Yesterday was our first family event at the Centre, called All Join In after one of our founder’s books. I feel quite relaxed about the whole thing now it’s over but there were definitely a few moments this week when I was worried it wasn’t going to happen! As regular readers will recall, I’ve been off work for a few weeks post accident and all the planning time I’d blocked out had to be compacted into five days.
However – thanks to an awesome Centre team, willing volunteers and local groups, and our amazing illustrators it ended up being a lovely day.
The weather was hot but not as unbearable as midweek, the rain didn’t rain, and we were able to put up our gazebos in such a way that we were all mostly in the shade.
There were six activities for families to do, which felt bustly but manageable and the right number of people turned up – no queues but all the activities had a steady stream of people.
Such Stories, aka illustrator Laura Carlin and space designer Jo Briggs, had a dual role: not only were they helping families make a patchwork River of Wishes, they were also introducing our gorgeous new public sculpture Chip. Chip is the horse that carried a city, created with local families and schools, and he has a wishing star in his hoof that rings a bell when you press it.
MURUGIAH, who has his first solo show in our Engine House at the moment, was on hand to help families make flower faces inspired by his illustrations – we used paper plates and die cut circles to make 3D pieces for the wall.
Centre 404 and their volunteers added to a wishing tree (there’s a theme here!) while Clerkenwell Pollinator Path project made basking pebbles for bees, bee hotels and hoverfly hydration stations. They’ve also installed a bee hotel on site this week and will be making a bee bank for ground nesting varieties next week. The garden has only been in the ground six weeks and we already have 13 sorts of bee, several butterflies and dragonflies.
Our lovely gardener Zoe – wanting to save some of our hundreds of plant pots from landfill – designed portable pollinator patches with nasturtium seeds. These last two activities were by far the most popular.
Last – but not least – James and Eva of Play Build Play CIC tested ideas that will become our loose parts kit. Long term readers will recall previous adventures at Young V&A with loose parts, and I can’t wait to get it onsite. Kids were loving building aqueducts and pools inspired by the New River.
I enlisted Things 2 and 3 as volunteers, making them get out of bed ridiculously early on a non school day by promising them a Nando’s dinner… Seemed to work!
Things making me happy this week
- A crochet get well flower and heart from Iona in Scotland, which I found when I got home on Monday after being told I had to have an operation to repair my eye socket. That’s today, by the way, think positive thoughts for me!
- Being back at work, albeit briefly – they’re a lovely bunch of people.
- Not getting on the tube on Thursday. That made me very happy indeed.
- New hair by Jasmine over the road
- Gorgeous bee earrings for my birthday made by And Mary, to match my necklace. https://www.andmary.com/
- A beautiful lemon drizzle cake made by Thing 2 for my birthday, and cheerful flowers from Thing 1 and her girlfriend.
That’s it from me – same time next week then, gang?
Kirsty x
What I’ve been reading:
A Court of Thorn and Roses/A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas (Audible)
Wicked/Jump – Jilly Cooper
What Kirsty did next 