Festival of History 2010!

this is becoming a bit of a stalwart arrangement in our home ed calendar! so we went to wicksteed park to camp and the lovely em and nic were already there! [just completed their feedback with a couple of minor nags] so we set up in what really was quite gale blustery weather! gradually the babs arrived, and the kirsty. the babs tent snapped, luckilly they brought 2, and kirsty’s was adjusted a few times, but when right was fab with the wind. kids had a merry time playing, we chatting, and the first night done! next day we got up bright and early, relieved to see tents still standing as had been VERY windy! and went to wicksteed rides

Due to some ticket thingies, we all had wristbands this time, which was a v good idea! bb was soooo adventurous! [go bb!] with going on the monorail cycle thing, the dodgem boats, the cars, bouncy castle, teacups and sort of the big slide [tho i did have to rescue her and go down together]. way more than she will normally do!! SB is always adventurous, but this year also did the canoeing and that single person boat that launches off a slide! great time, with much more running about by the older girls, not needing to be with adult, and making for a good friend filled atmosphere as well. SB had a ball!! i really enjoyed the company of em and the babs as we watched our offspring have a great time! the circus was enjoyed by SB, but not so much by BB. tho O was partic cute!! finally i ended up at the park with BB, and a few texts and calls made me a bit teary, but a nice hug from my husband let me put on my brave face! i so wanted to show happy times to my girls to make up for my teary snappy times!!

merry and family arrived, The Babs borrowed our frontier, which needs a little bit of tlc after a couple of years in the hayloft, jax arrived with new tent, then tea hidden in the tent with a massive rain squall, playing and then a lovely evening and toasted marshmellows for all the kids and pimms, chatting, loving, laughing and crying with lovely friends. an evening which reminds you of what good friends you have, and how the internet can be a fab thing. i wouldn’t have known you without it!!

the next day was festival of history, sad farewell to em, and a quick drive. we decided to make it easier for BB we would plonk at watch for the morning and wander for the aft. we very much enjoyed the new prince malik’s lancers and were just settling in to watch the roman century [mm, i love romans!!] when the most enormous rain drenching occurred, and although BB was waterproofed, it was miserable, and she wailed, so we decamped! hid in the artisans bit, and then when that drenching over, looked around. SB and BB made a wax seal, and heard all about their invention, dick turpin etc, the made tiles. The dyer shew SB and myself how to use a drop spindle, so we bought one, and a lucet. another huge rain squall, and SB and I hid with the plasterer, and had a 20 min talk all about plastering roman and renaissance and showing us bits. we were both enthralled. BB drilled a hole into a reindeer antler and made a necklace with chris there with a man with an exceptional beard and great friendliness! we then met up with others at the victorian beach as the rain passed, and bB played with the sand whilst SB listened to storytellers, and then both listened to the fab BZents. we had jax and family with us in the aft, and went to the stalls first, on our way to agincourt. i love how the stallholders are appropriately dressed, and happy to talk at length about their crafts. girls bought beads, and i bought the all odinseye bracelets. we didn’t get to agincourt since we were v much distracted by the alchemist on the way! he was v fab!! agincourt was won by this point, so we went to the games bit for BB, and then home. another lovely eve with friends and fireside laughter and jollity! some of the deependers and also the pies had joined us!

packing up took not so long the next morning, also helped show how to take the frontier down, as the wind was starting to wwhip up. then helped jax with her tent, unfortunately whilst we were in it, the wind whipped out the few remaining pegs, and it came down on us – owww!!! never mind! still, we went off, and went to the parade ground to sit, and watched the american war of independence [and chatted about it] some departed romans and then wandered around the jacobite and civil war camps before meeting up with the deependers for a restorative cup of tea, play in the sand, and a second attempt at agincourt – which we did manage to watch! it was rather good too. we didn’t watch harfleur this time, which SB then moaned about as we saw it last year [v excellent]. quite a good impression of raining arrows! we beetled back and SB an I saw the ww2 finale, whilst chris and bb went back to the games. SB also wanted to watch the parade, so we did. finally we all met up and chatted before leaving to come home. little chef meal with jax, home, and bed!

thankyou to all the friends who make me smile and help give me the strength to keep smiling!