Holly 12, Avebury and Stonehenge

Tuesday 7^th June

Today we went to a really amazing place called Avebury stone circles.

It is amazing because there are lots of really really big stones and some are about 20 tons and one was exactly 100 tons.  We went on a tour and the lady showed us a rock that had a little seat on it and some people say that if you run around it 100 times and then sit on the seat smoke will come out of a hole in the rock and you’ll get a visit from the devil and that is why they call it the devils chair.

The Devil's chair is the stone on the left

The tour was great and one of the stones looked like a rabbit but if you look it the other way you see the shape of an ugly frog. Also we went on a walk up to see a hill called Silbury Hill but we didn’t climb it.

It is a man made hill.

Wednesday 8^th June

Today we went to a really fascinating place called Stonehenge

which is a place where there are lot of big stones. We all got audio players that gold you bits of interesting facts. On top of some of the stones there were other ones put on top like a bridge. 

This place was made in 3500BC but back there there were no such things as diggers, bobcats or any other things like that.  So how did they get those big stones standing on top of each other?  Well it still remains a mystery.  
There was also a museum that had lots of real bones and an almost full skeleton and it was creepy.

At stonehenge there replicas of huts.  

They were made of sticks and mud and inside there was a bed made out sticks and logs. In one of the huts there was a blanket on the bed and that one was the comfiest.

 Inside there was also a shelf made out of more sticks for putting their pots on and there was a dip in the middle where they would have had a fire place.  

They made the roof out of 4 long thick sticks going up into a cone shape and then they used thinner sticks that were not straight and weaved them through and then covered it with hay to stop the rain coming in.

There were 2 beds in each hut.  


Also there was a big replica of a rock that you could try to pull.  You pressed a button and pulled on a rope and it told you how many more people you would need to get the rock to move.  I tried it with mum and we would have needed 95 more people. It was really heavy.

Aidan, our new car

Today we went to collect our new car it is a Peugeot, we had to go and get it from the shop mum and I went in the new car dad and holly went in the hire car we took it back the the hire car places then dad and holly got in to the car also.

There are tray tables on the back of the front seats, the seat in the middle of the car folds down on the back of it is a space for books and two pens or pencils. There are spots in the back for two more seats.

Aidan 11, Sunday 5th June

Today we went to Hungerford to walk along the canal, we fed a big group of ducks and two swans. Holly said it is like a school because the ducks are the students and one of the swans was the teacher. The other swan is the principal. A couple of the ducks had ducklings.  We ate our sandwiches on the grass in the sun.

After lunch, we also went to see the oldest of the white horses and a hill fort. There was a hill where they say St. George killed a dragon.  The story of St George is that once upon a time there was a village near to where a dragon lived in a cave.  The villagers gave the dragon all their sheep and other animals so he would stop attacking them. When they ran out of food they had to give some of the girls from the village to the dragon until there was only the princess left. The King said that the princess had to go and wait for the dragon to come out of its cave but then luckily St George appeared with a spear and stabbed the dragon in the ribs where there were no scales. Then the blood of the dragon went all over the ground and now the grass doesn't grow in that spot on dragon hill.

We had to walk down the hill past the horse to the hill where he killed the dragon. It was steep going down but steeper going back up again. We took Rufus with us again but he was not allowed off the lead because there were sheep in the fields around the horse.

Holly 11, Sunday 5th June

We went to see the Uffington White horse that some people say is a dragon because St George killed a dragon that lived there.

The story goes like this. Once there was a village that lived near a dragon's cave that a huge dragon lived in that kept killing the people.  To stop the dragon, the people gave it all their gold and their animals until; all the gold and animals were gone. So the King said that they must have a draw so every day they would draw a name and that that person would get eaten by the dragon.  Until one day the Princess's name was called out so the King said she must go to the pond and wait for the dragon. Before she left the village the people put on her wedding dress and a crown of flowers on her head because she must get married to the dragon and her wedding present would be death. As she was going out of the village a brave knight called St George was on his horse and he stopped by an old man and the man told him all about the village that was in threat.  When St George heard that the princess was going to be eaten by a giant dragon he set off on his horse to the dragon's cave.  The princess was already there waiting for the dragon. St George  saw the dragon emerge from the cave. St George stabbed him with his spear but the dragon was too scaley so the spear broke.   St George fell off his horse and the dragon jumped onto him but he had his sword and he stabbed it in the ribs so it died.

We also went to a canal and we saw tons of ducks under a bridge and 2 swans and I thought it was like a school.

We went up the canal on a path and 2 ducks came up to me and I put some duck food on my shoe and the female duck was eating off my shoe.  Aidan got some pictures. I really wanted to touch them but I didn't.  Then we got sandwiches from the supermarket and went back to the canal and I fed some ducklings.The ducklings hopped out of the water and so did their parents.

Aidan & Holly 10, Saturday 4 June

Today we went to see the Trooping the Colour which is where the guards show their colours to the Queen.  Today was the Colonel's review which is a practise for the real thing on the Queen's birthday which is next week.  There was a lot of shouting when the Sergeants were yelling out orders to their troops.  We were surprised that the guards had such loud voices. You could hear them all over the parade ground which is really big.  They could yell even louder than Ms Reeves.

