{on film // margate & whitstable}
I’ve not blogged or shared these but feel the time is right as I’m exploring my film cameras again. Whitstable & Margate, two of my favourite places with my favourite people.
photography
{Ziggs goes swimming//personal}
The pup’s vaccinations are out of the way and we’re free to rule the world! And after Puppy Club (first rule of Puppy Club – don’t talk about Puppy Club, needless to say there’s a lady with a mop and bucket and a lot of yapping…) and a few school runs we thought we’d venture to Lullingstone to paddle in the river and explore the corn.
{Ziggy Pop the new boy//personal}
The pup arrived one cold May day in half-term. He was the second to last puppy to be picked up and looked rather lost as we scooped him up for this 3 hour journey home. Soon enough he shared his breakfast with me, tripe and chicken, and this smell will never leave me.
Here are some moments from his first two weeks. My third baby Ziggy, Ziggeroo, The Zigster, Ziggs ZiggyPop.
{Roma//personal}
We spent two nights in the centre of Roma and did a few of the sights, as many as my poorly girl could manage. Love that she still looks effortless cool despite the tonsillitis… The apartment couldn’t have been much more central with amazing views of the Forum and the Colosseum plus it came with Paco, the cat. Meet Minerva, aka Violet. And yes, her PJs are a bit small.
{Pen y Fan//Wales//personal}
On Good Friday we climbed southern Britain’s highest peak Pen y Fan . This is a totally do-able climb with children over 5… although I did carry Cy for some of the way but that was more to do with me taking pity on his little legs than him actually being unable to go any further. It was such a glorious day and Violet totally threw herself into the experience finding that buzz you get when you achieve something that you didn’t think you’d be able to do. So proud of my little mountain goats. Over the next few days we went on to do two more huge walks and they managed to clock up 15 miles which isn’t bad for 5 and 8…
{Cardiff//easter//personal}
We have a few special breaks planned this year and Easter in Wales was one of them. There are three posts: Cardiff, Pen y Fan (our mountain climb) and Ty Hedfan where we stayed. This house is just amazing, I felt inspired and sick with jealousy all at the same time. Every detail had been considered, every i dotted, and t crossed.
Our break started with a day/night in Cardiff to break the journey. Can’t say I was wowed by Cardiff but the Welsh Assembly and Wales Millennium Centre were certainly striking (although I’d have preferred the Hadid plans) and Madame Fromage is most definitely worth a visit but do not over order as portions are large!
{celebrating the MOTHERSHIPS}
Every so often you meet someone who you know is very special, meet Beth. I’ve blogged about her before but it was all lost :(. Beth is the kind of woman that restores your faith in human nature. She’s been through a lot, goes through a lot, doesn’t moan or grumble instead she smiles and nurtures her family with all the love and adoration contained within her cells. Yesterday I met her third baby, A, not at home but in hospital as they will both be in for a while longer for various reasons. Being her third child, last child (!?), first girl, first not in SCBU this was a very special shoot for both me and her.
Happy Mother’s Day all your super mums, hope the cuddles are squeezy, the chocolates expensive 😉 and the breakfast in bed not too burnt. x
{RA – Sensing Spaces exhibition//personal}
We love a bit of architecture. Apparently the small one wants to be an ‘artitect’ … his colouring-in skills are almost as good as his dad’s so it’s looking possible. The Sensing Spaces exhibition at the Royal Academy ends on 6th April so if you’re thinking about going I should get a move on because it’s well worth. It is especially worth a visit with the kiddies as it’s hands on and very relaxed unlike some exhibitions which can, even though children can enjoy and engage, feel a little stifled and restrictive. Obviously heading to this exhibition with an architect means that it can get a bit dull so if you have one, leave them at home, ha! Although he did have his uses in the straw room (sure it has a more RIBA appropriate name but to us it’s affectionately known as the straw room) as he made some cool items for the children to fashion and some fancy 3-d shapes. Shamefully I didn’t take the camera, only the iPhone. I always take my camera out but this one day I thought ‘nah, I won’t be able to take photos anyway’ Alas I was wrong! I may head back, perhaps for the secret yoga at the weekend. If anyone (I know!) fancies the yoga pipe up.
Did I like the exhibition… as with all these arty things I often think ‘really?’ but the children loved it, the husband loved it and I enjoyed the family experience.
{Imagine Children’s Festival at the Southbank//London half-term part 2}
Wednesday we headed back to the Southbank. The boys saw Captain Flynn and the Pirate Dinosaurs and us girls went to the Hayward Gallery and to Martin Creed’s exhibition What’s the Point of it… V enjoyed it, especially the room filled with balloons. She didn’t enjoy the crumpled paper although agreed that it did get her thinking about what is art.
We also headed to the skate park and spent some time posing around there 🙂
{Imagine Children’s Festival at the Southbank//London half-term part 1}
I booked so many things in for this half-term which is just was well because bored mummy + bored children = meltdown. I can organise bits and bobs around a ‘main even’ but I need a daily main event to challenge the excess energy. We started with an Okido workshop which was aimed at children of about C’s age but V enjoyed it too. There’s so much on up at the Southbank this week that I urge you to head up there. Today the boys are off to see one of his favourite books – Captain Flynn and the Pirate Dinosaurs and us girls are going to hit the Hayward and then photograph the skate park (long live the skate park) and the brutalist beauty of it all.
She tried her hand at scratching and despite the nerves and poker face the DJ was very impressed. There aren’t many who’ve played the Royal Festival Hall at 8 years old. Just trying to think of her DJ name…
