Shepherds Alive : July 2013

Mum's toes that I did last summer. I was very pleased with
them but I've got even better since!

In my spare time, when I'm not either taking photos and helping out with the blogs 'Jacob and Jamie', 'Zaxon Carpentry' and 'Liberty and Frank' or doing my own and plenty of other things to keep me busy, I like to pretty people's nails. (There are a few photos below of some of the nail art that I've done.)

Mum said "Wow, if you want to feel 20 years younger, paint your toes and add a flower!"

Liberty's were purple with a pink line going across

And Talitha's little ladybird!

And my nail art. Rhiannon went to the beauticians in town a little while ago and I went with her to see what they'd be doing. I got loads of tips and neat tricks and the beautician said for me to practise nail art on fake nails, (that's how she practises!) so here's some that I've done like that. They also said that O.P.I nail varnish is the best, so I'm yet to buy some of that as that is what they use too. I think it would be so cool to one day have my own name brand of cosmetics. I'd even find naming all my different colours fun! I think my favourite makeup artist so far (apart from my Mum!) is Bobbie Brown. I like the fact that she focuses on natural beauty rather than using makeup as a new face mask. She thinks that every female is pretty, just some need a little more help than others. I totally agree. It's also getting the person to believe they're pretty too.

My nail art in the order of when I did them. You may not be able to see that clearly but on the 4th one in from
the left it has some blue flicks in the right corner.

For my birthday I got three new nail polish colours actually! One Gold, a Teal Green colour and a sparkley pink/purple all of which I wanted! Rhiannon also bought me a makeup set to practise with and that too had a pretty light pink colour in it.
Just the other week Rhiannon kindly bought me a new bright green one too!

Last but not least, my Photography!

Mum's most recent design.

And a few of you know that I do photography already but you may not have seen this... National Trust Photography Competition - Charis Shepherd. I was very pleased as you can imagine as my photo of Magdalene as 'The Sugar Plum Fairy' was chosen as the winner in the 'Highly Commended Catagory' in the 11-16 section! It was printed in the following National Trust Magazine too!
I also take the photos for JED's blogs, Zac's blog, and Liberty's blog and I film the Brotherhood Music Videos. I also film & edit the Liberty and Frank painting videos. I would one day love to make an official proper movie or be part of one somehow! I think that would be so much fun!

I think I have Mum, quite taken with flowers now!

Charis

P.S. I've now done the Union Jack design and I think it worked! And here are some more recent nails I've done...

We had a friend come and stay with us for a while so I did her nails for her. The first time I did a pink base with green and yellow spots on one hand and on the other I did a green base with pink and yellow stripes. The second time I did the same on the right hand but instead on the stripes, I did a green base with pink and yellow spots. They looked quite groovey!

The green base...

The pink spots...

Now painting on the yellow

This is the second post of our trip to Duxford. This time, we've got my photos and some of our favourite things about the day.

We learnt so much about flight at Duxford. It seems incredible that in such a short space of time, it went from people like the Wright Brothers to supersonic jets! Some of the huge air crafts looked like they'll never get off the ground, let alone fly!

Our Family's thoughts of the day!

JIM:- "I enjoyed going inside Concorde, it was narrower than I thought it would be.
The B52 was much bigger than I thought too. It was a great place and I would love to get a pilots licence now. Out of 10, I'd give it 9, as we didn't get to go in the flight simulator (as that was an extra cost) I would make that free of charge."

Liberty:- "Did you know that in Concorde you have to use 657 dials and digits while in the air?! I learnt a lot of things about air flow and steering in the "hands on" area. It was nice to see the old planes being renovated and used. I would give it 9/10."

Dad, Rhiannon, Liberty and Berea inside one of the planes

JED:- "The American hanger with B-52 was brilliant - it was as if they put the building together around the plane! Seeing the SR-71, more commonly known as Blackbird, was really cool too. In the Ground Warfare hanger there was a display on the D'day landings. The entrance to it was one of the boats the infantry used to cross the channel with surround sound hidden in it so it really took you by surprise!"

Nathanael:- "I counted over 60 mannequins, some looked so real it was hard to tell, you just had to stare at them for a while to see if they moved or not! I Iiked going under the tanks. I was amazed at all the buttons in the cockpits, there were hundreds! I liked seeing all the different colours of planes and designs. I liked seeing all the planes hanging up and the ones you could walk under. I would say 9/10."

Rhiannon:- "I really liked the display of the WW2 D-day landing exhibition with the sound effects over head. Also, amongst the bombed out areas and trenches they had even put some poppies growing. The vibrant red stood out against the barbed wire and rubble. Lest we forget indeed! I have had a great interest in the history of WW2 . My favourite books of this era would include...

"To plant you a lilac tree"

"I have lived a 1,000 years"

"The Hiding place"

"Under a war torn sky"

"To see you again"

"Defiance"

"Never again"

"Sarah's key"

and many, many more. I have been writing one myself for several years now. Watch this space!"

Magdalene:- "I saw a film there of a man with wood under his arms which he thought would make him fly. He crashed and died so they had to make a better one. I like going inside the planes and seeing where the pilot sat..I liked all the films, seeing how they learned to fly. I liked pushing and pulling all the levers too."

