Sailing: A Beautiful Day

Near the end of the summer holidays, Frensham Pond Sailing Club held its annual youth day to encourage young people with disabilities to learn to sail. There were very cheerful and experienced volunteers on hand to meet the young people's needs and the weather was just beautiful.

Here are a couple of pics of the boats waiting on the jetty for the off.

I don't think the sky could have been any more blue!

They run regular sessions on Thursday and Saturday mornings for youngsters with disabilities and have all the equipment needed for many types of health problems. If your family fit the bill, its really worth a look. they were SO friendly. The more experienced kids can go out alone, intermediates with a sailing buddy and novices or those needing more help can go in a group on a larger boat (on the left).
http://www.sailfrensham.org.uk/index.php/info/about-the-club/history/14-sailing/sailability/72-sailing-for-the-disabled

Need For Tweed 2

Quite a while ago I showed you a lovely big piece of tweed fabric I had picked up in a charity shop for  a small amount of money... knew I wanted to do something with it but had no idea what. I said I'd keep you posted if it got used at all (http://socklet-world.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/need-for-tweed_22.html ).

Well here is the first result of my efforts: Frogs!

There's a little of the personality of Beaker from Sesame Street/ Muppets about the frog on the left.

I can imagine these two sitting down their local pub of a lunchtime, the larger one holding forth about the state of the world today and the smaller companion hardly daring to venture an opinion.

The wrinkly fabric of the top of the head is the lining from an old anorak from a charity shop and, although you can't really see it, they both have a mouth pouch, which in other fabric frogs I make, my husband fills with styluses (styli?) at drawing conventions.

Fabulous Chocolates!

When one of my daughter's friends came to stay over for the weekend, she gave us this box of the most fabulous chocolates.

They are Lindt Petit Desserts and each one is based on pudding types: Meringue, Tiramisu, Brownie, Fondant Chocolate, Mille-feuille, Creme Brulee, and Eclair Caramel.

I thought they deserved to be photographed on a posh background to show them to their best advantage...

and then just a close up to show them in all their chocolatey goodness! 
Thank you very much, friend of daughter.

Dr Who Exhibition Quiz Time!

These are the last pics from the Dr Who Exhibition. Can you identify the items?

I've no idea. It looks like one of the many machines the Doctor makes to track something down. Any ideas? (i just love stuff made out of junk!)

I know this one!

I didn't remember this at all, must watch the episode again... hmmm, making Dr Who puppets for a show, what a brilliant idea!

(26.8.14 additional: have re-watched the last Matt Smith Episode where he stays and protects the town of Christmas and realized both the wooden Cyberman and the puppet show came from there... question answered).

I had a friend's child tell me with some disdain what this was! Now I have watched the recent episode again, I shall know better!

Don't remember this at all but the surface of the egg thing is beautiful...

See?

And I don't know what this was either, but would love to stick a whole load of stuff and junk on a board, spray it bronze and gold and then have no earthly use for it too!

If you can help me out with identifying the mystery objects you can send me a message if you like.

Dr Who Exhibition: Bad Guys!

We had costumes and props from the Doctors on a previous blog
(http://socklet-world.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/treasures-from-dr-who-exhibition.html) 
and I promised the bad guys so here they are... an entire floor of them in the Dr Who Exhibition in Cardiff.

The creepy living dolls from the doll's house in the wardrobe episode.

Peter the winder turned cross faced from the 2nd Amy Pond episode.

The Living scarecrows from the Family of Blood.

Wooden King and Queen figures from the Christmas episode (that had a 2nd world war fighter pilot).

The legendary Davros!

The Ice Warrior from the nuclear submarine.

A cute little wooden Cyberman from the planet where Clara took her two annoying little charges when she was supposed to be looking after them!

(26.8.14 additional: No it isn't, see added note on the following page's blog (quiz)).

The droids who keep trying to shoot needles into the other Amy, trapped in a different time stream.

And a lovely range of Daleks!
There were many more but, as I don't use family pics on my blog, I can't include either me being attacked by a Cyberman or my daughter bro-fisting a Weeping Angel!

