Enginuity and Rocket Making

With our second Family Passport got lat summer, we always visit at least one of the Ironbridge Museums when we're at The Barn. A big favourite for all of us, but especially for Little W, is Enginuity. As usual, he headed straight for Power Valley to play with the water and dams...

But we were there to take part in the special half-term activities...

Yes we were there to make and fire some rockets! They also had model aircraft on display, display flying, and a hand operated flight simulator...

Little W kept crashing, but Big Miss was a natural.

Then it was on to making the rockets. Firstly you decorate your paper, then wrap it round a tube, seal the edges and put a bung in the end. Here are the 4 rocketeers mid-construction...

Then you add fins to keep it flying in a straight line. Here is Little W ready to get his to fire.

It is done with compressed air. You have to pump it up yourself...

...then press the firing button...

Great rocket - right in the middle of the target!

King Charles Barn Tankard

It's half term so we've all come to The Barn for a few days. Now I recently stumbled across a Madeley Matters article which mentions The Barn and a silver plate and tankard that were given to Francis Wolfe by King Charles in gratitude for hiding him here as he fled after defeat at the Battle of Worcester.

The article mentioned that a replica of the tankard would be on display at the Coalport China Museum from September 2008. As it happens, I had met Sophie the curator at our team's Volunteering Day, so I emailed her to find out if the display was still there. She wrote back saying it will be there for 2 years, so off we went to find it.

I wont spoil it for you by saying where in the museum the display is, but if you can find this sign...

..you are getting close. The display is quite compact, but very informative and has a photo of the barn as it was before it was converted.

And here is the tankard itself...

The kids were well impressed to see the history of where I stay displayed for all to read.

Ring Quest at West Stow

It was on last year and we forgot to go, so this year we just had to get to Ring Quest at West Stow.

This year, there was the added bonus of attendance by the cast and crew of Band of Hope, who we had spied filming there last summer. They had an exhibition and short film running in the new exhibition centre. Here is Little W being dressed up as an orc...

As for the quest itself, you have to find the 9 rings of man in the Realm of Man and then the 7 dwarf and 3 eleven rings in the Realm of the Elves and Dwarves. Here's the map of the Realm of Man...

Yes. It's the Anglo-Saxon Village.

Each ring is a card with a rune on it and a clue as to where to find the next one.

You have to collect all the runes and translate them to modern letters to discover the two words of power. Great fun.

And that wasn't all. In the Anglo-Saxon Village you could have a go at archery, run by Bows & Arrows.

Little Miss and Little W had loads of goes both with modern bows and replicas of those used in films. Here is Little Miss in action...

A great morning out. Big Miss was really miffed when she heard about - she had stayed at home to do her homework.

Anglesey Abbey Winter Walk

It was time for our annual Winter's trip to Anglesey Abbey. But this time it was actually snowy...

Right from the start of the Winter Walk the snow set off the colours of the plants...

Here's a Christmas Rose looking very Christmasy...

We also got to see some wildlife in the snow. A muntjac deer...

and a pair of robins...

But, of course, best of all was seeing the snowdrops in their natural element...

...the snow. I took loads more pictures which you can find in this Flickr set.

Snowy Scenes

We love the snow. And when it started we went out for a walk in it even in the dark...

It was nice and thick in the back garden in the morning...

...and at the front...

But Sebert Wood School was open as usual even though nearly all the other schools in the area were closed. Fortunately the roads were not too bad by the time it came for my weekly trip to my Second Life in Shropshire. Mind you, when yesterday it looked like this at 'The Barn'...

...oh and if you are clever you can work out which flat is mine in this picture from the angles compared to the view from the bedroom above...

... my car had a bit of struggle getting m to the main road to get to the office. Time to get some new rear tyres with a bit more grip, I think!

Ickworth Winter Walks

As you can tell if you search this blog, Ickworth is a favourite place for us for walking, even in winter. And even when it is rainy like today. There are plenty of walks to do around the estate. We started with Gerldine's walk...

It's a good job we had wellies for all those puddles. And they are great for stamping on puffball mushrooms...

Geraldine's walk leads onto the Erskine walk, where the snowdrops were just coming out...

And then there's the Albana walk, which has got a couple of shelters you can use if it gets really wet. We call this one "Belinda's Cottage" after a children's story...

We followed this up with a walk around the walled gardens. From the far corner you have a great view of this mistletoe clad tree...

Yes, it was pretty wet, but we enjoyed our walk while the Sunday Roast readied itself in the oven at home. We were glad to get back in to the warm, though.