Rhiannon with Magdalene and Berea

Mum:- "I really enjoyed this day as all of them had so much fun. Especially Tom and JIM. I was very touched seeing the WW2 exhibition of the houses bombed and reduced to rubble. They had depicted a family home in ruins with toys and a pram and a kitchen all scattered and smashed. I felt incredibly thankful for my family's safety, home and peace.
It was a great place for pushchairs too with lifts (elevators) etc. That always helps.
I did, however, especially miss the little train ride between the hangers. The younger ones always loved the train!"

Zac:- "The land warfare was a great experience and I fully respect the brave Men and Women who served their country. My favourite planes would have been the Gloucester Gladiators, or the Sopwith Camel of WW1. It was fascinating to see the history of flight and how pilots mastered such amazing machines of the air."

Talitha:- "I learnt that the Wright Brothers were the first people to make a plane, as soon as we got back I got a book about them to learn more. I am not really a fan of planes but it was exciting seeing all of them. I like the little ones best, some were so big you did not know you were really walking under a plane until you looked up. It took 5 miles to walk the whole place and it felt like we were there for two days. It was exciting seeing some planes land and take off. Out of 10, I'll give it 9."

Ike:- "My favourite part, was the restoration hanger, where private owners can restore these fantastic, early, primitive, planes back to their original state. As I work on cars, I can completely understand the time, effort and money that goes into these large costly projects.
My hats off to the re-builders! Also, the Normandy landing exhibition. I have always liked that part of the war, simply because of the genius behind it. My heart goes to the Grandsons and Daughters who's grandparents they never knew, that fought at Normandy."

Berea:- "I liked the green aeroplane and the cars and tanks and the caterpillar tyres. I liked dressing up and playing WW2 when we got home."

Tom:- "Having been to Duxford many years ago, it felt quite special to have had the chance to go back. Many things have changed since visiting before and so much money has been spent on advancing facilities, exhibitions, and obviously the planes and hangars. There are a lot more aircraft at many museums now and Duxford has been sure to not be an exception to this. It would be easy to spend two maybe three days going round and I think I definitely could to feel I properly appreciated all there was to see!
My favourite part of the day would have to be going in Concorde's cockpit which we were quite fortunate to be able to as normally it is blocked off. Joe kindly got me a picture in it too.

Not to forget seeing the TRS2 there which was quite a surprise! What an amazing aircraft. Makes me appreciate older planes all the more and realise that we haven't got an edge which we used to have considering they were built so long ago and how well they flew.

In a way that made the day something that it wouldn't have been otherwise, I was really happy to get a picture of Mum with a helmet and .25 machine gun!! I always thought she was a good picture of a soldier and I wasn't wrong!
The only thing that I thought was a bit of a shame was seeing some of the things that I have fond memories of from going before are no longer there. Health and safety I think might have something to do with it as the park was no longer there, but then the hangar had been enlarged over the space. The park that is there now though is for children up to nine and still has a lot of artificial foam which I never knew growing up! Things have changed from when I was younger that's for sure. The train that used to take people around isn't there either and as a large family we wouldn't fit in the mini buses they use now. A mini bus takes the fun out of it anyway!! I felt distinctly that they've monopolised on the school groups visiting and this has changed a few things there giving it an air of a business/education approach. Aside from that it's still a fantastic day out and I look forward to taking my kids there one day and making myself feel like a midget next to the B-52 again!"

Dad:- "The best thing about having such a great bunch of varied aged children is seeing each of them enjoying particular favourite bits of days out. Duxford is no exception. Watching the children have fun in their own different ways is one of the joys of parenthood.

I suppose the biggest disappointment was that the old playground had gone - it really used to be so much fun.Also, the old basic 'hands-on' section has been upgraded a hundred thousand fold to supposedly satisfy the scientific needs of older school kids (who to be honest did not seem that interested anyway from what we saw). The old bit was much more child-friendly. The old wooden puzzles are sorely missed by younger children!

Having said that I am still in awe of the size of the B52 and how it even got into the hangar. You cannot fathom the size of the thing until you are up close to it. It does make you think 'how on earth does this get off the ground?' The WWII section with all the tanks and D-Day bit was good too. Very full , good value day out however, 7/10."

Joe:-
"For me WWI and II are interesting because of it's history, but it feels closer than say the middle ages. It seems more real, and visiting Duxford just made it that little bit closer. While I have a admiration for planes and people who fly, the land army museum was most interesting.
The American Hanger was the highlight as it had the largest aircraft on base and it also had a Huey Aquarius (helicopter). I love Hueys."
Great day out: 7.5/10

And me, Charis:- "And my favourite bit had to be the part on WW 1 & 2. I think they did a great job at 're-creating' in a way, the D'day landings, the homes that had been destroyed and all the tanks and cool trucks. That was a great experience being there! It was also incredible to be able to see a pair of one of our soldier's boots that had been worn and used to serve our country. It's amazing how they have managed to keep them in such good condition after all those years! Getting really squished in the lift was funny too." (see photo below!)

Hope you all like the rest of the photos!