Field trips and Father's Day

Last Tuesday I went to Littlehampton with one of our Year 7 Geography classes. We looked at the way the sea moves the pebbles and sediment across the beach and the role of the groynes. The students had work books and completed a field sketch about the sea front showing its commercialisation and development.

Today it is Em's turn to go on the same trip which she is very excited about. As I started this post this morning and completed it this afternoon I can now tell you that Em had a lovely time, it turned out to be a warm sunny day too, perfect weather for walking.
Em's guide unit is joining a summer camp this year which will be all about worldwide guiding.


So they needed to make a 9m x 2m collage for the side of the marquee with Sydney, Australia as the subject. They decided to choose The Opera House using sheets to make up to the correct size, one of the other Guide's mum helped me plot and cut out the sails of The Opera House. I took it all home to dye the sheets blue, then I did all the stitching and added some jeans material to make the windows and the base. On some of the sails I added some wadding and stitched in the ribs of the roof. Last week I took the collage back for the girls to decorate with all things Australian. It looks fantastic but I will take a picture when it is done as there is lots of sewing still to do.
This weekend on Saturday we went to the Amberley Working Museum as they had a Steam Day with traction engines all coaled up and running around the site. Some of the engines were steam rollers used for road laying by local councils whilst others included a fun fair showmans engine, a minature version, a steam lorry and steam bus.
On Sunday, Fathers Day, we visited Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum, East Sussex. It was a beautiful day out wandering around the car collection and walking through the wildfowl reserve oohing and aahing at the ducklings and goslings. The gardens were fragrant with Roses and full of colour, then we were able to enjoy a meal in their restaurant.

Sunshine and Promenade

Saturday: Em went to a Mardi Gras sleepover with the Guides.

We went for a drive down to Littlehampton, walked along the harbour front and spent time watching the boating activity. The sun was warm on our faces but the wind was cold, the views were beautiful.

Later we drove along to Worthing for a walk along the beach to see how much of the wood was still awaiting clearance. Quite a lot of wood is still there although it has now been gathered up into huge heaps at the top of the beach. Almost the full length of Worthing beach is fenced off to keep the public out of the way of the big diggers working to clear the wood.

We walked along to the pier and on the way stopped at the former Lido, looking back at the machines sifting the beach for wood. On our return walk we noticed the Parks department are redesigning and replanting the gardens at the end of Heene Road. This photo was taken in the summer of 1998, it will be interesting to see the finished garden this summer and how it will compare to the old gardens.

Sunday: Collected Em, she had a lovely time. Yesterday - they did High School Musical karoke, went out into the woods exploring and other activities, in the evening they visited each others rooms and went to bed around 11pm! today they had a Mardi Gras party after breakfast.