Clannad - Strange Land, from Robin of Sherwood...

Well I'm still trying to get onto my drawing board, but the time machine has broken down for the minute!
Meanwhile I found this fanvid composition on youtube for Robin of Sherwood, does anyone remember the series, you know with Michael Praed playing Robin? We must have watched it dozens of times back in our late teens/early twenties in the days before I needed a time machine!
I've always loved Clannad (I used to rock my eldest daughter to sleep with their songs when she was a baby) and their music threaded through the legend of Robin Hood so perfectly. Its high time we revisited the old series from the beginning I think!

A May blossom birthday!

Apple blossom and Whitebeam buds opening

The first of May is my eldest daughter's birthday. When she was born the first thing I noticed out of the hospital garden window was the blossom on the apple trees in full flower and every year in our own garden the apple tree blossoms on her birthday.

My second daughter was born when the first snowdrops emerged on the bank at the end of winter, so each has her own special birthday flower!

This year Elora was six, and had a 'Robin Hood ' party, and although its not technically about art or writing, I thought it would be fun to post about it! (And I have only just recovered enough to get around to it!) I hope you'll forgive me the indulgence!

We had lots of fun... first the children decorated foamboard swords and shields (that took hours to cut out and minutes to destroy in wild sword fights!) I have got some fantastic pictures of the wild sword fights and other games but can't really show them without permission from the parents, so here is Elswyth in front of the fantastic huge bell tent we borrowed...

Then, after the battle we set forth on a treasure hunt which had the kids dashing wildly to every nook of the garden, climbing trees and searching in cooking pots!

Next, to my husband's lasting humilation and the kid's glee, he had to dress up as Prince John and become the next game - the children had to sneak up while he dozed off and freeze when he woke until they managed to steal a bag of gold coins (chocolate ones!) Again I had great pics of this but can't really show them without permission. The kids really enjoyed this one and Tony ended up getting chased by hoards of small children wielding foam swords!

And the last activity before the grand banquet was of course an archery contest... First I showed them my beloved longbow and let them try to pull it before demonstrating a few shots... Then it was their turn, except with Elora's new child sized bow (only 10lb draw as opposed to my 36lb - yes I am a weed!) In the end despite the boys' inevitable overconfidence, the contest was won by one of the youngest - a dainty maiden of 3 years old!

I'll leave you with a picture of the cake! My mum takes the credit - cooking is really not my thing at all! Thanks for reading and sharing in the fun!