The big smoke

By the children of Holmwood School. Fabulous hey?

Missing the Olympics/Paralympics?

Pic fom the BBC - to watch video follow this linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19540587

I am! I have just watched the victory parade and now it's truly is over : ( I have really enjoyed the last 6 weeks, marvelling at the world records, in awe of the athletes courage and determination and checking the medal tally everyday. Plus it's been FABULOUS publicity for the UK - hurray!

Moyo

For a peek at the first issue of the new digital magazine all about surface pattern design, follow the link HERE. It's FAB!

Pushwagner: Soft City

At the weekend we went to a great exhibition at our art local gallery. The gallery had even painted the building to advertise the artist. I wasn't allowed to photograph any of the work inside but it was an interesting mix of paintings, drawings and animation. Hariton Pushwagner is from Norway (born in 1940) and is interested in the appeal of post war American consumer culture and the glamour of Pop Art, non conformity and control in metropolitan life. Quite a powerful mix hey? My kids loved the outside of the building most and standing on the tongue.

Harry Potter Studio Tour

We saw thousands of handmade props, walked where Harry Potter had walked and learnt how the special effects were created. My Absolute favourite bit though, was walking down Diagon Alley, looking in the shops and relishing all the packaging for the fantasy products, heaven!  What a great day out for little kids and big kids.

Chillaxing

I've had a couple of weeks away from my desk and we've spent some time camping and driving through gorgeous English villages, caught up with friends and family, been to lots of fun creative family events AND I've even sat in the garden on sunny days reading magazines and eating lovely food. Perfect!!!!!! Back to school for my kids next week. They are gutted.

Searching for Sugarman

I saw this really FABULOUS, BRILLIANT, AWESOME documentary film last night at the cinema. It has to be my film of the year. It's about two South Africans who set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez. Searching for Sugar Man tells the incredible true story of the '70s rock icon who never was. Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late '60s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, they recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. In fact, the album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumours of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story more extraordinary than any of the existing myths about the artist known as Rodriguez. A truly life affirming film. I highly recommend it : )

Sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, rain..............

............ everyone is talking about the changeable weather in the UK at the mo. Play this and your sky will be blue where ever you are. Such a happy song.

Team GB you are FANTASTICALLY GREAT!!!!!!

Medals made by the children at my sons School

Well what a great weekend for team GB. We have sofa surfed all weekend watching the Olympics. Housework has been abandoned, TV dinners have been the norm and limited "screen time" has gone out the window : )

Collective Spirit

We went and saw a remarkable boat - Collective Spirit - at the weekend. It will soon set sail on its maiden voyage but before then it somehow made its way inland to Central Milton Keynes (one of the furthest points from the sea in the UK!) and featured as part of our IF Festival.
The 30ft boat, crafted by a fearlessly adventurous team of boat builders and volunteers, has been made from wood donated by people from Milton Keynes and across the South East. All of the donations have special stories behind them - some profound, some happy, some unique and some that are quite simply extraordinary. It was great looking at how the wood had been sliced and pieced together and working out the objects original use. See this link here to see if it's visiting somewhere near you.