Christmas with young children

I am a huge fan of Christmas, especially the whole magical Father Christmas, stockings and reindeers aspect of it. I have very fond memories of my Christmases growing up. When my daughter arrived I looked forward to the time when I could create wonderful Christmas memories for her too. Now my son is here and I can create memories for him as well when he is old enough.

This year I knew my daughter was understanding more about Christmas and she certainly got the concept of Father Christmas! Inadvertently this year she visited him in his grotto five times! Next year we definitely have to limit this otherwise she will twig that it is a different person each time! My planning for this Christmas started in November when I bought a special advent calendar, a wooden house with small drawers and I put a small chocolate in each one. My daughter certainly enjoyed getting a little chocolate everyday but I am unconvinced that she actually understood the reason for the numbers on the drawers and what it was counting down to. My theory is that I can create certain personal family traditions and have certain things that my children will always associate with Christmas. My parents have a pair of china figures, an old fashioned girl and boy, that are actually bells with a beautiful sound. I remember getting these out every Christmas of my childhood and whenever I go back home at christmastime I like to see where they are. As a special little side note; this year my daughter saw at my parent's house a candle driven three tiered roundabout nativity scene which my Dad inherited from his parents when it needed fixing. She was very taken with it and as a special treat after Christmas dinner my Dad lit the candles for her to watch it properly. The fourth generation to enjoy this special object! My grandparents also used to have candle driven angel chimes which I remember from childhood. I was so happy when I found original imported European angel chimes at a Christmas fayre a few years ago and was able to purchase my own set which have made an appearance every Christmas since then.

This year was also the first year that Sophie helped me to decorate the tree. It was more a case that I showed her the ornament and she pointed to where it should go but she very proudly put the angel on the top of the tree. When it came to putting the chocolates in the tree she was a very willing helper, although when I looked afterwards every single chocolate was on the same branch! While I was at university I purchased a number of cheap baubles to decorate the fake tree in our student house and I still have them but I think they will be finding their way to the bin next time they come out of the loft. The reason for this is that my tree this year was covered in ornaments without using any of them. I do not have a theme to my tree, or subscribe to the elegant look. My tree is a very eclectic mix of ornaments that mean something to me. Everything on my tree has a story and I definitely like it that way. As my children get older and will hopefully help decorate the tree every year then I will be the very boring and annoying Mum that tells them the stories of the ornaments until they are sick of hearing it!

This year was also Sophie's first major participation in a nativity, last year she took part in the chorus and this year she was an angel. All through December we kept hearing snippets of the nativity songs being sung to various dolls etc, and she even started practising her part, getting me to turn on imaginary music while she skipped in a circle around an imaginary tree. She also got her toys in rehearsals! She would sit them down and teach them the songs and pretending to press an imaginary stereo. "Come on children, get out your Christmas crackers." Or indeed Christmas dinners was a common phrase heard in rehearsals. Needless to say I was a very proud Mummy watching the actual performance and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I started a new tradition this year that I actually came across on Facebook. That is the tradition of the Christmas Eve box. The thinking is that you get a shoe box or something similar and put in it a new pair of pyjamas, a new DVD, some popcorn, hot chocolate and any other treats you like. You then give it to the child(ren) on Christmas Eve to open, get in to their new pyjamas, cuddle up on the sofa and watch a family film munching popcorn and drinking hot chocolate. Seeing as Sophie's bedtime is 7pm we had an early evening film at 5pm! Monsters University! It's fab but since then I think I have watched it about ten times so practically know it off by heart! At bedtime I also read Sophie and Charlie a special copy of The Night Before Christmas that I bought last year and read to Sophie then. She was also given a copy of Kippers Christmas Eve by my Mum to go in the box so we had that too. Books that will now become part of Christmas Eve bedtime for both my children until they outgrow them.

This year Sophie was more aware Father Christmas coming and the reason for the stocking and the treats put out so we enjoyed that aspect more then last year. She put out some of my homemade German Christmas biscuits and some milk which she didn't ask to drink, unlike last year! And of course a carrot for Rudolf. We hung her stocking in her room and she went to bed. I had a great time playing Father Christmas and sneaking in to get the stocking, filling it and putting it back. This is where we enter the sort of bizarre! Sophie didn't quite get the concept of presents this year. When I was growing up my parents would always keep all the presents hidden and would then put them under the tree after we were in bed on Christmas Eve. I am going to do that next year but this year for a couple of weeks there were presents under our tree and they were barely acknowledged. Also, on Christmas Day morning Sophie came in to our bedroom as usual and seemed to have forgotten all about her stocking. We had to actually remind her who was supposed to have visited her in the night and take her back in her room to look at her stocking and encourage her to open the presents.

One Christmas tradition that we have still got to look forward to this Sunday is watching my cousin in panto. She has appeared in panto for a number of years and I have tried to go most years and always thoroughly enjoy it. I always take Sophie and go with my Mum. I am really looking forward to seeing what Sophie makes of it. This is again something that I have seen a change in her response to it as she has got older. This year should be a great experience for all of us provided Sophie has had a good nights sleep! Big shout out to all those appearing in or working on Snow White in Chatham!

I am excited to see what Christmas 2014 brings and how different things will be with Sophie, and indeed Charlie. Christmas 2013 was more magical then Christmas 2012 so who knows how much better it will be next year?!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.

 

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My personal views on parenting

I cannot remember the last time I actually wrote a blog post. It has been sadly far too long but I am hoping to rectify that in the coming months.

Those of you who know me will know that we welcomed the arrival of our second child, a boy, in August. We are now incredibly proud parents to a very precocious three year old daughter and a smiley and very chilled out four month old son. The grandparents have been warned that our family is now complete and they should not be expecting anymore grandchildren from us!! This year has also seen several other babies arrive, some of my closest friends have become first time parents and I am overjoyed to have become an aunty to a gorgeous niece, the firstborn child of my brother and sister in law. As you can imagine, rather a lot of the conversations I have had this year have been about pregnancy birth and child rearing. So I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

Firstly, I have well and truly learnt that there are no right answers! Whenever I go to a baby shower, and there have been a few, and I am asked for one piece of advice for the mummy to be I always give the same piece. I tell them to follow their instincts because whatever they are, they will be right for them. I don't believe in rules for parenting, every child is unique and every parent is different. There are certainly things that have worked for other parents that have not worked for me and vice versa.

Additionally, children born to the same two parents can be total and complete opposites in terms of temperaments, personalities, likes and wants. I have learnt this lesson pretty sharpish with my two beautiful little ones. We are still on an incredibly steep learning curve with our son, he is only four months old and as such he is still discovering the world around him and working out life and what it is to be a baby. Sophie was a baby who needed a lot of direct interaction and being held whereas Charlie is very happy in his jumperoo or bouncer provided there are things to occupy him and he loves watching people around him. Then when you talk to him he gives you such a huge smile and kicks like crazy. He is far more chilled out than Sophie ever was. He grizzles when he needs something whereas Sophie cried. By this age Sophie was sleeping through the night but Charlie is a long way off from that. Finally, Sophie was very good at feeding but Charlie actually seems to dislike milk so it is a bit of a battle to get him to feed. I know that our approaches to our two children have been very different, with Sophie we were much stronger at imposing a routine and doing controlled crying, whereas with Charlie we have let him be in charge far more. That works for us as he then fits in far better with family life and is very relaxed about being carted around here, there and everywhere in order to continue with general life with a toddler.

As a parent I am learning every single day and talking to friends and family can offer gems of advice that I would never have thought of. Raising a toddler is teaching me so much, at the moment a lot of that is the art of being patient. All lessons that may well come in handy when Charlie hits that age. I am constantly amazed at what Sophie is teaching me, the new things she is so rapidly learning and how life is constantly changing. For example, as a huge fan of Christmas and the whole magic of Santa I am loving the fact that this year she seems far more aware of it all and it is making it very special to share with her.

I know I have made mistakes as a parent, some times I have told Sophie off a bit too quickly when I am tired; I have given in to her desire for junk food when I perhaps should have enforced a healthier choice; I have given her too much choice at times and ended up in a pickle; at times I have allowed her to watch a little too much tv and I am sure there are other things that slip my mind at the moment. On the whole though, I would like to think that as mums go, I am not bad at it. I am sure I will make mistakes as far as Charlie is concerned too but if they are minor in the grand scheme of things then I will be happy.

I guess the main message I am trying to get across is that as far as perfect parenting goes there are no rules and perhaps no such thing. If the child grows up happy, healthy, independent, secure, moral and knows they are safe and loved then I think the parent has been successful. Sorry to sound so cliched and trite but these are just some personal musings brought about by realising how different my son is and constantly wondering if I am doing the right thing. I know to question myself is natural and that if I didn't then perhaps I would be too complacent but it has been an eye opener so far and considering how many babies have been born this year amongst friends and family a very popular topic of conversation.

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Harry Potter Studio Tours

Anyone who knows me even as an acquaintance or a complete stranger who has read my post on the Cheltenham Literature Festival will have more than an inkling that I am a huge Harry Potter fan. In my previous post I mentioned being lucky enough to be offered a staff place on an activity week school trip to the Harry Potter Studios in Leavesden, North West London. There are not sufficient superlatives in the English language to describe how excited I was by this prospect. Looking back I feel very sorry for all my friends in my department at work who had to put up with my barely controlled excitement in the weeks leading up to the big day.

