Day 2 of Art Week

Jean Dubuffet was a French artist born in 1901. He loved art but he couldn't do it full time since his work got in the way. It wasn't until he was 41 years old that he became a full time artist. He painted because it was fun and he was inspired by the art of children.
The art I did today was inspired by his work. I used watercolours, acrylic paints, crayon and salt to create my masterpiece! It is a very textured painting.

Day One of Art Week!

You might remember me taking part in daily online art lessons for a week last year.  Well, it's back again this year! To start off day one, me and mom did a painting with crayons and watercolours inspired by the artist Paul Klee. He was a Swiss-German artist born December the 18th, 1879. That happens to be the day I was born! Obviously not that year, though. He experimented with lots of different drawing and painting styles, but the one I attempted to replicate was his grid style. He wasn't always an artist though, as he experimented in musical instruments until he was about 17.
By the time he died in June 1940, he had completed around 9000 pieces of art! That's quite impressive.

To make the painting, I drew a grid in crayon, and wrote my name with a letter in each square. I painted in the blank spaces inside of the squares with watercolours and waited for it to dry. Once it was completely dry, I drew over the lines again with crayon then painted a very light layer of yellow watercolour over all of the squares. It was quite easy, but I think it's quite impressive!

I wonder which artist we'll be taking inspiration from tomorrow?

Deeping Pony Show!

Since I just couldn't wait until Pony Club to be around some horses and ponies, mom and dad took me to the Deeping Pony Show. It was much smaller than Belton Horse Trials, but it was a lot of fun. There were lots of competitions to watch. The best part of the day was the fact that almost everyone had a horse and they just walked them around the field like dogs!

It was great being so close to the horses. There was a particularly naughty horse who kept sticking his nose into everything, literally! He explored his owners' picnic basket and nearly knocked it over on the grass. The trash can wasn't so lucky, as the horse managed to pull that down and tip out some of the rubbish in it.

Even though the show itself was quite small, I really enjoyed being so close to all of the horses. If the show is on next year, I'll definitely go again!

The Tempest, Belton House and a mini sleepover!

For another part of my Shakespeare studies, I visited Tolethorpe Open Air Theatre to see a performance of The Tempest  with Tilly and Lavinia. We had a delicious picnic first in the lovely gardens with our friends

Then me and Tilly went to explore the gardens and look at the fountain.

Soon it was time to see the performance inside the open-air theatre. It was a warm night so we didn't need blankets this time! The acting was brilliant, but I still found the play a bit difficult to follow. I had only read an incredibly simplified version of the story, so seeing the full play in old Shakespearean English was quite complicated. Still, the performance was very impressive!



Since it was so late, Cat, Tilly and Lavinia came back home with me and mom for the night. We were so tired, we went to bed almost as soon as we got back.

Just chilling

The next day, we had a day out at the magnificent Belton House in Grantham.



Belton House

 I've had a look around the grounds before but never inside the house. It was very impressive! The staff there were quite helpful and they had a lot of facts to share. One of my favourite of the facts was about the staircases. In the Elizabethan age, staircases were very wide so there was a lot of space for the women's large dresses.

The extra-wide magnificent staircase



We were having such a great time wandering from room to room, we didn't notice that everybody else had left as the house was closing! Lavinia came looking for us but me and Tilly were trapped by a very enthusiastic educator who wouldn't stop talking. In the process of looking for us, Lavinia also got lost for a little while. It was a disaster! We managed to all get out of the house before it closed, though. During our little exploration, me and Tilly had learnt some very interesting facts:
1. While creating all of the insanely detailed patterns on the ceiling, the builders would put on the first layer of plaster and while it was still damp, they would stick another chunk of plaster on and model that while it was easy to mold into a shape. The ceilings were so detailed. the builders were clearly very talented!
2. In one of the reading rooms, there was a special chair that you sat on backwards. On the side of the chair that you were facing, there was a mini table that you could put heavy books on. Ladies could even swivel the desk around so they could sit on the chair sideways!
3.  The Belton House estate is made up of 1300 acres of land! The mansion was commissioned by John Barlow in March 1685 and he moved into the mansion in November 1688.
4. A housemaid could expect to earn between £14-£20 per year (£6,000-£9,000), rising to £20-£30 per year (£9,000-£13,000) as a first or upper housemaid. Accommodation and all meals were included.


Next, we had a look around the impressive gardens.

We came across the deer wandering free

The fountain and the Orangery

We hurried to the massive park area as the place would be closing soon and we came across a lovely stream.

When we finally reached the play park it was very impressive! There was an incredibly fast zip-wire there that threw you high into the air when you hit the end. I wasn't prepared for it when I first went down the zip-wire!

I'm up-side down!

There was a see-saw that operated  a water pump. The water was pumped into three tall upright poles and sprayed out of the top of the poles onto the kids below! The faster the see-saw went up and down the faster the water sprayed onto us!

We would have stayed in the park for ages but it was already twenty  minutes past the time Belton House was meant to shut. Thankfully we didn't get locked in (again!) I definitely would recommend Belton House for a great day out!

Shakespeare Extravaganza!

As you know, I've been studying Shakespeare for a while now since it is the 400th anniversary of his death. To be able to get even closer to Shakespeare, I visited his birth place, Stratford-Upon-Avon! I went for 3 days with mom, Cat and Tilly and Lavinia.
The hotel me and mom stayed in was right beside the river in the middle of the town, It was also only 5 minutes or so away from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the house where Shakespeare was born and grew up. We explored the area for a while and noticed the many tudor buildings and shops. There were lots of tourists wandering around even though it was getting pretty late. We checked out the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust so we'd be able to find it easily in the morning. Maybe we should have taken a picture of it so we could remember where it was, just like dad does! After working out how we would get there in the morning, me and mom went back to the hotel for a delicious meal at the hotel resturant. We both had some bbq chicken and ribs. Tasty!


Shakespeare's Birthplace

 On the first full day of being in Stratford-Upon-Avon, we all visited the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for two talks about Shakespeare's life and Romeo and Juliet. The first talk was about how Shakespeare grew up in Stratford, his marriage and children, and how he made a career out of being an actor, poet and playwright. I already knew most of it, but it was still very interesting!
The next talk was about Romeo and Juliet. Along with the historian telling us about the play, there were three actors who acted out some scenes of the play for us. Even though they were speaking in old English and it was a bit hard to understand them, I thought that they were really good! They really captured the audience's attention.

After the talks, we had a little walk around Stratford-Upon-Avon and had some lunch and a look around all of the shops. One that stood out the most was the Christmas shop. It was quite small but it was packed to the brim with Christmas ornaments and tree decorations. I felt like I was stepping into Santa's Workshop when I walked through the doors, it was really magical!

The beautiful Christmas Shop

I could have stayed in the Christmas shop all day but there was still a lot to see in Stratford.




Alas, poor Yorick!

Knight in Shining Armour

Next, we checked out the house Shakespeare grew up in: Shakespeare's Birthplace! The house was quite small for such a big family. Along with the Shakespeares, the servants also lived there. I don't think I could have lived there with such a big family!
Just like all Tudor houses, the floors were very uneaven. It felt like the entire house was tipping over when I stood upstairs!


Crooked floors everywhere!!

The beds were quite comfortable!

William Shakespeare's father, John, worked as a glovemaker. He often used a big room in the house as a glove workshop. All of the gloves had very long fingers. Back in the 16th and 17th century,  people would stuff wool into the fingertips of the long gloves to make their fingers seem more elegant and graceful. I just thought it looked a bit weird, but I guess a lot has changed since then!

After visiting Shakespeare's Birthplace, we had a wander around Stratford-Upon-Avon. The streets were filled with people from all over the world. Stratford is obviously a very popular attraction! We stopped by the magnificent river for a while to listen to a street performer. It was really peaceful and relaxing.

The lovely River

 I would have liked it to be a bit cooler, though; I'm not much of a fan of hot weather. I would have loved to have gone on one of the riverboats or barges that were lining the banks of the river, but mom gets really travel sick. Hopefully next time we visit, dad will be with us so he can go on the boat with me.
Once me and mom went back to the hotel, we had drinks and snacks at the hotel's riverside bar.  It was very modern with large, comfortable seats on the patio and decking. It was such a beautiful evening, it was just like being on holiday abroad.

Relaxing!

 On the third and final day of the holiday, we visited Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden's, farm. Even though it is still completely Tudor, the farm is still fully functioning.

We managed to arrive just in time to see the beginning of the Falconry Display. A man dressed up in pale green tudor clothes came out with a massive eagle owl. No one really knew what was going to happen, so I was a bit frightened when the  man walked up to the bench I was sitting on. He stood beside me for a minute until the owl flew to him. I thought the owl would land on his arm, but it decided to land on the edge of the table right infront of me! I got such a fright I nearly fell off the bench. I managed to get some good pictures, though! The falconer got the owl to fly around to a couple of other tables while he told us how the Tudors used birds for hunting. It was a shame that Cat, Tilly and Lavinia arrived too late to see the bird land on our table.

The bird flying towards me!!

I was really scared here!!

After the incredibly interactive bird display, we had a look around the most impressive building at Mary Arden's farm, the farm house. In there, two tudor servants were preparing dinner. After a little preperation, the dinner was ready and 5 tudor actors sat down to teach the audience how tudors ate and all of their table manners.

The dinner looked quite tasty and very colourful with lots of ale!

One of the most important rules of the dinner table was not putting your elbows on the table. The table was just a plank of wood balanced on stilts, so if everyone leaned on the table with their elbows, it would fall over. A lot of people now still don't like elbows on the table, even though there's no danger of the table falling over. Another rule was that you could not begin eating until the Lord of the house had begun his meal. Also, if the Lord left the table, everyone else was forced to stop eating. Back in those days, you had to finish your meals very quickly just incase the Lord left early!

Mary Arden's house that she actually lived in wasn't as impressive as the Farm House. Infact, when the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust first bought the estate, they thought that Mary Arden lived in the Farm House, not the actual house close by. Imagine if they had pulled the real house down thinking it was just a spare building, not the actual house where Mary Arden lived!
There were some great animals on the farm including pigs, cows, ducks and geese.

