Easily that is unless you have kids.

Kids, like dogs, need exercise (well so do we all, but I don’t start bouncing off the walls after a mere few hours inside ), and so reluctantly we decided to go for a walk on the beach. At least it would be less exposed to the strong, bitingly cold, north-easterly winds.

Fifteen layers later we set off to Atherfield beach, just down the road, where we knew we’d be a bit sheltered and be able to get some (very) fresh air and exercise.

And, as usual, we had fun.

Somehow it is impossible for us to go to the beach, any beach, in virtually any weather and not have a good time.

Maybe it’s all those negative ions. Sea air is full of healthy negative hydrogen ions – charged particles found abundantly in sea spray and concentrated in fresh air – which improve our ability to absorb oxygen by neutralizing damaging free radicals (positive ions).

Or maybe it’s just the fact that the kids relax, get inventive, and have a great big natural space to explore and play in. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been to a particular beach loads of times before, it’s an ever changing environment and there’s always something different to do.

This time the pebbles had been sculpted into huge slopes, perfect, as Fynn discovered, for sliding down headfirst backwards. This proved highly entertaining for us all – the kids doing it on repeat, us laughing.

Next up, Fynn discovered pole-vaulting off the slopes with two bits of baton that acted like ski poles. It seemed to work best if he shouted “I love Kung Fu!!” just before he launched into the air.

(You’ll understand this better if you’ve seen Kung Fu Panda.)

But the piece de resistance of this particular outing, was the discovery of the perfect rock.

Worn super smooth, this foot long grey stone is narrow and one end and wide at the other.

Picked up by Joe because of it’s resemblance to a (rounded, and excessively large) stone age tool/axe head, it passed the “shall-i-take-it-home-test”, with flying colours as for some reason we all loved it. So it was carried along the beach, up the steps, up the hill and back to the car along with lots of lengths of dry timber (enough for at least three months more kindling wood).

But it is here at home that “the rock” has come into it’s own, for Joe placed it on top of our wood-burner where it lies, brilliantly absorbing heat, and turning itself into the Hot Rock.

Superior to the hot water bottle, as it dispenses with the need for either water or bottles, this ergonomic delight warms hands, feet, backs whilst simultaneously imparting a kind of magic of-the-earth vibe.

So whilst it’s somewhat depressing that we need such an object a couple of days before the start of British Summer Time, it’s comforting to know that nature has once again, provided exactly what we need, when we need it.

We were pretty excited to see the emergence of a few daffodils in the second week of March, only to wake up the next day to find they had disappeared under huge snowdrifts.

The heavy snowfall and high winds had sculpted the back garden into perfect waves and covered the windows in white blankets.

What’s a surfer to do? Why get the mini-surfer out of course and stick him in the perfect barrel!

The road to school was blocked with snowdrifts that you could’ve lost a double decker bus in, and the barn door to my studio had disappeared. With the kids off of school for two days, straight on the back of a long cold weekend, we had to layer up and get out for a walk.

This January the kids had sledged and “snow-manned” to their hearts content, so now it was our turn. Living on the “back of the Wight”, we knew the wind would’ve created some pretty spectacular drifts up on Blackgang hill, and that not many people would get to see them, so we grabbed the body boards and braved freezing winds to get to the top, passing several abandoned cars on our way.

It was probably about three whole minutes before the kids began moaning, something about walking being no fun, and wanting to play. Reminding them of the hours we’d frozen whilst watching them hurl themselves down snowy hills a month back, we marched on.

They shouldn’t have worried though because nature had created a gigantic snow playground for them at the Viewpoint car park. The drifts came to the top of my thigh, which meant the kids could get lost in them. The next hour was spent jumping through drifts, sledging and sliding down them and generally mucking about in deep snow.

It was cold, it was fun – hilarious even, in a slap-stick kind of way – as once again we played in a strangely transformed landscape.

Today, two weeks on, I watched yet more snowflakes fall past our window, as I sat inside my small front room wrestling huge festival flags. The freezing weather has forced me to decamp from our off-grid, non–insulated studio to work at home for a few days.

Snow – I’m over it!

C’mon spring, show your face!

She got to the part where the children’s mother made them a gigantic picnic that was big enough to last a whole day and then waved them off at the gate, leaving them to go and explore the countryside and be back in time for tea, a good 8 hours later.

Flip! Haven’t things changed?

The world has filled up with cars and roads, shrinking wild areas and surrounding countryside, and increasing our collective fear of letting our kids out of sight.

As far as I’m aware there has not, however, been a corresponding decrease in the need to explore, discover and interact with the world, without the intervention of their parents, on the part of the kids.

So what is the answer?

Well I’m not coming up with any big revelations, but I think any effort to redress the balance is worth a go, and this is where the Isle of Wight can come into it’s own.