I must have been completely unbearable to be around when the day finally dawned. Fortunately for me one of my sixth form students shares my passion and she was joining us on the trip as a helper so I had someone to vent some of my excited energy with. The journey there on the coach inevitably felt like it lasted a lifetime but we finally arrived and I was enthralled from my first sight of the outside of the studios. As a clever marketing ploy or a complete coincidence the two studios where the magic happened are named J and K. (Sorry for the extremely obvious and very poor quality pun, I couldn't resist.)

The education co-ordinator did a brilliant job and was very professional and efficient. She came on the coach and gave a small speech to the students preparing them for what was going to happen and giving them their 'passports'. This was a small booklet that contained a snitch treasure hunt among other things. We had arrived early for our allotted tour time so she pulled a few strings for us and got us on a earlier tour. No a mean feat when you are talking about ninety students and five staff.

I will endeavour not to give too much away so as not to spoil it for anyone planning to go, and I will leave my photos to the end, but I would like to share a few highlights.

The walk in to the Great Hall is absolutely breathtaking. It sent shivers down my spine to be walking on the same stone floor and beside the very tables and benches from those iconic scenes in the film. The huge fireplaces were incredible and placed around the outside of the hall were placed mannequins wearing specific costumes grouped together according to houses, Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The feature of the hall that dominates the scene is the raised platform where the staff table and the lectern from which Dumbledore delivers his start and end of year speeches stand. On this platform are ranged a variety of size appropriate mannequins wearing the distinctive staff costumes.

From the Great Hall you proceed in to the first huge sound stage. This is where the sets for the Griffindor common room, the Weasley's kitchen, Hagrid's hut and Snape's dungeon classroom are amongst others. There are also displays of props from the films such as the golden snitch from the Deathly Hallows, the time turner, Riddle's diary and the Horcruxs as well as a variety of instantly recognisable costumes. Perhaps most excitingly there is the set for Dumbledore's study that you can actually walk in to and get a 360 degree view of. I could have spent a whole day in this part, there was so much there that you don't know where to look and it's impossible to take it all in. I particularly loved seeing the Weasley's kitchen. One of my favourite moments of all eight films is Harry's first visit to The Burrow and seeing the self washing pan, the self knitting needles and the amazing clock that shows the location of all the members of the family. I was not disappointed as this was exactly the scene depicted, complete with the 'magically' moving props.

From this sound stage you walk out on to the back lot, the outdoor space where there are full size facades of number four Privet Drive and their neighbours, the Potter's cottage at Godric's Hollow and also the Knight bus, the Ford Anglia and Hagrid's motorbike. There is also a little cafe and a stand where you can buy a glass of authentic butter beer. I had to try it but it is quite expensive for what you get and it is incredibly sweet and sticky.

After this experience you head in to the second sound stage where the monster workshop is housed. Here you can see how the Thestrals are created, the troll from The Chamber of Secrets and of course the wonderful Dobby. After the monster workshop comes the awe inspiring Diagon Alley which you get to actually walk up and peer in to the various shops. As you can guess as an English teacher one of my favourites was Flourish and Blotts. After this is where there are the final touches that make the tour an even more amazing experience but I shall not divulge any secrets.

After you have finished your tour and head to the exit you are inevitably directed through the gift shop. Here you can buy anything from robes and wands to chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. As you might expect, the shop is expensive but they have a captive audience as these items are unavailable anywhere else except the Harry Potter World in Florida. Here I will make perhaps a very embarrassing confession for a 30 year old teacher, wife and mother. I am now the proud owner of a replica of Hermione Granger's wand. I did also buy a Hedwig hand puppet for my daughter which she loves and my husband did not object to the solid chocolate frog he was presented with.

My friend at work is attempting to organise another trip to the studios for the next activities week this academic year and I have of course already volunteered my services. Although, I would like to go to the studios again without ninety students in tow so that I could take my time and really absorb every detail. Some of the students have a tendency to rush their way through if they are not particularly interested in it and they have only come on the trip as their friends are going and it is better then being left in school. I have promised I will take my husband but unfortunately I've not yet got around to organising it. I would imagine that it gets extremely busy during the school holidays so I am giving a lot of thought as to which school holiday we go in.

Here is a selection of some of my favourite photos:

 

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Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Last weekend I had one of the best weekends of my life. My amazing Mum organised and paid for me to go to the Cheltenham Literature Festival, what I would call my Glastonbury. That should give you some idea of how excited I was. Huge and very public thanks to Mum for doing such a brilliant thing for me, and to my brother Matt and his girlfriend Claire for their wonderful hospitality for the weekend.