One of the animals at Mary Arden's Farm

My favourite resident of the Farm

A little later, the guy who did the close up falconry display was back again with a beautiful barn owl called Millie. He didn't get the bird to fly up to tables this time, just up to a raised platform attatched to a building and back down to  his arm. However, the owl was obviously feeling a bit rebelious since it decided to stay up on the platform for half of the show! It was very entertaining watching the man trying to get the owl down. he kept yelling, "Millie, Millie, come here!", but she just ignored him and at one point she looked like she was actually falling asleep!


Millie, the naughty Barn Owl

Millie decided to take a nap in the middle of the Show!



Millie flying! It was worth the wait.

After a very educational and exhausting three days, it was finally time to return home. I had a really great time in Stratford, I'd love to go back again.


Bonus: I've been coughing and sneezing none stop lately. Thanks for the cold, Tilly!

Planes!

Me, mom and dad had a very early morning on Saturday. We had to drive three hours to go see the Air Tattoo! The Air Tattoo is an aerial show in Fairford, Gloucestershire. It was only meant to be a two and a half hour drive but since the main road was completely closed due to the racing at Silverstone, we had to try to find a different route through loads of villages. By the time we got to the Air Tattoo, we had been driving for about three and a half hours! I was really stiff by the time we got there.

We had booked premium tickets, so we were in the area right next to where the planes were flying, we had a delicious free brunch and afternoon tea and cakes, plus an area to sit! The view from where we were sitting was amazing and we could see the planes flying around really well.  The brunch consisted of sausages, mini potatoe cubes, vegetables and grilled fish and rice called Kedgeree! I wasn't feeling particularly hungry so I only had a sausage and some mini potatoes. They were very tasty! The sausage had a delicious spice, it definitely brought out the flavour of it.

My favourite of all of the displays were the famous Red Arrows. They were incredible! They were making loads of patterns in the sky out of red and blue smoke. Out of the red smoke, they drew a beautiful heart shape in the clouds. They really were impressive. It must have taken ages to practise everything. I thought they were going to crash into each other loads! Most of the planes' engines were so loud, I could feel the sound vibrations all through my body, but the Red Arrows were much quieter than that. It was a nice break from all of the loud rumbling.

Red Arrows!

Near the end of the day, I was getting a bit tired and the show seemed to be dragging out. I would have been happy to go home quite a while before we actually did go home.

The journey back home took around four hours, so I was absolutely shattered when we got back. I felt like I could have slept for years! I think out of all of the air shows I have been to, that one was my favourite.

Ice Skating!

Mom warned me not to go, but I didn't listen. I went ice skating. I think of all the sports I've tried, ice skating was the worst. It's cold, it's painful and it's so difficult. Despite Tilly and Lavinia trying to help me skate, I still fell down loads. After 15 minutes of attempting to skate, I gave up and decided to sit on the bench outside of the ice rink. I felt like I was freezing to death!
After another 20 minutes or so, the ice skating session ended and we left. It was so warm outside of the rink, I felt like I was walking around an oven!

There was a park nearby at Willen Lake, so we went there to play. There were lots of climbing frames and slides, I had a great time! Me, Tilly and Lavinia played a game where we gave each other challenges like having to slide the toddler slide backwards or climb up the biggest slide with our eyes closed.

By the time we left the park, we were very hungry. Before we went for dinner, we had a look in a bookstore in MK. It was my favourite, Waterstone's! I've never noticed this before, but most bookstores seem to have a Manga (Japanese comics) section! I spent most of my time there reading, before we went to the nearby Wagamama's for dinner. I had a delicious meal of crumbed chicken, rice and a delicious sauce.

Even though I hated the ice skating, I still had a great time!

Triple Party!

It was my friend Niamh's birthday recently and to celebrate she had a joint birthday party with her little sister Sienna and her little brother Tyler! Since it was such a big party and so many people were invited, the party took place in the big village hall. To keep everyone entertained, there were two massive bouncy castles and even two sumo wrestling suits! The suits were very heavy, but it was fun to crash into people with them on!




Can you see me?



Sumo wrestling!!

When it was time to eat, all of the kids took a seat at the three giant buffet tables; each kid had their own table theme going on. Our table was a beach theme. We began to tuck into all of the delicious food. There was lots to choose from and it was all very tasty. My favourite were the mini cocktail sausages and the triangular ham sandwiches. Tilly seemed to like the breadsticks a lot; she had six of them!

For dessert, we had a bunch of mini, handmade, chocolate cupcakes. They were so amazing, I could have eaten hundreds of them! Niahm's grandma had made them!

Delicious mini cup-cakes

 As well as the mini cupcakes, there were pink and lilac party rings and tasty bowls of fruit.  Tilly seemed to like the cupcakes too, I won't tell you how many she had!




Party Goggles!



Cheers Tilly!



Too many Cup-cakes!!!

When the party was over, me, Tilly and Lavinia went to a nearby park and played there for a long while. We spent ages going down the slide over and over, since mother wanted a good photo of all of us on the slide together! I was exhausted by the time she finally managed to get a good shot of us all in the frame. It was certainly a great day!