In my Easter Bonnet ...

Today we had our Easter Bonnet Parade in school ...

We had a whole warren of chocolate bunnies for prizes ....

I'm so glad I didn't have to judge.

These are just a few of the two hundred hats in school today.

Aren't they fantastic!

We played the old Judy Garland song ... much to the children's amusement.

They all burst out laughing!

Poor Judy!!!

Later, wherever you went in the building, there was a trail of feathers, shredded paper and little chicks who had fallen by the wayside as some of the hats gradually disintegrated  over the course of the day.

All this loveliness happened on a day when the weather was truly horrendous - we have had lashings of rain, sleet, hail, snow and gale force winds today.

It's the daffodils I feel sorry for - they have fought so hard to open their buds and when they do finally manage to bloom they get battered by the forces of nature!

Happy Birthday to You ...

My lovely girl has her birthday tomorrow -- and she's far from home....

So we're all sending her birthday hugs and kisses until we can see her at the weekend.

Every year her birthdays last longer and longer ...

She celebrates with her Newcastle friends the weekend before ... and celebrates with her Wirral friends the weekend after...

 the actual birthday can be low key but no-one is allowed to forget it as it is planned weeks in advance and we all get lots of reminders!!!!

Well, sweetie, have a lovely, lovely day - I know something very exciting is happening at work  -

and we will see you on Friday.

You have some birthday treats waiting here to be opened!

P.S. Inca sends you a big lick!!!

Lots of love .... Mum xxx

Disappointed ...

This weekend we planned to be here ....

..... going for a nice long walk somewhere in the Lakes ...

... with  Mr. B. and Inca ...

... and a picnic

Instead I've been here ....

with ...

.... and ....

It's not what I had in mind for a lovely Saturday!

Child of the Sixties ...

In response to the lovely nostalgic comments on my last post - here are some more memories from my childhood ...... again the photos are taken from a scrapbook layout I did a few years ago.

 

My years at primary school were in the sixties and the two photos span about six years.

I added pictures of things that were dear to me while I was growing up:

Does anyone remember the Bimbo comic?

I watched Doctor Who from behind a cushion - so scary then in black and white

Watch with Mother ....Picture Book, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben, my very favourite Rag, Tag and Bobtail and the Wooden Tops 

I loved Rupert the Bear annuals and Mary Poppins ....

the wooden hut is "Colomendy" in North Wales-

every child in Liverpool spent a week away from home at Colomendy at least once in their school lives-

it was a residential centre owned by Liverpool L.E.A.

I would spend hours lost in reading

Ah- the Magic Roundabout - but I didn't see it in colour

The Beatles, the Sound of Music - (still a favourite to this day)

.... and the Monkees-

so dated and incredibly silly when you see clips of the TV programme now - but I loved the Monkees!!!

 Was anyone else a "Child of the Sixties?"

Memories ...

The photographer was in school today to take class photos.

He wanted to take the photos outside instead of in the hall as usual.

It was absolutely freezing! 

"We've never had the school photographs taken outside before," we said.

"Is he mad?"

Then I remembered my own school photographs - and they were all taken in the playground.

This is a scrapbooking layout I did about my school days and my childhood ambition to become a teacher.

I'm the one in the middle - all buttoned up in my handknitted cardy. I'm probably eight in this snap.

I wonder if the children in my class will keep today's class photograph as long as I did!

Normal service is resumed:

At six o'clock this morning I took Inca out for a walk on the Wirral Way....

Before I hurt my back in the summer we did this every day before work. By the time I was fully recovered the mornings were far too dark and we were in the depths of winter- but I promised myself  and Inca that we would start again as soon as the mornings were lighter.

Well today, normal service has been resumed and we set off while the rest of the house was still sleeping

I swear by the health benefits ... I didn't have a cold for the year and a half - this year I've had so many ailments it's unbelievable. And it's a good way to keep in trim. I've put on half a stone over the winter ... that  has got to go!!!

Also, this year I need to get some training in for the Race for Life in July... so I'll have to start walking at a much faster pace instead of ambling along and enjoying the scenery.

Finally, it's the best time of day to take our silly dog off the lead ...... she can run like the wind down the old railway track and there are no other dogs to distract her. So, there's a better chance she'll actually come back when I call her!

It was all a bit grey and drizzly this morning ... but it won't be too long before it will look like this....

I can't wait!

Making preparations....

As you may remember,  my little after school club "Snappy Cards" has been invited to run their very own stall at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool in April. We were approached by an organiser when we visited the show last year and asked if we could demonstrate our skills to show off the next generation of crafters. The children were so excited that we could hardly refuse, but as the date of the show is getting closer we realise just how much work is involved, not least the fact that the stall will need to be manned (probably by yours truly) for three whole days!!!
We've been busy making our sign and some pretty things to attract people to our stall ...

.... although I think people will be attracted (or repelled?) by the excited chatter of a group of under 10's.

We will have to pack a huge amount of our crafting materials to take along with us, but if we forget something I'm sure we will be able to find it at the show! The children will also be able to spend some of their profits from the sale of Mother's Day cards and Easter gift bags, on new supplies for the club. They love pretty things as much as I do ... even the boys.
Economic awareness is a huge trend in education these days ... but we've been doing this for four years now so our crafters are very good at weighing up good value and they love a bargain!

They also manage to acquire an enormous amount of freebies from generous stallholders .... the cute factor pays off every time!!!

A Trip to Dublin ...

A few years ago I was lucky enough to spend a day in Dublin  with a group of friends... half an hour from Liverpool by plane - it's an easy day trip. After an early start, we were in a bar in O'Connell Street by 8 a.m. tucking into the biggest Irish breakfast you could imagine, sitting next to a roaring fire.

We boarded a hop on - hop off tour bus - the best way to see any city if you haven't got a lot of time...

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Trinity College Dublin - home of the Book of Kells

The famous Georgian doors

Of course we did the Guinness factory tour - and were given a free pint of the black stuff on the 7th floor

Well it may be good for you - but it's not for me - ugh!

It was good to see that Molly Malone is still plying her trade

My grandmother used to sing this song to us when we were

In Dublin's fair city

I once met a girl named sweet Molly Malone

and she wheeled her wheel barrow

through the streets broad and narrow

singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh

She was a fish monger

and sure was no wonder

so were her mother and father before

and they wheeled their wheel barrow

through the streets broad and narrow

singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh

She died of a fever

and so one could save her

and that was the end of sweet Molly Malone

now her ghost wheels her barrow through the streets broad and narrow

singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh

Alive alive oh

alive alive ohh

Singing cockles and mussels

alive alive ohhh

Dublin is a lovely city- lots to see- good shops - and so many great places to eat and drink!