Marathon

On Sunday we went to watch one of my mum's friends run a marathon. It was a 26 miles long!

"How does she manage to keep running all the way?," I wondered. 

To see her running, we first took the train to Canary Warf.  The station was crowded and full of people wearing shirts with names of charities across them. There was also a lady singing. She was very good.

 There were people in weird and funny costumes and it took ages before we finally saw my mum's friend. She looked really tired and didn't notice us when we shouted her name.

Later on, we took the train to Monument. This time, she saw us and her face lit up. She ran faster after that.

When the marathon was over, she actually smiled. I really don't think I would have been able to smile if I'd just run all that way. She did look tired, though. Very tired. She said that her legs and tummy were sore and that she needed to curl up in bed when she got home.

Camping in Devon

When we came back from the retreat, there were still a few more days left in the Easter holidays, so we went camping in Devon. Our campsite was very near Bantham Beach. So near that we went to the seaside every single day. There were rock pools and seaweed and all kinds of shells, stones and glass from bottles lying on the sandy the beach. On one of the days of our stay, we went to The Secret Cove. The secret cove is a hidden part of the beach with clear blue water, like in the advertisments for Tunisia and Cyprus. There were also rocks that we could dive off, but we didn't go swimming because the water was too cold.

At our  campsite, near where our white bell tent was pitched, was a fire pit. We all collected firewood for us to burn, and toasted marshmallows and made s'mores. The s'mores were delicious, and so was the other food we had there.

We met up with some of my mum's friends a few times, because we don't get to see them very often. One of her friends has a little dog who chased a rabbit at our campsite from under a bush. Another has an African snail and a few stick insects. One baby stick insect escaped and she had to put it back its tank.

We arrived back home late at the end of the camping trip, and went straight to bed. 

Buddhist retreat

In the Easter holidays, we went to a Buddhist retreat in Nottingham for five days. Thich Nhat Hanh was leading the retreat. The children listened to his talks in the mornings and then left to play games in the groups they were put in. The adults stayed to listen to more of his talks, and then went off in their groups.

All the meals that were served were vegeterian, because Buddhists don't eat meat. The adults' meals were vegan, too. I did notice that there wasn't any meat, but I didn't really miss eating it. We had to eat in silence, and think about where our food came from, and appreciate it. Every so often, a mindfulness bell would sound and we'd all put down our cutlery and focus on our breathing. The mindfulness bell would also ring at other times.

I made more friends than I thought I would. When we were playing games, we always wanted to be put in each other's groups and always sat next to each other. My sister also made a few friends.

Most of the games we played were about concentration, because the whole retreat was about being mindful, but most of the other things we did were just for fun, like going swimming. We also had the oppurtunity to take the two promises. The two promises are vows about respecting other beings. There were forms that we had to fill in to show why we wanted to take the promises. I filled mine in at the last minute because before I had been really busy in my free time. My mum and a friend's mum helped me think about what to say in it.

Me and my sister would like to have a mindfulness bell at home, so we will remember to focus on our breathing. We would like to go to Plum Village as well.