Saturday night involved attending a talk/interview given by JK Rowling, one of my literary heroes, on her new novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy.

I had a fantastic view as you can see by the second photo. I had a clear view of the chair on the right and that was the one she sat in. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk, it was really interesting to hear her talk about her writing process, her experiences and her choices and intentions involved with this book. Her answers were thoughtful, detailed and she is a very witty lady. At the end there was the opportunity to ask questions and I was incredibly lucky to get to ask my question. If you have read my blog before you'll know that I am an English teacher in a comprehensive secondary school and also an aspiring writer. You might not know that for a short period of time JK Rowling was a secondary school teacher. I was incredibly nervous to ask my question in front of 600 people and there was the further factor of having to use a handheld microphone and stand up so that she could see you. All her answers were considered and detailed and really showed that she genuinely cares about her fans. I asked her whether her experiences as a teacher were valuable in helping to shape her characters and told her that I wondered as I was a teacher too, and an aspiring writer. To sum up her answer she basically said that 99% of her creation of her teenage characters comes from her own experiences as a teen as she remembers that time of her life very vividly but that she understands that teenagers have changed since her time so the remaining 1% did come from teaching experience. She then asked me how long I'd been teaching so I told her 8-9 years, to which she responded that she had wholehearted admiration for me and the job I do. As you can imagine I was over the moon that I had talked to her and she had been so kind and complimentary. I was shaking and had such terrible butterflies. After the question and answer session we were then able to join a queue to have our copy of The Casual Vacancy signed. Due to the popularity of the event tickets were hard to come by and the three of us, Mum, Claire and I had ended up sitting separately. Fortunately for me; and perhaps unfortunately for Claire; as we left the auditorium our paths collided and we were able to join the long queue together. I have apologised to Claire for my behaviour as I was at best extremely hyperactive and at worst exactly like a giggly, giddy schoolgirl. As you can imagine, the queue took a long time as JK Rowling had promised to sign a book for everyone who wanted and with 600 people in the audience there was a huge number for her to get through. Mum had managed to get in the queue further up as she had been in the balcony seats and the signing was taking place in a first floor room, whereas Claire and I were in the stalls. Mum waited for us after she had got through the line and encouraged me to say something to JK Rowling. Rules were very strict regarding not asking for photos or dedications and only having one book signed but this was for the sake of speed and to allow JK Rowling to fulfil her promise to sign a book for everyone. I mustered the courage and thanked her for her admiration for teachers. As she had been signing my book she hadn't looked up until after I'd spoken but then she immediately recognised me as one of the people who had asked a question and exclaimed "Oh, teacher!" and smiling, reached out, grabbed my hand tightly, shook it and thanked me for my great question. Well, this sent me in to quite a spin again. I managed to say thank you, take my book and walk away with shaking legs and pounding heart. Poor Claire yet again had to put up with my giddy, overexcited and juvenile behaviour as I turned around to her and practically jumped up and down on the spot. Pretty much the same behaviour I had exhibited when I was visiting The Harry Potter Studio Tours and had been about to step in to THE Great Hall! (I was on a school trip at the time and one of the sixth form helpers and I were very over excited and were given very strange looks by the younger students and the deputy head who had accompanied us.) After this we met up with Matt and went out for dinner. I don't think I ever really calmed down all evening, even though I had the glass of wine with dinner that I'd told Claire I needed when we were queuing up for the book signing.

The lady herself.

The next day brought more excitement and more moments of awe and fantastic experiences. After a full English cooked by Matt and Claire, I did mention their wonderful hospitality before, Mum and I had tickets to watch Mariella's Book Show being filmed.

This programme is aired on Sky Arts One and the one we watched is due to be shown in November. The guests she had on this occasion were the very gentlemanly Roger Moore, talking about his book Bond On Bond, Jung Chang discussing her controversial novel Wild Swans and Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon introducing his new novel Telegraph Avenue. This was thoroughly entertaining, Mariella Frostrup was incredibly funny and all three guests were very interesting in what they had to say, and the show ran really smoothly as far as I could see. It was incredibly interesting to see a programme being filmed with all the people involved and all the equipment. Seeing the make up artists coming on set part way through filming with all their kit made me think of my sister-in-law, Lynda, who is a hair and make up artist and has worked on lots of tv programmes and films. I felt like I saw a tiny split second of what her job is like. Roger Moore was very frail but that didn't stop him from standing up like a true gentleman when Mariella Frostrup came on set.

As you can see from the photo below, we had amazing seats and had an incredible view. There was no assigned seating so we got in the queue early, although I'll again apologise to Mum for abandoning her to run in to the Waterstones Children's book tent and buying lots of books for my daughter. We were in the second row, right in the middle. There was no one sat in front of Mum as a couple of seats were assigned to camera crew, you can just see the camera in the bottom of the photo, but no one came and that particular camera was never used.


The gentleman himself stepping off the set:

After this we spent some time shopping, I even managed to bag a bargain dress in Coast for a couple of weddings and events we've got coming up, and a leisurely lunch. This was then followed by attending a talk on a recent programmed called Call The Midwife, based on the memoirs of a 1950s midwife in inner city London.

I have to admit I was not familiar with the book or the programme before coming to this event. I of course did the obligatory Google search beforehand. Even with this limited knowledge I again really enjoyed the talk. Kirsty Young was a great interviewer and I really enjoyed hearing from the writer who adapted the book for the small screen and Jenny Agutter was eloquent and articulate. I have even used one of the phrases I learnt from the writer, "sacred moment," whilst teaching my A Level class.

So ended a brilliant weekend. A weekend of many amazing experiences and one that I am going to remember and cherish for a very, very long time to come. I hope I have somehow managed to give you even a tiny sense of the whole fantastic experience and that you have enjoyed reading my account.

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Wedding Bells

Over the last six years I have attended roughly five weddings a year. That adds up to a whole lot of weddings! I love weddings and seeing all the little personal touches that the couple mark their day with, I think it gives a real insight in to them as a couple and it is so special to be invited to celebrate with them and be given this glimpse into their lives. Every single wedding I have been to has been different and wonderful in it's own unique way.

I'll start off with my own wedding. This August we celebrated five years of married life and every time we go to a wedding I always think back to our own day. You could call our wedding traditional in pretty much every sense. We had a traditional CofE church wedding, I arrived at the church from my parent's house in an open top vintage Rolls Royce. After the wedding we had a traditional wedding breakfast and evening reception in a beautiful marquee in my parent's garden. I think the touches that you could say were personal were really the colours, ivory and gold for the service, then adding deep red at the reception. With the help of my Dad and my younger brother we designed and made all our own wedding stationary. The cars were very special as my husband and his father are very in to cars and they chose them, with my supervision of course! We had a chocolate fountain and traditional sugared almond favours. We also had some very special songs played during the course of the night that meant a lot to us and our families. We had very personal readings and hymns at the service and the church has special significance for us. I believe that our day reflected us and our tastes, our values and it was a perfect day for us.

Here are a couple of my favourite photos from our day:

Also this August my older brother Steve and my sister-in-law Hannah celebrated their first wedding anniversary. If you a a returning reader of my blog you will have read the review Hannah wrote on the theatre production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe that they saw as their celebration. Their wedding was definitely very personal to them, there were so many touches that they gave it that really put their stamp on the day. They also had a traditional church service but with the very special extra that Hannah's father gave a sermon. They had a BBQ wedding breakfast at the reception at The Greenwich Yacht Club, followed by a live band, glow sticks and glow in the dark face paint. They laid on a red routemaster bus to transport everyone from the hotel to the church, and then on to the reception. The wedding car was a stretch red Ferrari and all the bunting and decoration for the reception venue was made by the bride's mother. As a couple they are very in to music and have been to a large number of gigs and festivals so all the tables were named after different festivals they've been to and the tickets formed the table signs. Also, the placemats were old vinyls which they had written people's names on and they had tried to match the person to the most appropriate artist or album. Neither of them have a sweet tooth so instead of a wedding cake they had a cake they built out of huge wheels of cheese that they then served as the evening buffet. Finally, they also designed and created all their own stationary.

Here are a couple of my favourite photos from their day:

In the course of all the weddings we have been to we have been lucky to have attended two abroad. Firstly. In August of 2012 we flew out to Malta for a week for the wedding of our friends Mark and Anastasia. It is a recurring theme that all the weddings I'm talking about have designed and created their own wedding stationary. Mark and Anastasia had the theme of Me to You Bear running through all their stationary. Anastasia lost her father a number of years prior to her wedding so she had a very special candle in an engraved glass holder burning in his memory during the ceremony and the reception. The bride's sister and I both read special readings at the ceremony and they also had an additional speech made by a close friend at the wedding breakfast. Something rather unusual happened at the end of the night that has not happened at any of the weddings I have been to either before or since. The groom was thrown in the swimming pool! This wedding was very special to me as I was honoured to not only be asked to do a reading but my husband and I were also witnesses and I was the maid-of-honour. If you read my previous post entitled Creative Writing you will have read a description of the National Wedding Fair. It was for my friend Anastasia that I attended this and my day there with her gave me the inspiration.

