Hello May!! and nearly goodbye too! Its been a few nice days I guess summer will arrive eventually in this country. May has two bank holidays in this country and the first one was the Sweeps Festival for which occasion we visited St Margaret Church's tower which is one of the tallest in Rochester. It was amazing views.....behind Jonathan's head you can see the castle and the cathedral ....both ones the second oldest in Britain.
Reuben taking in the sights from outside St Margarett's Church. I love the old graveyard stones...there is a real sense of tranquillity and peace in that garden. I really do feel so blessed to be attending this church...also to think that the author of the beautiful heart searching hymn (one of my favourites) amazing grace is buried here is pretty amazing too.
I don't always get the Sweeps festival, I understand WHERE IT comes from and its necessity but somehow it goes into Morris Dance and some pagan celebrations where I get a little frazzled but one thing I do like is the Art of a MAY Pole dance. What a beautiful dance and such art! Reuben was equally fascinated and really excited to be asked to come and dance too....I guess he is a little shy here.
Bank holiday also meant a fayre at the Castle Grounds and the visit to the Edith May Barge which was built in 1906 and still in use....The boys were ecstatic and Cheyne was loving it however R is a little grumpy as we got there pretty late and the man said we will have to come back for a proper tour!
The best part of May was we could finally enjoy some outside picnics
We also made it to our favourite Sea Side Romney Sands. Flying the kite and running along the sea....was just beautiful and pretty simple but THE BEST! these moments are like taking BREATH of FRESH AIR!
The obligatory ice-cream:))) I loved how they cuddled up. Great friendships do come out of ice-cream and seaside fun.
May also meant I was taking part in my first ever RACE FOR LIFE! This is an event organised by CANCER RESEARCH and allows people to walk, run and make a statement while raising money for HOPEFULLY stopping this horrible disease taking away our loved ones. I could tell you loads about this event. It was great to be part of it. I felt sooo excited I buzzed for days and I was able to have some real thinking while surrounded by people who have displayed some truly sad and deeply personal messages on their T shirts....! I saw a lady who had a picture of her and her husband dancing at their wedding and the message under the photo said: "three weeks after our first dance together as husband and wife....you were taken away from me....I RACE FOR LIFE and ...." the message was sooo moving and bold I had to stop. There were many amazing messages. I mainly walked but read many messages.....while walking and I was thinking of a few people that marked my life and no longer are with us. Katie Millar was one of them....we RACED in memory of her especially but remembered during the walk all those we loved and lost to Cancer.
Reuben was my biggest supporter...he brought along his best friend Nicholas and his brother Andrei and off course my little boy Zac. They were very proud of me and don't know how to put it in words but it meant to much to me to see them take in the excitement of doing something like this. I hope they will join me next year! Reuben and I will def run it....
Before the race! my boys were enjoying it...so much.
And nice weather also meant a little something different. I had made a pledge recently to try and bring back some of the simple and creative ideas of my childhood. I know we are surrounded with amazingly technical gadgets and less and less people seem to see the value in some good old fashioned but very useful games. Someone here in UK has recently been told by police they could get in trouble for playing hopscotch....how crazy is that?! On the other side....if kids do not explore their surroundings fully and make use of their resources the best they can how can they become creative, responsible and fun people!?- everything has its place so while my children love technology and have plenty of it...time to fill in the small gaps and get that Vitamin D in our bones and brains all while having fun.
Reuben had learnt this term about famous artists and homes, houses, dwellings in different cultures and climates. I was so excited as he had experienced already life in other countries....to name a few, Romania, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Uk so we had many great chats about homes, houses and off course dwellings in general. He even designed his own house with daddy's help ....well it helps when daddy is a Master Planner, Urban Designer Architect....and what better way to mark his learning then calling a few friends, George (he lives in the development) and Georgia (who is also in the neighbourhood and in his class) and have a house drawing competition...it was close.... everyone won!:)))
Reuben has now finished another term at school and is looking forward to his half term....he has not got much planned we will just chillax and enjoy our home and surroundings with some special visit from Anna and Peter (English cousins) and hopefully visiting a vineyard and at the end of the week we are all hoping to celebrate June 1st (which in Romania is national children's day) with a trip to Thomas Land with his best friend Nicholas and his family. he deserves a lot as he has been particularly hard working at school, brilliant at his swimming, and even learning to play the recorder...and generally showing a lot of maturity through some of the things thrown at him....! I am extremely blessed....and words can never say how much I love both of my sons and their really brilliant daddy. THANK GOD FOR FAMILY.