New Dr Who... filming secrets!

When we were in Wales earlier in the summer, a friend of ours, who lives near where we were staying, told us one of the new episodes of Dr Who (series starting this Saturday with Peter Capaldi) was filmed at a property down the road. So of course we went along to see the place.

It was at a beautiful, rocky (surf-tastic) beach called Rest Bay, on the south coast. At Easter the Tardis had been there... sadly not now. We made do with my daughter's phone case posed in front of the building they had used, a currently abandoned hotel near the cliff edge.

The hotel.

The hotel plus Tardis phone.

I don't know which bit they might show so we walked round all of the accessible bits.

Round the back (there is an open cafe in a building to the side, out of shot).

The an imposing view of the front.
Let's hope we recognize it when the episode airs, no idea which one. It wasn't mentioned on the website of locations Wales is proud to have had used for this series!

Birthday Bits = )

Yesterday was my birthday and my Niece's 18th on the same day (she was the best present I ever received for a birthday!!!).

Here are some of the lovely Moomin-related and notebook filled bits I had from my family...

... and a cute little sewn 'thingy' from my daughter.
And here is the card hubby drew

My niece didn't know what she wanted for her birthday so I made her a little monster using the YouTube tutorial I love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjurlsxOhLY ) and stuffed the birthday money in its mouth!

It's SO cute...

Like trying to get a small toddler to sit still and engage for it's baby photos to be taken... 

Watch the Birdie!

A Golden Bedroom: The Bedroom to Eldorado!!

As I'm sure I've said before, my autistic son has a fascination with GOLD so, when it came to redecorating his bedroom this summer holiday, you can guess what colour he chose.

 Apparently, you can't have too much of a good thing: walls, ceiling, door, picture rail, skirting board and curtains...

The carpet stayed, despite appeals for gold...

And the hook on the back of the door is perfect for the golden cowboy hat!

I staple gunned gold shiny fabric along the side of the bed as a valance (I want to write the word pronounced lar-mey but the computer won't let me type a french accent over the e so it just says 'lame'!!!).

The crowning glory came with the finding of 'golden' fabric (deep yellow cotton) in the lovely fabric shop in Camberley, with which to make a duvet cover and pillow case. We had hunted high, low and fruitlessly for a yellow cover and pillowcase so this was a great relief (see http://www.threademporium.co.uk).

The lady serving us was so kind she even gave my son some elasticated gold thread which I made into tassels, one for each corner of the cover.
Here is the result...

and in situ...

I added gold buttons to fasten the opening of the duvet, naturally.

The overall effect (as they say in Curious George:"That's a lot of yellow for one man!").

But I suppose as a teenager it could have been worse... It could have been totally black!

He's VERY happy! Only the golden mirror and notice board to put up now, then we may never have to decorate it again!!!

Waterfalls and Tin Mines

Here is a beautiful view called Aberdulais Falls in South Wales. It' a National Trust place and is gorgeous.

It used to be a working tin site... 

Where the water would turn the wheel to create the power needed to process and flatten tin...

to be turned into various tin-ny products (like tins!)...

There's a museum onsite and a school (turned Cafe now) where the children who worked there could be schooled, when they were not working their poor little fingers to the bone.

And talking of the Cafe: the most amazing thing for a National Trust eatery was that 3 people could have a drink and a cake (cream tea, Toblerone tart and strawberry cheesecake to be precise) and still get change from £8!!! It must be Wales prices. God bless 'em!

Cyber head... Gone to sea or gone to seed?

We saw 2 Cyber heads on holiday (not counting the one in the Dr Who exhibition! 

The first was washed up on the beach, had been turned to stone and had its innards hanging out...

(I've found out since it is part of the block used to secure scaffolding poles to the ground... but it'll always be a Cyber head to me!).

And the second is a Cyber head that has definitely gone to seed and over indulged on the good oils in life...

It could be argued that this is actually a CD player, but we know it's a Cyber head trying to blend in... and even more when you see it in disguise in holiday mode...