Here are a couple of my favourites from the day:

The second wedding abroad that we went to was in August 2011, the weekend before Steve and Hannah's wedding, we were at the wedding of Monika and James in Lodz, Poland. Monika is Polish and this is her hometown so it was really interesting to go there and see where she is from and it was obviously very special to her to get married at home. They had a Catholic wedding service and then a very polish reception with about twelve courses of food, plus a cold buffet, a hot BBQ and copious amounts of vodka. There was a bottle of vodka in the ice bucket on the table at the wedding breakfast instead of wine! There was even a song that if anyone started singing it then everyone had to join in and then down a shot of vodka at the end after the shout of "Na zdrowie!" The best translation to this I can find is "For health" and I apologise profusely to Monika if I have got that all completely wrong. One of what I would consider the most personal touches of the wedding was the readings at the service. I was honoured to be asked to deliver one of the readings in English and I followed Monika's aunt who had read the same passage in Polish. This also happened with the second reading which was sung in Polish and read in English.

You get the idea now of what comes next:

The most recent wedding we have been to was of one of my closest friends at work, Laura and Paul. They had civil ceremony in a beautiful hotel followed by a reception in one of the very grand rooms. One of the most special things about the ceremony was the fact that Laura's friend read a poem that her Mum had written for them. It was a beautiful piece of writing and extremely personal to the happy couple. I have not come across this before, where the reading has been written by a family member. Again, all the stationary was designed and created by the couple and the theme of butterflies and the colour blue that ran through everything was personal to Laura and Paul. All the tables were named after places they have been to and the table signs were photos of them together in those places. The wedding favours were wine glass charms that we were encouraged to make use of during the meal. We were at the Paris table and our wine glass charms were little Eiffel Towers. These are so cute and have been used on several occasions since then at home.

Here you go:

Still to go this year we have two weddings in December and we have already got three lined up for 2013. I am sure every single one of them will be special and unique and a wonderful day.

(All photos reproduced with very kind permission of the brides in question. Thank you very much Hannah, Anastasia, Monika and Laura.)

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The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Guest blog.

Last year I was very lucky to gain an official sister-in-law when my older brother married the very lovely Hannah. This year to celebrate their wedding anniversary they went to the theatre and so I asked Hannah if she's write a guest blog for me. Here it is...

Steve and I have been married for one year now, wahoo! Our anniversary was on Monday 13th August, and considering we were going on holiday soon after, we weren't sure what to do on the actual day. Needless to say we wound up booking tickets to see 'The lion, the witch and the wardrobe' by the Threesixty theatre company at Kensington Gardens!

We arrived at the matinee performance (during the school holidays) and immediately felt that we must have missed the small print specifying that all adults must be accompanied by a child. There were children everywhere. However, the cafe attached to the theatre with its tea, cake and popcorn soon caught our attention.

Inside the circular marquee, we sat around a central bare stage, which gave nothing away about what we could expect from the show, but very quickly the seats became full and a huge wardrobe arose from underneath the middle of the stage.

The scenery was very sparse, but projections on the marquee roof, and cast serving as impressive tree people were a refreshing way to set the scene. The four actors playing Lucy, Edward, Peter and Susan were suitably well spoken, bright eyed and bushy tailed, while the witch at times took on the typical pantomime villain. Sadly, although Mr Tumnus was given a couple of solos, these added nothing to the story and did not enhance his character in any way.

As for the story, it remained largely the same, and it’s questionable whether this predictability or the heat within the marquee, led to us both nodding off a couple of times! The action in the second half picked up though, especially within the scene where the dark side kill Aslan. Had we brought little ones with us I’m sure they would have been hiding behind our backs at this point, but I probably wouldn’t have helped considering I jumped out of my skin once or twice.

However, the highlight of the show was undoubtedly the portrayal of Aslan. Three actors manipulated a larger than life puppet lion with such fantastic precision making Aslan seem very real.

Overall it was a good production, with a 360 marquee making a great theatre setting. So if you get the chance to go to a Threesixty theatre company production I would definitely recommend it (maybe take a token child or two though)...

 

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Creative Writing

As an English teacher I obviously love reading and writing and teaching my students creative writing got me thinking that I miss actually writing original stuff instead of always marking the work of others. With this in mind; a while ago I signed up for a creative writing course that I've been doing in my spare time. Admittedly the moments I get to write are few and far between so I am not very far on with the course. I would love one day to become a published author and I have written a short story that I am going to see if my local area magazine will publish. I'm the meantime, I thought I might post a few of the short introductory pieces that I've completed so far. These are just exercises to see whether I have any ability whatsoever and I would appreciate any sort of comments or criticisms.

This first piece was to answer the task of describing a place I'd been to. I chose the national wedding fair that I went to with one of my friends when she was planning her wedding. I had a brilliant day with her and wanted to try and capture the time spent there. My tutor made me laugh as he commented on the piece that he'd be interested to read a description of that place and event from a male perspective, he imagined that it would be very different! Anyway, here it is:

The National Wedding Show

With an agonising slowness, the queue of visitors snakes its way through the barriers carefully marking the route. The pairs and groups of people all huddle into their coats and scarves, craving any respite from the biting wind that seeks out all exposed fingers, ears and noses. The vast majority of the people waiting in anticipation of reaching the doors are females, women with their friends or their mums. Here and there is a reluctant groom dragged along by his bride, with perhaps an even more reluctant best man in tow.

Finally reaching the doors; handing my ticket to a fluorescent yellow clad marshal who gives it a cursory glance before waving me through. An unexpected blast of hot air breathes life into my numb extremities. Blinking, I am confronted by a wall of uniform white booths laid out in rows reaching off into the distance. There is a group of people ahead who have stopped for a moment to try and absorb the overwhelming sight. Every person who walks through the doors subconsciously does the same thing. Looking across to the side there is a steward who smiles to herself at the sight of the hordes of individuals all stopping and doing the same thing, becoming like a colony of ants leaving the nest.

Starting our walk round the place it immediately becomes difficult to navigate. The rows of booths reach upwards and the thousands of people all pressing in on us make it very claustrophobic and extremely hard to see beyond a metre around us. There is no horizon to focus on or signposts to help. The sounds of happy chatter and excited squeals make communicating very difficult. Everyone seems intent on seeing everything and become so blinkered that they are unaware of anyone else around them, making movement through the packs of people a slow and precise task. The air is electric with a tangible sense of happiness and excitement, every face is smiling and no one seems in any hurry. All the people serving in the booths are on their best sales form, quick to pull you in, slow to let you go.

Turning up a new aisle we are greeted with swathes of ivory, crimson and purple. This is the dress aisle. The women here have changed; there is a tinge of animal rivalry in the air. The desire to find the perfect dress becomes all consuming and blinding. There seems to be elbows and backs and bags everywhere. We negotiate our way through and find ourselves at the back wall. Here there is loud music blaring out from the catwalk show area. Women are taking their seats and talking excitedly about what they might see in the next half hour. As the music dies down and the presenter takes the stage we move away, eager to find a drink and a spot where we might be able to sit down and rest. The heat is beginning to get unbearable.

As we sit down clutching our cold bottles of water I look at my watch. This is truly a place where time loses all meaning and where people are sucked in and spat out again hours later disorientated and suffering from lack of daylight.

My next exercise was to describe three different individuals or groups walking in to a restaurant in a hotel. There are specific word limits for each task so it is interesting having to work to these limits. Here it is:

The Hotel Dining Room

Having shoved the door open with one hand so hard that it banged against the wall, the overweight, bearded man stepped inside the dining room. He clutched his mobile phone to his ear and continued his loud conversation as he strode over to the Maitre de’s desk. As he adjusted his tie and pulled up his trousers he gave the other diners a cursory and dismissive glance. When the Maitre de did not materialise quickly enough the man spotted a waiter across the room, raised his free hand and clicked his fingers loudly, gesturing for the waiter to attend on him immediately. Still discussing his latest business venture at a high rate of decibels the man audibly sighed and shook his head when the waiter did not disregard his other customers with acceptable rapidity and arrive to wait on his every whim. Having given a final tug on his belt the man strode over to a prime table in the window, picked up the reserved sign and casually threw it onto a neighbouring table.

2) With his hand on the door handle; the man took a steadying breath before he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Subconsciously he buttoned up his jacket, his hands stayed on the buttons momentarily before he realised what he has done. Quickly he unbuttoned it again, adjusted the lapels and straightened the ubiquitous red carnation in the buttonhole. He surveyed the dining room quickly, looking for the telltale sign of a matching red carnation. When it was not immediately visible his attention turned straight back to the door and he took a step back in that direction. Having glanced at his watch he calculated the time he had to survive before he could make his getaway. Before he was able to make good on his escape the Maitre de appeared by his elbow. “If you’d like to come this way, your guest is already seated at the table in the corner.” Blushing, the man realised his mistake and regretted his less than thorough glance of the dining room. He lowered his eyes and obediently followed the black jacketed figure.

