Best laid plans...

Our first camping trip of the year to English Heritage Festival of History was a bit of a washout.

All Friday night it rained and rained and rained. As we pulled up to the festival the following morning there was a noticeable absence of queues.

Both days had been cancelled due to flooding (see here for photo of the site)

Fortunately we were camping with friends, so made the best of the weekend.

And the kids declared the weekend a success after a visit to a carboot sale on the Sunday...

In the brief interval between rain and more rain...

...some guy ran past with a flame.

and we've done a few jigsaws  (dd is covering up the gaps left by the missing pieces...that's what you get for buying jigsaws in junk shops)

And a bit of plasticine geography geology  Earth Science stuff

Making a volcano (using the oh no not volcano making again kit that I nearly got rid of) . Yet to be subjected to the bicarb treatment, but I'm working up a trickle of enthusiasm.

Dd gets her fencing kit, ready for moving from mini fencing to foil fencing in Autumn.

We start collecting and making things for our Worldwide Culture Swap. We will be swapping with Puerto Rico, two states in the USA and a family in Qatar (which I had to check up on a map just to prove to dh that yes, I did know where it was). Some of the swap packages that others have sent in the past look a bit, well, good, so I'm feeling the pressure to perform.

Painting:

Den-making:

 Making elderflower champagne with the last few elderflowers we could find. See here for recipe from Channel 4 River Cottage.

It's been a while since I've seen...

...the table.

And perhaps you can understand why.

Of course, each item, is in it's own way, educational.  Like this home-made model - er - something.

Or the (unfinished) volcano. The recipe for (unfinished, but in progress) elderflower champagne. The (slightly massacred) plasticine cutaway model of the structure of The Earth and the god-knows-what-it's-for -electronicky-looking thing behind those pliers and battery.

Now these I can explain. The sand is for warhammer. The home-made balsa wood models (painted to look realistic) are for warhammer. The dismantled plastic dinosaur jaw is for moulding into something for warhammer. I can't vouch for the purpose of the plastic tub, giant cork and cling film.
 

 This is a tub of crumbled plaster of paris (left over from making the volcano) and some waterproof matches that got sodden while ds1 was camping in a bivvy in the garden.  Purpose to be decided.

 The beginnings of a model tree (made with wire and masking tape), plus one of our many pairs of scissors that we've lost this week. And a magnifying tub thingy for putting bugs in (possibly with bug).

Home-made 'grass' for warhammer and my tea strainer. Lighter (probably because the matches weren't as waterproof as the box claimed) and my kitchen knife that I would really like back in the kitchen, even though it is covered in tiny bits of polystyrene pizza base.

 My kitchen pestle and mortar. Complete with unidentified grey 'powder'. In background is some polystyrene packaging due to be made into a model building.

 Camera tripod and video camera (for the film the boys have been making), plus sunglasses (prop for actors) and a pink feather that was going to be made into a fishing fly thingy. Plus a mini file (for filing the flashing off warhammer models) and a tub of fish food (nope, don't know what that's doing there).

Polystyrene pizza base (used as a target for BB gun), plus a bit more of dinosaur carcass, plus box of warhammer.

 Tubing (for volcano), empty pot noodle tub, waterproofing spray and other assorted weird items.

Paint. Glue. Paintbrushes. Super glue. Chick peas in a plastic tub (these were my baking beans, now being used for some other child-related purpose).

And no. The floor isn't looking much better, either.