Weston Super Mare and The Yellow Sky (by sarah)

We went to Dismaland thanks to my friend Becca who nabbed us the tickets - it was interesting and not as disturbing as I was expecting though Alaric reminded me not to look in the Cruel Bus - there are photos but you wont see them yet - possibly not before the end of September as I kind of think if you can you should go and if not then you can wait to see my pics 🙂 Also I've written a poem - part of my Found Poems of the Concrete which will accompany the images.

What you do get to see is the rest of our day at Weston which includes a strangely yellow sky!

It was not sunset - the sun is up in the white bobbly clouds!

Suggestions have so far been pollution and sand storm - I think the sand storm is most likely it was quiet a windy day and this part of the country actually has proper sand on it's beaches and that is more land over there in the distance!

We also found Yoda!

And a tea room with only cow milk and no gluten free stuff who basically ignored us and doted on the old people who were spending £40 a pop. I was not impressed and they are not going on list of recommends especially as they do not have a sign saying high teas need to be booked in advance and informed us it's all frozen and needs defrosting. I think this may make me now an officially old person.

On a brighter note we also found some epic sand sculptures which are part of an annual festival. 🙂

We got to watch this guy working on a space invaders section of what appeared to be a giant gamers birthday cake!

This underwater seascape was my favourite!

For a start it's underwater, then it is archeology and it was EPIC!

Then there were these 3D portraits from around the world which were stunning!

These were really beautiful.

There was an oooooook written on the walls of Dismaland and a walk around the sculptures down the road revealed the culprit 😉

He was sitting by a big book of jungle creatures.

It appeared to be coming to life!

I posted it in one of the Discworld groups I'm in and several people pointed out that the Liberian does not have cheek pouches - I pointed out it was actually just the remnants of Horace's hair 😉

I also took some amazing 3D pictures which I need to work out how to get printed as I still can't afford the 3D screen idea I had when I first got the camera!

With all the photo taken, everybody else wondered off but it was ok because they found a tea party for Alaric to join in with 😉

Though he did seem a bit confused!

Anyway - here is a butt load more pics 🙂

I think Alaric liked this Virtual Reality guy.

He seemed to be trying to strike up a convo!

Games, and fairy tales and fiction seemed to be the theme. And the angle on this chess board is amazing.

And last but certainly not least - the Sand Dragon! On a horde of sand gold!

School Bear (by sarah)

This is School - a little bear Mary came home with from school. As alot of you know unlike her sister Mary is finding going to school hard even though she is about half a year older than Jean was.

The mornings are filled with screaming and tears and thrashing about as we have to physically carry her out of the house. Things that have helped are her hello kitty shoes and School - her school bear.

She reads to him and takes him on adventures.

This is the duo waiting at Ribston Hall for her sisters play.

Mary has always been clingy I've been assured this is normal with milk intolerant babies and that's fine each kid is their own person. This morning - day 6 of school - I sang everything we were doing in lite opera/musical style and this worked really well for calming her down though earnt me an elbow in the ribs once Jean's friend turned. I think it might be slightly uncool to have a singing mummy when your 10. It also resulted in Mary singing to the tunes of Les Mis how much she didn't want to go - I was impressed to be honest!

She still cried but over all we are getting there.

Did I mention she loves the bear?

The Stubbon House of Stubbon (by sarah)

And this morning in the stubbon house of stubbon - I was well pleased with myself as I told the girls to get their PE stuff together last night and it was all easily findable in the wardrobe. Jean announces I never said such a thing and only half her kit is in the wardrobe... obviously she's gotten distracted last night but wont admit this, can't find the bag or her t-shirt (so they are together in the void of lost things). I shout at her over how much clothing costs, she tells me she hates me, Mary tells me I am naughty, I tell Mary if she gets down from her breakfast ONE. MORE. TIME. it's going to the chickens, Mary bursts into tears, Jean hugs Mary whilst glaring at me. I go up and get the too large for Mary spare Mary PE t-shirt and make Jean put it on - it fits but isn't baggy Jean has melt down apparently she is not doing PE, I tell her she is telling the teachers that and why. Whilst dressing and tooth brushing the Mary I get kicked as she flails to get away, I sneeze and head butt her fortunately not hard, fortunetely she saw the funny side of it - convo about how every body hates everybody in the mornings because in truth we all hate the mornings except Alaric who is just in despair as his family is all shouty at each other, Jean's friend mean while is making sarky comments from the sofa where he is playing minecraft. I think I am Dragon Mummy in the mornings, I don't know why Al thinks it helps having me around I feel I just snark at everybody including him (salsa he made for dinner left out on the side).

