End of an Era

Today is Little Fink's last day at Primary School. Some children take chocolates or flowers as a present for the teacher on the last day of term - Little Fink bakes a batch of chocolate brownies for the class.
I can't believe how quickly these years at primary school have gone by. It doesn't seem that long ago when she couldn't do up her shoe laces (she still doesn't do them up even now, but that's not because she doesn't know how!) We are all looking forward to the next adventure of secondary school and all that goes along with it.

Busy times ahead, I'm off out to see a former school pal's band play tonight (Waiting For Katherine - you guys ROCK!), mudlarking at the Tower of London on Sunday (only allowed on that beach once a year), my surrogate son, J1 is coming to stay for a couple of days then Little Fink is off to Denmark with the Scouts for 10 days. http://www.naesbycentret.dk/frontpage.aspx The itinerary is immense...viking longboat racing, night hike and sleeping out in bivvies in the Danish countryside, trip to Copenhagen where they buy their own train ticket, lunch and see the sights, trip to Sweden to join the Jamboree and off to a Danish theme park. Phew.

Twilight and New Moon

A few weeks ago, we played host to J1 who came to stay for the weekend, he was a delight and we'd look after him again like a shot. One evening while he was here, Little Fink asked if they could watch 'Twilight'. We said, 'yes' so we set up the dvd player and they sat upstairs on my bed and watched it. I didn't think anymore of it - Little Fink had read all the books and J1 has 2 sisters that have read all the books.

I have arranged for Little Fink, Marsha and a school friend to come with me to see the next film in the series, New Moon, today, so last night I thought it would be a good idea to watch the first movie. Mr Fink and I settled down after Little Fink had gone to bed to watch.

The film was very good, about the blossoming romance between an out of town high school girl and a 17 year old vampire and the struggle they have to be together against all odds (and his struggle to not bite her!) I was very impressed, the blood and violence minimal but the intent was clearly portrayed. The romance was handled very well, tender and caring with a little kissing and rising passion, but nothing too uncomfortable for pre-teens. We did get a little worried at one point where the first kiss happened, in the heroine's bedroom, it all got a little heated, Mr Fink and I looked at each other and wondered if we had made the right decision to allow J1 and Little Fink to watch the film together out of our sight, but the film makers handled the moment very well and propriety was restored. Phew.

I'm really looking forward to taking the girls to the cinema this afternoon and have a feeling I may be borrowing the other 2 books in the series from Little Fink tonight!

Little Fink's Birthday Day Out

Mr Fink and Little Fink about 30ft up a tree about to jump off the platform into a cargo net. And she calls this a treat??

Little Fink asked if she could visit Go Ape for her birthday treat with some friends. she missed it when the Cubs went as she was unwell. We took, Mrs Glum, Bambi, Bambino and Marsha, J1 and his mum Lara Croft (she is fearless and will have a go at anything, must be the Aussie in her?)

They were fitted with harnesses and had a safety talk, after all, they were going to be 30 feet up in the air walking on wires, jumping off platforms and whizzing down zip wires.

Then they were off, they were so brave and careful and full of fun. None of them chickened out and all of them enjoyed it. The zip wires were quick and high, some of the landings were pretty hard but the men soon managed to brush the dirt off their backs (and their pride) and carried on! All in all everyone agreed it was a great excursion, several of them claiming it was good value for money and the best day out they had had for ages - and that was just the adults! We'll definitely go again.

It's Little Fink's birthday on Sunday so we can expect an early start in the morning. We've got Silver Surfer and Astral, Nanny and Shouty Grandad coming round tomorrow for dinner and cake.

(Hopefully next door's dog will have barked itself hoarse well before then!)

You know you've had a party when...

...you're eating onion bahjiis and sausage rolls for breakfast!

The Buncefield Bash was a terrific success. Everyone brought a little bit of something to eat and drink (tea cake, chili, trifle, nibbles, booze). Everyone joined in with all the games, the cereal packet game is now considered 'old hat' by the children. The 'jelly baby in the flour game' claimed Marsha and Bambino as it's first two victims and the 'eat the chocolate with the gloves on game' was played fiercely by Bag Mac and Bambi - with MUCH cheating by both. Unfortunately we didn't get time to learn Big Mac's 'toilet roll game' perhaps next year. The children were well behaved and had great fun too, dressing up, karaokeing and playing buzz.

