Guest Blogger!

Ben returned home today from his weekend away to Skern Lodge in Appledore and wrote about his time there. It sounded so much fun I thought I'd share it with you... in Ben's own words!

Friday:
We left school at half past eleven on the coach. It took 2 hours to get to Skern Lodge. When we got there we put our stuff in our rooms and we did our first activity which was kayaking in the outdoor pool. In our groups we got into pairs and one person swam and pulled the kayak along while the other sat in it. We had fun capsizing each other. When we were done it was time for dinner, I had a jacket potato with spaghetti hoops. After dinner we played football in the field, and then we went to our rooms to unpack and get our beds ready. Then it was time for the evening activity which was building shelters and learning camp craft. After that we watched a dvd and went to bed.

Saturday:
We started the day feeling really tired and I had bacon and sausages for breakfast with a bowl of Weetos. Then we had our morning meeting and played a few games with a blindfold on. Then we went to 'Store 2' to get helmets for going in the tunnels and walked up to the tunnel entrance. Our instructors told us about the dark tunnels and what obstacles to expect. They set us off in threes on a small loop around the tunnels. Next we had to find the room in the tunnels at the top of the field. When we got there we all met up and went back to our accommodation room for a hot chocolate, then went back to the tunnels to play hide and seek. We hid from our instructors. Almost all of the boys hid in a small room that was pitch black, but in the end we were all found.

After lunch we got our harnesses and helmets on and went to the crate stacking area. There was a rope with a hook on it to lift the crates up to the people climbing on top. Our team got up to 10 layers of crates before we ran out of time, I got to push the crates over when we finished with my team mates on top who were tied to ropes. (They were girls so they screamed!) Next we did some archery with my favourite instructor Gav. I shot one that went way over the target on purpose! I also almost got a bull’s-eye, but I hit the red area instead of the yellow. For dinner we had fish and baked beans with potatoes. After free time we had our evening meeting and did a scavenger hunt before swimming. We had lots of fun jumping in and bombing each other.

Sunday:
After breakfast we did the assault course. There were lots of different obstacles; my favourite ones were the rope swings over a big puddle and the wall where two people had to help the others by giving them a leg-up. Next we went on the zip line that stretched across the whole field, it was very high and we had to stop on a platform at the end. After lunch we went on the high ropes. There were big cargo nets we had to climb, it was fun sliding down after we reached the top. We had to climb a really high pole, I almost got to the top but we ran out of time. Next we had to trapeze jump from the top of another pole that was easier to climb, but higher. I jumped but missed the trapeze part! We didn’t have time to go on the balance beams. In the evening we had a disco, but I stayed outside and played football with most of the boys. The girls we being silly and crying because their boyfriends wouldn’t dance with them, they also sang annoying songs.

Monday:
I was late for breakfast because I slept in. We had to strip our beds and pack. We had our morning meeting and then we went to the beach to go surfing. I stood up about four times on the board, after falling off a lot! I had a mouthful of sea water a few times, but it was fun. Then we had lunch and got the coach back to school.

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

The Year 6's always do an end of year production before they leave school, and Ben wasn't looking forward to it as he doesn't enjoy acting or singing at all. To his delight he managed to avoid this humiliation (in his opinion) by having the job of sitting at the back of the hall with a laptop making sure the script was shown correctly on the smart screen for the cast to see. This was his favourite production to date! I didn't take my camera with me as I knew he would be hidden at the back, but I wish I had now. At the end of the show the headteacher was thanking staff and teaching assistants for the efforts made to make the play happen, and all of a sudden he singled out Ben for his work and had him come to the front to receive his own applause and take a bow. Oh my, I really had to blink back the tears (I'm not known for my weeping!) He looked so proud and had an embarrassed smile, but he had enjoyed himself and felt an important part of the play. There have been lots of moments like this lately, Ben coming out of his shell a little more in public and doing things he would never have done a couple of years ago.

This morning Ben walked to school with me today instead of cycling as he usually does. He was lugging behind him a small suitcase for his 4 day residential trip with his class and walking slightly in front of me. He looked older all of a sudden... and very independent. After this trip Ben has one more day at school on Tuesday when they will have the Leavers Assembly. I've been dreading this, the end of Primary School and the start of Secondary, but this morning as I followed him to school I realised he was ready and I had to be too. He even let me discreetly kiss him goodbye in the playground!

Lovely Tonight

I had the unexpected pleasure of winning tickets this week to go see Joshua Radin supporting Jools Holland at Kew Gardens on Saturday. It was the perfect setting for an outdoor concert, beautiful flowers and trees wherever you looked, families with picnics and blankets... and lots of rain! It didn't dampen anybody's spirit though, there was a great atmosphere and Joshua's voice was beautiful. There was plenty of dancing to Jools Holland (how can you not?) I love that Jools' orchestra is a mix of young and older musicians, they blend jazz, blues, ska, soul and reggae so naturally. (It was also great that I blagged front row again!)

Quote of the weekend: 'I don't have tickets, I'm on Joshua's guest list.'

Joshua Radin

Jools Holland and His Rhythmn & Blues Orchestra

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians...

Last thursday Rosie had her first sleepover. At school her class has been learning about native americans and the teachers thought it would be fun to have the children spend the night in some tee pees! The next few days were spent decorating the orchard with dream catchers and totem poles the children had made. I have never seen Rosie so excited! She dressed up in an old pillowcase for the occasion and had lots of fun sharing a tent with her friends. I did feel some sympathy for the teachers the next day when I dropped the other children off to their classes, they looked very tired after their nightwatch shifts and the headmaster was nursing his second large coffee of the morning!

Gratuitous Sports Day Pride

Today was our school sports day and it was gloriously sunny! It was the first year all four of our children competed and I can confirm that none of them won a race. But, Rosie and Ben's house 'Greenhill' came first overall and they completed a victory lap around the field to the sound of Queen's 'We Are the Champions' and much applause. Personally I think all sporting events should end that way!

It's the pre-school race for Noah! Here he is in the right hand lane, can you hear his friends cheering him on?

Next up is Rosie balancing her green halo:

Ben looked a little bored in this one:

Ethan in blue for his relay race: