Jenography

A magical night of Christmas storytelling in Henley

Avril Lethbridge was disenchanted with Christmas seasons animated by the latest Nintendo or Apple accessory. As a result, this granny decided to do something about it. “I dreamt up this very silly idea of a walk around trees, which are lit, and the trees tell you their stories.”

A simple idea: to create a holiday experience connected to nature and storytelling rather than frenetic stores and shopping. And she’s realised it with Britain’s big-time, brand-name thespians and theatre-folk, all to benefit charity.

In the gathering darkness of the evenings of December 1 -4, guides with lanterns will lead groups round the grounds of Henley Business School, along paths that lead to trees festooned with lights. At each stop, the tree tells its story, via short clips recorded by a host of talent. Barry Humphries voices the spirit of the old oak tree. Mark Rylance, the actor, theatre director and playwright, recounts a Cherokee story of why some trees are evergreen. Bill Nighy, Andrew Wincott from the Archers, Zoe Wanamaker, Miriam Margolyes, Lucy Fleming, and Rolf Harris, among others, have volunteered their voices to the project, which benefits KidsOut Charity  as well as Oxfordshire Playbus.

“Each person feels that they’re talking to them,” Lethbridge explains. “I hope that one day someone looks back and says ‘Do you remember when that tree spoke to me?’”

In addition to the trees there are also Christmas-themed mise-en-scene: a nativity scene (Natascha McElhone tells a French nativity story), elves working on toys and pretend reindeer. 

Everyone is a volunteer, Lethbridge says, including the lighting designer, Mike Atkinson (he’s also in charge of lighting at a little thing called the National Theatre).

The program runs rain or shine and booking is essential. Tickets are £2.50 each, free for under 5s. The entire walk takes about 30 minutes. There are still slots available but act fast. While it was created with children in mind, Lethbridge says they’ve even had adults booking their tickets to experience an evening of magical storytelling on their own.

“If you don’t have children, borrow some or let the child in you take over,”she says.

Stories by Starlight  1 - 4 December, 2010

01525 385 252

Henley Business School, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 3AU

If you're interested in Stories by Starlight events, contact Avril Lethbridge at avril (dot) lethbridge (at) googlemail (dot) com.

 

Half-term idea for kids: learn polo in Scotland

If your children have fallen behind in their Downton Abbey lifestyle skills (terrible, really), a half-term stay at The Gleneagles Hotel should fix them right up, what-what.

The five-star Scottish resort with its revered golf course doesn’t content itself with a kids’ club stuffed with the typical distractions. Instead, it introduces kids to the countrified pleasures every budding gentleman, gentlelady and outdoor enthusiast should be acquainted with.

Children can take taster lessons in pursuits ranging from archery and air rifle to junior gun dog and junior off-roading, depending on their age. Through the country sports passport program, 10- to 15-year-olds can do an array of actitivies, including clay target shooting, fishing, all-terrain off-roading and introductory falconry lessons with hawking, for £480.

That all sounds cool, but for me the best activity on offer is Introduction to Polo. Kids are tutored by Scotland’s highest qualified polo coach in two-hour sessions - starting on a wooden horse, learning how to use the stick, and finishing with a short game astride a polo pony. Kids must measure more than 1.5m; sessions cost £75. So even if the family estate has been sold off to pay the taxes, dahling, you can still ensure they are brought up right.

This is an editorial post, not a sponsored post. This blog belongs to the British Mummy Bloggers Blogging with Integrity campaign.

10 things not to do in London

Travel and writing about travel has been my passion since I was planning my first trip as a sentient being - one not concerned only with the playgrounds and whether there would be ice cream. (Funny enough though, now that I'm a parent, it's come full circle.)

But finding informed, fun-to-read travel advice, not to mention full-fledged travel writing and essays, is astonishingly difficult. That's why it's such a treat to come across a piece like this one on Concierge.com about 10 things not to do in London. It's got great advice that I know, as a local, to be true.

Have you got local knowledge or holiday experiences you've written up? On British Mummy Bloggers, we've got a new Google map where parent bloggers can add the travel reviews and advice from their blogs, including links back to the original posts. Go ahead: share the wealth and post it now! After all, reliable advice is hard to find.

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Giffords Circus: one of the best things you could do this summer

“You have to come, the kids will love it!” we cried to our friends J and B. “It’s back after a year off so you don’t want to miss it!” we said, grabbing them by the lapels.

If the Ringling Bros Circus was billed as “the greatest show on earth” Giffords Circus claims the title in a much larger arena. This intimate, independent circus has deliciously intricate costumes, a glamorous tight-rope walker, handsome horses, clown acts that are actually funny and a community spirit. It’s magical in a way that would make Walt Disney turn green.

In a small tent, set up in a field in the Cotswolds countryside, you feel the immediacy of the daring acts on display. The performers stand just a few feet away performing acrobatics and feats of skill, singing, dancing and entertaining the pants off the rows of adults, children and even teens (teens!) in the audience.

We’ve gone to the circus for the past 4 years, excluding last year’s hiatus, and as the ringmaster announces the show and the performers stream in to do an opening song and dance, I have gotten literally choked up with excitement in a way I last experienced as a child. We’ve seen loose-rope walkers (who knew of such a thing?), a troupe of family acrobats (mum, dad and the kids), Cossack trick riders, and an act that consisted of a man doing flips and tricks on a bendy board held on the shoulders of two other men.

This year, the highlight for me was charismatic jugglers Bibi and Bichu, seemingly levitating innumerable pins while cheekily working the crowd. For my friend B it was the live band playing everything from stand-up bass to plastic bottles – including the bit where one musician made music with her feet, tap dancing on cymbals in the ring. For B’s son, the chicken running round the ring was a delight. My daughter loved the clown Gabor Vosteens playing first one, then two, then five recorders at once. My husband was amazed by the unicyclist who caught bowls, a teacup and a spoon on her head, while atop a ball.

At the centre of the circus is the inspiring Nell Gifford, its creator and the woman who develops each season’s theme - this year it is based around the story of a young girl who loves to train horses. Nell is a horsewoman herself. She founded the circus and runs it with her husband Toti. She also designs the gorgeous, retro costumes – snazzy, sexy outfits from a bygone era for the women, costumes for the men that range from imperial to tribal. One number this included an astonishing array of animal heads – very surreal, very French.

Giffords Circus is artistic, it’s creative, it’s amazing. If your children can stay up that late, go to the 19:30 performance and eat at the Circus Sauce restaurant afterward. In a tent just beside the big tent, the circus staff dish up delicious food family-style. Forty-two of us had fresh salad and bread, scrumptious chicken pie and a fresh berry pavlova, all cooked in the adjoining caravan (BYOB) while the children practiced their own “circus” on the grass outside and spied on the performers relaxing after the show.

The troupe travels around the Cotswolds in stylish caravans and this year it has two new recruits – Nell’s six-month-old twins. We haven’t yet seen the babies but I can just imagine the magical upbringing they’ll have. Although it does beg a question, if your mother has already run away and joined the circus, what do you do to rebel?

Tickets: £18 adults, £12 children www.everymantheatre.org.uk
Circus Sauce restaurant (booking essential): £25 adults, £12.50 children. Bookings: 0845 459 7469

More on Giffords Circus:

• Bambino Goodies has posted about Giffords and will be reviewing it. See what some comments Giffords fans have left already

• Read about Nell in a short Telegraph interview