If technicolour makes you ill, look away now!

Here are our school photos for the year....I have nothing to say because I am astounded with this background!

Alexander's 2nd movie

Here is Alexander's 2nd movie


144 photos
Enjoy....

Alexander's First Movie

Alexander's first movie with Movie Maker Software.
It has 197 photos altogther

60 Jahre Luftbrücke

60 Jahre Luftbrücke Celebration
link from RBB online click on the left hand side for video. About 23 seconds into the clip.

Tomorrow the choir will sing and hand out medals.

Stalin cut off all rail and road links to West Berlin - the Berlin Blockade. This was seen as an attempt to starve Berlin into surrender, so the Allies decided to supply West Berlin by air.
The Berlin Blockade lasted 318 days. During this time, 275,000 planes transported 1.5 million tons of supplies and a plane landed every three minutes at Berlin's Templehof airport.
On 12 May 1949, Stalin abandoned the blockade.
Here is a link to the BBC story and an interesting video.

and a report by our friend Steven

Who looks at our blog...

Using the sidebar tool of NeoCounters, Feedjit and Blogcounters, we can see who/where our visitiors come from. Sometimes it is interesting to see what people's key search words link into our site. There was one last night that made me wonder, so I backtracked to find it. Naturally Natalia is a fan website for Natalie Tena....and we found our photo on there!

A long weekend in Berlin

The May Day long weekend came around fast this year - we had planned to go away, but since it feels that we only have just arrived back from our trip to Wales, we decided to stay in Berlin.

On Thursday night we took the boys to the 'wrap party' for the movie that they took part in. Unfortunately, there was some delays in everyone getting there (they were filming a scene with a baby, and there was some issue with 'co-operation...) The boys and Lynes had a great time, playing table football, drinking Fanta and Sprite, and attacking the buffet.


Eventually most of the cast and crew arrived, but to the boys disappointment, Natalia, Matt and Michael were not there to say hi to. At 12:30 am, the boys were getting a bit tired so we headed off for home.

After a lazy Friday morning, we hopped on our bikes and rode to the Siegessäule(the Statue of Victory near the Brandenburg gate.) Although we have lived in Berlin for 4 years, we have never been up the monument (to historic victories over Denmark, Netherlands and France in the 1800's). With 285 steps (290 by the boys' count) we climbed up and had a magnificent view over Berlin.





After this we rode back to Charlottenburg, to the Lichtensee. It is a lovely lake in a park not too far from our house. We met Sonia and BJ there. The boys had a couple of hours playing in the park, in the glorious sunshine. Nicole, Sonia and Phil had a couple of coffees and enjoyed the fresh air (if a little dusty)

Saturday dawned beautifully sunny again. We took Alexander to theatre club, and whilst he was there, Cameron had some play time in a great park, we had a coffee and Nicole and Phil bought some new shoes (Phil had worn the soles out of his last pair with all the grit on the pavements for the snow). Later that afternoon we went across to Alan and Sonia's home for a relaxed afternoon, a few beers and some delicious chilli for dinner.

Sunday was more relaxed. We knocked around at home. After lunch, we all went out into the garden. The boys painted some great pictures for Phil's office, Nicole read her book and knitted, and Phil enjoyed watching the boys. Our new neighbors joined us with their 2 year old, and it was a relaxed, fun afternoon in the garden.



Overall, a relaxed weekend, with lots of family time, fresh air, friends and sunshine. Can't do much better than that...

Conwy castle, Liverpool and back to Berlin

We drove the short way to Conwy Castle & Walls, a small walled city which is regarded as one of the best examples of a walled city and castle still standing in the UK. After parking our car, we strolled along the walls of the city to the castle. The castle was built between 1283-87. It sits on a piece of land on the Conwy River, and it built on a rocky outcrop, and from any of the 8 towers you can see the harbour and town.

The National Trust had a great idea for the kids - a 'spy kit' that led the kids throught the castle, finding clues and solving a puzzle about when the castle was taken by rebels and held hostage for several months. They had to find the clue boards hidden around the castle, use their special 'spyglasses' to decode the clues, and complete the story. The boys had a great time - we roamed the castle, saw everything, and the boys learned about the history of the castle.

After the castle, we visited an old Elizabethan house, Plas Mawr. The house was built in 1576-1585, for Robert Wynn, a wealthy merchant. There were characters dressed up moving throughout the house, sharing information with visitors, and entertaining the kids. In the house, there was also a 'game' for the kids, to become spies for the queen by finding clues and solving puzzles. Again, a great way to engage the kids, and get them to learn lots about the history and having fun at the same time.

Some interesting ways to cure illnesses.

So, after a very 'historic' morning, in the afternoon we made our way to Liverpool, from where we were flying out the next morning.

We arrived with enough time to go into town for a look around. We went to the Albert Dock, looked around the down-town area, and then wandered up towards the cathedral and found a great little Indian restauant for dinner.

It was a nice town, plenty of Beatles references, (there were Beatle posters, signs, statues everywhere. In hindsight, I wished we had have taken photos of every Beatle reference we saw!) but we struggled to understand some of the locals! In the airport, Cameron asked me what language the two guys in front of us were speaking - it was English, but with the accents and the amount of slang they used, Cameron wondered if they were speaking French!

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)

Today we played on the beach before breakfast and did a contest of who could find the roundest stone*. And guess what, I won with a perfectly round stone.

After a while we drove to Liverpool and saw all the buildings and the river. We had a great Indian/Chinese dinner.

(*one that looks more like a sphere)

Today we went to ASDA a bit after breakfast. Then we went to the park, and I fell off the tire-swing which made my knee even worse.

Then we went to the airport and took Easy Jet back to Berlin. When we got back we did the usual stuff like shopping, playing video games and that sort of stuff.

A few days at the beach - Llandudno

Llandudno is a Victorian-era seaside resort on the north coast of Wales. Being Easter weekend, it was always going to be busy, with excellent weather as well, it was packed!


We stayed about half way along the beach, which meant that the huge concentration of people on the promenade around the pier had well and truly thinned down near where we were staying, and when we walked along the beach in the other direction, we only saw a few fishermen and people walking their dogs.


A lesson in skipping stones

We started the day, after breakfast, with a huge beach walk and play.

Then headed down to the pier (and the crowds) we wandered along the pier and back, looking at all the amusements and stalls. If you have never been, it is probably what you would expect - lots of tacky little stalls, food vendors and souvenirs. Also, blaring 60s music.

A Punch and Judy Show...even the kids thought it was creepy!



We enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches and salad from the supermarket, sitting on the promenade, then went back onto the beach for more play.


We were keeping our eyes on the clock - The boys had heard on the radio whilst we were driving that the BRAND NEW DR WHO!!! special was going to be on, and with David Tennant (the 10th Dr) on the radio, the boys had the channel and the time fixed in their minds!


We went and got some take away (fish and chips) and made our way back to our hotel room for the start of the show. On the way back, Alexander had a bit of an accident. He was leapfrogging bollards, and got his hand caught on one and fell flat on his face. He luckily got his hands down, but ended up with a very sore wrist. He was in shock - and this took some time to shake - but I had visions of a visit to the hospital with the way he was holding his wrist (I remember Cameron and our visit to Sicily...). A dose of Fish and Chips, and an hour with Dr Who and the Planet of the Dead, and he was a bit better.



The next morning was Easter Sunday, and somehow the Easter Bunny tracked us down. The boys got enough chocolates to keep them going, and a Dr Who magazine. The hotel staff also left the boys a big Easter Egg each, so they were very happy.


We went for another big beach walk, then used the cable car to go to the top of the Great Orme (the ancient mountains). It was another beautiful day, and after a long wait for the cable car, we really enjoyed the views on our ride up to the top.





We had lunch, and the kids played in a playground for ages, before we had an ice cream and walked back down to the town.

It was a lovely walk, and we followed the tram route for most of the way, then used small paths and the footpaths to finish our journey back into town. On the way, whilst mucking around, Cameron took a tumble and cut his knee. Nothing too big, but slowed him down a bit for a few minutes...


We got back into town and it was packed. As we made our way through the crowds we passed a bookshop - and were lured in to top up on our reading supply. The boys both chose a couple of books, as did Nicole and Phil. Nicole found a great book for Phil - Alone in Berlin - which was written in 1947 and had a real flavour of what life was like in Berlin during the war.


After another long play on the beach, we made our way back to the guesthouse for dinner.


This couple has us laughing. Here they were in the middle of the stony beach, with their fold out chairs, napkins on lap, dinner on plates, facing the prominade. The photo below is the view they were looking at while eating their dinner. Now don't you think it would have been much nicer to be looking towards the ocean???
Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)
Today was a fun day. We played on the beach for hours, We went for a walk. Well actually we spent the whole day on the beach except for 6:45 and above.

I had a sausage for dinner (with some chips). We ate the meal whilst watching DOCTOR WHO, Planet Of The Dead!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Alexander tried to leapfrog over a pole and had lots of shock when he face-planted* on the ground. He cried like MAD when he fell. (*face plant means to fall flat on your face)
Today was Easter. We found a Dr Who magazine on the side of our bed, a packet of mini-eggs, a bucket of chocolates and a big Easter Egg* from the hotel manager.

Then we went to the beach and played for a while. Next we went up the cable-cart and played in a playground. After 1 1/2 hours we walked down the hill. Halfway down I fell down a hole (an accident) and got a nasty scratch on my knee. Then we went back to the beach and played until dinner.
(*everythng before this was from the Easter Bunny)

The town with the longest name, up Mt Snowdon

Another cooked breakfast...the boys then went out to feed some toast to the chooks, and when they were feeding them, poor Arthur (now outnumbered) went a bit crazy and started butting a tree. Cameron was very impressed!

We left and headed for Mount Snowdon, the biggest mountain in (?). On the way we stopped at a small town called Llanfairwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch, which means "St Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio near the Red Cave". Our Lonely Planet Guidebook says "(The Name) was dreamt up in the 19th century to get tourists in. And it worked."

It was really just a small village with a petrol station and a visitors centre/gift shop, where you could buy everything from magnets to t-shirts with the name on it. We managed to get 2 pins for the boys pin boards with the name of the town on it!

We made our way to Llanberis in the Snowdonia National Park, where we caught the train up Mt Snowdon. The narrow-gauage train is a rack-and-pinion railway.

At this time of year it only runs 3/4 of the way up (today they had snow at the summit), and we were contemplating heading up to the top on foot, or catch the train up,then walk back down. We decided to catch the train up,and see what we would do from there.

Once we were at the 3/4 way, the weather changed before our eyes (the temperature dropped to near freezing in a matter of moments).


It was obvious that, even with the simple walking trails, we were not adequately equipped to be out on the mountain, and instead caught the train back down.

We walked through town, and back along the lakeshore. We found a playground, where the kids had a great time and quickly made a band of friends. We stayed there a while - Nicole and Phil enjoying the sun and the kids dashing around playing.

We drove through the mountains (over Llamberis Pass) and then on to the coastal town of Llandudno, where we would spend the next 3 days relaxing in Victorian era splendour.

After checking into the hotel, we took the boys down to the beach. So many stones to throw into the ocean! When the tide was out, the sand strip was revealed. It was really interesting to see how far people had been able to throw (or skip) rocks out at high tide, because they were left scattered on the sand at low tide!

The boys had their shoes off and paddled, but with the cold water, the grey skies and all the rocks, the kids decided that was not such a good idea!


We tramped off to the town's big ASDA (kids clothes and some other requisites, and then returned (via the beach!) to dinner.

We were assigned the top two rooms of the hotel - interestingly, there was a fire door on the landing below that we could lock, and then the whole top floor (two bedrooms, a hall space and a bathroom)was for us - it was a perfect layout, except being in the attic, Phil was forever bumping his head or stooping to avoid all of the angles and low roof beams!

The owners have obviously made a big effort to modernise the guest house, and (in his words) "we can then charge a tenner more than they charge the old mingers down the other end of the promenade!"

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)
Today we fed the chickens after breakfast then the goat had a spastic attack and started butting trees.

Next we went to a town called !
Llanfairwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch.

We then went on a train to the top of the mountain.

When we got to the hotel we went to the beach and found 2 ENORMOUS shells.

Walking in the wilds, on to Anglesey

We awoke to grey skies and cool weather, but looks at these gorgeous daffodils! The boys were quickly out of the hostel room to continue playing around the creek. We called them on our way up to breakfast (another cooked one - 2000 calories, anyone?).

After breakfast we loaded the car with all our stuff, then went for a walk on some of the trails from Kings up Cader Idris. Nicole and I kept to the paths, but the boys had a great time exploring by the river, clambering over walls, crossing little bridges, climbing trees...

The boys found these sheep jawbones along the way.

We were all very good, and didn't disturb the many sheep (as the sign on a gate told us, its lambing season, and they would appreciate if the sheep were not upset at this time!)

Throughout our walks we have seen many rhododendrons. They are classified as a weed here, and there is an eradication policy in place. The rhododendrons grow quickly, and are forcing out the native species of plants. So as pretty as the flowers are when they bloom, they are a big problem for the Welsh environment.

After a couple of hours walking, including a drink of the most delicious water from the mountain stream, we made our way back down to the car, and on to our next destination.

Our next stop was a bit of a strange one... Portmeirion Village It's a private village built by Sir Clough William Ellis. He collected parts of ruined buildings and mansions to create this strange little village- completely out of place in the middle of Wales! He harvested the pieces from across Europe and used them to build the village. The first stage was completed 1926-1939 and the second half completed between 1954-1976. Clough was 90 years old when it was finished.

The village is beside the bay, and your admission ticket has the tides printed on it...perhaps people have been stuck when the tide has come in previously! With an exorbitant charge to get in, we had a look around, had a coffee and ice cream, and went for a lovely walk along the shore and back through the gardens. The entire site is listed on the Conservation List.

There were tree stumps with embedded coins - we aqssumed it was to 'kill them off' with the copper from the coins poisoning the trees.. Of course, the boys thought this was great and immediately set about trying to 'extract the cash'! A few pence richer, we got back to our walking!


We drove on to Carnaerfon for lunch (a Tesco sandwich and a chocolate milk all round!) and then set sail for Holyhead, which is a small island up the north-west corner of Wales. (From here, you can catch a ferry to Ireland.) We could also get Irish Radio in the car along most of the West coast of Wales. After some nice highway driving (off the goat tracks for once!), we arrived at the youth hostel, which doubled as an adventure centre with lots of outdoor activities. The boys immediately found some tepees and disappeared for some fun.

The boys met Arthur the goat, who was tethered to the chook hutch. He was fine when there was one child, but he got a bit frightened when he was outnumbered. Arthur the goat is very popular. He has his own blog, his own facebook page (Arthur has 647 friends at this point of time) and a business card (exactly the same design as Nicole's visitor card. The business cards come from a free website) They also met Harry the dog, who was a big friendly bear of a dog, and the chooks.

Later in the afternoon we went down to the local beach, which was a small sandy beach with rock cliffs on either side. Cimbing on the rocks and playing on the beach was great fun - even if the weather was not so pleasant! We walked over the bluff to get a look down the coast, but the wind was blowing so hard and the rain coming in sideways that we didn't stay there for long!


We drove further down the coast to a second beach, this one a big, wide beach that you could imagine would be covered with white and pink (sunburned) specimens in the summer! The kids had a great run on the beach, found a crab in a rock pool, then watched as the life savers came back to the beach in their rubber dinghy. The volunteers let the boys hose the wheels of the tractor and trailor as the boat was brought up the ramp to the shed. It should have been obvious that giving an 8 year old a high pressure hose is not a good idea! Several soaked volunteers later...and very clean tyres!

We walked across the road to a pub for a delicious meal (sticky toffee strikes again!), then back to the hostel for the night.

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)
We had lots of fun in the morning playing in the water and had a big walk up a hill.



Next we went to a colorful village and saw money growing on a tree! I tried to get all the money out but I only got a couple of pence.



Then we played on two different beaches. On the second beach we helped in an emergency situation, by cleaning the wheels of the emergency life boat.




We went to a pub and had a great dinner. After dinner we went to a hotel and saw a goat which had its own Facebook page!

From the middle of nowhere...to the Middle of Nowhere!

We spent the night in a small farmhouse not far from the beach. The weather during the night was stormy, and you could hear the wind and rain lashing the building. It was a solid, old stone farmhouse, so although you could hear and sense the strength of the storm outside, it was all calm within.


Alexander slept off his sickness, and woke as bright(and as cheeky!) as normal. We made breakfast (no cooked breakfast this morning - and no sticky toffee pudding for Nicole the previous evening, with Alexander being unwell!). After having gone through the storm, the day dawned reasonably calm, with lovely blue skies. The storm had blown itself out during the night.

We headed early to White Sands beach.



We spend a couple of hours there, walking on the paths, climbing out onto a spit of land (we could see the tide might be on its way back in which could cut off our retreat, so we quickly headed back to the mainland), walking up the beach, and a long play for the boys.


It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful, and apart from a few souls walking their dogs, we were the only ones there.


We dragged ourselves away from the beach and went to visit St David's. St David's is the smallest city in the UK, but it has the population of a village. It gets the classification of 'city' because it has an amazing Cathedral, it the "holiest site" in Wales, and has been a place of pilgrimage for over 1500 years. There was a monastery was founded here in the 6th century.



They have done a lot of work on the monestry and church,and it now has an excellent cafe, which we visited. The church cafe in the cloisters even has free WiFi access.



We spoke to a man on the beach in the morning who grew up in the area, and suggested we have a look at Strumble Head on the way up the coast.



We hit the road for another long haul. We stopped for lunch in Cardigan, where Nicole and a few other shoppers had a discussion with a 'queue jumper' in the supermarket. We walked up into town with our sandwiches,and sat overlooking the main street to eat them. We found a lovely little cafe for coffee and hot chocolates as we strolled around town, then got back underway to our final destination, Dongellau, at the base of Cader Idris.


The youth hostel was nowhere near the town - in fact we never even went into Dongellau! The Hostel was off a back-road, 1.5 km up a single lane track, at a place called Kings. It was remote, and beautiful. For the kids, there was a river right outside our door, and they promptly were in there building dams, throwing rocks, climbing about and having a great time! Alexander got his shoes completely soaked, but luckily we had bought him new school shoes, so he changed in to these and we stuck his sneakers on the heater whilst we went to dinner (a 5 mile drive to a lovely little pub on a local river).

The boys ate their ice-creams outside, then got back to the serious job of playing. We eventually made our way back to the hostel, which was very clean and comfortable for the evening. As the dusk settled, Phil sat outside with a beer and watched the kids play, until it was time for bed.

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)

Today we left to the beach which was stony and sandy. We played at the beach for a long time and made castles with stones and sand. Then we left to a place called Cardigan. We had some yummy lunch and then we left again.
Finally we arrived at our hostel. It was so cool because there was a stream/river next to the hostel.

We played there until Alexander got his shoes absolutely soaking. We had a delicious dinner. I dont know where this was.

Caves, Castles, and a stormy night in St David

Before and after another cooked breakfast, the boys played again in the yard around the hostel. Their 'obstacle course' was quite a hit with some other kids and they all played beautifully for ages. We finally got ourselves organised and got on the road.

