Half Term Spying

This is what we were invited to on the first day of Half Term – a Spy Workshop based on Johnny English Reborn…which we had all seen and loved. What wasn’t to like?
The event was held at the Film Museum, a VERY cold (and new) institution at the old County Hall which charges about £15 entry, but this event was being held outside the Museum in some wood panelled antechamber under the shadow of the London Eye. It was all rather odd, and felt slightly underpowered, although the children were quite entranced by the notion of an invitation to something special, and possibly VIP in nature. “Is Rowan Atkinson going to be here?” asked the youngest. Ahem, I doubt it. In the end, the morning had a talk from one of the special effects honchos from the film and gave us a chance to see some ‘behind the scenes’ shots of the stunts in the movie, such as Rowan Atkinson on a motor powered wheelchair and his very tolerant stunt double who managed to get injured while going under some planks, limbo style, on the same. “I’d like to be a stunt double” said the eldest. Far too dangerous in my view.

Spy gadgets on the bus

After the presentations, the children made their own ‘spy gadgets’, which in our case consisted of some old CDs and that ever trusty craft perennial, the pipe cleaner, used to shoot poison into all assailants…here are the youngest two showing them off on the bus home.

Back at home the urge to create had not abandoned us however and so afterwards, Honey made these little pouches, one for my Kindle and one for her brother’s Ipod Touch.

Home made pouches

So simple – just cut out a pattern from newspaper, make sure you have some sort of lining (we used a quilt inside to line it) and make sure the template is slightly, well quite a lot, bigger than the item itself, because children do use an awful lot of seam allowance. But it kept them absorbed all afternoon during which time I made, and ate, about two dozen shortbread biscuits…ooh the delights of half term….