Marvellous May

 

Where to begin … I can’t believe how quickly time is going, almost half the year gone already. And we’ve had the weather of every season this month – torrential downpours and strong winds, closely followed by record-breaking temperatures, only to have to wear coats and hats the following week again!

Thankfully the sun has shone when we needed it.

Aoife and her school took part in the Primary school rugby competitions.  Firstly spending one Saturday competing in the ‘Six Nations’ and then spending another competing for the ‘World Cup’, where they represented Georgia.  Each competition had over 250 local children taking part, a brilliant turn out and fantastic for rugby!

 

The rugby season has come to a close, but her U11 team celebrated with a bang.   The coaches organised a brilliant day canoeing and raft building.  This is Aoife’s final time playing in a mixed team and she has had fantastic coaching over the years.  Both she and the other female player were given a lovely end of season gift from the remaining players and it is such a shame she is moving on.   A massive hats off to the coaching team for all their effort and support; the true unsung heroes of local sport.   Aoife was made up to receive the coaches award for most improved player of the season.   This is her first individual award and great recognition for her hard work – well done Aoife!

 

  

Seamus celebrated the end of his season with a medal and certificate. Sadly, the annual end-of-season water pistol fight had to be postponed for fear of hypothermia (it was soooo chilly!) so will have to be revisited when we go for beach training in the summer! He proudly took his medal to school and received a sticker from the Head Teacher – woohoo!

 

With no rugby on a Sunday for a while, it may mean we actually get the occasional lie in! Well, one can dream…

The festivals are starting and we kicked it off with Margate Bookie – a celebration of literature. One weekend Seamus and Orla took part in a story telling workshop with author Tamara Rattigan, who has written a book ‘Everyone’s Special’ inspired by her son who has autism. They made their individual characters from craft items and celebrated the things which make each of us unique.

We were lucky enough to take part in another workshop a few days later, this time with author Sam Gayton where we made Fanzines. The kids (and I) each made a fanzine on the things we love.  It was a brilliant way to spend a morning and a great way to celebrate our interests – our fanzines featured topics such as emojis, dragons, Ghostbusters, puzzles and 80s music… quite eclectic tastes in one family.

To raise funds for the Water Gala, there was a fun fair and events at Broadstairs Bandstand during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend.  Carousels, dodgems and flying chairs! We took a picnic, met up with friends and enjoyed the sunshine listening to live music! The sunshine brought so many people to the area – the beach was packed!! It really felt that summer had arrived.

 

We’ve spent quite a bit of time in Margate this month too – visiting the Turner Gallery (we’re still not sure we ‘get’ some of the exhibitions, but we’re trying!)

We love the quirkier side to Margate and the surprises we find each time when we’re just pottering around …

 

But Margate Meltdown has got to be a big highlight of our calendar. Seamus was in his element when we went to see the bikes along the seafront. Music, scooters, Harleys and sunshine – a great atmosphere and impressive sight on the Bank Holiday!

We visited some familiar favourites too. The Shell Grotto is celebrating its 180th year of being open to the public.

… and we’ve discovered some new ones too. We finally made it to the Tudor House and enjoyed exploring and dressing up.  It gave Orla a chance to tell us some of the things she had been learning at school regarding the Tudors.  The oldest building in Margate, it’s quite an interesting place to pop in.  The staff were friendly and lovely to talk to.  The weather was so pleasant, we spent a while playing games in the side garden.  Brilliant value at £2 per adult and free for children!!

There have been some wonderful events in Margate where we could embrace nature. We enjoyed a Mad Hatters event at forest school. The kids made bug hotels, made shell necklaces, helped plant a tree and seedlings and take part in lots of other activities.  They got to be hands on with the tools and worked with such friendly staff and volunteers. The Forest School is a lovely place and the site is really developing as it establishes.

 

More fun was had at the Windmill Allotments which we visited for their strawberry fayre.  The kids loved pond dipping, finding newts and watching the dragonflies. They blew bubbles, rode the smoothie bike and made friendship hands. It was lovely to see so many people visiting and enjoying everything around them, whether the activities or the peace of the garden environment.

Ramsgate was looking gorgeous in the sun too.  We popped along to go to the cinema one afternoon. Major debate ensued: multi-million pound made-for-the-big-screen block buster, The Avengers or Sherlock Gnomes … guess what we saw!

 

We visited this hidden gem for the first time too. Although we have been to King George VI Park in Ramsgate countless times, we obviously just skirted the edges as had never found The Italianate Glasshouse. It is nestled in the grounds of East Cliff Lodge, Sir Moses Montefiore’s estate.  We popped there for a cream tea and some cake after playing in the park.  Top tip: when you pay by card and they ask where to text your receipt, DON’T give your husband’s mobile number as he’ll find out what you spend your money on!

During our most recent visit, the park was also the venue for the Annual Pugathon – a real celebration of all things pug. There were stalls, activities and lots and lots of dogs!

The Travelling Fair came to Ramsgate too one weekend. With Victorian style quirky curiosities, the kids enjoyed stories from The Wonderful World of Mr E as well as magic and music.

We enjoyed a morning making arts and craft ice-creams and lollies when the weather was a bit murky at Arts in Ramsgate to add to their window display ….

… and went to a slime workshop. Yuck!

The Royal Wedding has given us a chance to enjoy the formal side of life. Seamus dressed as a Prince for his school’s celebration.  Rather dapper, if I do say so myself.

Another chance to dress up was for the May Queen celebrations. A little later and a much smaller occasion than usual due to the illness of the organiser, but nevertheless lovely.

The dressing up didn’t end there. Baby Sensory held a special fundraising week in aid of Tommy’s.  The theme was Showtime – so I was joined by babies dressed up in some fabulous costumes and had to wear a sparkly gold jacket and top hat for much of the day.  We’re not sure of the exact total raised yet, but fingers crossed …

So the month has been incredibly busy with so much for us to be involved in.  We are so fortunate to have such a wide variety of things to do and places to visit, many of which are free or low-cost and are family friendly. June is on its way, we’ve a few birthdays on the horizon and hopefully more fun ahead too.

Hatching a plan for an egg-citing Easter!

Happy Easter!

On the last day of the school term, Seamus wore his Easter hat for the school parade. It was so lovely to see a sea of bonnets on the way to school.

School finished early that day for both him and the girls, so with a school friend in tow, we went straight to Broadstairs to join in the Chamber of Commerce’s Easter Trail, where a variety of shops gave out sweeties and chocolate eggs to children wearing Easter bonnets. Thankfully we completed the whole route before the rain started and gathered some lovely treats … and a carrot.

Easter got into full swing when we went to Planet Thanet’s Easter Beer Festival on Good Friday, joined by big brother. Taking our usual spots in the balcony (so we weren’t in the way) we got to try a few wonderful CAMRA beers and ciders … and for some, apple juices! Cheers.

The following day we headed to the Spring Food Festival at Broadstair’s Pierremont Park to sample and buy food from the region. The brownies went down particularly well!

The next day was Easter Sunday. Sporting our Mad Hatter’s hats we joined the colourful Ramsgate Parade through the High Street to the events at the Harbour. The Marina was filled with people enjoying the spinning teacups, an egg hunt, having their face painted and glitter tattoos and browsing round the stalls.  It was lovely to stop for some cake and have our tea (squash) poured by the Mad Hatter when we got to have a sit down. A massive thank you to Ramsgate Town Team, AiR and everyone else who helped make the day happen … and to the people who bought our hats in the Mad Hatter’s charity auction (especially the kind lady who donated one back to us!)

 

We enjoyed a peaceful afternoon at the Shell Grotto, making the most of our family pass. It’s amazing, although curiously frustrating, that so little is known about its history.  We also want to know who had to count the 4.6 million shells!

If you’re looking for things to do with kids during the holidays, we really are very fortunate here, with lots going on and some wonderful places to visit. Many of the things we do are free or low cost and as you can see, there is an amazing variety to see and be part of . We’re still discovering new places.

The sun shone as we headed to forest school in Margate. Thanet Community Forest school, a brilliant community project, opened it’s doors (or should that be gates) for a morning of fun family activities. Seamus loved sawing branches to make his wooden bunny, the girls wove willow wreaths and made wonderful woollen displays. Making bird feeders and bug hotels, we really got to be hands on and try so many things. The Easter Bunny made an appearance too, so we headed to the brambles to hunt for chocolate eggs he had hidden. It was our first time visiting and we had fantastic fun. We can’t wait to go back!

The great outdoors beckoned again when we headed to Ramsgate Beach for the Seashore Safari. We completed a scavenger hunt and collected ray and shark egg cases (mermaids’ purses) to be counted. Orla surprised everyone by finding 21!  The morning finished with some wonderful sand art where we made sea turtles, sharks and jelly fish out of sand, shells and seaweed. Thank you so much @ThanetCoastProj

We are very fortunate to have access to some wonderful coastline and it was brilliant to learn more about the bird and marine life we have on our doorstep. We also talked about hazards which endanger our coast and seas, such as litter and plastic. It’s dreadful to think of the damage we humans do, so we’ll try to pop along to the Big Beach Clean later this year to do our bit.

 

Now that Spring is here, the wildlife is everywhere and the frogs are returning to our pond. The kids enjoyed spotting them and noticing the first of the spawn at the allotment. Ian is spending a lot of time there at the moment, potting and planting, all ready for the start of the growing season.

So we’re only 7 days in to the school holidays (phew!) but we’ve been extremely busy and have had a cool Easter so far.  What with frog spawn, Mermaids’ purses, chocolate eggs – we really have been seeing eggs everywhere … including huge dinosaur eggs at our local shopping centre! Watch out, it’s hatching!!!

 

 

Spring has sprung but the snow keeps returning

Signs of spring briefly started to show, bringing a bit of cheer for us all.  It was so nice to see the bulbs peeking through …. but then Mini Beast from the East struck, bringing with it even more snow. What a month!

I was invited to spend time at the girls’ school for an afternoon Mothers’ Day tea. We were treated to lovely cupcakes and time with our children. Orla performed in the choir, which was very sweet to hear. A lovely idea repeated for every year group and even featured in the local newspaper (here’s the link)

The Girl Power continued when we celebrated International Women’s Day with a bang! We joined lots of people at the launch of POW Thanet (Power of Women) at Margate’s Turner Contemporary. The event began with the premiere of Voice100, the audio art piece marking 100 years since women achieved the right to vote. Award winning artist Emily Peasgood interviewed 100 people, which included us! We had recorded our voices at her studio earlier this year and had no clue how the finished piece would sound. A brilliant evening with both of my girls celebrating art, history, empowerment and women (it was too late for Seamus to join us, despite his voice being featured in the piece.) We met some lovely people, saw some bizarre art which made us think and smile, and supported artists who were brave enough to bring their ideas to life.  POW!

 

Aoife has been very busy with her sport. She recently competed in Primary School Quick Sticks Hockey competition which means her school team will now go on to represent Thanet in the Kent finals!

As well as that she’s been playing in Netball friendlies and a tournament these past few weeks which resulted in her school team losing out 1-0 in the final to achieve the silver medal.

All this sportiness was celebrated in school further with events to raise money for Sport Relief. The girls got to wear sporty clothes instead of their usual uniform.

At home,  Seamus has worked really hard titivating his Easter Bonnet ready for his school parade. He obviously decided against the ‘less is more’ approach to creativity, so it’s got chickens, eggs, feathers, lots and lots of flowers and huge felt carrots on it.  A true one of a kind creation!  Aoife’s featured a spring garden of homemade origami flowers and Orla went for delicate blossoms on top and even underneath the brim. Sadly there’s no Easter Bonnet parade in Broadstairs this year as the venue in the park is changing owners, but we’ll have an opportunity to wear them at the Broadstairs Easter Trail later this month.