Our first stop was the The National Showcaves Centre for Wales at Dan-Yr-Ogof. Discovered by some local farmers in 1912, this cave complex extends for over 10 miles, and it is believed there is even more, but unreachable at this present time. The first few parts of the caves are open to the public, and they have built an 'attraction' over the top. The 'attraction' involves many fibreglass dinosaurs, a museum and (of course) a gift shop!




The first cave structure is known as the Dan-Yr-Ogof. It is a long winding cave with voiceovers by the brothers who found it. One is a bit daft, and asks lots of questions, whilst the other has all the answers (A Welsh farmer at the turn of the century with specialist knowledge in Geography, History, Palaentology....!) The caves were interesting to see, though. With lots of fabulous stalactites and stalagmites.


The second cave complex is known as 'Cathedral Cave'. It was simply magnificent. The waterfalls, the cavernous space. It only got a bit tacky at the end of the Cathedral, where there was a fenced off area for getting married.



The Third cave structure was the 'Bone Cave'. It had many animal and so far discovered 42 human skeletons from across history, including early civilisations, cave dwellers. Some of the bones date back to the Bronze Age (3000 years ago), and 7000 year old Deer bones. The Bone Cave has been used for shelter during many different periods of time, and pottery, coins bronze and silver items have been found here. Some of the artifacts date back to the time of the Roman Legions. Everyone had to wear a helmet - mainly for the covered walkway (which even Nicole bumped her head on!!!)


There is a interesting reconstruction of an Iron Age Village as well

We got back in the car and headed for the summit of Black Mountain. Phil, Alexander and Cameron braved the elements and went scrambling up to the summit - having a great time out in the fresh air.



We then continued our journey to Carreg Cennen Castle - an old ruin of a castle built high on a limestone crag (in the middle of nowhere).

We first had lunch at the base of the castle, and then strolled up the paths and looked around. It was really interesting, and the views were great. One of the 'highlights' was a deep, unlit cave. Of course, you could hire a torch and go for a look - but Cameron had a trust LED torch in his Lego bag and offered to be our guide.

Nicole turned back after about 10m (complete darkness underground is not her thing!) But the boys went on. Cameron was an excellent guide, letting Alexander and Phil see each of the obstacles in the way. The only one he didn't call out left Phil with a bleeding head when he bumped his head on a low hanging rock!




After the castle, we set out across country to our evening destination -St Davids.


As we drove down the motorway, it was obvious Alexander was feeling a bit poorly - runny nose, and a bit of a temperature. We got him some medicine at the Pharmacy in St David, and then tried to find our hostel.


It was not in St David, but about 2 km out of town. It was a farmhouse complex not far from white sands beach. We eventually found it, unloaded our stuff, made up the beds, put the heaters on (it was freezing!) and headed into town to find something for dinner.


We found a really nice pub for dinner, and we all had a great meal...except Alexander. He had a few peas, and then promptly bought them all back up! Green spew. Alexander did a brilliant job in getting to the toilets - and after this and some water, he was feeling a little better. Straight home to the hostel for some medicine and bed...and hoping he would be better in the morning!


Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)

Today was a very tiring day.

First we played outside on the rocks before breakfast. For breakfast there was : porridge, cornflakes, rice bubbles/crispies, weetabix, apple juice, orange juice, milk, croissants, bread, hoey and much much much more.

We climbed up a mountain and approximately 1 km in height. We also went to the castle and had a cheese toastie.

We went to 4 caves and one was a cave where you could get married.

We also went to a dinosaur park. I pretended that a dinosaur was ripping my arm off.

Much later we found our hotel IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

Brecon

We set off from Cardiff after another cooked breakfast... this was an emerging theme of our travels!! The weather was grey, cool but not cold. We first drove back into Cardiff city so Nicole could go into the library - she had an assignment for her Uni course and needed to spend about 30 minutes there. After this we hit the highway North to Brecon, a small town less than an hour up into the hills.

We arrived at the hostel - it was out of the town and up a small farm lane. It was very 'rural' - perfect for us! We headed into town, where we went into the visitors centre and found a cafe for lunch. It was directly opposite a toy shop, so there was a bit browsing before we could move on.

The Visitors centre had recommended a walk at the far end of Lake Talybont, which would take in a series of waterfalls.

We drove through the countryside and some lovely small villages, past the lake and found a car park (surprisingly, this one was free!). The weather was still grey, but with jackets on, we were all fine. we walked up the trail and found the first waterfall

We then worked our way up the banks of the river, past several small waterfalls.

The boys had a great time, clambering, throwing rocks, building bridges and dams.

How wet would you guess their shoes were by the end? Thank goodness for heaters in the hostel rooms!

Back at the hostel, we relaxed in the lounge. Phil build a cracking fire and the room was really toasty. The boys played outside in the garden for a while (building an obstacle course). They eventually came in when it got a bit cold, and then joined us - reading and playing some Nintendo, Phil was reading and Nicole...you guessed it, knitting!

We ate dinner in the local pub - and this was where Nicole began the second tradition of the holiday - Sticky toffee pudding and ice cream for her dessert!

