crutches for these days. She has developed some kind of painful cracks on the bottom of her feet which make them really difficult to walk on. This meant that we couldn't go on very long walks or anything like that, but we could go into the swimming pool and the sea.

The caravan park was just across the road from a grassy park leading up to the beach, so it was a lovely spot to be in. I had a couple of nice excursions on my own or with Bentley, and it was kind of funny to stay in this park where we felt so out of place.

Fire lighting with Beavers

Tonight I helped out with Tryfan's Beavers troop.
They were lighting fires at Broadstone Warren.
It was kind of a free-for-all, but I had my own little group and we eventually got a fire going. Here are Tryfan and Carter in front of our raging campfire.

Red Lion opening weekend

We are lucky to live within walking distance of two pubs: The Coach and Horses, and the Red Lion.
The latter pub has been under various different managers during the past 5 years we have lived here, and we've seen the pub go waaaaay downhill and eventually close under the most recent management. Now, however, new people have come in and it all looks very promising! Building a permanent play structure is a Very Good Start.

They held a Grand Opening celebration on Friday night, and then Sunday afternoon another Grand Opening but this was aimed at families. Naturally, Rhodri and I went to both of the events. It was a glorious weekend and we got to hang out with loads of our friends and neighbors while the kids ran around.

General outdoor loveliness

This now is the best time of year here! Everything is blooming and green and it is just so lovely.

All the neighbor kids have been taking advantage of the new wooden play features in the Jubilee woods behind the village green. Some guy called "Saxon" built all of these and they are absolutely gorgeous - there are balance beams, wobbly bridges, climbing frames, picnic tables and a roundhouse shelter!

Tryfan, Matilda and Rhiannon in the Jubilee woods

One morning, Anne Marie and I took all the kids to Sheffield Park play woodlands which is the same place that we went for the moonlight torch walk with the Beavers some weeks ago. There is a giant swing and really great trees for climbing on.

Kids climbing tree - can you spot Tryfan?

 Our back garden is stunning right now with some hot pink azaleas. And fortunately our neighbor a few doors down trimmed some of his giant trees so we have a lovely view from upstairs now!

View from sun deck of our freshly mowed lawn

Combined Birthday party for friends

Today was a combined Birthday party for Bruno, Max and Tommy.
It was kind of a nightmare because then we had to buy 3 presents although it was really only Bruno who had invited Tryfan and Rhiannon to come along.

Anyway, it turned out mostly ok except that Tryfan left his jacket at Monkey Bizness in Lewes, so we had to detour an hour (30 min each way) and I was pretty grouchy about that.
I can't remember what else happened today, but it was just one of those days that was a bit off. Oh well. You get that on the big jobs, as someone once said...

Bluebell walk gone wrong

Today Emma and her Dad and I took all the kids on a bluebell walk to a particularly gorgeous stretch of bluebell carpet in the woods below Cumnor House School in Danehill. It was a gorgeous day and it was also extra special because it was Monday and a Bank Holiday so everyone was off work/ school. Last year we had such a lovely bluebell walk in this place and so we had all been looking forward to bluebell season so we could visit again. One of the extra fun things about this place is that there are several rope swings throughout the forest, so we can leisurely amble along, stopping every now and then to swing on the rope swings.

Everything was going swell until Sophie fell off one of the swings and was in a lot of pain (later found out she broke her arm). Now, Sophie is a tough girl and doesn't cry very often, so we knew something was very wrong. I ended up running back to Danehill and getting the car, then driving up someone's private path to get to the closest spot where Emma, Rhiannon and Sophie were waiting. Fortunately Emma's Dad walked Oscar and Tryfan back home to their house.  So we girls drove to the "Minor Injury Unit" in East Grinstead and waited until Sophie and Emma were called into the treatment room, then Rhiannon and I left and Rob (Dad/ partner) arrived. Poor Soph. It turns out she broke her arm high up below her shoulder, so has to just have it in a sling for a long time.

So we never did actually make it to the really amazing stretch of bluebells and I have to go back before the season ends!

Independence day

Lately Rhiannon has been really flexing her muscles of independence. She is always asking if she can venture out to various places on her own or with a friend / Tryfan. Finally the other day I agreed to let her and Tryfan and Zoe make their own way to the swing in the forest. They happily ran off and I stealthily followed them to make sure they held hands while crossing the road, etc. They did a good job and soon Bentley and I went down to just check in on them (although we hadn't been far away the whole time). They begged to be able to come home on their own in 15 minutes, so I agreed to that but then raced home and asked Rhodri to go hide in the bushes and watch them get safely home. As it turned out, their teacher happened to drive by as they were preparing to cross the road! He asked them at school the next day, "What were you guys doing all alone in the forest?" and they proudly said that I let them go on their own. So I had to go up to him later to explain that we hadn't actually left them completely alone, and he said that he already knew that because he had spotted Rhodri in the bushes! Anyway, it felt like a landmark day in the life of Rhiannon.

Sitting soft

Sometimes it is nice to "sit soft" - a phrase that my German friend Chris uses when we are at her house. Although we have the red couch which is a nice soft place to sit, it is now in the TV area rather than in the cozy corner. I've been searching furniture sites and limited time offers, ebay, Gumtree and all the other methods for finding furniture but nothing has met our criteria: low cost and able to fit in a corner with 205 cm max on one side.

Anyway, finally we found a perfect match and it was delivered today!

Now we can sit soft anytime, although it has to be said that this is not the softest or comfiest of couches - it is rather "firm". But at the right price and right dimensions and color, we can live with the firmness...

Rainforest Play

Rhiannon's class put on a play this week and Rhiannon was one of the main characters: Boss #1.

Several people came up to us after the performance to comment on how convincing Rhiannon was as a demanding boss! "Give that girl a job!", said one lady.