Dragon Fever!

We've had an invasion of dragons this week in school. 

We've been celebrating Chinese New Year.

Of course 2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

My class made some dragon lanterns ....

Year Six had a Chinese banquet, 

and Year One have a Chinese restaurant play area this term.

Pamela brought these lucky fish back from a trip to Hong Kong last year.

Yesterday, we had a surprise guest appearance in assembly.  

A six metre long water dragon came to visit. 

It took 15 children to lift it up and perform a little dance.

His friend, the Lion came too.....

Four lucky children had the chance to get inside! 

They loved it, but said it was really heavy and very hot!!!

Liverpool has the oldest Chinese community in the country, and the largest Chinese arch outside China.

(Google Images)

The New Year is marked every year with wonderful celebrations in Chinatown. 

Lots of our pupils went along to see, so there's been a great buzz around school all week!

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

This is my Wednesday

Tonight we decided to visit the new Museum of Liverpool down at the waterfront on our way home from work. It opened last summer, but we hadn't been inside yet.

The building is enormous, but to be honest I was a bit disappointed with the exhibits. There's lots to see, but I found it all a bit muddled. Lots of flavours of Liverpool's past, but in no particular order. We only had an hour, so we'll have to return another day.

 The view from this window was stunning, with the iconic Liver building in the background!

On our way back to the car, the sun was going down over the river across the Wirral where we live.

The buildings were fleetingly bathed in a golden glow.

I've never seen the Albert Dock looking so beautiful!

This is my Wednesday ~ The Minton Floor

Last Wednesday we visited St George's Hall, one of Liverpool's most famous landmarks.

(google images)

 It is said to be the finest neo-classical Grade One building in Europe, and is a UNESCO World heritage site. It was completed in 1855, at the height of Liverpool's prosperity, and housed a cultural venue in the Great Hall, where the rich could attend concerts and listen to readings by the likes of Charles Dickens. It was also a Law Court, where the poor could be gaoled for drunkenness and theft.

During Liverpool's decline in the late 20th Century, the interior of the building was neglected and it was eventually closed to the public.  As the city's fortunes have improved, the hall has been restored to its former glory and it was re-opened in 2007.

Come and have a peek inside.

Great bronze doors lead into the Great Hall

The Hall is huge, and is sumptuously decorated in typical Victorian style.

However, it is the floor which we had come to see. It is magnificently laid with 30,000 Minton encaustic tiles.  This wonderful floor is usually covered by a wooden sprung dance floor which was in fitted in 1883.Fortunately, the wooden blocks are lifted on rare occasions for public viewing of the floor underneath. 

Well, it just so happens that the tiles are on view during part of January, and, as neither of us had seen them before, we popped in on our way home from work. It was quite dark inside, so the photographs don't do it justice!

These sections of floor are around the edge of the room and are not covered up, and you can see how the colours have faded and the pattern worn away. 

I've been in to the Great Hall a few times for school events, but had never seen the floor before. It was well worth the £1 fee. Just amazing!

You can also take a free tour of the old Law Courts and the prison cells, but it was getting late, so we'll have to save it for another day.

London calling ....

With my daughter feeling a bit low in her new job, London was calling last weekend.

First stop was the wonderful V & A museum, and the obligatory coffee and cakes.

Glittery lights in the tea room.

The building itself is a delight with all its Victorian flamboyance. 

We were very taken with this little fellow.

Time for tea! This clock had a whole tea service tucked away in the drawer at the bottom.

The jewellery gallery was just breathtaking, but photographs weren't allowed so the next few pics are from Mr Google.

My lovely girl was very taken with the crowns, and quite fancies one herself. Well, she can dream!

On our way back to the tube we lingered for a little while outside the Natural History museum where there was a beautiful carousel, and an ice rink.

How cute are these little guys? They're for children to hold on to while they're sliding around.

 Later we went to Liberty. Here's a few pics of what took our fancy.

All too soon it was time for me to head home, 

 passing the iconic BBC building, and a very pretty church.

Despite a very enjoyable day, I can honestly say London is not for me either. 

It's just too crowded and busy, and downright exhausting. 

There's lots of lovely things to see though, and I'm going to make the most of my daughter's stay there by popping down a few more times to see her. 

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on the last post. The good news is, that, my lovely girl does seem to be settling in slowly, and sounds much happier on the phone this week! 

It will just take a bit of time!

Tag Tuesday

I think I might have a new obsession ..... Tag Making for the Tag Tuesday Challenge.
 It gives me my art and craft fix on a nice, small scale, and I get to use up some of my stash too.

This is what I entered last week:

Week One ~ Snow

Here is my first entry for Tag Tuesday. I saw this challenge on Diane's blog at Heartshaped, and couldn't wait to join in. I've really enjoyed looking at all the stunning contributions, but feel more than a little intimidated by the talent out there to be honest!

I used a photograph taken in last year's snowy weather.

It's mounted on silver mirri card(although it looks gold in the photo) and is sprinkled with silver glitter and iridescent sequins.

I've wrapped the tag in white and silver ribbons, and added a snowflake button. The letters are from K&Company.

Week Two ~ Snowsports and games

This tag has an embossed and hand painted background, with white acrylic paint and glitter on the roof tops. The frame is also embossed, and has an acetate window with a few silver snowflake peel-offs. It's attached to the background using sticky pads to give a 3D effect.

The snowman is a topper from a Kanban card making set, which I've altered with gel pens. To finish I've added a few pearl beads to the frame to represent snowballs, and the tag is threaded with a pale blue shimmery ribbon.

Many thanks to Carolyn for hosting here ~ I've spent the last week drooling over the wonderful snow tags. There's such a great variety of techniques on display.... and the quality of artwork is truly amazing!
You should all go and take a peek!

I'm looking forward to seeing all this week's tags!