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)

Today we left at 8.15am from Cardiff to Brecon.

We were in the car for a long time playing Nintendo, looking at sheep, hearing Mum call lambs 'baby lambs' and Alexander calling lambs 'calves'!***

When we got to the hostel Alexander and I played this game called 'destroy logs and collect the bark'. It was fun throwing logs all different shapes and sizes at other logs to collect the bark.

***We also went for a big adventure jumping up rocks over the waterfall, getting wet and having lots of fun. We threw stones and sticks into the water ans I found an amazing pinecone.

Cardiff

From our guest house, (after a cooked English breakfast) we set off on foot into Cardiff. We had seen that there was a Dr Who exhibition, and we thought it would be a great surprise to take the kids there. We had said nothing to them, had no brochures and had given nothing away. However, when we said we were taking the boys somewhere special, Alexander asked if it was to something to do with Dr Who?!! He remembered that the characters once visited Cardiff...

We all loved the display. It reflected mainly the current doctor, David Tennant. A lot of the Dr Who episodes are filmed in Cardiff.

The Tardis

The dreaded Dalek's...the boy's favourite quote

"You have no purpose, you must be exterminated"

Above a Cyberman

Below K-9

After enjoying this display, we went for a walk along the prominade.
This is Roald Dahl Plass, an open air performance area. Roald Dahl was born in Cardiff.
The stainless steel water sculpture...in the Plass

Then went to the 'Techniquest' science museum. It is a for-kids hands on Science museum, and the boys had several hours of fun here.




We walked up into town and had lunch,
We took a walk in the park behind the Cardiff Castle.

The animal wall bridge goes over the River Taff, lots of different animals on the bridge.

The boys spent some time climbing the Magnolia trees, and Cameron chased a squirrel, but he wasn't quick enough (or even as fast as the dog from the other day!)

We made our way back to the hotel, had a rest, then headed out to the local for dinner.

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)

Today was amazing. We went to the Doctor Who museum and saw: Cybermen, Daleks, Adipose, The Lazarus Machine, The TARDIS and so much more!

Next we went to a science museum and saw all of these coof stuff like, A rubbing pot which made noise. First you had to wet your hands,then you rubbed your hands o the pot and it made a cool noise.

We had a ham and cheese toastie for lunch.**

We saw a castle and climbed the trees, chased squirrels and killed flowers.*

We bought lots of cadbury chocolate (well at least Alexander and Mum did)

*It was fun

**Then we had a McFlurry at McDonalds.

Wales trip - first a visit to England!

We landed at Bristol Airport late in the night - and with the aid of 'Boris', our new sat-nav device, we quickly found our B&B. The amazing thing about the UK is that the postcodes are so specific that entering the postcode and sometimes a house number was all that was required to get exactly to the destination.

The first morning was blue skies and cool, and after a delicious breakfast, the boys fed some chickens in the yard, and ran around in the garden for ages. We finally loaded the kids into the car and headed off to Stonehenge (or, as Nicole called it, "Stonehedge"). It was our first UK experiece of paying exorbitantly for everything - parking and a walk in a paddock with a few rocks.

It was interesting to see, but it wasn't a brilliant 'experience'. busy A roads on either side, and walking around a circle behind the rope! It really could have done with some information signs about the stones and history etc.....of course you could have gotten that, if you purchased the handy book as well!!

After Stonehenge, we visited our friends Michelle and Gordon (and Meghan and Liam) near Reading. Michelle was just out of hospital, and we didn't want to tire her out too much, so we only stayed a few hours. It was fantastic to catch up. The boys and Meghan played so well together, and Liam has grown so much since I last saw him! We really enjoyed our catch-up, and miss having them living just around the corner from us in Berlin. Then we headed to Cardiff for the night.

As you drive into Wales on the M4, you cross a very large bridge, and you have to pay a toll to get into Wales. We mused whether this was to keep the Scots out???

We reached our accommodation, settled in, then walked down the road to find something for dinner.

Camerons view: (Cameron wrote a diary for school, and he has given me permission to post his thoughts in the blog)

" the first day of the holiday was the day we left for Wales. We went to the airport and had a chocolate muffin. I had a fizzy apple juice and I got 15 cents pfand (deposit)and I have put the receipt in this book (his diary).

First we had a delicious breakfast, with muffins and Coco Pops. Next Alexander and I fed the chickens and roosters with bread (the roosters were very picky with what piece of bread they ate).

Then we left and went to Stonehenge. Stonehenge was amazing (I liked burning my hands on the rope best!).

Next we went to Meghan's house. We played in the garden for hours (at least my dad said it was hours). Then we went to Cardiff and found our hotel. We had a spicy Indian dinner and believe me it was SPICY!

Oh and I forgot to mention that before we went to Meghan's house we saw a dog nearly eat a squirrel. The dog was quick, but the squirrel was quicker."

Colditz

For one of our weekends away, we chose to visit Colditz. It is a small town, on a B road, between Leipzig and Dresden. IT is about a 2 hour drive out of Berlin, mostly on the Autobahn.

