Wot no blogpost?

Apologies to all my loyal blog readers, there has been no post for days now. In fact, I have decided now to formally close this chapter of my blogging career. It was only ever meant to be an advent project, then one thing led to another and I found so many fascinating things I wanted to share that it just kept going and going.

It's not that life is less interesting now. On the contrary, life is very full and exciting. My teaching career is developing apace, church life in Ashby is vibrant and family and friends continue to amuse, enthral and entertain. I want to concentrate on these things for now and if in the future I decide to pick up the blogging bug again, I hope you will visit!

So it's "Goodnight, God bless and sleep well" as we say in this house!

Hey-ho Hey-ho

Holiday memories!

Back to work tomorrow.

Ooh la la!

We at Ashby Baptist Church have gone all French. The church has been transformed into a French bistro and all our holiday maker guests have enjoyed their first day. We were entertained with accordian playing, quizzes, songs and a fashion show. Following a sumptuous cassoulet and brulee, we turned our hands to all manner of crafts including beading, watercolours, knitting like the tricoteuse, meccano and jigsaws!

We still have a visit to Lichfield and a Taize service to come.

All buttoned up

I remember the fun of sorting out my grandmother's tin of buttons and have always enjoyed the random colours and shapes in a collection like this. There's also the quirky interest in each button's history and the vague memory of the garment it may be from. Buttons are fun.

So I really understood what my one-to-one tuition friend meant when she advised me to take in buttons instead of counters to help pupils with maths. Who wants boring old counters when you can have all these shapes, textures, colours and stories!

A potted history of a May Bank Holiday day out.

First we dropped our son off at a big boys' play area like this:

Then we went exploring Stoke on Trent with map in hand looking for mugs, plates and the like in the famous factory shops.

Unfortunately we saw a lot of these:

...But eventually some of these.

Have you ever noticed that many of the successful potters in Stoke were called Josiah? (eg. Wedgewood and Spode). I wonder if they could have foreseen the decline of their industry or whether they would be amazed how long the success did last. Anyway, it is a sad sight to see derelict factories at every turn.

We didn't find any ideal plates or mugs but still, we came home a bit brighter having splashed out on a bargain pack of lightbulbs.

The musical medley of an Ashby Saturday morning.

First stop the market stall where the flower seller started humming cheerfully "Raindrops keep falling on my head". Encouraged be the admiration of passers by, he launched confidently at full volume into the whole song. It was actually very impressive, if you like that kind of song.

Round to the church coffee morning where our creative friends were transforming the church into a French bistro ready for Holiday at Home this week. All busily hanging bunting and pinning up doilies accompanied by French songs with a jolly theme.

Out again into the rain and there in front of Boots was a Morris Dancing group with blue painted faces and sticks and bells and banjos and all. They were literally singing in the rain. And dancing and having a jolly old time with old English folk songs.

So this is Ashby on an average Saturday morning. Covent garden of the Midlands!

Celtic Blessings

I incorporated celtic blessings into RE lesson today. The children especially liked this one:

May the roof above never fall in

And may we below never fall out.

If only everyone could just not fall out. What a happier place it would be.

Mind you, I think they liked this one because it was the shortest and I had asked them to write their favourite two. Another choice was:

May you have walls for the wind

And a roof for the rain,

And drinks beside the fire,

Laughter to cheer you,

And those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire.