It was Bertholt Brecht in the Bathroom with the Golf Balls on Wednesday

But first...let us start at the beginning.

A trip to the woods, via the water. Quite literally.

Nearly a 'You've Been Framed' qualifier:

Sawing wood for the fire

Cooking...

Marshmallows

Popcorn (in 2 sieves, wired together):

Home-made onion bhajis:

Baked potatoes (wrapped in thick foil trays):

Improvised fishing:
'I don't think you'll be much in the water in January.'

'I know. It doesn't matter. I just like to fish.'

Fungi...in all their variations:

The discovery of spores and their release (using pointy stick)

'Aren't some fungal spores toxic?'

'Hmm...shall we move on?'

A new path

Leading to a fab climbing tree:

And the golf balls? Well. It's amazing what you can find on a nature reserve:

Just one or two...bags full.

Later I share a gritty bath with some freshly-washed-with-nail-brush golf balls while I get to grips with Bertholt Brecht. Bless him.

Mr Blue Sky

'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO was playing on the radio in the van.

Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin' ev'rybody's in a play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day hey,hey

Ok, so it was raining. Raining quite a lot. And cloudy and grey and cold. But we were out, heading towards the woods, the greenery, the fresh air. Such a positive feeling, I could almost have imagined a blue sky.

We arrive. Meet up with one other family. Perhaps I'm antisocial, but sometimes I like to meet up with just one family. There's time to talk. Proper talking. The group dynamics for the kids is easier, less wild. The different genders will play comfortably with each other without the option of gender division of the larger groups. With large groups the kids scatter and there is a tendency for the parents to opt out. With a small group we can all interact, take part, discuss, plan, create.

It's been so long we have to fight our way through the undergrowth. Retread the path into the woods. I can't remember when we were last here.

The children run free.


They work to patch up the 'den'. Most of the moss has gone, but the basic structure is there from our visits last year. Each visit they do this. One winter we came here every week, even through the snow and ice. I miss it.

Gloopy fungi. Shiny, gelatinous, wobbly. The best sort.

The den, finished (for now). 'If you see any holes those are our fire escapes' says ds1.

There's nothing like having a camp fire on a rainy day, especially when shared with friends.

Cooking onion bhajis

And toasting pancakes

Then just time for ds2 to make an assault course for the younger ones.

Of course, we're all the winner.

Here's to more gentle days in the woods, shared with friends. More Mr Blue Sky please.

Hey you with the pretty face
Welcome to the human race
A celebration, mister blue sky's up there waitin'
And today is the day we've waited for

Hey there mister blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Ev'rybody smiles at you

We are back...

What the Home Educators Summer Festival (HESFES) means to us...

Practising circus skills:

Developing stunt skills (strapped with bungee cords to a water carrier!):

Creating marvellous things out of balsa wood:

Secret rendevous in children's tents:

Sharing campfires every night:

Making and listening to music:

Sweatshirts nearly as loud as the music:

Watching movies at the Groovie Movie tent:

Dusting off those big hats and old (2005) HESFES t-shirts:

Making hula hoops:

Remembering old skills:

Making new friends:

And joining up with old ones:

Searching for the Home Education crock of gold at the end of that rainbow that appears every year (and trying to forget about the stomach bugs, scary toilets, home-made arrows shot in eyes, children's minor punch ups, the tears, tantrums and nits):

Staying up way past bedtime:

And finally...
recovering from a busy week: