A Visit to Cannon Hall Farm

Hello my friends,

Today my best friend took us on an adventure to Cannon Hall Farm.

Here we are! Can you see Cannon Hall at the top of the hill?

Behind the building is a wonderful farm with a lot of animals and an adventure playground.

My friend was really lucky because she got to hold an owl just like Hedwig from the Harry Potter films.

We made a new friend. Her name was Daisy the cow!!

My friend showed us how to milk a Yorkshire cow (but only a pretend one).

We got to see lots of baby animals. This one is a goat.

All the sheep in this pen are pregnant and will have their babies in the next few weeks.

These are some baby sheep. They have only just been born. Awww they are so cute! My friend even got to stroke one. Its wool felt soft and velvety.

While we were waiting for the sheep race to begin we bought a ticket for the one we thought would win. If you are wondering which colour won, click below and you will find out.

Cannon Hall has a big and exciting adventure playground.

My friend took us to the top of one of the climbing frames and we slid back down a long slide.

Although the day was cold, we still managed to eat a tasty Fab lolly together.  We really did have a fantastic time at Cannon Hall.

You can click on the hot spot below to visit the website and look at more of the animals.

Cannon Hall Farm

Lots of happy hugs being sent your way,

from Nica and Smarandita xxx

Pancake Day

Hello friends,

Today it is Shrove Tuesday in the United Kingdom. It is also known as Pancake Day.

It is the last day before Lent, a period of time when Christians give up certain foods. Traditionally, people in the UK would make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, so they can use up all of their fat, butter and eggs.

Nowadays, people sometimes give up a food that they enjoy. It could be chocolate, sweets or biscuits.

It is fun trying to flip the pancakes in the frying pan. Here is the Duchess of Cambridge having a go!

I thought you might like to have a go so i have sent you the recipe. They taste delicious (especially with chocolate).

How to make pancakes

Ingredients

•   110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
•   pinch of salt
•   2 eggs
•   200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
•   50g/2oz butter
•   caster sugar
•   lemon juice
•   lemon wedge

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. Now make a hole in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs and a small amount of flour.
3. Gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking. Don't worry about any lumps as they will disappear as you whisk.
4. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in.
5. Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 tbsp of batter into a 18cm/7in pan.  It should take only half a minute or so to cook.  You can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's a golden colour.
6. Flip the pancake over with a knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
7. To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar. Or you can add some chocolate, honey or fruit.

Out on the playground in the UK

Hello our friends at home in Romania and all our friends around Europe,

We have been having lots of fun getting to know the children in United Kingdom. They have some nice trips planned for us us over the next few weeks.

We have noticed the children work very hard in their lessons. Here we are practicing our English reading. We were finding out about how diamonds are made.  Is everybody working hard at home?

Everyday the children get some play time. They have 15 minutes in the morning to play outside. They also have the same in the afternoon.

Here is Smarandita with some of her new friends. I had to take their picture.

 The children in the UK are extremely lucky. They have wonderful playground markings. A few years ago they had a summer celebration. The parents, teachers and children raised money to pay for the games on the playground. I enjoyed playing hopscotch!

The target game is great fun. I scored 50 points!

Here we are playing the maze game! I was really happy to find Smarandita in the middle.

I also watched the boys and girls play football. They have a special competition in school.Whichever class has the best attendance wins an extra football session at the end of the week.

Here we are lining up, ready to go back inside school. Didn't we look sensible at the front of the line?

We are now getting ready for some fun events.  Next week we will be working with an Ipad artist and we are going on a class trip to Shibden Hall, a tudor house in Halifax.

See you soon! We are looking forward to coming home in May!

Love Nica x (and Smarandita x)

New Friends For US!

Hello friends at home,

Here we are in Sardinia. Giovanna has just introduced us to the teachers from the new school we will be visiting.  We are pleased to announce that soon we will be on our way to the United Kingdom with Mrs Moody and Mrs Stott.

Mrs Stott has promised us some tasty Yorkshire puddings with roast beef when we arrive home on Sunday night. Yum - we love trying new European foods.

Happy Greetings from Nica and Smarandita xxx

St. Anthony celebrations

We are learning a lot about Sardinian culture!

On the 16th and 17th January, in several Sardinian towns  will be celebrated the S.Antonio Abate's day and the suggestive fires lit up the night. The celebrations mark the beginning of the one of the most important events in Sardinia: the traditional Carnival. The typical Sardinian masks show up for the first time in the year and all around the bonfires there will be dances and songs together with a good glass of wine. 
After the blessing of the wood, the fire flares up and lights up the night, the flashing goes up to the sky and seems to mingle with the stars: then people gather, dance and  drink the best wine and eat the sweets made for the occasion.
In some towns , as the fire burns out and the wood starts to cool a bit, people get the black embers with the hands and it could happen that somebody fondles your face with hands dirty of soot...don't worry it means that they are wishing you good luck. 
In other places, especially where the fire is lit as a votive offering, people keep the embers as relics wich should turn away the bad luck.

La Befana a Ghilarza

   Celebration  of the Epiphany can be traced as far back as the 13th century and is one of the most popular Italian feasts.  Children of today know Befana as an old witch who flies a broom and wears a black shawl, with a dress underneath dirty with soot from the chimneys she climbs down to deliver her gifts. For the good children she brings sweets, toys and books. For the ill-behaved children, she brings onions, garlic and coal.

The Legend of La Befana

The legend tells that the three Kings, on the night between the 5th and 6th of January, wanted to visit baby Jesus. They walked all night carrying presents with them. They became lost and knocked at a door of an old woman’s house, the house of La Befana.

They asked Befana which way they had to go to find Jesus and if she could come with them to Bethlehem. Befana gave them the right directions but she refused to go as she had lots of things to do at home.

After that, however, she regretted saying no to their request. So she made lots of cakes and walked outside her home. She offered cakes to all the children she met on her way, hoping one of them were Jesus. Since then, Befana brings gifts to all the children.