Day 190. Colouring in.

When the school Summer Fair calls for a little creativity I'm always happy to close my laptop for a few hours to develop artwork that doesn't involve PDF, EPS or JPG files.

Here's one Bea and I created earlier. She had the idea of a ball throw that was Tudor themed, my job was to draw Henry VIII; she was responsible for the colouring in. Which is a shame because I love colouring in. And Tudor history. And Summer Fairs. So a pretty enjoyable few hours really.

Day 146. Divorced, beheaded, died, ...

... divorced, beheaded, survived.

Today I learnt a new song to remember the fate of each of Henry VIII's six wives. Honestly? I already knew the order in which he married them and how the story ends for Catherine, Anne, Jane, Anne, Kathryn and Katherine. But for kids, it's a pretty cool recall method, if not a bit distracting in an exam situation.

We were at Horrible Histories in Kings Lynn, this time seeing Terrible Tudors; we saw Vile Victorians in February.

The show was funny, clever and with front row seats, no-one in front of us to block the view, although the flip side is that you have to keep an eye out for high velocity saliva during the dramatic speeches.

Loved it. Now how does that song go again?

Day 74. #didsomethingfunnyformoney

Today was all about Comic Relief and I needed it running a major campaign for Transform. Basically we shared some stupid photos of the Transform team (myself included) with our clients and sent them a batch of red nose accessories and sweeties, asking them to tweet us their own photos. We then made a donation to RND on behalf of their team.

I hoped for a good response but never expected such a high level of ingenuity: planking in the office, red noses making a dash for it in the lift and even Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace switching from French campaigns to RND campaigning. It was full on and a terrific experience. To date with our donations and the additional donations from people who saw the campaign we are running at £615. Do something funny for money? We did just that.

Day 53. Please Please Me.

As a working Mum, sometimes I try a bit too hard to make up for not really having enough time to spend with Bea. Today I think I got it just right. Back in my home town it was time to share some of the experiences I had when I was growing up and Bea loved it. 

We started off at St George's Hall for The Narnia Experience, a bit too heavy on the religious theme at the end but there was just enough magic in the journey for me to forgive that. From walking through the fur coats into the wardrobe, to being hypnotised by Mr Tumnus in front of his fire, Bea was enthralled and I was simply glad to be there to see how much she enjoyed it.

Next the Walker Art Gallery to look at Henry VIII, a painting many children in Liverpool will be very familiar with. We had to draw this on a school trip and my mate Paula remembered this when I mentioned where we were headed. These super colourful, non-pooping pigeons welcomed us on our way in and we played spot the pigeon as we wandered from exhibit to exhibit (if you haven't been, Peter's bottom courtesy of Hockney is particularly eye catching!).

Then a catch up with my two nieces, who are turning into the most beautiful young women, inside and out; we wandered through town, had lunch (of sorts), hot chocolate, a bit of shopping and then a trip on the Liverpool Eye (as Bea likes to call it). If only my sister had been able to take time off work to join us, maybe next time.

It was a truly special day. Family focused, time with Bea and ending with a glass of wine, a punnet of strawberries and Wild Arabia on TV. I miss home terribly, especially when I'm there, but I'm determined not to leave it so long until my next trip. Please Please Me. Yet again, you did.