8 – 13 May 2017
On Monday, we went swimming as usual at two. We’re in the top group of our lessons (which we have been for a while) and we get to do six lengths for our warm-up and we’re all getting really good. We had a dinner that Tilly made, which was fennel meatballs with an aubergine sauce and also some polenta. It tasted even nicer than it looked, and it looked brilliant! Then we went to Guides at seven fifteen, and we played outside for a bit before being grilled about home-education by Victoria and Connie, who said they were absolutely intreagued, and I say that hopefully they’ll go home-ed!
On Tuesday, Tilly and I got up early and we did all of our work before twelve, a thing that very rarely happens 😉 Then we made our lunch (which consisted of thin, flat wraps, fruit, and a packet of crisps each) and went to the park for a picnic all by ourselves! Then we spent the afternoon in the park round the block, doing our Ninja Warrior training. We also made some circuits from our chemistry box, did some knitting, and then I helped Mummy make pasta bake with sausages and some of the leftover meatballs. It was delicious!
On Wednesday, we started watching a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which you can read more about HERE. I read a lot that day; I’m currently reading Little Men by Louisa May Alcott, The Bastables by Edith Nesbit and Ruby Redfort: Pick Your Poison by Lauren Child. I also spent a lot of time writing my 61-pages-long story Dragon Fighter, which I’m really hoping to publish! Tilly made some mince pies and Andy’s first comment was, “But it’s not Christmas!”, but if he tried one he’d know that didn’t matter!
On Thursday we went out to IKEA for lunch, and I had meatballs with loganberry sauce, gravy and potato mash, followed up by my own whole apple cake with cream! It was delicious! Tilly said to Mummy, “Mummy, can I have two kids’ meals?” And Mummy said, “I guess… Lavinia, no, you can’t have two, but if you want I’ll give you a cake.” And then Tilly said, “Ooh, ooh, can I have cake as well?” And she said afterwards that she had actually meant it! She settled in the end with a cake and one kids’ meal! We played games in the showrooms for hours and were relieved to be getting home. We played ‘shops’ when we got back, and made our own currency; pennies were ‘becos’, and pounds were ‘bethops’. William asked if he could play too, but he walked away when we found out Tilly’s shop was a spa and was of no interest to him.
On Friday, we went to the Forest Centre with Matilda, Seth and Arthur. We played on the swing and the logs (which we called Logland) and then we went on a walk round the lake. Tilly found a blossom tree and was sprinkling blossom on her, saying she was a bride covered in confetti, and when Seth asked her who she was married to, she said, ‘The caterpillar I just found. Lavinia, what shall I name him?” And I said, “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ‘Volfie’ for short.” So she was married to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the composer who was a caterpillar! Once Arthur came up to me and said, “I would tell Big Matilda, but she’s being married to Wolfgang Wamadeus Oatzart,” and I said, “What is it?” And he replied, “Seth jabbed me on my bum with his stick and ran away.” I said, “Charming,” and he spent the rest of the walk confiding in me all of the wrongs Seth performed with his jab-stick, as Arthur called it!
On Saturday, we really didn’t do much; but we did walk up to the library and I wore my new red top and white shorts.
On Sunday (basically today), we went to Wrest Park for a Guides meet-up, and walked round doing a treasure hunt that had no treasure with Hannah, Rebecca, Louise, and the leader who helped us along the way called Linda. We had a navigating map-thingy, and instructions and questions saying things like: Go 3 squares west from the Orangery. Is the metal plate on the pillar a map or a sun dial? _____ And you had to answer it and move on. We did really well with our group; you were meant to be meeting up at the mansion at 3:00, and we finished the actual quest at 1:52 (I timed and memorised it) and spent twenty-one minutes up a tree when we’d done, arriving back at the mansion in first place at 2:13. We then had to wait about five minutes for the next group to come, another fifteen for the next, and finally, Karen’s group arrived at 3-something-like-15. We moved on to the park and played for a while, when who should come along but Seth and Matilda and Arthur! We played this complicated game on the top of the tower obstacle thing-y. Now Tilly’s just made beans-on-toast, so don’t mind if I scidaddle!