Elaine's Drama Classes Have a New Name

Class Act Drama Academy

Elaine's Drama Classes have a new name but the same great teacher!

• every Wednesday in Downpatrick 
• every Thursday in Newcastle

Telephone 028 9146 4337 for more details or contact Elaine directly

At Class Act Drama Academy we teach not only performance skills but also essential life skills. Our students develop at their own pace whether they are superstars in the making or in need of a confidence boost. Our all-inclusive curriculum offers each and every student the chance to shine in all areas of work covered in class.

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Weather Data for August

Another month of fairly gloomy weather - 
If you want to be cheered up, look away now! 


If not you can download: weather data for August here

Met Eireann say: Cool and Dry with below average sunshine

The Arctic's near-record sea ice low – big picture | Environment | guardian.co.uk

The Arctic's near-record sea ice low – big picture | Environment | guardian.co.uk:

A stunningly beautiful photograph - heightened by it's awesome import

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Product development - and psychedelic guinea pigs!

With a mind to the Winter season, and our ever present quest for new designs, we spent a happy day today creating new products - from fibre felt. 
The workshops have been such a success this summer, and a happy spin off is all the creative ideas generated.


Here's a pictorial snapshot of one development including the vital "psychedelic guinea pig"


Making Felt Purses

the layers of loose fibre wrapped around the former
- does resemble a guinea pig no?

We want to make the purse 'in the round' so the first stage is to wrap the fibres - in colours of your choice around a former (bubble wrap in this case)

the many careful stages of agitation in more bubble wrap - with plenty of soapy water

more like a drowned rat now!
but you can see the fibres moving together

once it is pretty firmed up we made a cut across for the opening

after a good deal more working it is ready for finishing off

a few more 

in the pipeline

 Once we've perfected the process, and added the zips, look out for them at a craft fair near you!

Cambridge

We're back from Cambridge now, a great trip all round.


We're settling in to the changed landscape of our lives as just the two of us again. This is what we wanted, but with having Eleanor and Kate around us for almost a year, through thick and thin, challenges, adventures and achievements, it's going to take some getting used to.

Leaving Dublin - to clearer skies!

farewell to the storm!

Cambridge in all it's glory - a quiet street behind Clare College

a glimpse to the inner sanctum - Clare College

rebellion - Cambridge style!

punting on the Cam on a hot September day

Jesus Green

Eleanor exploring

what a wonderful thing exercise is!

heading home - to blue skies over Dublin (not for long though!)

To Cambridge

A Big Day: Elaine Kate & Eleanor are off to Cambridge today for Kate to start her new life at Lucy Cavendish College - fantastic, much hard work, plotting and planning has gone into this - it will be a brilliant, life changing experience for them both - very well deserved and a real credit to Kate. Good Luck!


Charlie and I are off over tomorrow by boat- with all the stuff!

Furby and Charlie relaxing  yesterday - aren't they just a delight?

An early start today - but the sun on Spellack was reward enough

a perfect morning (now that the school holidays are over) 

The delphiniums still have a lot more to show 

Now to pack the car - "It's OK like this" says Charlie

"But where am I going to go?" (in the front!)