Indy Boy "Age 6"

TheTamshee says: it's birthday party time for Indy boy aged 6. What a great day, some friends around for fun and games with a star pressy of a new bike with gears, "the wee man said he'll be able to cycle up the drive now"

Sack Boy Adventures

TheTamshee says: the Indy kids dug out the model bin to construct a car for Sack Boy. It turns out that PS3 Little Big Planet inspires the creative mind. Not all computer games are bad for the kids.

The Clones Wars

TheTamshee says: the Indy kids hone their flying skills in preparation of the final assault on the battleship, Malevolence. " Padme Amidala and C-3PO are taken hostage by General Grievous, leaving Anakin and Obi-Wan to save the Senator and complete the destruction of the
flagship, and strongest vessel in the Separatist fleet.
Indy boy gets some action in the revenge of the Sith, Battle Over Coruscant.

Alnwick Castle

TheTamshee: and family visited Alnwick Castle to check out the "Hogwarts" location for the Harry Potter films. We were not disappointed, this medieval castle has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309, making this year the 700 year anniversary. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when Yves de Vescy became baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle. The Castle was first restored, primarily as a fortress, by the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick in the early 1300's and portions of this restoration remain today, including the Abbot's Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constable's Tower. click here for more Castle & Percy family history.

On our visit the crowds were minimal, this allowed the Indy kids to explore all the nooks and crannies. The Dragons Quest can be rather scary for the youngsters if skulls give them the jitters, but no such concerns with the Indy adventurers. The jesters court area is great for kids picnic's, they can dress up in the various period costumes supplied on site, with lots of different activities to occupy their inquisitive minds.

On exit we visited the archers tent, 11 years old and upwards ( health & safety gone OTT once again ) can pay a token gesture £2 and test their skill. On this occassion the Indy kids cast their "Arrows" spell and hey presto. Magic happens, many thanks to the gentleman concerned.

Bird Watch @ Inchgarth

TheTamshee says: the Indy kids have been extremely creative regarding the stage two design of the bird watch station, first attempt resulted in attracting the crows and jackdaws which decimated the various nuts and seeds on offer. This was not the intention, we endeavour to attract the Robins, Coal and Blue tits. So DIY man set about constructing an outer mesh frame with access points for the smaller birds to pass freely while thwarting the efforts of the dreaded crows.

Waterloo Monument Abseil

TheTamshee says: the big Abseil challenge day finally arrived, so we set off for Harestanes visitor centre to get the show on the road. Fortunately for us, Margaret and Dick Sweetnam tagged along to give support and look after the Indy kids while the irresponsible parents dangled on some harness and 12mm rope arrangement, put together by a complete stranger. The quest was straight forward, enter tower, without disturbing the nesting sparrow hawks, climb 224 step spiral staircase to climb over balcony some 150 feet above Terra Firma. Descend at one's own pace and enjoy.
The combined sponsorship effort from the Bell participants was £350 in aid of The Antony Nolan Trust. Thanks to MagZ for the picnic and Big Dick for classic video footage with commentary that raised a few smiles on this damp afternoon.

Indy "Sprinters"

TheTamshee says: the Indy kids did us proud at the weekend, when they took part in the sports picnic at the pringle park Selkirk. First up was, Indy boy (5) who showed the opposition a clean pair of heals in the 40 yard dash, to stand on the top step of the podium.
Winners ribbon pinned on chest by 2009 Royal Burgh Standard Bearer James Cheyne.
Next up was the Pol-Meister (7) less than confident prior to race, who demonstrated flawless technique to stormed to victory in 60 yard sprint. It seems that the coaching lessons on the rugby field have paid dividends. The sun shone, a great day had by all.

Tamshee's Look Alike

TheTamshee: came across this character while visiting one of the finest castles Scotland has to offer. Spooked the Indy kids, they thought it was dad chopping a few logs. Can you name the Castle ? It is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland.

The castle sits atop a volcanic crag, which forms part of the ???????? Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1930s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification from the earliest times. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned in this new city, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543. There have been at least eight sieges of this Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle. The Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is now a tourist attraction managed by Historic Scotland.

Barn Owls "Tyto alba"

Owls are fascinating birds and there are many different species with the tawny owl and the barn owl, the most common varieties in the UK. Because owls are birds of prey unless you live in the countryside or in a similar area which attracts a good population of rodents, such as in an area with a good amount of rough grassland nearby, it’s unlikely that an owl will take up roost in your garden. However, if your surrounding environment is suitable or you’re aware that owls do, indeed, frequent the area in which you live, it’s worth providing an additional nesting site in your garden if you want to attract them. If you’ve a large garden or have acres of land, it’s useful to leave some grassy areas unmown as this will attract rodents as it provides cover but is also a good hunting ground for owls. Also keep grassy edges alongside hedges and ditches unkempt and provide lookout posts for the owls to perch on. TheTamshee: is hooked, the graceful owl is a majestic creature of great beauty. The Indy kids have listened to the Twit-twa-Woo on many occasions in close proximity to Inchgarth. This lead to TheTamshee getting the 10,000,000 million candle torch, with kids in tow, out searching the surrounding big sycamores and chestnut tree to see if we could track down this solitary and nocturnal bird with the piercing eye's. The Indy kids interest in owls was first ignited when we pitch up at Cayton Bay Caravan Park close to Scarborough. After flying the kites in an adjacent field for some time, we headed back to the park while walking through an area set aside for wildlife - when we came across a large nesting box with the big eye's of two young owls jockeying for prime position at the nesting box entrance. We observed the birds for some days thereafter but left for home before the fledglings made their first flight. These great memories have inspired me to make a nesting box in an attempt to attract our very known resident owl. Time will tell.