In the February half term the beaches are still mostly empty, and we spent a glorious three days in a row at some of our favourite spots along the South Wight. With it’s mixture of rocky coastlines, stoney beaches, hawthorn and tree lined bays, they offer a perfect place for kids to disappear off and create a world of their own.

We’ve already given the kids some good lessons over the years in safe beach protocol – not picking up bottles and cans, awareness of incoming tides, boggy areas and the dangers of climbing in thick wet clay, so it’s lovely to just let them roam around and disappear out of sight if possible.

One of our camps has a place for us to sit and drink lashings of hot ginger tea from a Thermos (a modern twist on Enid B), while the kids disappear out of sight (but not sound ). They discovered a path through some hawthorn that leads to a clearing, and then allows them to pop out some 30ft above our heads. This means I’ve sat for blissful hours watching the sea while they play in their camp, just popping out for a drink or a snack.

Or, as happened one day last week, they’ve come rushing towards me across the rocks from bay round the corner, shouting excitedly.

“Mum! Mum! Look what I’ve found! ”

Barely able to contain her excitement, Jazz opened the palm of her hand to reveal an amazing perfect ammonite, about  3 inches wide.

Wow! It was easily the best one we’ve found so far, though we have a lovely range of ammonite bits, crystals, small bits of fossilised bones and shell, none were as perfect as this.

This treasure was all the more special because there had been no grown-ups with her, helping with the search. So while we love going on outdoor adventures with the kids, walking and exploring, sometimes the best fun is to be had when you just sit back and let the children be free range in nature.

I didn’t have any particularly Chinese looking flags, so decided to create some new ones at short notice. February is just about viable for sewing by solar power, though the studio was freezing, despite a wood burner raging away, so I relied on multiple thermal layers and the rich red and gold colours of the fabric to warm myself up!

The woods were already looking pretty as a picture when we arrived to rig the banners, with hundreds of red lanterns strung on festoon across all the pathways, and little wooden lotus flowers in the carp pond. We left at dusk, deciding to come back with the children to see the woods come alive at night.

The Electric Woods were a new feature to Robin Hill last year, where their ancient woodland is brought to life by creative lighting, sound and special effects, but we were so busy last summer that we hadn’t managed to see them lit up yet.

With fortune cookies and tokens for a “red envelope” lucky dip given to us at the entrance the kids felt we were on a winner from the start. We’d arrived in time for the kids to climb in the tree fort, razz through the 4D cinema, ride the Colossus and have fun in the play areas before dark, when we made our way to the Treehouse for tea-sampling and the lucky dip.

The sounds of Chinese music floated gently on  the air as we walked past a glowing dragon and chimney pots which puffed out smoke, along a pathway lined with lanterns, which were just starting to show their light against the darkening sky. Our 6 year old son, obsessed with Kung Fu Panda and Lego Ninjago, was now happily transported to a kind of Kung Fu/Ninja paradise.

Fortified against the cold with some Iron Buddha tea (and Jasmine, Blue Oolong and Rose – we had to try them all!), we set off to watch a mesmerising Lion Dance, performed in the Ampitheatre.

This was absolutely brilliant, two stunning authentic costumes – imagine a cross between a Chinese dragon and exotic lion animated in the same way as a pantomine horse – locked together in a delicate dance of red and gold, complete with huge blinking eyes and audience interaction. Hats off to the Ryde Extreme Performers, who choreographed and performed it, and who did the fire show that followed.

After the Lion Dance the kids had opted to take the huge Chinese dragon in procession around the woodland, and so missed the spectacle of Ryde Extreme swallowing, breathing and juggling fire with plenty of banter thrown in. This was fine by them as they were buzzing from being the mini-heros in the big dragon, delighting other kids on their travels through the woods, which looked amazing at night.

Flags, giant apples and pears, lotus flowers and bridges were all illuminated with beautiful colours, and we followed winding paths of red lanterns past the ponds, and back up to the exit, where we said goodbye to our friends, by a row of stone warriors and put two tired and happy children into the car.

Lots of outdoor exercise and fun, with added sparkle, colour and activities meant that Spirit of The Orient was a hit with us all.

Because……there is so much more to say about our impromptu 3 day snow extravaganza!

For example, our sledging exploits that did not end with the garden, but took us off to some of the many hilly fields and quiet lanes surrounding us.

Body-boards, fantastic in the summer, but no go for the sea in winter ( the kids aren’t as hardcore as their dad yet), proved to be a fantastic substitute for a sledge.

I marvelled as the kids threw themselves down hills for hours, bailing out when they needed to, rolling around in the white stuff, crashing, laughing, and, even soaking wet just wanting to go again and again and again.

Other worthy substitutes for a sledge, if you find yourself unexpectedly snowed in on your holiday, are a cushion inside an aggregate/coal bag or rubble sack, a solid metal tray or even an old car tyre! (Maybe none of these will be lying around your average B&B, but we’ve seen it all tried and tested).

So back to the garden where, obviously, we built a snowman. There’s certainly been no shortage of snowman pics on the internet, some of the wackiest being on Bestival’s “#BestiSnow” Twitter feed, where they ran a competition to find the best snowman  for a prize of 2 x Bestival tickets. We didn’t enter, but that didn’t stop us putting our own unique twist on our snowman – bird-feeder hair!!

Birds, along with many other beings, can really struggle in the cold weather, so it’s a great idea to give them a helping hand if you can. It was with great delight that we watched robins, blue-tits, chaffinches and blackbirds feeding crazily over the next few days. (We’re keeping it topped up until his head falls off!)

To my optimistic and excited mind, the snowfall of the last weekend has been nothing short of magical. I’ve seen it as a fresh start, more New Year than New Year, (when we had flu), more Christmassy than Christmas (when the kids had flu!) It’s been, amongst other things; a blank canvas ( inspiring new flag designs ), a sensory playground, a transformer of landscapes, a temporary make-over for our sodden wet garden, and a time to get into BIG dreaming.

And I’m not the only one with this snow-enhanced perspective. My friend Julie Curtis took the opportunity to take her giant bubble wands off to snowy woods and emailed me this beautiful picture, and a poetic description of her experience.

Another friend described how she woke up early to check for snow, and once it arrived had great difficulty stopping herself waking up the kids to get straight out there!

However I’m aware that this is not the case if you’re stuck, cut-off, without heating etc, so I thought it might be good to end with a few handy links to regular local updates here on the Island.

If you have access to the Internet then try the websites of Isle of Wight Radio, and On The Wight, both of which are excellent at the most recent news regarding transport, road and  school closures and any other local news regarding the effects of snow, flooding etc. If you have no internet, but access to 3G via your mobile, then both of these news providers announce all recent developments via their Twitter feeds at @iwradio, and @on-the-wight respectively. I found out about the schools closure via Twitter, 15 mins before the text from school arrived on Friday morning.

Needless to say, for us it was great news ( we couldn’t have got to school anyway), and I hope that you too managed to find some childlike joy in our temporarily snowy Island.

Months of rain, means that our inclined garden is a perpetual waterfall, with the run off from the downs. The patch around the washing line has been reminiscent of muddy festivals, and the law of the garden has been similar to the laws employed in wet festivals before the people arrive – keep off the grass!

So how excited were we to wake up to snow!! 4 inches predicted, as my daughter kept telling me, and 4 inches arrived.

Gone was the slushy, squishy, squelchy grass. Instead, we looked out to a thick white blanket of snow.

The kids were delighted. Fynn has been waiting for snow with as much anticipation as most kids wait for Christmas, but with none of the certainty it will arrive. Only last week he disappointedly told me that Newsround had shown 5 minutes of snow pictures from around the country, so he’d ripped open the curtains only too find ……. nothing, we were too far South.

Living on the most Southerly point of the Island we’re about as far South as you can go in England – except for the Scily Isles and Cornwall – sometimes we miss the snow completely, but when it arrives we can get properly snowed in, something I never experienced in all my years in London.

So school closed, wood-burner roaring, we went out to play, and play, and play!

Hurray!! The previously sodden garden was ours once more, and now the hill gave us a huge advantage – we could go sledging in the back garden! Grabbing the body boards from the shed we set about throwing ourselves down the hill, making a brilliant run, short but steep, and with every possibility of stacking it straight into the fence.

No sun – no moon!

No morn – no noon -

No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day.

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member -

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -

November!

Thomas Hood

Never mind Movember, try NOvember.

I was going to write an uplifting piece about the joys of this time of year on the Island (of which there are many) but the extreme weather and dark, wet, windy day-nights have temporarily erased all positive data from my brain.

Instead I’ve found myself thinking of this poem by Thomas Hood, which I’ll offer up as consolation to all those of you who are feeling less than impressed by the onset of winter.

Why not just go with it?

Stomp off on a muddy, welly-clad walk ( with a torch), find a pub with a fire and park yourself up with a suitably moody book.

If, unlike me, being gloomy inspires your creative side, you could perhaps have a go at writing a November poem of your own.

Meanwhile I’m going to go and hide under the duvet………….. normal service will be resumed shortly!!

But instead of launching into a rant against how modern consumerism has covered the original meaning of all of our seasonal celebrations and festivals in a glossy layer of chocolate, I prefer to have a look instead at what lies beneath…..

Samhain (pronounced  ‘sow’inn’), marked the Feast of the Dead in the Pagan calendar and has been celebrated in Britain for centuries.

 It was the time of year when the veils between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be at their thinnest: when the spirits of the dead could most readily mingle with the living once again.

This was not seen as a ‘spooky’ or ‘scary’ thing, but rather as a chance to remember ancestors and recently deceased loved ones.

The druids celebrated Samhain by building huge sacred bonfires. People brought Harvest food and shared a communal dinner in celebration of the festival and the spirits of the dead were sometimes invited to share the feast.

