Amsterdam (again - lucky me!)

A couple of weeks ago we had a long weekend with my sister in Amsterdam.

She took us to Madurodam...

Yes it's a miniature Holland. I was a little sceptical to start with thinking it might just be a load of small houses but it was fantastic. There weren't just miniature houses and famous buildings but factories, an airport, harbour, school, even a moving fairground.

The attention to detail was amazing. The more you looked the more you spotted.

The school photograph being taken.

The rock concert. All the people were different and a lot of them moved!

I decided I'd love a job as a props maker and then we found my future place of work.

This is life size! It is the studio where all the props are made.

We even spotted a mini Mr Magoo in the window!

Dotted around were activities for children.



The little jammers enjoyed measuring their weight in cheeses and then trying to lift the equivalent.

They pumped very hard to keep the floodgates shut!

The littlest enjoyed watching for the train.

Finally there was a clog factory. 1 Euro in the slot bought you the sound of miniature workers hammering away inside then ker-plunk a mini pair of clogs flew down the shute into a truck. The truck duly 'drove' round and delivered the clogs to a very happy customer!!

Thankfully a dry day but you can see the rain clouds moving in from the train window.

Sadly the weather was no better than here!

Summer bunnies

This family of five joined me in the sunshine today.

More blankety bunnies...

...this time in multi pastel stripes.

and two sizes!

This afternoon I delivered them to their temporary home at the antique centre.

Hopefully they'll all have a home to go to soon!!

I've also been venturing into the world of Etsy and stocking my virtual shelves.

Enough making and a day out tomorrow I think.

Have a fab week.

x

Enid Blyton Part II

Before we headed off last week to do the second part of Enid Blyton trail we needed some refreshments. Refreshments of the old fashioned sugary variety. We were in Corfe Castle to catch a train and popped into the old fashioned sweet shop.

What a choice!

Bonbons proved popular.

Next stop the Ginger Pop shop, dedicated to Enid Blyton. It even had a Wishing Chair outside in case you were in need of some magic.

We carefully perused the windows for the next clue.

Then off to the little station and this is where I probably need to explain I am definitely not a trainspotter. I just got a bit carried away with photographing all the lovely old fashioned 'stuff'.

However that is not to say that I did not love that little station.

The colours.

The cute neat and tidiness of it all.

The view to the castle beyond.

Then it arrived. Our transport for the day!

A good old steam train.

We were riding the Swanage Railway in search of our next clue.

Destination sunny Swanage.



More Fortes icecreams to be enjoyed.

Little Jammer had her first taste of Punch and Judy

and shrieked with surprise and laughter.

Sorry about the finger - bad photographer!

Still 2 clues to go...



Makes and a walk

Today I photographed some new cushions I've been making this week.

 Some for my etsy shop (blatant advertising - sorry) and some for my sofa!

Then off to one of my favourite places for a walk -  Arne Nature Reserve.

A nice stroll through the woods and heath.

Loads of Sika Deer about today.

 Eventually we arrive at the 'beach'.

The edge of Poole Harbour complete with all the little islands.

Sadly all a bit cloudy by the time we got there.

Fantastic tree we saw on the walk.

 The jammers had to try and get inside!



On the trail of Enid Blyton

Last week we headed off on a trail around the Purbecks, well that was the plan. It was an Enid Blyton trail organised by the Ginger Pop Shop. The idea is you visit various places that inspired Enid Blyton and find clues along the way.

First stop was Swanage, a place I have many fond memories of as I lived there for a short while. Our destination was the restored pier. We stopped in the old fashioned amusements and exchanged a pound for some big old pennies to put in these vintage slot machines.

This is what remains of the old pier.

The jammers ran off to hunt down clues. I had better not share as they've set their hearts on winning!

Lovely views from the pier out to Old Harry rocks and Poole in the distance.

We picnicked overlooking the beach and I introduced the jammers to the world of Fortes icecream. We generally got distracted from the trail by icecream, food and a quick whizz around the chazzas for me.

Finally we were off again looking for something blue. Can you see where we are?The Blue Pool near Wareham.

The littlest jammer ran ahead. By now we found ourselves partaking in two trails. Enid Blyton and The Blue Pool's own hunt the squirrel.

We had to find posts labelled A-Z. easy peasy. Now at each post we had to look in the surrounding trees for a squirrel or possibly a woodpecker or owl (they obviously ran out of squirrels).

Boy this took some spotting. In fact many were not spotted!
I zoomed the camera as far as I could to check this was a plastic squirrel. Red or grey - who knows?!

Around the trail we peaked at the pool looking lovely and um blue.

And that's all for now folks. We caught the ferry from Studland to Sandbanks with the intention of going to the Ginger Pop shop for the next clue. However the queue was so long we missed that and opted for pizza supper instead.