Bird Watch @ Inchgarth

TheTamshee says: the Indy kids decided that the bird watch feeding station needed some refurbishment. So out came the ladder, a few hand tools and a light sprinkling of DIY. Hey presto the starlings, blue and coal tits with the forever present robins returned in droves to get there fill of fine seeds and nuts. No Nuthatch to date, we wait patiently.

Sackboy "Astronaut"

White House withdraws nomination of Maj Gen Charles F Bolden to be deputy administration of NASA; cites Defense Department directive to limit service of senior military officers to civilian jobs during current war on terrorism. TheTamshee says: the top brass on the hill have finally come to there senses with the probably announcement of "Little Big Planet" hero, "Sackboy" as the most logical choice as new administrator of Nasa. The vastly experienced astronaut has spent a lifetime exploring the outer universe with more mission crew patches than any other astronaut on planet earth. At this moment in time the Indy kids cannot determined if some Alien traveller has more cosmic miles than their intrepid adventurer.

Timber Harvesting

TheTamshee says: while travelling North on the A7 towards the homestead at Selkirk, the Indy kid spotted the tree harvester at work - so we decided to take a closer look. These woodland trees take a kids childhood to mature before being felled and logged in under 2 minutes. It reminded me of tree planting in the early days of the Brother-In laws thriving business.

Unicorn Tapestries

In 2001 West Dean weavers began a new and unusual project, recreating a set of seven tapestries for Historic Scotland (the government agency that safeguards ancient monuments and historic buildings across Scotland).
The tapestries being recreated are the Hunt of the Unicorn (1495 – 1505) series from the Cloisters Museum in New York. Work is underway on two sites: at the Tapestry Studio in West Dean, West Sussex and at Stirling Castle in Scotland. The team in Scotland are making a tapestry in full view of the general public, demonstrating how tapestry is made and to open this medium up to a wider audience. TheTamshee: and family visited the studio in Stirling Castle to witness the skilled weaver at work. It must be a surreal atmosphere for the craftsman with his back to the crowd while his every stitch is scrutinised by the assembled crowd. There is no photography allowed within the studio but strange things happen within the walls of ancient castles. On our exit the Indy kids spotted the ever watching Gargoyle in the adjacent rock face

The Indy Kids

The Indy Kids had a great holiday up Stirling but the wheels finally came off the Speedbird, totally tyre'd out

Peacock Display

TheTamshee says: the Safari Park at Blair Drummond is always a great day out for the Indy kids. On this occassion the Peacock courtship display caught the attention of the wee lass. This was only one of many wildlife attractions to be seen. The birds of prey are another favourite with the park rangers giving an insight into the daily life of sea eagles, harris hawks, barn owls and off course, the magestic griffon vulture

Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1, launched on Oct.4, 1957, became the first artificial satellite to successfully orbit the Earth. It was a metallic sphere about 2 feet across, weighing 184 lbs (84 kg), with long "whiskers" pointing to one side, and stayed in orbit for 6 months before falling back to Earth. Its rocket booster, weighing 4 tons, also reached orbit and was easily visible from the ground. TheTamshee says: while checking out The Works book store in Stirling the Indy kids came across a magic skeleton book of space discovery- brilliant bed time stories for the Indy kid who says he would like to be an astronaut.

Blair Drummond Caravan Park

TheTamshee's back: there's been a bit of a hiatus regarding the blogging due to a family trip to wonderful Stirling-shire! our preferred choice of site is the immaculate
Blair Drummond Caravan Park, situated 1 mile or so passed the Safari park, take a right turn up Cuthill Brae then straight over the hill while being mindful of the three speed bumps en-route. The space-ish pitches are sited in and around magnificent walled gardens with rhododendrons in full bloom. It's also offers a wonderland of exploration for the Indy kids with an abundance of woodland for tree climbing and foraging. The play area is well equiped with zip wire and monkey bars.

SackBoy

Poor sackboy had a rough time today, the Indy kids dragged him over Selkirk Hill for some heather loup-in with a few excursion into the trees!

The Clone Wars Continue

Stomp all over the Separatists! When droids attack, it’s time to call in the mighty AT-TE Walker, This powerful 6-legged walker features details straight from the Clone Wars, including positionable legs, movable cannons, firing missiles, and armored hatches and cockpit that open to reveal the cabin and troop bay inside. Even with its flying STAP vehicle, the battle droid doesn’t stand a chance against Anakin Skywalker and the clone army of the Republic!
TheTamshee says: the Indy kids look forward to the end of the school week-on friday's they are rewarded with a session on the PS3, with Star Wars or Indiana Jones their favourites.

The Clone Wars

Take the battle to the Separatists with the heavily armed troop transporter, as seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Features opening crew bay doors, flick missiles, and separate speeder bike. Includes five mini figures: Commander Cody, Clone Trooper, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and two new mini figures, Plo Koon and Asajj Ventress, a Sith Lord equipped with a new double light saber. TheTamshee says: the Indy Kids love there collection of Star War characters and leggo builds such as the Republican Attack Gunship.