Later, when the festival was adopted by Christians, they celebrated it as All Hallows’ Eve, followed by All Saints Day, though it still retained elements of remembering and honouring the dead.  Today, of course, you would recognize it as the secular celebration of Halloween.

So if you fancy passing up the fake blood, ghost walks and trick-or-treating, for a different take on Halloween, why not take a walk up to The Longstone in Mottistone, “probably the oldest and finest sacred site on the Island as well as one of the most southerly in England ”, and connect with our Celtic ancestors.

It’s here, on the 28th October, that the excellent Bloodstone Border Morris group will be dancing to celebrate Samhain. Dressed in red and black, with painted faces, they dance out at various Pagan festivals throughout the year, enlivening any occasion with clashing sticks and whoops and tons of spirit and energy.

Another approach, and one I’ve done before with the children, is to look through photographs of departed loved ones, and talk about them with those who remember them. This doesn’t have to be a sad thing, and is actually a great time to share stories and give a sense of the cycles of time that we’re all a part of.

However I won’t manage to avoid the world of “scream eggs” and “dead heads” entirely…… the kids went trick-or-treating for the first time ever last year, and after coming home with a bag full of sweets they made me promise – there and then – that they’d be able to go again!

If you go down to the woods today, you may not believe your eyes……as you watch a 17ft bubble tunnel sail past under the trees!

Yep, that’s right 17ft!

Have the Teddy Bear’s gone crazy, and given up picnics for the altogether more ethereal pursuit of making giant bubbles? Well I’d like to think they would if they had the chance.

This weekend we were lucky enough to spend a beautiful couple of hours under the Beech “cathedral” in Borthwood, totally absorbed in creating giant bubbles, courtesy of our amazing friend Julie.

Julie has spent the last year or so perfecting the art of Bubbling, and in doing so I like to think her bubble blowing antics have become a kind of roving best-kept-secret on the Isle of Wight!

Often up at the crack of dawn, if the conditions are right, Juliee has been creating glorious, shimmering, gigantic bubbles in various locations around the Island for the sheer delight of it. Fields, meadows and woods around the Island have all provided beautiful backdrops for her bubbling adventures, and I’ve often been treated to some wonderful photographs, via email, at the end of the day.

Whether on a solo mission, in the company of her mother, husband, niece, or friends young and old, once the bubbling begins  Julie cannot fail to attract attention.

This weekend it was our turn!

As we drove towards the woods we were heading straight into a rainbow, hinting at the magic that was to come.

We gathered up bubble wands and buckets of mixture, and entered the woods, heading for the circle of Beech trees, the perfect spot. Within a few minutes we were all creating spectacular giant bubbles, to the delight of  some mums and kids who had just finished a picnic. Before long everyone was taking turns to use the wands, or chase the bubbles, and we spent a couple of happy hours totally absorbed in this random act of joy and beauty.

Who says there’s no such thing as magic?

The equinox is a natural turning point in our year, and a perfect time for reflecting on the season that has gone.

Flags, signs, bunting and dressing up and all things “festival” are packed away.

The pumpkin seed that the kids planted in spring is now a round, orange pumpkin sitting on the kitchen worktop – waiting to be made into soup.

And long, quiet walks on cliffs, beaches and downs are calling me.

The Island is such a beautiful place to experience the mellowness of Autumn, in the last week alone I’ve walked on St.Catherine’s Down from Chale Green to Chale, and along the coast from Whale Chine to Shippards Chine – enjoying the light of stormy skies at the beach and the cool, autumn air on the Downs.

I find myself suspended between two seasons – one just passing, where I’m relentlessly busy to the point of madness, and one arriving, where I feel my energies turn inward, like that of the Earth, and look forward to time spent being more quietly creative.

So as the nights draw in and my mind is emptying out (!!) all I can offer up by way of a blog is a small gallery  - images of a season past and one beginning…..

Check.

Leopard print cushions, giant flowers, bunting.

Painted ply flowers and hearts.

Check.

Bags of flags and dressing up, boxes of glitter.

Check!

Half a ton of bamboo…….

Ok, ok!

It’s not your average holiday checklist…… but that’s because we work in events all summer and for us the school holidays are all about helping to put on a variety of shows.

It all seems innocent enough in January when you’re there on the email, agreeing dates and booking in the season ahead.

It’s fine as you go over the details, order materials,  book ferries, arrange times.

It’s fun as you create new flags and artwork for the season ahead.

But then, before you know it, there we are trying to pack the van with a wild assortment of kit, ranging from everything to fly hundreds of flags, to enough stuff to create a fabulous kids area  including toddler tents, art and craft  marquee, kids dressing up  and site decorations.

This is not always easy, and it is not always fun!

Our storage is off road and requires an intermediary 4X4 load on/off. The bundles of flags mechs are unwieldy and awkward. The boxes of kids books are ridiculously heavy. Most of the kids “kit” comes in a random assortment of shapes and sizes that defies neat, efficient packing. And to entertain up to 2000 kids (as we do at IOW Festival) there’s a huge amount of it.

No wonder we are forever forgetting the things that are at the top of your normal holiday camping checklist: soap, suncream, toothbrushes, bowls, cutlery, raincoats etc!!

So next time you’re at an event that we’re part of, have a giggle at the thought of us in our “back-of-house-camp” borrowing everything from toothpaste to blankets from our friendly crew!

(This years events included IOW Radio Jubilee Garden Party, IOW Festival, Chale Show, Rhythm Tree Festival, Camp Bestival, The Highland Games and The Outdoor Cinema at Robin Hill and Bestival).

So it was with some excitement that Jazzy learned she had been picked to be part of the swimming team for the fourth Island Primary School Games, which took place on Saturday 14^th July at Medina School in Newport.

After reading the letter she brought home from school I was slightly less enthusiastic when I realized it meant spending 7 hours at the event - I mean that’s like doing a day at school on the weekend right?!

So while the Olympic torch relay made it’s way across the Island, more than 4o0 pupils gathered at Medina to compete in an Olympic style games, complete with an opening ceremony and medal presentations.

The schools were arranged into 6 clusters with each one representing an international Island. After a march from a Samba band, Jazzy and her cluster of schools from South Wight  (who made up the Greenland team) marched into the arena wearing green t-shirts and carrying a large banner.

The other Islands – St Helena, Bermuda, St.Helena, Cayman Island, Western Islands and Menorca – made their entrance, we were treated to a couple of dance routines and then the pupils separated off to take part in their chosen events.

In my case this meant sitting in the spectator gallery above the swimming pool, trying to reconcile my outfit for the day ( warm, cosy, waterproof, windproof – perfect for the hideous seasonal weather), with the roasting hot  gallery.

Jazzy, who had never done anything like this before was entered into 2 heats – the Freestyle and  Backstroke  - and I soon found myself shouting encouragement  as her 1st race began. To my delight she came 2nd in the Freestyle and 3rd in the backstroke, while her cousin Daisy did equally well in both her heats.

There were 25 separate races in the swimming, and all contestants had to stay until the end, which meant us spectators became involved in our own Herculean efforts not to pass out due to the aforementioned wrong-outfit-for-the-occasion scenario. I consoled myself with the fact that I may have lost half a stone due to over-heating and had an accidental detox!

It was all worth it to see Jazzy and Daisy collect their silver medals – Greenland came 2nd in both the swimming and overall – and witness their sheer delight at having had the opportunity to take part in some really well organised team sports.

The closing ceremony was typically ruined by torrential rain – we all dived into the school hall as the skies opened – but before long everyone was handed union jacks and taken out to line the streets to see the Olympic torch go by.

The kids loved all the lining up and flag waving, although I think they liked the noisy entourage of tour buses, police cars, motorbikes more than the actual torch – blink and you missed it!

Since then the next time we all sat down to watch the Olympics was Saturday 4th August, when Team GB legendarily won 3 Golds. Jazzy was standing up shouting at the TV during the last 2 minutes of the Mens 10,000m – it seems this sports thing has inspired her, and that can only be a good thing.

From creating and producing new flag designs, to repairing and maintaining kit, designing site decoration and planning entertainment and workshops, our working hours have grow longer to mirror the increasing light, as we head towards the longest day at summer solstice.

The sun’s finally come out, and whilst many of you may have counted your blessings at this remarkable 10 days of consecutive sunshine we had a week ago, I’ve been giving thanks for the sun’s power throughout the first few dismal, rainy weeks of May.

How so?

Well, the month of May was, for me,  mainly about sewing by solar power, and to my sheer delight the solar panel that powers our off-grid studio is made to cope with the poor light levels of our Northern Hemisphere, thus charging our two deep-cycle leisure batteries even when the sun is hidden behind a thick and gloomy layer of cloud.

I know this by a quick glance at the LED display on the solar regulator, which tells me the current charge of the batteries, and the amount of input being received from the sun, as it varies minute to minute.

It’s amazing to watch how the charge fluctuates constantly, working even on grey rainy days, and to contemplate the power available to us from the sun.

The energy from our (8o watt mono photovoltaic) panel goes into the batteries, then through an inverter which converts the direct current (DC) from the panel to the alternating current (AC) used by home appliances, and powers our digital radio, sewing machine and sometimes a soldering iron on a daily basis. Clever eh?! It may sound complicated, but luckily for us we have a brilliant friend, who helped us order the right parts and set it all up.

For my part, absorbed in swathes of colour, with only the odd pheasant or rabbit in the fields outside to distract me, making flags and other artwork in relative solitude is a perfect foil to the ridiculous amounts of communication and energy required to be part of creating a successful event.