There is nothing quiet as grumpy as a pre-hot beverage me in the morning especially when morning is grey.

Worse still - my stubbon kids are both being me in the morning so it really is like running up to little bundles of chaotic fury who just want to be asleep and know the world is unfair. I try not to be hypocritical - I think I failed this morning but we were all hugging goodbye in the end and forms for school all filled in and Mary was desperate to come back at lunch time to have our living room picnic.

She really hates this school marlarky and the three days she has done so far she is whirly dervish when she comes home - she's had to sit still and quiet so now she is going to not sit still or be quiet AT ALL. Round and around and around. Though yesterday she liked school as they went outside and there was a squirrel - I was informed in micro-detail about the antics of said squirrel though the bit about the laser cannon beheading it I think was made up 🙂 Not so sure about the cat and dog and goat in a tree bit though - this is the West Country after all!

I had a bit of a panic last night over the logistics of kids clubs as infants aren't allowed to do them which means that not only is it having to be co-ordinated with school run share, it is also going to result in two school pick ups on some days for the whole year - I think we've sorted it now but it was a bit of a headache esp as this stuff is not my strong point to begin with let alone at the tail end of concussion!

But other parents are amazing and the school is thinking of organising after school play which you have to pay for but receptions and the like would be allowed into.

This is not a critism of the school but rather of our school and work systems - economically everything is geared for both parents to be working full time, education wise it assumes there is flexibility to a level that gets tricky for stay at home parents as soon as there is more than one kid. It's kind of doing my nut in and yes it would be easier if I could drive but I can't I was working on it and will be working on it again but right now it isn't do able (still walking into walls here!).

It's that thing of the stuff that gives your kids oppurtunities are a logistical nightmare :/

I have tea now.

Mary’s First Day at School (by sarah)

There has been truma - Mary is petrified of school. Jean couldn't wait but Mary...

She has always been clingy. She cried, Alaric was relieved that they didn't have to pry her physically off of him in the end - something that was on the cards. Fortunately I found hello kitty school shoes.

She is very excited about these and agreed to go to school if it meant she could wear them. They have little ears 🙂

She doesn't want to sit still and she want to go climbing, part of her panic was she thought she'd never get to go climbing again. But hello kitty shoes and matching scrunchy and heart buttons on her dress... and a promise that will do dancing when she gets home resulted in reluctant grin.

Of course she does have big sis who was lovely with helping Mary to get ready even with screaming and kicking. It's also Jean's last year of primary school - something that she is not that happy about though she does seem resigned.

Reading Jean (by sarah)

I took Jean to a midnight book launch - I debated weather it was appropriate as she is still 9 though will be ten by the weekend.

But it was the last discworld novel and I phoned Waterstones to check and she was desperate to be a feegle - Tiffany Aching was introduced to her last year by me. She was desperate for people like herself in books - she fell in love with the discworld.

Terry Pratchett got given a place next to Neil Gaiman and RL Stien as favourite authors. Then he died.

Jean went as Tiffany to World Book Day. Jean loves books, Jean often stays up far later than she should reading and gets twitchy if she doesn't have a book to hand.

She announced the Waterstones smelt of new books and though tired did say today she wished we'd stayed longer at the launch, last night we left when she said she wanted to go - she thought they should have read more of the book out.

As we queued she read the last book of Tiffany, The Shepherds Crown, it is also the last book of Terry. She would like it known that she is not reading the book in the above photo but was just looking through it at this point.

The beehives made bee noises - she was impressed and someone gave her a crotchet feegle - she loves it and fell asleep with it last night. We were in the newspaper and there will be more write ups on this 🙂

We don't have the sparkly book as Mummy was a cheap skate and got the £10 tickets. I made the right decision in taking her.

Her feegle outfit was cobbled together from a spock outfit and Rincewind had a tricorder. Don't cross the fandoms!

When asked why she was there she replied with "I like books", she is supposed to be asleep now but is reading.