Tag Archives: Treasure Hunt

Pirates Come To Cornwall

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I’m a bit short on words today so my pictures will have to tell the story. I missed a few activities and didn’t get shots of everything, but I think you’ll be able to see that the children seemed to have a great time at the party yesterday. I was amazed watching them play in a place so beautiful and so close to where we live. I run past this spot which is just off the Camel trail. I can’t imagine what it must be like to grow up with all this nature around them.

If you closely at this photo, you can see ducks in the river and cows in the meadow.

The river is to the left in this shot of the tables and the field is a fine one for play. The woods in the distance were used to hide two of the treasure boxes.

The bottle with the map was hidden near these rocks which are across from the picnic tables.

Here comes the first wave of pirates with John and Jersey Girl joining in the procession.

A little snack before the work of treasure hunting begins.

Pirate Queen  ‘Miss S’

Pirates making a plan.

Finding the map.

Opening the bottle to get to the treasure map.

Finding one of three hidden treasure boxes.

The littlest pirate waits for a hand while the others follow the map to search the ferns.

You can see the gold and silver find in the ‘crystal’ box in the pirates hand.

Time for some video before moving on.

These two were the first ones in the water.

Then the girls began to edge around it too.

Muddy, you don’t know muddy until you’ve played with these two.

Here’s a couple of pirate moms taking a seat across from the river where the pirates are getting muddy and wet.

One of John looking a bit sea going himself.

One of a few games that they played although I’m not sure what they doing.

This is the book and clue I mentioned yesterday which led them to the treasure map. I’ll be a bit more chatty when I’ve recovered from the week.  Thanks for your interest in the party and I hope the photographs give you a sense of the afternoon.

Wanted – Treasure Hunters & Map Readers

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Captain Pete was a pirate who sailed far and wide

and like other pirates had something to hide.

After taking the treasure from ships passing by

he buried it deep in the Cornish countryside.

There’s a river they call the Camel I hear

it was there he would go when trouble was near.

So dig if you must or look for a map,

with so much time past, he’s not coming back.

If you search near the river, you’ll find an old bottle or box

it’s there I’ve heard tell, tucked deep in the rocks.

With an old map to guide you, there’ll be nothing to fear

just use it to help you find all he held dear.

Today is our last full day with Jersey Girl and we’ve planned a little pirate themed party along the river with some children from the village. I’m putting the last touches on the treasure map and I created the little verse above that will be written in a moment on some coffee stained paper I baked in the oven yesterday. I plan to tuck it in an old copy of Treasure Island and let the children read it at the river after we discover it hidden in the pages of the book.

I’ve been busy baking and making a variety of yummy treats and to use as a treasure in boxes of sweets … oops, sorry about that, I just can’t seem to stop rhyming. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow just wait and see, there’ll no more bad rhymes, written by me.  Arguh!

Somebody stop me, I can’t help myself

perhaps I should leave the children’s books on the shelf.

I’ve become quite addicted, with no self-control

All this rhyming and writing has taken its hold.

I may need a clinic, a place I can stay

like the Betty Ford one I’ve heard people say,

is the place they would go if they got carried away.

It ‘s not about drugs or drinking too much,

it’s wordstuck I am and losing my touch.

For my old way of writing the things I would say,

‘ Hello, can you help me, I’ve quite lost my way.’

My addiction to rhyming has overwhelmed me so

I think I shall need one of those places to go.

I’ve forgotten all the things that I used to know,

all the grownup worries that bothered me so.

They disappeared with the diet I’ve struggled to keep,

it’s like that you know when children stay for a week.

After Jersey Girl sadly leaves us tomorrow,

I’ll go back to plain living with words that will follow.

A boring old grownup with games still to play

I’ll pack them all up for the next rainy day.

When John and I sit inside staying dry

I might make up a story, I’ll be tempted to try.

It will be fun to remember I’m sure you’ll agree,

as we sort through the photos from our week with JG.

We’ll laugh and remember how she was with us in May

and plan for the next time, our Jersey Girl comes to stay.

Thanks to all of you who joined us for our week of fun. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more from our day, but no more rhymes I promise, when I’m having my say. Oops! There I go again. It’s pitiful really, I mean it’s like I’m channeling a bad version of Dr Seuss.

Budding Director Captures The Moment

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Look closely at the image below and you should be able to see two figures in the distance, one in red and one in blue. If you can’t see them, click on the image to make it larger and if after that you still can’t see them, go get your glasses and give it another try.

Okay, now for the brief backstory … John and I took Jersey Girl down to the river today so I could decide where to hide the clues for my treasure hunt on Wednesday. As I was taking pictures of hiding places and counting off paces and writing down the details needed for creating a treasure map, I happened to look up and notice that in the distance there was something happening that looked kind of interesting. So I snapped a series of photographs that after viewing I just had to share.

When we first walked through the meadow, I tried to teach JG how to hold a blade of grass between her thumbs and blow on to make a series of bird sounds. After working our way through multiple blades of grass with little success, we decided to try again later. When I saw JG with John’s video camera in hand, I knew that John was probably putting the lesson on tape.

Seeing him lift his hands up and hearing him make a few sounds that sounded a bit like a squawk confirmed what I had been thinking and I was glad that I had managed to catch their cute interaction if only from a distance.

The shot below was the one I couldn’t see clearly due to the distance, but by some bit of luck I managed to snap the image of a little budding director giving her granddad the thumbs up sign signaling a successful capture.

I can almost hear her saying, ” Got it, well done, Bapa. “

While the pictures above make me chuckle at the easy confident interaction I’ve witnessed many times between them, it’s the one below that makes my heart feel tender. I haven’t see the video JG made of her Bapa today, but from the look on their faces while reviewing the footage, I think it will certainly be something to remember.