We kept working on our Mad Hatters hats at home too.  Aoife continued her passion for origami, covering her hat with delicate paper butterflies and featuring a small Alice and the snooty caterpillar. Orla’s hat has chess board squares and the Cheshire Cat with a big pink and purple tail at the back. Seamus’s looks very tasty indeed with biscuits, ‘Eat me / drink me’ labels and colourful bottles. It even includes the little dormouse balancing on the rim. They spent a long time perfecting their creations and I love how they each had different ideas within the same Alice in Wonderland theme. We took them back to the workshop at AiR (Art in Ramsgate) to add a few finishing touches and are looking forward to the Ramsgate Easter Parade on 1st April … even though Easter snow is forecast.

 

Here’s hoping the weather improves … although Seamus doesn’t seem to mind.

The return of the bitterly cold weather throughout this month has meant we had to cancel rugby a couple of times due to frozen pitches but we did manage to play on Mothers’ Day, where Seamus seemed to get especially muddy! Cheers boy!

We had the pleasure of the Lifeboat coming to the club one Sunday to raise sea safety awareness. Orla and Seamus loved dressing up in all of the kit.

We used the time of one of the cancelled sessions to have a bracing time at Margate.  The kids loved the huge waves crashing over the Harbour Arm, so much so we went back again after our hot chocolate and then once more after our walk around the old town before finally heading home!

They were mesmerised watching hundreds of little seabirds sheltering in the calmer side of the harbour, watching them feed and fly again and again.

The hot chocolate was definitely needed, if only to warm our hands as the temperature didn’t get above freezing all day. With the wind, it felt more like -7C but it was a lovely day.  We loved going inside the Old Kent Market and sitting at the top of the double-decker bus cafe, listening to the music. There is a great selection of little shops, a bakery and a tiny pub. We were able to get back home in time to see the last of the Six Nations. A cool St Patrick’s Day … although Guinness free.

 

Orla has continued to be in fine voice this month. She was selected to sing in the Festival of Song at Margate Winter Gardens. I volunteered to help out at dress rehearsals, so I was word-perfect when listening to the show later that evening. She joined 300 children from 16 local schools to perform a celebration of pop music to a packed audience, which included the Mayors of Margate and Broadstairs. Orla even got to introduce the final song. I absolutely loved ‘True Colors’ and Labi Siffre’s ‘Something Inside So Strong’ although I think the kids favoured the stomping ‘We Will Rock You’ best judging by the noise!

We had another evening out when we watched Aoife perform at Thanet Festival. Her school drama group recently won the coveted School Drama trophy and as a result, they were asked to perform in the Gala Concert at the Sarah Thorne Theatre. The group showed a short mixture of songs from their version of We’ll Meet Again. Trophies were awarded throughout the evening to singers and musicians by Newsnight’s  Evan Davis. However, we had to leave early as Seamus fell asleep. Trying to get a taxi home on a Friday night wasn’t fun at all, thankfully we were offered a lift home – thank you!

One of the best events in a long while was at school where we enjoyed a Harry Potter themed evening. Magic and excitement was promised and it really delivered. Orla dressed as Luna Lovegood, with her homemade costume of Spectra Specs and copy of The Quibbler Magazine. She really looked the part with her dream-catcher necklace and Butterbeer cork complimenting her look.

Aoife shunned the idea of pink and chose to be a Death Eater, Bellatrix LeStrange instead. This involved wearing a long black cloak over her Harry Potter t-shirt, back combing her hair and sporting a secret tattoo.

The school transformed into Hogwarts and we made potions with Professor Snape, cast charms in drama, visited Hermione’s History lesson where we learned about mythical beasts and even played Quidditch. In the Great Hall we had photos taken with the green screen background and could buy drinks including Butterbeer to go with Hogwarts hot dogs, cakes, chocolate frogs and delicious other goodies as well as souvenir scarves and wands. We had helped by making posters and sharing our homemade Harry Potter props and were delighted to see them on display. A fabulous evening with lots of smiles. Truly Magical!  We look forward to an owl delivering more invitations like this.

 

The event was covered in Education Life too – here’s the link!

There’s a few more days of school before the Easter holidays begin. But with spells, songs, sport, sea and snow ….. what a busy few weeks we’ve had already!

The Beast from the East ….. brrrr

Brrrr...the Beast from the East (wintery blasts from Siberia) has arrived and we’re really feeling the chill. Walking to school in below zero temps – even before you lower it further for the ‘wind chill’ factor – has been bracing to say the least. But we’re made of sturdy stuff and have wrapped up warm and made it to school on time every day.

It has meant that we needed to wear layers of clothes under the costumes to celebrate World Book Day this year. We had a good time thinking about our favourite characters before making home-made costumes combined with a few ebay bargains and funny face paint.

Seamus embraced the Gruffalo with much enthusiasm, Orla decided to be a character from 101 Dalmatians and Aoife went as Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games; a book she hasn’t read, made into a film she’s not allowed to see! Thankfully they chose warm and cosy costumes. All looked great and had lots of fun with book related activities at their schools. It is always amusing to see Harry Potter or The Cat in the Hat on the way to school in the morning. However, for many the day was cut short with parents collecting them from school early due to worsening weather conditions.

 

Not to be outdone with the costumes, there was even a little competition at Baby Sensory. Sadly some of the classes had to be cancelled due to the weather, so I didn’t get to see baby Hungry Caterpillars and Sleeping Beauties but those who posted photos so far look great. I was Mr Tickle (as a result of having a leftover costume Aoife and Orla refused to wear) and the Baby Sensory dolly was Mr Strong, however on reflection I should have made him Mr Small. Next year guys, next year ….

Back to the cold weather … Orla really faced it when she took part in the Primary School Cross Country. She joined nearly 900 children (divided into their different year groups) on a bitterly cold Saturday morning to run her 1.5km. Go Orla!

The next day Aoife attended the Thanet Music, Drama and Dance Festival. She was fantastic and despite having chronic ear ache, she delivered her part well and received brilliant feedback. Her school won their category and achieved a distinction. Aoife plays the part of the school teacher in a musical drama set in the 1940s. The drama group gave a really impressive performance and looked spectacular in their costumes They will be performing in local care homes later this year, which I am sure will go down a treat.

We’ve been involved in more arty stuff which has been going on locally, attending AIR (Arts In Ramsgate), where we are making our Mad Hatters’ hats ready for the Easter Parade. The parade will be on 1st April and has an Alice in Wonderland theme. The hats are coming along nicely but have taken some time as they have had to be completely made from scratch, cutting cardboard, shaping and sticking. I am sure they’ll look even more impressive when they are decorated.

Time for something tasty – We celebrated Shrove Tuesday (well, Shrove Saturday) in style and had an evening of great fun at a pancake party held at the local church hall. Sadly Aoife wasn’t well enough to join us, but Orla and Seamus made sure they enjoyed her share of the pancakes on her behalf!  Seamus loved the pancake flipping challenge … is 4 a new world record?! We had fun playing the Beetle Drive, enjoyed a sing-a-long and had lovely home-made soup before topping our pancakes with a choice of strawberries, chocolate sauce, bananas, cream, marshmallows, golden syrup or lemon and sugar. Thank you to those who organise it and to our friends who joined us and were such good company.

So despite the weather, and many things we were looking forward to being cancelled or postponed, we’ve still been busy and had some giggles, and enjoyed a hot chocolate or two to keep us cosy and warm. We’ve not been beaten by the Beast from the East, we’ve had some fun in the snow but roll on spring … we ready to thaw out now!