New Musical Instrument

We have a new musical instrument to add to our growing collection. Little W has started learning the piano now and Little Miss has added to her repertoire of piano, guitar and violin...

...yes she has just started being allowed to bring home her flute from school. What with Big Miss doubling up on electric guitar and drums, and Little W on ukulele, I think I'm going to need a multi-track recorder for our growing band!

Wii Fit Boy

It was Little W's birthday and we went out for a meal. In the middle of the restaurant he did a demonstration of the yoga poses he had been learning....

..from the Wii. He loves the games on it. Here he is trying to walk the tightrope.

But my favourite Wii Fit game to watch is the Ski-jumping. It's hilarious to see the poses! Here he goes...

Weeeeeeeeeee!

Walberswick Winter Walk

Here's another favourite spot for a Winter walk. On the Suffolk Coast, just across the river Blyth from Southwold is the village of Walberswick. Just by the car park at the beach you get this view of its near neighbour.

The two are separated by the River Blyth, which may be crossed either by the foot ferry that runs during the summer months or by a bailey bridge about 1/2 mile upstream.

It was a typical cold and windy winters day when we went, but there was some sun.

Sizewell is just a few miles along the beach, here lit by a break in the clouds.

I rather like the sign next to the emergency telephone on the beach, a strange relic from last century. I wonder if it still works?

The walk along the river is refreshing and the surrounding marshland is a National Nature Reserve. I was tempted to cross the bridge to the Harbour Inn, but it looked a bit busy.



But the fresh air blew some of the new year cobwebs out of the brain.

Boxing Day Walk at Redgrave and Lopham Fen

It was nearly 18 months since we last went there so I suggested we go to Redgrave and Lopham Fen for our Boxing Day walk. It's about 1/2 hour from Bury St Edmunds - just follow the A143 towards Diss and look for the brown sign for the road to the left through the pretty village of Redgrave and across the county border into Norfolk. There is a good choice of waymarked paths...

We chose the 6.5km Waveney path, but perversely chose to walk it in the wrong direction. We also neglected to tell the little ones how far it was. "Are we nearly there yet?", they said...

Hmm. Just about half way at this point. It was a lovely sunny day, but with a cold easterly wind. The wintry fenland landscape was picturesque.

It was pretty quiet, apart from the occasional bird call and the lovely rustling noise of the wind in the dry reeds.

Watch out for the wild horses that roam the Nature Reserve.

We eventually made it round and set out our picnic...

But it wasn't like Dunwich Heath last Boxing Day. They look a bit cold, don't they? Five minutes later we were all in the car with our turkey sandwiches!

The Twelve Promises of Christmas

"Let's go and see all our presents!", said Little W, excitedly. But here was a surprise. Yes Santa had been - the sherry and milk had been drunk and the carrot and mince pie eaten. But where were the stockings? And where are all the presents? Instead, each of them got an envelope where their stockings had been...

...with a letter...

Have you been good? A grumpy old man took your presents from me. I don’t know where he put them. Maybe your brother and sister can help you find them. With lots of love from Santa.

Each of them also got a picture and they had to put them together to find where the next clue is...

In all there were 12 clues to solve each made from 3 pictures. Try clicking on the image below if you want to try solving them for yourself...

But here was the really cunning bit. Each clue of three pictures came in an envelope with a statement on the outside...

...along the lines of..

If you promise to clean your teeth every day and night you may open this envelope for your next clue.

So by the time they found their stockings in Dad's car boot, they had all promised to...

Clean their teeth day and night

Help around the house when asked

Keep their rooms tidy

Do what Mum or Dad asks, straight away

Help set and clear the table

Be ready to go out on time without needing to be shouted at

Be nice to each other

Do their music practice, homework and reading without being nagged

Not moan when asked to go on a walk and

All keep all the other promises all of the time.

The back of the envelopes all had a message -“Keep this envelope, you may need it later”. And here's why... When they opened their stocking, they each had another message: "If … the … your … your … Dad … him … can", "You … rest … presents … envelopes … and … if … have", "Want … of … take … to … ask … you … them".

Big Miss figured it out straight away. You have to read from each message one word at a time. So, after a final promise on another card from Santa...

Well that grumpy old man turned out to be your Dad!. He said you can open this present only if you promise to share and use it only when Mum or Dad says you can (and when they’re not using it)

...they then got to open this present...

Yes we had a Wii Wii Christmas! But, best of all, I had got them all to make 12 Christmas promises!