3) The door swung open and over the threshold stepped a couple in their twenties. Clinging to each other they stumbled slightly on the mat inside and fell closer together, laughing loudly and with utter abandon. The gentleman leaned down and started to kiss the neck of his companion. She, in response, threw back her head, closed her eyes and allowed a slow smile to spread across her lips. Whilst keeping his eyes averted, the Maitre de coughed politely to try and get their attention. Bringing his head up but without breaking eye contact with his beloved, the man tersely stated “Table for two. Room 201.”

“Certainly Sir, follow me please.”

Weaving through the maze of tables the couple never once dropped their physical contact. Even when it meant that they bumped into other diners, resulting in a simmering feeling of animosity spreading in their wake.

Finally, I had to describe Angela's first day in a new job. A purely fictional character and work environment. Here it is:

Angela

 

Nine am. As the second hand ticked passed the twelve; with an audible click, the glass door of the office complex opened and inside stepped a new employee. At nineteen years old, Angela was one of the youngest employees of the insurance brokers. She looked around her; took a deep breath; visibly stood up straighter, and then approached the Reception desk.

“Hi. Erm, I am starting work here today. I was told to ask for a, erm, Natalie Pearce.” Angela spoke quickly, fumbling with the paperwork in her hands to try and find the right name.

“Please take a seat and I will call her for you.” replied the Receptionist smiling brightly at the petite brunette standing in front of her dressed in an obviously brand new plum coloured skirt suit and understated jewellery.

Angela clutched her paperwork and handbag close to her chest and perched on the edge of one of the chairs in the waiting area. Constantly casting glances around her, she leapt to her feet and extended her right hand when a woman approached her who she recognised as the lady who interviewed her for the job. This sudden movement resulted in a cascade of paperwork being poured onto the marble floor along with a few odd items from her handbag. Blushing profusely, Angela scrambled on the floor desperately trying to recapture all her stray possessions. Standing back up she caught the eye of her employer, spotting an unmistakeable twinkle there from the smile spreading across Natalie’s lips. Instantly Angela’s shoulders lowered several inches and an answering smile appeared on her face.

“Come with me and I’ll introduce you to your colleagues and show you your desk.” laughed Natalie, as she turned on her heel and strode off across the echoing foyer, the sound of stiletto heels reverberating around the walls and high ceiling.

After casting a glance across at the Receptionist and smiling, Angela set off after her boss, running a good few paces in order to catch up, whilst frantically stuffing everything back in her cavernous handbag any way possible.

Ping. Imperceptibly Angela jumped as the lift reached the fifth floor of the high rise office building and the doors opened with a loud whooshing sound. Having stepped out of the lift, the sound of phones ringing, filing cabinet drawers clanging and the low murmur of people starting their day engulfed Angela. Couple this with the unmistakeable whiff of coffee from the ancient machine in the corner and it set further butterflies off in her stomach. Having employed the age old tactic of taking a couple of deep breaths, Angela advanced into the room half a step behind the woman destined to become her mentor and friend. Angela smiled at everyone that glanced her way as she made an effort to meet all the curious stares with a friendly, open expression that attempted to conceal the nerves and racing heartbeat beneath.

Having stopped abruptly, Natalie pointed at the desk in front of them and said “Welcome to your personal corner of hell! Why don’t you pop your things down and grab a coffee? Then your neighbour here, Sammy, will show you the ropes. I’ll be in my office over there if you need me at any time. I’ll check in with you later to see how you’re doing.”

“Hi there, I’m Angela. You must be Sammy.” Angela put her bag down on the desk and reached over the shake the hand of the woman who is sat at the next desk over. Sammy put down her steaming mug of a murky brown substance that might be loosely described as coffee and reached over and took Angela’s proffered hand.

“That’s me, the one and only Sammy. My first bit of advice is, skip the coffee if you value your life. I’m immune to the poison now but save yourself while you still can. Now, to get you settled in.”

Angela spent the rest of the morning in a haze of new faces and names, a maze of corridors and offices and a whirl of clients and insurance policies. Angela’s childhood habit of twiddling with her hair as she spoke on the phone, a habit she had been determined to suppress, quickly became evident to Sammy and started off a light teasing that was to haunt Angela for her entire time at the firm.

One pm. Angela’s stomach gave a loud growl and clamoured to be fed. At that moment Sammy glanced up and laughed. “How about we grab some lunch at the cafe down the road? You deserve a break after this morning. I’m really impressed with how quickly you seem to have got the hang of things around here. You seem to have also made a lasting impression on young Adam over there! Not bad for a morning’s work.”

Giggling and blushing, Angela snatched up her handbag and headed for the door, Sammy two steps behind.

 

Let me know what you think!

 

 

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