• I had a great day yesterday at John Wycliffe Primary in Lutterworth near Leicester.

    We were doing character and story ideas with KS1. We came up with a very funny idea for guinea pigs at the olympics, how the Giraffe got his long neck and a very bizzarre idea involving eyeballs with arms and legs!

    Later I visited the Library for a story session. Lutterworth are due to get a new Library in the Peugot Showroom in the Autumn, so they were busy planning the move.

    Thanks everyone for a great day and thatnks for all your drawings and models – I came away with an armful!

  • I’ve been so enjoying my pond this summer. There are masses of tadpoles. As I look out of my studio window, the surface shimmers as the pop to the surface for a mouthful of air. I got a picture of one breathing, below.

    tadpoleplus

    I love the way they turn belly up to breathe. Also on this picture is something new and unidentified. If I get to close is spirals down to the bottom of the pond at great speed – it then floats back up to the surface just a s fast. It’s hard to see by eye, but from the blown-up picture it looks like it has a springy tail.

    tadpoles1

    This lot look happy enough. There are shrimps or lice (not sure which) and a snail or two.

    The pond attracts other wildlife, some of which like to see what I’m up to. This large red Damsel Fly came into the studio yesterday to have a look around.Â

    largereddamsel

  • I’m waiting for news of my grand nephew at the moment – my niece is in labour as I write. I know it is going to be a boy but I’m not sure that I wanted to know. My daughter thinks it’s great to know what you are going to have because you can then co-ordinate the clothes and bedding.

    The news always used to be, “it’s boy!” or, “it’s a girl!” This added to the fun and excitement and the novelty of a new person arriving. Knowing what sex the child is going to be allows you to imagine what the child looks like and make assumptions about them before they are even born. My niece was even given 3d scans which allowed you to see what the baby looks like before it’s born. These were then propagated on facebook! I’m sure it’s great for the medics, but I think it’s better for the parents to wait and be properly introduced to their child. Bed linen co-ordination is not really that important in the scheme of things.

    Later….

    My sister phoned and announced, “He’s arrived!” It doesn’t have the same ring does it!?