Santa's Grotto, Colchester Zoo

Well, we thought we'd celebrate the start of our Christmas Holiday in style.

Yesterday we took the children to the Santa's Grotto at Colchester Zoo. I think we've been every year since they were small and we went along again this year.

It seems to have completely changed since last year, they've added and changed some of it and it was really lovely.

It's nice we got another chance to see it and it wasn't very busy as not all the school's had finished for the holiday.

The children both had a lovely time, they had their dinner there and then we took a look around the Africa area...which was lovely.

A very nice start to Christmas.............

Mamma Mia!!!

Well, it wasn't only Charlotte who got a treat at the weekend.

I went with my great friends The Cavender Singers, to see a fabulous show on Sunday night.

We went to see ABBA the Story, a show presented by the brilliant ABBA Tribute band Voulez Vouz.

They were utterly wonderful.

They had a lot of screens up where they played old footage and music video's of ABBA, and the songs they sang were in synch with the footage, Very clever and well thought out....and excellent show....and a real treat for me.

Next....Queen and ELO in February.....and so much more local and cheaper than the real thing....perfect!!!! :-)

A Night at the Oscars!!!!

Well, the past weekend was absolutely fantastic.

As Charlotte's birthday is Christmas Eve we usually celebrate it at the beginning of the month. However, this year Charlotte was involved in the musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at school, which coincided with the time we would've normally had her party.

This year however it's a bit special.......my little girl is going to be a teenager........I'm not sure how that happened, and I'm still reeling from the shock.

So, we decided that we would have a big celebration for her this year and Charlotte said that she wanted to have a celebrity party. After throwing around a couple of idea's between us we decided that "A Night at the Oscars" would just about cover it, and thats what we did.

On Saturday she had an amazing party.

When her guests arrived they had to walk through a gold curtain and onto a red carpet. At the end of the red carpet was a Hollywood backdrop, where they had their photo taken.

Each had brought a picture of the celebrity they had come as. There were an awful lot of James Bond's, a Terminator, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Amy Winehouse, Kiera Knightley, Audrey Hepburn....and so many more.

They all danced to the disco, sang on the karaoke, and had a wonderful evening.

At the end of the night Charlotte announced the Oscar winners, and everyone got to take home a gold goodie bag.

When she got to school this morning her friends had great pleasure in telling her...

"Charlotte....your party rocked!!!!!!!"

I'm Back!!!!!!

Hello everyone!!!!!



Well, I didn't realise how long it has been since I last wrote a blog....I had no idea that it had been over a month. So....I'm back.



Life has been pretty hectic...school has been utterly manic.



I've been on courses and had meetings galore.



I'm taking my LDSS NVQ Level 4 too....which is an enormous commitment. There are 11 Units with a fair amount of work in each.



Its quite complicated but the work is made up of assignments, observations, written work, mainly tables and reviews, Professional Discussions, Peer Discussions, Knowledge Questions, Witness Testimonies, an ongoing Reflective Diary and Case Studies.



Last week I completed 2 of those Units....and have been told that I passed them, so I'm getting there.



The one thing I really dread is to have to do a Professional Discussion. Its me and the Assessor in a room with a voice recorder. He asked me a succession of questions, and you have to do your best to answer them, including evidence of case studies, covering the criteria that has to be covered in order to pass the P.D. It's not my favourite part at all.



I had one last Friday and passed it, and I have another on Wednesday this week, and really just want to get it over with. Its a real biggy. This PD covers 3 units, and there's something like 30 questions to answer.



I have an assignment to do over the holiday and a couple of smaller pieces of work, then hopefully....fingers crossed I'll have completed another 4 Units.



I'll keep you posted!!!!

Happy Halloween

Well, I'm almost at the end of my Half Term Holiday, and it has gone so quickly.

We got back from Norfolk at around lunchtime.

Tonight is Halloween. Both the children have party's to go to.

Charlotte is spending the evening with her group of friends and Tom has been invited to a special Halloween party too.....so they're both very excited.

They've already got their outfits on in anticipation.....

I hope everyone reading this has a lovely evening.

Blickling Hall

Today we visited Blickling Hall, nr Norwich, Norfolk.

It is a most amazing building, and there are so many things there to see. It has a Tea Room and a Restaurant. A lovely shop, a Garden Shop and a Second Hand Book Store. There's a Garden, and an area where they grow plants and vegetables to sell.

The house itself is enormous. Apparently Anne Boleyn was born there, and every year since her death she has turned up at the house in a ghostly horse drawn carriage....on Halloween night.

Spooky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a lovely day looking round the house, again the children both had quizzes to complete, which they did very well, but we couldn't move on to the next room until they'd answered the question.

So...........until tomorrow.........

Oxburgh Hall

We visited Oxburgh Hall today. It is a very beautiful building in Oxborough, Norfolk. It has a moat.

We arrived about 12.30pm and went straight to the restaurant.....we were all very hungry!! LOL

We then had a look around the house, Tom did a quiz about dragons, and Charlotte did one about Kings and Queens.

The house is owned by the Bedingfield family....yes...thats as in Daniel and Natasha!!! Although their side of the family no longer own it.

It has a Priest hole....and it really is a hole, none of us wanted to venture into it!!

The family still live there, so part of the house is closed off.

We looked in the shop...as always....and bought a few bits and pieces, then looked in the Second-hand Book Shop.

We went and had a look around the chapel. The whole place is very picturesque...but it was so cold today.

So, thats our day today....I'll write again tomorrow.

Take care x x