Mable's Loft: Wartime tunnels, Gong baths, and the search for the perfect tea tray.

Hurray, I made it back here again and I've had a great time over the last few weeks.
As soon as the sun come out, my two little lads are just itching to get outside.

George and Ted having fun in the garden.

We've been all over the place trying to make the most of the sunshine, and I think we've nearly seen and done it all.

Miniature train rides at the park, safari trips at the zoo, first tastes of candy floss at the funfair, big flumes at the swimming pool, baby lambs at the farm, pepple skimming at the seaside and even secret underground war tunnels at Dover Castle. Not a day has gone by without one big adventure or another.

Who doesn't love a big stick of fluffy pink sugar?

A new experience for me last Sunday was a Gong Bath in a local village called Harrietsham. It really was as strange as it sounds. We all walked in to be greeted by the 'Gong Master'! (I'm not sure now if that is his official title or one i made up, but it has a good ring to it!), we took up position in a big circle on the floor, snuggled under our blankets, closed our eyes, and listened for the next 45 minutes to the sounds of the gongs! There were meant to be some healing properties in the sounds of the gongs and I was told to expect some profound thoughts in my head but to be honest I think I just fell asleep. Either way, it was a fun experience and we all had a nice chat over tea and cake afterwards so overall not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning!

The Gongs!

I mentioned before that we visited Dover Castle. It really was a fantastic day out. I'm really interested in World war 2 and the whole 'Make do and Mend movement, so the underground WW2 tunnels were a fascinating insight into the war for me. I was particularly pleased to come out the other side of the tunnel into the gift shop, packed full of wartime memorabilia. I managed to snatch up a couple of cards with wartime posters and a copy of 'Make Do and Mend' based on the leaflets handed out during the war to encourage and teach people how to care for their clothes and make them last longer. The lengths the families went to during the war to reuse and recycle so that precious resources could be used to help the war effort, were extraordinary and really do put our throwaway society to shame. I'm going to use the book to perhaps pick up some new skills that Mable herself would have used in the 40's!

As well as all our fun trips out, I have managed to do some creating and some thrifting. I've been looking for the perfect vintage tea tray for a while now. Just something to make me smile when I carry my cup of tea and cornflakes into the living room. Well, I finally found it, hidden under a pile of old frames, in my local RSPCA shop. I think you'll agree it's quite pretty!