Bruised,scratched and aching for all the right reasons.

I was a child once. No, stop it, I really was. I used to run around in my school uniform on hard grey concrete, bumping off other little terrors and crashing into rough stone walls. It was fun at the time and it never entered my parents heads that it could be seen as a risk or that, should my infant knee get slightly grazed, they could sue the school authority for rediculous amounts of money. Now, children are more protected but they also do so much more than just dash about like manic things.
I visited my old infant/junior school recently. I resisted the urge to run about with my arms waving aloft and screaming as I am 42 now with a job and a serious face but I did feel a twinge of fear when I walked through the hall to the back playground, knowing in my childsmind that I would be yelled at if I broke into a trot.
" NO RUNNING IN THE HALL!!"
I was there at the request of a chamber colleague, Jenny from Barclays Business Unit, who was organising a charity project.
Since then, after some crafty negotiations and chamber charm offences , we have turned a small,enclosed dumping ground into a learning garden for the reception to year six pupils.
Here's a quick series of mobile phone pictures taken during the 10 hour rainstorm which decide to drop by to help!


In the end, after donations from Buildbase WSM,Barclays , Homebase,Hutton Garden Centre (Thanks former pupil Lucy Capstick!) and Ace and Worle skips, the school has 2 raised beds, 1 weather station, runner beans,peppers,tomatoes,a bird feeder and a hose reel.They can recycle th kitchen scraps and shredded office paper in two compost bins and learn about leaves,flowers and scents with a selection of plants including a wide range of herbs and a lovely Redbud tree.
More details to follow, once my aching body recovers!