Mr Fink's legendary indoor fireworks were the stars of the show, we were all warned to stand well back and as ever, no one could believe their eyes at the roman candles firing out of the Buncefield cake!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and laughed all evening. Thank you all for taking the trouble to come (Mr & Mrs Fogg travelled down from York to be here) and making the evening what it was, another wonderful night of fun with the people I care most about. Thank you all. It would be nothing without all of you. xxx

Russell T Davies for President

Well, Mr Fink, Little Fink, J1 and I went to the Barbican to see "Inside Doctor Who" a collaboration with BAFTA, Russell T Davies (writer, show runner and all time backbone of Doctor Who) and the various departments behind the series.

We were treated to Kirsten (off SMaRT) getting Russell to make up a Doctor Who story from impromptu suggestions from the audience in under a minute. (The step ladder prop was key to the story!) We learned about the monsters, how they are made with CGI and models, the explosions, the music (I shook music arranger, Ben Foster's hand outside and thanked him and everyone involved for bring a little joy and fear into our lives!) and Russell gave the budding writers out there lots of encouragement to follow in his footsteps.

We had 2 Cybermen, an Ood, a Dalek, The TARDIS, a Scarecrow (the scariest for me) AND a sneaky peek into the Christmas special. Oh wow, what a great couple of hours. I'm going to miss them all so much.

Anywho! On the train Mr Fink was mucking about with names of famous people and swapping them around. we ended up with Rusty Lance Gob Knobbler, Dinglebert Humper Duck and Hugh Fearnley Ducking-Stool (I think the last one came from Terry Wogan!). We laughed all the way there and all the way back - what a joy our children were - mind you compared to some of the spoiled brats we saw in the Barbican and in London, anything would have been better than them!

Now Mr Fink and I are girding our loins ready for THE BUNCEFIELD BASH which is in about...3 hours! We have indoor fireworks and he isn't afraid to use them! Allons-y! Molto Bene!

I love Cub Camp

Cub camp was amazing - had a brilliant time. The weather was fantastic and the children were brilliant (mostly!)

The Cubs had a fully packed programme, including, Kayaking, Water zorbing (and there was me thinking it was cruel to put kids into plastic bags, blow them up with industrial hairdryers, zip them up and throw them on the lake?????), raft building, archery, 3d maze (pitch dark tunnels laid out on 4 floors of a shed, wide enough for a 10 year old, one way in - one way out. Apparently better with no torches? EEP), archery, rounders, water pistol fight (the adult leaders 'kidnapped' the sixers, tied them to trees. The Cubs had to get past the leaders and untie their sixer, whilst being fired on with water. The noise was unbelievable), rounders, wide games (a game played over a wide area, designed to get to know the site).

On the first night, the Cubs went to sleep about 1am. I got up at 5.30am to go to the loo and on my way back, found 5 Cubs in their jim jams huddled round the water stand pipe...filling their water pistols!

I helped with the feeding of the five thousand (I never want to see another home made chocolate cake as long as I live! Well, maybe not until next time!) Mr Fink made his debut as a leader, and guided by Baloo, did a sterling job, I think he enjoyed it almost as much as the children did!

We took our tent down during free time on the Sunday. Akela told me that Little Fink returned from kayaking to get changed (she gets changed in our tent to spare the blushes - hers and the 4 boys she was sharing with) she walked almost half way up the field before she realised our tent was missing! Akela let her use his tent instead. when we had the closing ceremony he gave out the lost property, lo and behold a pair of wet Cub shorts was produced - she had left them on the floor of his tent! Oops.

J1 read Doctor Who comics all the way back and Little Fink slept - although she claimed she could not get to sleep! When we got in, she flopped down onto the sofa and slept for a further 2 hours. Woke up, watched Doctor Who, then went to bed!

What a weekend.

What's the weather going to be like?

I've been checking the weather carefully for the last couple of days. The Fink family and Mrs Cub-share's son, J1 are off to Cub camp at Thriftwood in Essex this weekend and, if you are a regular reader, you will know how much fun camp is in the rain.

Last night on the TV weather I heard the vaguest most sit-on-the-fence report I have ever heard..

"This weekend half the people in the south-East have a 50% chance of getting wet."

Well that just about covers everything and I'm none the wiser!

Cubs are sooooo funny

I really love the children at this age (8 years - 10years) they are discovering their own sense of humour and playing with rhymes and language. Observe. I am on the Cubrun, picking up Little Fink and her 2 boy cub buddies J1 and J2. an exchange between them.

Little Fink, "I am a winn-er, winn-er, winn-er."

J1, "More like weiner, weiner, weiner."

Little Fink, "Ape-face monkey-boy"

J1, with a resigned sigh and a shake of the head, "Little Fink is such a maniac."

J2 was quiet on this occasion but usually he joins in a gives a good account of himself.