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| Kite Flying.... |
It's not often you can look back on a summer and think "well that was a great one", but with the help of my Grandchildren, my wife's wonderful family and the brilliant long summer sunshine, I can this year. We've had barbecues, walks, outdoor charity events, kite flying, long evenings with friends around the chimenea, languid conversations over bottles of wine, birthdays, guitars, Harvey's local Ale, Shakespeare outside Scotney House and much, much more.
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And now, as the summer officially comes to an end, it's time to reap the benefits - the fruits and the produce of the year's growing season and also to review the photographs and the memories produced by the long evenings and hot days.
There was a series of articles in the press recently about children and the amount of daily activity they were getting; only about 50% of the children surveyed were active for at least an hour every day. How can this be? It's not that I don't believe the surveys - although these must necessarily be taken with a huge pinch of salt - but that children are inactive; they are always running around - aren't they? Or are our children now spending so much time on their iPads, iPhones, x-boxes and computers that exercise is becoming a thing that only previous generations (previous to technology) took part in?
When I spend time with my Grandchildren, or indeed my friends, I want to get them outdoors - into the fields, the woods and the parks - I can't wait to show them stuff. Just this month my Sister in Law's children were holding grass snakes, learning the names of trees and getting to grips with making grass scream. My grandson Eli was watching his Dad run round the park with a kite because their was no wind and then he helped me pick a pound or two of blackberries. This is his first "real" summer - Summer The First Time - he's only two, but he loved it.
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| Park Pickings... |
Let's get the children out, it doesn't matter if it's raining - there are raincoats and wellies - there is so much to do and see, even in the winter evenings when it's dark and dreary it can be fun outside looking at stars and planets, having bonfires and jacket potatoes, campfires and chestnuts. Who doesn't love the sight of toddlers splashing in puddles - what larks Pip, what larks.
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This time of year though there are fruits to be picked, wild or at your local Pick Your Own. Blackberries, raspberries, apples and plums are all ready to use in jams, pies and puddings - but not to forget the chutneys, alcoholic beverages and pickles that can also be put away for later use.
Keep reading my blog and I will try to share some of the stuff that I've discovered and made. It's fun, it's active and it's healthy.