We were sitting in a stand. There was a guard on each stand where people sat and the one that was on our stand scuffed Holly on the head which was fun and they were allowed to talk which they normally aren't allowed to do.  The guards signalled when we needed to stand up for certain parts of the parade like when the first regiment went by or when the Queen's carriage goes past.

There were 2 large horses that carry the drums.  One was grey and white and one was brown and white. The drums are called kettle drums and and they are very noisy. The grey horse was named Mercury.  Did you know that the first letter of the horses names tells you what age they are?  

The horses are bought in Ireland and Wales when they are about 3 years old and then they are trained to be guards horses.

The parade went for 2 hours and it was really good.  There was a lot of slow marching and lots of fast marching and the band was good. There was a marching band and a band on horses.

The guards that were presenting the colour were the Coldstream Guards. This is the first time they have presented with this colour. They were only presented with this colour in 2012.  There are 5 regiments of the foot guards. The Grenadiers, Scots, Welsh, Irish, and the Coldstream.  The Irish guards have a mascot, it is an Irish Wolfhound. They are the only guards that have a mascot.  

We got a photo with one of the guards. We were allowed to touch them because they weren't guarding the queen.

Today was amazing and exciting because I really wanted to see the trooping the colour because I like the guards and their bear skin caps.

cat flap burglar Friday 3 June

Today Mum was at the supermarket with the keys and Dad and Aidan & I couldn't get into the house.  So I saved the day by getting in through the cat flap and opening the door.  It was fun. 

Holly 9, Thursday 2nd June

Happy Birthday to you! It was Dad's birthday today and he is 47. Dad got himself a car and we got him a book. Also we went to a place called Chedworth Roman Villa and we went on a tour.
We saw a gigantic snail.

There was a man there named Censorinus and he was the leader of the tour.

 At the ruin there was an area where there was a toilet and man said that instead of toilet paper they had a sponge on a stick.

We also fed some swans.

Aidan 9, Thursday 2nd June

Today we bought a new car which we are collecting tomorrow afternoon.  We also went to a Roman Villa where the Romans lived. The Romans had a communal toilet so they could continue their conversations .

Instead of toilet paper they used a sponge on a stick. If the person before you did not clean the sponge properly or put it back the wrong way you might grab the wrong end of the stick.  This is an expression we still use.  There was a bath room where they had a long process to get washed.  First you had to get changed, then sweat in a hot room.  The slaves would scrape all the sweat off you and put it in a jar which they would give to you to take home.  Men would give the jar to a lady to use in her hair.

The water supply had 6000 litres. There was a historical species of snail on the post, just by the water source.They are protected and you can't touch them.

The Villa had heated floors. They built a fire underneath the floor to keep the room warm. They had to wear sandles in the hot room so they didn't burn their feet.

This would have been a heated room.

We also visited an Abbey in a little village.  In the church yard we saw a grave stone that said 35 year old lady killed by a tiger in 1703.

Holly 8, Wednesday 1 June, day trip to London

First day of summer and it rained and it was freezing.
Mum Aidan and I went to London on the train.  We had to do maths on the train.

At the station we bought some oyster cards to catch the tube.

When we got to London we went to see the Queens Horse Guards.  The horses are huge. 

We also saw the Queen's Guards outside Buckingham Palace.

Also outside we got a photo with the big statue of Queen Victoria.

In London we also went to Trafalgar Square and got a photo of Aidan and I at the lions.  

and at Paddington Station with Paddington

Aidan 8, Wednesday June 1 - day trip to London

First day of summer and we were in London with the rain.  First we got 2 oyster cards to get on the tube, then we caught the tube to Australia House to pick up our Trooping the Colour tickets.
Then we walked to Trafalgar Square.

We walked up to the Horse Guards Parade, where the Queens Birthday parade will be., The seats are all set up and we saw our seats.

We went to Buckingham Palace and saw some of the Queens Royal Guards. They have to stand there for 2 hours

. They can march every 5- 10 minutes.  When they are on parade sometimes they have to stand still for so long that they pass out.

Aidan & Holly 7, Monday 30th May

Aidan
We went to see the wool sack races where the competitors ran from the bottom of the road up a hill to the finish line with a bag of wool on their backs.

There were also some stores selling food. We got 2 baguettes and brie cheese and three squares of fudge. We went to a church yard and ate our baguettes and some cheese. Then we went to look at more races. The first races we saw were the kids races but their sacs were just pillows.

There was a man wrapped in bubble wrap. When it was his race he was dragging the sack on a skate board and was carrying a flare.

He had a red one and a blue one. He also handed out business cards. Holly and I got a photo with him.


Holly
That was really funny.  We went to see a race called a wool sack race and there was a man wrapped in bubble wrap and I called him bubble man.  There was also lots of stalls and and at one of the stalls they were selling fudge so we bought some.

Also at two other stands there was fresh baguettes and at the other there was cheese so we bought some cheese and a baguette for lunch and it was really good.
Oh yes and we got a photo and a card from bubble man

and I made a new friend at the park that we went to in the afternoon. Her name is Ann and she is 10.