Spent the evening playing a new board game which Charlie and Dominique have made. It's a family version of Cluedo, based on our house as a board (on two levels, downstairs and upstairs). The family become the suspects (including Goldie the dog) and the murder implements include grandma's knitting needles, the potato peeler, one of Charlie's hats and so on. They have added some chance cards (as in Monopoly) including discovering a steel boot that enables you to boot another player out of any room at any time (but only once!).
The whole thing has been wonderfully produced: photos of all the suspects and implements mounted on cards etc. And people wonder how they fill their time with no TV...
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Monday, 2 May 2011
Sunday, 2 January 2011
New Year
A Happy New Year to both my readers...
We had a great New Year: a counter-cultural family came to stay (as they do every new year) and so we went for lots of walks in the day time and played lots of games as the evenings drew in, as well as musical and dramatic entertainment from the kids.
This year's show was Peter Pan, including the adaptation of a current hit (originally by Elton John) for the Crocodile (played by Goldie decorated with green tinsel) which began:
It's a little bit funny - this ticking inside...
And as they are a Catholic family too, they came to Mass, joined in saying prayers and so on. As ever, what we strive for is that mix of Faith and Fun: it seems to be a winning combination.
We had a great New Year: a counter-cultural family came to stay (as they do every new year) and so we went for lots of walks in the day time and played lots of games as the evenings drew in, as well as musical and dramatic entertainment from the kids.
This year's show was Peter Pan, including the adaptation of a current hit (originally by Elton John) for the Crocodile (played by Goldie decorated with green tinsel) which began:
It's a little bit funny - this ticking inside...
And as they are a Catholic family too, they came to Mass, joined in saying prayers and so on. As ever, what we strive for is that mix of Faith and Fun: it seems to be a winning combination.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Friday, 13 August 2010
On Holiday
It's all go during the holidays.
Ant is working at a Sailing Centre, teaching sailing. It's like being paid to do your favourite hobby - in fact, it is being paid to do her favourite hobby.
Bernie is in Edinburgh, doing an Art Summer School as she considers her University choices - and awaits her AS results - and visiting the Fringe shows in the evenings...
Charlie and Dominique are at home at present, and we have Ant's boyfriend, Zadok, as a guest at present - so we've been doing lots of walks, a bit of sailing, a few visits to National Trust places. Charlie and Dominique have also been working on a project on Cardianl Newman, in preparation for his beatification by the Holy Father later in the year. They now take an avid interest every time his name is mentioned in the press etc.
Zadok and I have been working hard clearing out our outhouses and sheds. I now have a re-floored upstairs for storage, and a bike shed, a wood shed, a potting shed, a couple of general storage sheds and a tool shed all organised and tidy. (These were all full of the debris of the guy who lived here before us for many years; he never threw anything away, so we have given away or dumped a huge amount of stuff: a Victorian bath, old bicycles etc...)
And games in the evening: Zadok is a dab hand at card games, and managed to beat me at chess (though that was mainly carelessness on my part in the endgame...)
Ant is working at a Sailing Centre, teaching sailing. It's like being paid to do your favourite hobby - in fact, it is being paid to do her favourite hobby.
Bernie is in Edinburgh, doing an Art Summer School as she considers her University choices - and awaits her AS results - and visiting the Fringe shows in the evenings...
Charlie and Dominique are at home at present, and we have Ant's boyfriend, Zadok, as a guest at present - so we've been doing lots of walks, a bit of sailing, a few visits to National Trust places. Charlie and Dominique have also been working on a project on Cardianl Newman, in preparation for his beatification by the Holy Father later in the year. They now take an avid interest every time his name is mentioned in the press etc.
Zadok and I have been working hard clearing out our outhouses and sheds. I now have a re-floored upstairs for storage, and a bike shed, a wood shed, a potting shed, a couple of general storage sheds and a tool shed all organised and tidy. (These were all full of the debris of the guy who lived here before us for many years; he never threw anything away, so we have given away or dumped a huge amount of stuff: a Victorian bath, old bicycles etc...)
And games in the evening: Zadok is a dab hand at card games, and managed to beat me at chess (though that was mainly carelessness on my part in the endgame...)
Monday, 4 May 2009
A good weekend...
Ant, Charlie and Dom were away for the weekend, camping with some friends; Bernie opted to stay at home as she had some work to do for her Art GCSE coursework. So I had a fairly free Saturday, and was able to mend my bike and dig the garden.
I guess we'll never know what that old tease Voltaire meant at the end of Candide, but I always find gardening very therapeutic. Particularly in our case, where the garden we inherited had been neglected for years, then transformed into a building site while we had some work done; so it is now a matter of reclaiming yard after hard-fought yard. But we make progress.
On Sunday, after Mass (where our PP once again preached (on unity and loyalty) in a way that shows why he should be a traditionalist, if only he hadn't been brainwashed at seminary...) we went to our friends to help pack up the camp, have a picnic lunch, play rounders, mess about, chat, eat drink, and get home very late indeed.
The kids had (ours and theirs) had all survived th camping, despite the cold; and they all get on really well, so a good time was had by all.