We start our season on 4th June with a The Diamond Jubilee Party, then follow on with the Isle of Wight Festival 21st-24th June, and Rhythm Tree Festival 20th-22nd July.

Maybe see you there!

The New Carnival Company have excelled in bringing creative workshops to more rural areas of the Island,  and over the past few years we’ve made flags, willow lanterns and spiralling hanging decorations, from a carnival truck, a gazebo and this time from the cafe at the back of Chale Green Stores.  These free workshops have been brought to us brought to us as part of an ongoing initiative to make carnival arts accessible to all, and to bring communities together in creative celebrations.

The Island is well known for it’s  fabulous, colourful carnivals and summertime parades, and this latest enterprise is part of a series of Island-wide workshops leading up to a Kite Festival.

Up & Down! The Kite Festival takes place at Bembridge Down (National Trust) on Saturday 16 June from 2pm to 5pm. There will be a short procession (walk), kite displays and a massed community kite fly, where they hope to see up to 200 kites flying! With ours hopefully among them……

So we began our workshop, and with the help of Alison and Emma, our teachers, we taped canes, string and potato starch bin liners to fashion two basic kites, using 100% biodegradable materials. They had to be made to precise measurements so that they’ll fly, and Jazz and Fynn enjoyed the measuring and taping. Next week we’ll be adding an 8m long tail, lots of colour and decorating the kites with animals to fit in with the Natural Wight theme.

If this sounds like fun to you then check out the dates of other kite-making workshops running over the next couple of weeks on the Island, including a Kite Making Masterclass (19+), which takes place on Sat 9 & Sun 10 June, 10am to 4pm both days, at the Carnival Learning Centre, Ryde, where you can make large individual kites with an international expert.

Or maybe pop along to the festival, which is sure to provide a fantastic visual spectacle, even if you’re not actually flying a kite!

This Island delight is a little bit different from many of the others I’ve written about in these blogs in that you don’t have to go anywhere, in fact staying in your home or hotel is perfect, and you don’t have to expend any energy at all, yet  you get absolutely maximum results!

Intrigued? Then check out Relax Isle of Wight, the Island’s mobile spa service.

Last weekend, as a birthday treat, I experienced the most divine massage in the comfort of my own home from the owner of Relax, Hannah Davies.

Hannah already has a reputation on the Island as an excellent masseur, and it’s well deserved.

She arrived on my doorstep, massage couch and oils under her arms, and was set up in no time, ready for my treatment. After talking with me about how I was feeling (exhausted and stiff from long hours in my studio!), and checking I had no allergies, Hannah set to work, giving me the most thorough and relaxing massage over the next blissful hour and a half.  She worked her magic on my stiff and tired limbs, using aromatherapy oils, and gave the knots in my shoulders such a thorough going over that I didn’t actually recognize my body at the end. I felt really different and infinitely better!

Families being what they are, mine arrived home a little early, but Hannah was totally unfazed by my kids bursting in and demonstrating their new ‘fart’ putty to me! Once they had got over the shock of seeing me relaxing, they soon disappeared and left us alone.

She warned me that I might experience a few detox symptoms the next day as my body processed the treatment, which did happen in the form of slight flu-like symptoms, however this passed by the end of the day leaving me I feeling better than I had done for ages.

Relax offers much more than massage, and sends it’s therapists into many hotels across the Island, for a wide variety of holistic treatment and beauty services. So if you fancy treating yourself to a bit of pampering during your holiday, then this is the service for you.

As an Island resident I’ve never had a visiting massage before so it was a real luxury to have someone come to me, and to be able chill out on the sofa afterwards, staring dreamily into space.

Thanks Hannah!

As Joe has been surfing here on the Island for the last 22 years, since he first went body boarding at Steephill Cove in Ventnor at the age of 13, it’s a subject that’s dear to our hearts.

From listening to tales of how it was “back in the day”, and memories of Joe hitching/running/cycling to the beach with his board before he could drive, to the fantastic characters that I’ve met while watching the surf when there’s good swell running, I’ve enjoyed being on the edge of the Island surf scene, although my own surfing skills are limited to a (very) occasional bit of body-boarding!

The Wight Surf History Project, started by local surfers Jason Swain and Paul Blackley, and supported by the West Wight Landscape Partnership, was set up to document and celebrate 50 years of surfing on the Isle of Wight. The website tells the story of how surfing arrived and evolved on the Isle of Wight, and the characters involved over the years.

This will be the first exhibition on the Island of surf memorabilia and photography from the last 50 years and will showcase what has been uncovered by the project so far, through the use of photographs, film and even the surfboards and wet-suits themselves.

Regardless of whether you surf or not, this exhibition will have something to offer everyone interested in the emergence of what is a thriving and vibrant sub-culture here on the Island. And if the thought of a dip in our chilly seas sends a shiver down your spine then expect to be inspired by the dedication of the early surfers, some of whom made their wooden boards, and none of whom had the super light, warm, flexible wet-suits of today.

Perhaps you’ll be inspired to enrol yourself or your kids for a surf lesson with Wightwaters, situated midway between Shanklin and Sandown, or mobile surf school iSurf.

Alternatively once  you’ve finished soaking up the atmosphere of 50 years of healthy outdoor activity, did I mention that Dimbola does really good cakes?

As a passionate surfer living on the Isle of Wight, he has to work hard to make the most of the waves here, as we’re “stuffed” up the Channel, meaning that it’s harder for surf to reach us compared with those lucky Cornish surfers.

To get the best waves means a regular checking of weather patterns, wave buoys and aligning your surfs with the tides.We always buy several tide tables from the Post Office in Freshwater Bay in the first week of each year – a bargain at 30p each.

The waves here are nearly always better “on the push”, that is, a couple of hours before high tide, so the kids have long resigned themselves to the fact that whenever Daddy wants to go the beach, there isn’t any beach! (Cliff-top walks anyone?)

The internet might be the most reliable way of predicting when a swell is on it’s way, with sites like magic seaweed going into details that every surfer wants to know like swell period, wind direction and swell height, but once it’s on nothing can beat an “eyeball” report – a quick sprint/drive to the nearest viewpoint, or a text from a fellow surfer standing at the beach – to find out the best place to surf that day.

So what are the charts promising this time?

Joe’s been waiting for the “marching swells of March” (that haven’t marched through for a long time! ), but now the pressure charts on the Met Office site are showing a high pressure dominating Europe and a low pressure dominating the North Atlantic, with us in-between!

Coupled with Easterly winds this means there’s a good chance of great waves from now until next Thursday, and what that means is I’m going to see very little of my other half.

When I do see him however, he’ll be one happy surfer!

Kids absolutely love having a list of items to find on the beach, a bucket to collect things in and a stick to prod through the flotsam and jetsam.

Our Treasure Hunt list ran as follows

1. A stone with a hole through
2. A shell
3. A feather
4. A shoe
5. A piece of rope
6. A mermaids purse
7. A cuttlefish
8. A lighter
9. A child’s toy
10. A rubber glove

Bonus item – Treasure!!

Ten things to find is a good amount, and I created the list with a knowledge of the beach we were going to and things we were likely to find – with a couple of long shots to make it more interesting.

For the bonus item the kids had to find something that they considered to be treasure and tell us why it was special.

Island beaches are pretty beautiful and especially unspoilt along the south west coast, but there are certain points that can accumulate plastic and one of our favorite beaches has just such a place as you enter from the chine.

We love searching through assorted plastic waste that has been washed ashore, and creating new things from what we find in true recycling spirit. Joe has made a series of brilliant buckets, tool crates, swings, sculptures and even jewellery over the years.

So we put things on the list that were both natural and man-made, and on the way in the car, we asked them which they thought would be the hardest to find.

At this point you can have an ecological discussion if you’re so inclined – as we always are!

Once we had walked to the beach, we realized Fynn had left his bucket in the car, so Joe created one by converting a washed-up plastic container, cutting the top off with a Stanley knife, and attaching some found rubber tubing.

Within an hour of walking both kids had found everything on their list, and plenty more besides, which could easily prompt more discussion on pollution. (We had all agreed at home not to put ‘plastic bottle’ on the list – it would be too easy, you can find lots washed up around the entrance to the chine….)

However there was no time for reflection on our collection, as suddenly the real treasure began to jump out at us …….. in shape of lots of crystals glinting in the sunlight!.

“This is totally wicked!” shouted Fynn, and he and Jazzy went  all piratical on us, bounding up the cliffs, and racing to be the first to get the crystals we could see glinting in the clay.

There was no need to explain why this treasure was special, the crystals were truly magic, and had us totally captivated in searching for them.

Back at home we did a bit of research and discovered they were “Selenite” crystals, and they made for a great ‘Show and Tell’ at school!

In a strange way it was such a retreat that brought me to the Island in 1996, as after sitting just such a course in India, I was literally transformed and my busy London life held no more appeal. I was looking for a place where I could practice 2 hours of meditation a day, and continue my work as an artist in relative peace. After visiting the Island for the first time with a good friend who grew up here, things fell in to place and I moved here two weeks later!

The wild and empty coastlines of the West and South Wight were the perfect places to contemplate the ever-changing nature of the reality within, whilst watching the ever-changing seas and skies of the world without.

Many years, and several retreats later, the Island is the place I call home, where my family has come into being, and it is for this reason that I was experiencing some apprehension. To leave the world for 10 days of silence is one thing, but to leave my children, to not be able to call them, that, in itself was a huge hurdle.

However my partner agreed to take on all the parenting (a former meditator himself, he knew the great results), and perhaps it’s in their blood somehow, as my daughter simply told me it would be good for me,while my son stated, with the innocent clarity of a 5 year old, “ Oh Mummy it’s alright, you’re just going to get more power and get your brain bigger!”

So I travelled to the other island, Dhamma Dipa, meaning island of truth, and began the intensive 10 days practice of Vipassana meditation. For the first 3 days you practice Anapana meditation, which uses the breath to focus and concentrate the mind, then on the fourth day you progress to Vipassana (insight) meditation, a body based technique which literally purifies the mind.

The relentless timetable of meditation that starts at 4am and continues until 9pm and the strict discipline might not be for everyone, but the technique certainly does work! It’s the ultimate mental detox – a powerful and effective way of changing the habit pattern of the mind. “I was looking for a technique that burns stuff off” explained one girl to me afterwards, and at the end of the course you certainly feel tons lighter and look around  the room at nearly 200 fellow meditators all beaming…..proper smiles from deep within!

Returning home on the ferry the benefits of practising so hard were easy to feel – super sharp awareness, tremendous inner peace and a sense of mental freedom and space that is all so rare in our busy lives. I found myself remembering a poem from the discourses that had so inspired me in India, little realising that it would literally lead me to an island home.

“Make a island of yourself, make yourself your refuge, there is no other refuge.

Make truth your island, make truth your refuge, there is no other refuge.”

When you practise meditation you become empowered and realise that it’s up to you to make changes in your life for the better, no-one else can do it for you.

As Ghandi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

May all beings throughout the universe be happy!!

Why such a big deal you may ask?

Well, because as a vegetarian, animal loving, confirmed zoo-detractor I remember becoming seriously depressed by the sight of beautiful, powerful animals reduced to miserably pacing around teeny- tiny enclosures, and avoid them like the plague!

And yet today I returned from a visit to the Isle of Wight Zoo with not a tear in sight.

The zoo was the venue for my daughters Brownies Region Roadshow, a fun day out that began with a presentation by the Chief Commissioner at neighbouring Brown’s Café, and finished with entrance to the Zoo for the Brownies and some friends from outside the Girlguiding movement.

Jasmine was really excited about the day, (Brownies is one of her favourite things) so I promised myself I would “zip it” with any negative comments, and let her and her friends enjoy themselves without lectures!!

Before we left I was pleasantly surprised on reading the website to discover that many of the animals were rescued from circuses or illegal trade, rather than kidnapped from the wild! I also found out that they specialize in the tiger, acting as a retirement home for older tigers.

Better still Education and Conservation Officer Tracy Dove gave a talk to the Brownies and described all the conservation work that the Zoo is involved in, one of their passions being to ensure that tigers remain in the wild. This year the zoo won the Small Collection Award for Best Field Conservation Project.

Once inside, I found myself delighting in the joy that my kids and their friends took in running around the enclosures, gasping at the proximity of the big cats and giggling at the monkeys and lemurs.  We saw porcupines, wallabies, a warthog, and guinea pigs, rabbits and goats in the Zoo at Home area, but it was the Big Cat Territory that made this a special day for us. The magnificent lions and tigers were out in full view, basking in the sunshine, on what was otherwise a freezing cold day, whilst a jaguar lay curled up inside a hollow tree.

When the two of the male lions and the female, Nala, started roaring, it hit us all in the belly, sparking a primal fear, and astonishing my son, far surpassing his imaginary lion roars. We talked about how the wire fence was keeping the lions from ripping our bellies open and eating us for dinner.

Later, a wonderful keeper explained how when they “kick off” like this it is a part of their social bonding behavior, that their roars could carry for 5km, and that they were also partly letting the Shanklin pride of lions know that they were there. (Okay, so there isn’t a Shanklin pride of lions, but these lions don’t know that).

She also told us the decibel level of this humungous sound – my frozen brain can’t remember that bit -but it equalled the levels found at the front of a rock gig. She described how when she was back at home (in Africa) she walked barefoot so she could feel the roaring of a lion pride through the ground in her instep (and the deeper sound of elephants in her heel.)

By now something was happening to me, and I was starting to fall under the spell of these powerful animals. Years of zoo avoidance meant I was viewing the whole experience with fresh eyes and the sight of huge tigers and lions less than 6 feet away from me was somehow deeply moving. As we stayed to watch them become extremely animated during the 2.30 Big Cat Feed, I found myself marveling at their raw power and sinuous movement, whilst slowly falling in love with Casper the white lion.

If you pay a visit to the zoo, I think watching the feeding is a must, definitely the kids favourite bit, and especially good with Caspar as there were 4 big sections of glass where you could see him in action without looking through wire.

Talking with the kids during the visit we agreed that while it would be better if the enclosures were bigger (they brought it up, not me – honest!), their healthy coats and bodies, and the policy of environmental enrichment meant that they were obviously well loved and cared for.

I honestly feel pretty awed to have spent time near real live, and lively, big cats, but it still somehow feels a bit wrong, so the kids watched “Madagascar” later that evening – you know –  the animated film about animals escaping from the zoo and returning to the wild!