The French Edition {HDYGG}

I haven't joined in with Manneskjur's How Does Your Garden Grow? for quite a while but wandering around the in laws' garden today in France I couldn't resist snapping some pics and posting them here.

A quick back story - the in laws bought a pretty much derelict house in France some years ago and have slowly and painstakingly converted it into a habitable home. It is still not finished and sadly we will never see it fully complete as they have sold and are returning to England next month. So, this week I visited with the children for the first, and last, time.

Here is the beautiful garden that they transformed from a mass of overgrowth.

Daisies, marigolds, dahlias, a lone sunflower, roses, hydrangeas, cosmos and geraniums in window boxes.

Just beautiful.

I'll be linking up with Manneskjur...

x x x

 

Camp Bestival 2014 - The children's best bits {Country Kids}

This has proven to be quite a difficult post to write - sifting out the best bits for children from a festival that is predominantly for them! If you are unaware, Camp Bestival is an amazing family affair curated by Rob and Josie Da Bank and located in the beautiful grounds of Lulworth Castle, Dorset.

To help me I asked my two children for their best bits from Camp Bestival 2014 and this is what they came up with...

Circus skills - particularly apt as the theme for this year's festival was Circus! They both enjoyed the circus area in the Kid's Garden; spinning plates, learning to hula hoop, perfecting the balancing and even making our own hoops - big and small. And what festival can be enjoyed without the bubbles?!

Not just wanting to perfect our circus skills there were plenty of opportunities to watch the professionals at work. Two staples of Camp Bestival are the Kawa Circus and Insect Circus. The former has the stunning castle backdrop to showcase their amazing skills of balance and strength whilst the Insect Circus take up their regular spot further down the Kid's Garden with their ever growing collection of giant insects.

Food is always high on the agenda and Camp Bestival does not fail to please in this area. No greasy burger vans and fat doughnuts here, instead a wealth of food choices ranging from the Feast Collective to woodfire pizzas and the girl's favourite, Mac 'n' Cheese. This year the boy made his own pizza in the Soul Park - a free activity that he loved.

Camp Bestival is the place to enjoy yourself with friends. Together the collective gang beat up the blow-up blobs, rolled down the many hills and chilled in their onesies with countless glow sticks and balloons to occupy them - whilst the grown ups supped cocktails.

This year saw the Lego Experience arrive at Camp Bestival where the children could build whatever they please. Tubs of Lego and creations could be bought or, as we did, models could be displayed for others to enjoy.

And finally, the fireworks were a definite crowd pleaser. We have never seen displays quite like the ones put on at Camp Bestival and they are the perfect way to wrap up an amazing long weekend.

This just scratches the surface of what Camp Bestival is all about and if you want to find out more then take a look at my diary posts here: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

x x x

Linking up with Country Kids...



Disclaimer: I received family Camp Bestival 2014 tickets in return for previews and reviews of this year's festival. As always, views and opinions are my own.

365 #32 {The in between week}

Last week saw us having fun at Camp Bestival and next week we are off to France so this week was the filling in the sandwich - trying to keep the kiddies occupied whilst I get sorted.
It's a good job we have a garden I can shove them into and some nice local spots to explore.

365 #32

Day 215
Sunday, my favourite day at Camp Bestival with the most amazing fireworks.
Day 216
The annual festival suntan.
Day 217
The unpacking continues - so many hats and garlands.
Day 218
Lacock is just down the road but we never tire of walking around the village and the Abbey Cloisters.
Day 219
The Courts is another National Trust place we love. Today the house was open for an art exhibition and the children went on a bug hunt.
Day 220
A relaxing day blog writing and drinking tea.
Day 221
A visit to the library for some easy reading in France next week. I plan to relax and unwind whilst the in laws take over. I'll let you know how that goes.

Linking up with The Boy and Me...

 

x x x

Camp Bestival Diary 2014 {Sunday}

And suddenly it was Sunday. There's always something rather special about Sunday at Camp Bestival and this year was no exception with the sun glaring down over the fields of Lulworth Castle. We had no real plans for the day but it panned out beautifully.

We grabbed some photos in the Castle Field then chilled in front of the Castle Stage listening to the fantastic No Limit Street Band.

I made hair garlands with the girl and then we all watched the amazing Kawa Circus against a fantastic castle backdrop.

The intriguing Insect Circus is always worth a watch and we relaxed with a cold ale in the blazing sunshine at the bottom of the Kid's Garden. The giant snail was a new addition and now the children will be looking out for one on an upcoming trip to France!

And then it was nearly the end. We headed to the Castle Field catching the end of Sinead O'Connor before a stonking set from Basement Jaxx - one act I wish I was closer to the stage for as so much was going on up there! And finally it was the fireworks. Camp Bestival have quite a reputation for their fireworks finale and this years was up there with the best of them. There were a few grumbles at the lack of animation this year but I think they'll never top 2011 for that. Instead they stuck with fireworks and music timed to perfection - see the video below.

As we left the field with the crowds we felt that we weren't quite ready to say goodbye so we slipped into the Dingly Dell which was all very calm in the dark. The children had a ball playing on the play park at 11 p.m. until some rather patient security workers moved us on. Then it was the end. We slowly made our way back to the tent a little sad that it was all over but happy with another amazing set of memories created.

Thank you Camp Bestival!
You can read about our Thursday here, Friday here and Saturday here.
Early bird tickets for 2015 will be on sale from Friday August 8th at 10a.m.

x x x

 

 

Disclaimer: I received family Camp Bestival 2014 tickets in return for previews and reviews of this year's festival. As always, views and opinions are my own.

Photo credit: Thank you Camp Bestival for the use of the Kawa Circus picture.