I can still remember when it used to be this morning!
An early start today with very little waking up nice and slowly which always throws me slightly off kilter for the day. Infact we forgot something and had to double back because I wasn’t really with it yet – Davies and Scarlett would always be doing PE in their pants and vests if they were at school because I’d forget to give them their PE kits on sports days if we had to be out the house by 830am every day! And as for lunchboxes… 😆
So we arrived about ten minutes late to the Green Diggers Event. Green Diggers is the under 12s offshoot of a West Sussex County Council environmental gardening initiative. We have only made it to one previous event way back last year as we’ve been busy for all the subsequent ones but that had been very good with Davies winning a wormery, loads of activities, him and I being interviewed for radio and both of them ending up on the front cover of the council newsletter so we had high hopes for this one!
It was held at Pulborough Brooks in the classroom and on last minute checking of the email invitation I had noticed something along the lines of ‘children will rejoin adults at the end’ and prepared D and S for me not staying with them. They had both been very wobbly at the prospect with Davies saying he didn’t want to go then but in the event being late they were whipped away by the friendly and efficient person running it while I was sent packing with a voucher for a free hot drink in the coffee shop and told to return in 2 1/2 hours!
So I stood, blinking in the sunshine like someone recently released from prison, not quite knowing what to do with my new found freedom! I was very taken with my single shadow instead of a triple one like normal
and the frosty but sunlit path leading away from me
So despite being not very warmly dressed (as usual) I decided to walk round the reserve and take some photos. The difference of walking round along and actually seeing birds before they were scared off, listening to bird song and cows mooing without it being drowned out by children’s noise was amazing. Eventually I started to feel inferior without huge lenses, tripods or fancy binoculars, not to mention a coat like all the other people I exchanged ‘good morning’s with so I went back to the centre to redeem my voucher for a pot of tea. I’d brought a book with me so I sat and stretched my tea for over half and hour and read my book in peace :).
When it was time to collect D & S they were just finishing their bird feeders from old milk cartons including sticks for perches and various design features. They had learnt about birds and other garden wildlife, made mini gardens in teams with other children, looked at kitchen scraps suitable for feeding birds and generally had a good time :).
It had been an interesting, enjoyable and educational morning, not to mention a big deal about us all being apart and managing just fine with it :).
We drove the scenic route to Tescos where I dashed in to get some bits for lunch before we headed to the park and ate in the car before getting out to meet up with Mel, Liam and Lily – on half term.
They played in the playpark for a while until Davies fell and cut his knee. While he was over getting sympathy and cuddles from me a small dog pushed a ball through the fence and when Davies threw it back over to him fetched it and pushed it through again. Thus starting a game which Scarlett and Liam came and joined in with and lasted a good half an hour. They eventually joined some other children in some tree climbing and then Mel treated us all to ice creams (children) and tea (adults)
We then walked to the top of the park, with Scarlett making friends with every single dog we met
she is excellent about checking first with their owners now about whether it is ok to approach and stroke the dogs- which is just as well as I don’t do any checking for her first!
The children ran about in the sunshine playing, Mel and I chatted and we ended up back at the park for a final ten minutes playing before we started to head for home.
I had time for a cup of tea and then Ady and Julie arrived at the same time – Ady to take over D and S’s tea, bath and bed while Julie and I went off to Ikea for storage solutions for their increasingly family :). We had a nice few hours chatting on the drive there, wandering round, negotiating the flatpacks, persuading someone to assist us in getting it all into the car and then driving home again.
Ady (wonderful Ady) had got a bath run and a lovely dinner ready for me. And now, what feels like days after this morning started I am well and truly ready for bed. Tomorrow we’re back to Pulborough Brooks again, this time for a RSPB event which we’re really looking forward to, so I really should go and get some sleep!
ooh what a day – I love that picture of your shadow, and you are holding one hand out as if a child should be there. I bet that was a huge moment in some ways. Lovely how it went so well.
I managed to prevent myself from having to sing the whole of Miracle Pie before starting your main text.
Comment by Ali — 19 February 2008 @ 10:10 am