We collected Alexander from Theatre club and hit the road at about 11:30, and with a stop for lunch, we made it to Colditz early afternoon. We checked into the Guest house and met up with two other families, the Ramsays and the Mawstons, in the town square. Away from Berlin, in the old East, the prices are amazing - good cups of coffee are Eur 1.80, istead of the obligatory Eur 3.00!

We settled into the guest house and the boys (Alan, Peter and Phil) sat outside (all rugged up, it was a bit chilly) and had a few beers. Nicole, Sonia and Alison did their version of this - except with a bottle of Red and sitting inside. The kids amused themselves in the garden and driveway, tipping water about the place. Ralf, the owner, was really cool and had no problem with them mucking about. We could keep an eye on them from the balcony, so everything was under control...except the boys each got their only pair of shoes absolutely soaked! They did a great job of washing the car, too!

Ralf recommended a small restauant for dinner - it was very pleasant, but the owner kicked us out exactly at 10pm! We were still having a few drinks, and there were no others in there, so he was doing himself out of some business. We suspect he got a call from the Missus...

The pension was very comfortable, and we had an excellent breakfast. Being the only ones in the hotel, we had a floor to ourselves, and a breakfast room also for just the three families. Ralf had organised a special treat for the boys. Instead of a boiled egg in their egg-cup, the kids all got a Kinder Surprise! They were very happy!

After breakfast, we went up to the castle for a tour. Because there were 9 of us, Alan had been able to pre-organise an English language tour. At 6 Euro per head and 3 for kids, and lasting over 2 hours, it was really interesting.. The guide was really informative, and also wonderful with the kids - getting them ready for their own 'escape' at the end of the tour.

When we mention Colditz Castle to German friends, they have no idea where or what it was used for, but speak to anyone from the commonwealth, and Colditz is very well known. Do you know its history?

I guess for other countries where movies and books have been written by different escaped Prisoners of War, it has more interest. (I even remember playing 'Escape from Colditz' boardgame as a kid!)

The castle was built as a fortress in the 11th century, and used by a family Augustus and his bride from Denmark, who had 15 children.

In 1800, the castle was used to house homeless people, and then converted into a mental hospital until the 1930's. when Hitler came into power, the castle became a special camp for Allied Officers who had tried to escape from other Prisoner of War camps. What makes this camp interesting was the castle was heavily monitored by the Swiss Red Cross to ensure the men were treated well. The guards were not allowed to shoot the men if they tried to escape. Instead they were sent to solitary confinement for 1-4 weeks. Knowing that they the worst possible punishment they would recieve if they were caught was solitary confinement, the men were more determined to try to find ways out of the castle. Add to this that they were all POWs who had escaped from other camps or prisons, and were officers (including highly educated engineers, etc), and Colditz became known as the 'Escape Academy'. There were over 100 escapes, and 31 'home runs' (successful escapes to country of origin) - 16 from inside the castle itself. http://www.colditzcastle.net/escapes/list-of-home-runs/

The tour took us around the castle, showed us the various parts relating to the WWII experience, and related many of the interesting stories of the escapes. One intersting story of a non-escape - they prisoners managed to build a glider, with 6000 parts, in the roof of the castle without being discovered! The war finished before it was used, but tests in the last few years had demonstrated that it would have worked!

The whispering arch - sound carries across the arch so the boys can whisper 'secrets' to each other.

Some of the original 'supplies' - monitored by the red cross, the prisoners well well fed. They also received a few interesting packages from MI9, to aid their escape...

A home made sewing machine. Nicole probably would have whipped up a dozen quilts and everyone would have been snug and comfy. Instead they sewed uniforms to help them escape!

One of our prisoners planning an escape....

A hidden radio station, used by the French and later given to the English.


Home made rope for climbing...

Our prisoners... shovels in hand, preparing for their escape. They are 'working' on the tunnel under the chapel.

Quick! Before the guard finishes his rounds!

make a break for it!

The reward for a great escape....

It was a wonderful wekend away. After a late lunch, we drove back to Berlin in time for dinner on Sunday night. As we surfed around stations on the TV, we saw the host from the Pension, Ralf, on a show about touring through Europe ona motorbike. He was hosting the 'star' of the show, and looked the same jovial chap that we had stayed with the night before!

Updated Graffiti

Back in December 08 we saw this graffiti in Kreuzberg...

It's been updated...a bit smudged...but Phil and I are relieved with this news!

Phew!

Free to a good home

Part of Cameron's homework this week was to design a poster for 2 hamsters/gerbils to be given away.

After a bit of googling picture searching, he found these furry little creatures and decided to use them for his inspiration. John Pinkerton makes these amazing creatures.

any takers?

the original photo comes from here.

An exciting 3 days

A few weeks ago Razor Film company rang our school and asked our Music teacher for any recommendations for 3 boys who could sing, to audition for a scene in a movie being filmed in Germany.

The music teacher asked me whether Alexander and Cameron would be interested, and they were keen to try out, with another boy, Lynes.

The kids had an audition at the Razor Film office and a only few hours later we got a call asking for the 3 of them for the scene! The kids were so excited about it.
They had 2 afternoons of rehearsing with Michael, the composer, and with a few practices at home, they had remembered all the words.

The filming was taking place on a small island off the coast of the Baltic Sea which is a good 5 hours drive from Berlin. Tuesday was a travelling day to get us there, Wednesday was the shooting day, Thursday was another travelling day to get home again.

We left Berlin at 5am in the morning. Our ferry was leaving at 12.45pm, so we made sure we had enough time for some coffee and running around stops for the kids.

Suzanne drove, and the kids amused themselves in the back seat playing games and singing, and we got to the Ferry with time to spare.

Michael was on the ferry as well, so the boys sang the song to him once, and sung a "silly" version they had made up in the car on the way there. Michael was not so sure about the "improved" version.

We arrived on the island and were taken to the set to check on costumes. The kids had been measured up in the Production office, all that needed to be done was adjusting the sleeve length and the hems. Cameron thought he looked like an angel!

Underneath their costumes they wore jeans and jumpers..it was cold and windy.

The day of filming the kids had to be on set at 8am, then into costumes along with jackets, hats, scarves, gloves to keep them warm.

The kids were thrilled that they got their own trailer to wait in until the set was ready for their scene. They played Uno and Nintendo while they waited.

The film set was great and the kids did really well. They had 3 great ladies who looked after them, keeping them really warm with blankets and keeping them in a huddle to protect them from the wind. When the call was made "ready to film",the 3 ladies took off all the jackets, hats, scarves and gloves, and raced off the set.

The kids sang, then the call was made "cut", and the ladies raced back to the kids, got all the warm clothes back on, and covered them with blankets...it was amazing to see them get in there so quick to keep them warm. They had hand warmer sachets in their gloves that quickly warmed their hands up between takes.

Suzanne and I were really proud of the kids, they did a really great job, and didn't complain about the cold.

There were over 30 crew members on set doing different jobs, and then the actors and extras in the scene. Cameron starts the song all by himself, then Lynes comes in, then Alexander. They did not show any signs of nerves, they were all so confident!

The first few takes they sang a little bit too quickly, and they needed to slow down the tempo. Michael thought they might have been rushing it because they were cold. But once Michael spoke to them, them slowed it down, and everyone was really pleased with it.

After a few rehearsals, and then 2 different camera angles they were finished, and the kids went back to the trailer. They needed to wait to get the OK that the filming was fine, before they could get changed out of their costumes, in case the scene had to be reshot.

Once they were given the OK, we headed off to the wharf for lunch.

At the wharf the kids were thrilled to get a chance to meet Matt Smith, who is the next Dr Who. The kids love watching the Dr Who series, and Matt spoke to them about their favourite things about Dr Who and he was incredibly charming! The kids were so excited, I think this was Cameron's favourite part of the whole experience!

We also spent a lot of time talking to Natalia Tena, who plays Tonks in Harry Potter, Alexander thought she was awesome!

After lunch we had the rest of the day to ourselves, so we took the kids on a good 3 hour walk along the edge of the island. They had lots of fun jumping around, throwing rocks into the water and getting very, very muddy!
and carrying very large sticks around.
jumping on poles and over water
and chasing birds off the paths
at the wharf, with Suzanne and Lynes


Thursday moring it was time to head back to Berlin. What an amazing sunrise to wake up to.

Our ferry left at 7.30am. It was supposed to get to the mainland by 9.15am. However we didn't get in until after 10.30am. The tide was out, and we couldn't get through to the mainland. We just had to sit and wait for the tide to come back in before we could continue. At one stage the ferry was actually sitting on the bottom.

The locals say that some days you can actually walk to the mainland from the islands. I guess you would have to know the tidal patterns really well, in case all of a sudden you were stuck floating in the middle!

Our trip back to Berlin was slow, it rained the entire journey, and we stopped often so Suzanne could rest her eyes.

This was a great experience for the kids, and I think they will be interested to see themselves in a movie, and see how much time and work has gone into the scene they were involved with. It was a lot of background work to have gone into about 1 minute 30 seconds of the film.

All the people involved with the film process were so kind, helpful, and friendly, and it really made it a fabulous experience. When the film is ready to be released I will let you know, but in the meantime, look out for "Womb" by Benedek Fliegauf!

Alexander's 10th Birthday

Alexander was so excited to be turning 10 years old. For the past few weeks we have had a count down of how many days till his birthday!

The morning started with opening some presents. Then a phone call from his friend in New Zealand.

He took Honey Joys to school for the class (with a special request to take one to the Australian teacher at school...honey joys are not a known thing here).

Home Made Pizza for dinner.

Then the Nigella Lawson Chocolate Cloud Cake for dessert.

Alexander has declared this as his best birthday ever!