I guess we'll never know what that old tease Voltaire meant at the end of Candide, but I always find gardening very therapeutic. Particularly in our case, where the garden we inherited had been neglected for years, then transformed into a building site while we had some work done; so it is now a matter of reclaiming yard after hard-fought yard. But we make progress.
On Sunday, after Mass (where our PP once again preached (on unity and loyalty) in a way that shows why he should be a traditionalist, if only he hadn't been brainwashed at seminary...) we went to our friends to help pack up the camp, have a picnic lunch, play rounders, mess about, chat, eat drink, and get home very late indeed.
The kids had (ours and theirs) had all survived th camping, despite the cold; and they all get on really well, so a good time was had by all.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
The Holidays are Upon Us
And so far we have had a lot of fun: trying to kick a football over the river, and then having to lob stones and sticks at it to get it to the other side... and then trying again. (Goldie was no help: she swam out out it, pushed it aimlessly with her nose, and then swam back. "fetch," we all yelled, but she knew better...); Dom going on a pony trek with a friend, and then inviting the friend over for the day, plauying consequences, sardines, and going swimming; working on the long-intended treehouse; making Easter cards; practicing the plainchant for Easter Sunday; bouncing on the trampoline and digging the garden.
It will all slow down a bit now, as we enter the solemn end of Holy Week.
It will all slow down a bit now, as we enter the solemn end of Holy Week.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Going Tudor
Dominique is studying the Tudors at present, and after half term they are having a Tudor banquet. So today, she has spent a lot of time with Grandma and Ant putting together a most convincing tudor costume. Much of the rest of the day has been spent with Anna, looking for tudor recipes on the internet and baking some (Tudor?) bread. She and Charlie did take an hour or two out in the afternoon to play tennis in the field (not Real [Tudor] Tennis, alas) while Ant, Anna and I took Goldie for a walk in the woods. Bernie was at the pictures with friends (Slumdog Millionaire) which she enjoyed. The bigger girls (inc grandma) are off to see Oklahoma! tonight, so I will have a quiet night in once I've put the little ones to bed.
Friday, 20 February 2009
Still on half term...
Some friends came round yesterday - a couple of families (or at least a couple of mums and some of their kids - - dads were at work, poor souls). We had a chaotic lunch, then a walk. After that the kids spent a lot of time making puppets, and then (after copious home-made pizza) played rounders in the dark. As so often, the kids and mums said that they rarely had such good fun. Our kids certainly know how to play...
Today, Anna, Bernie, Charlie and Dominique went out to meet some other friends. Ant and I stayed home - and took Goldie for a long, fast walk over a local hill. Amazing how quickly we were able to go without the others. Then she worked all afternoon and I dug the garden.
Kids all doing various music practice now, before tea (fish of course: it's Friday).
Today, Anna, Bernie, Charlie and Dominique went out to meet some other friends. Ant and I stayed home - and took Goldie for a long, fast walk over a local hill. Amazing how quickly we were able to go without the others. Then she worked all afternoon and I dug the garden.
Kids all doing various music practice now, before tea (fish of course: it's Friday).
Monday, 16 February 2009
Half term
It is now the half term holidays, which is a great relief: we were all getting rather tired.
We have had a couple of good walks already, as well as spending a bit of time just messing about together. Charlie and Dominique spent most of Saturday playing a very complex game of their own invention that involved a lot of dressing up, as well as several board games and toys.... There is something about having the time and space together to do nothing that really stimulates good family time. And the absence of a TV certainly helps!
We have had a couple of good walks already, as well as spending a bit of time just messing about together. Charlie and Dominique spent most of Saturday playing a very complex game of their own invention that involved a lot of dressing up, as well as several board games and toys.... There is something about having the time and space together to do nothing that really stimulates good family time. And the absence of a TV certainly helps!
Friday, 2 January 2009
New Year
We had some counter cultural friends to stay over for a couple of days to see in the New Year with us. All the kids (seven) were done up in leather armour with wooden swords for most of the walks... It was a great sight to see them skating about on a frozen pond in all their kit! Other more responsible parents were at the edge of the pond, warning their children how dangerous it was going to be when the ice cracked, We tested the ice and then let the kids run riot on it. (We did have a rope, space blanket etc in the rucksack just in case, but were confident with the ice several inches thick that we wouldn't need it).
Back at home we played charades, and other similar games which all could join in with, and once the smaller kids were in bed, taught Ant and Bernie how to play bridge, which they both enjoyed.
It's always good having other Catholic families to stay, as they join in with family prayers, grace before meals and so on, which is good for their kids and ours, in terms of making it demonstrably a normal thing for fun people to do...
Back at home we played charades, and other similar games which all could join in with, and once the smaller kids were in bed, taught Ant and Bernie how to play bridge, which they both enjoyed.
It's always good having other Catholic families to stay, as they join in with family prayers, grace before meals and so on, which is good for their kids and ours, in terms of making it demonstrably a normal thing for fun people to do...
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Games and log fires
As the evenings are drawing in, we are spending more time by the fireside. Having no TV we have to make our own entertainment. At the moment, card games are very popular: our favourites are knockout whist and cheat. Cluedo is also popular, and once the kids are off school we’ll probably be playing more board games, especially Monopoly.
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