Half Term Fun for the Family

Whether it's been a long term or you can't quite believe it's half term already, you'll be due a break. The run from Christmas can be quite a slow one, and with the cold weather and dark days, it can feel quite draining. The same goes for the kids; it's been a long slog at school and they're ready for a holiday. That can can often mean the parents don't end up getting much of a break, so we've collected a few ideas of how to keep the kids (and adults!) entertained this half term.

Stoneywords writing competition

Stony Stratford's literary festival comes to it's close this weekend, and if you've not been involved with the event over the last couple of weeks, you've got a couple more opportunities to do so before it comes to an end.

Stonywords was started in 1995 to help brighten up some of those dark wintry days. There has been a collection of literacy themed activities, including talks, quizzes, exhibitions, poetry and more, and there is still a competition to get involved with before the event comes to an end.

A running competition which has been taking place throughout the festival is the 'History mystery', a short story writing competition focusing on what may have happened to the Stony Stratford town charter.

History says that King John rode into Stony Stratford on the 19th February 1215 and at some point around that time he signed a charter giving Stony its township status. However, there appears to be no historical evidence of such a charter, so the truth is unknown... 800 years have gone by, and it is time for you to decide what really happened.

The competition gives the chance for individuals to decide what happened for themselves, and create a short story as to what may have happened to the Stony Stratford town charter. The competition is open for entries until 9th February, and there is a 2000 word limit. Email submissions to stony800celebrations@gmail.com or via a competition box in the library. There are three categories, under 12's, under 18's and over 18's. The winner will be announced on the weekend of the 21st-22nd February, at York House's Cock and Bull Beer festival.

MK Library Events

You may just think of them as a place to borrow books from, but the Libraries in Milton Keynes also have a whole host of activities and events taking place for all the family to get involved with, which you may not have known about. See below for a selection of activities and events taking place over the next month at the local libraries, the majority of which are free and are well worth taking a look at.

Rock and fossil fun day on Saturday 31st January, 11am-3pm. Come along and explore some geological treasures with The Bucks Earth Heritage Group in the event space at the Central Library, Milton Keynes.

Harry Potter book night at Newport Pagnell Library. Thursday 5th February from 4-5pm. Come along and celebrate all things Harry Potter. Dress code is wizarding robes, Harry Potter fancy dress or your best muggle attire! Come and join in the Treasure hunt to test your skills as a Finder or take part in a quiz on the wizarding world. Recommended for children aged 7 and over. Tickets are available from Newport Pagnell Library.

Tuesday 10th February is 'Bring your own book' night at Newport Pagnell Library. Do you have a book you'd love to share with others? This is a new monthly book chat group where you can have an informal chat about what you love to read. Tea and coffee will be supplied.

'Swimming with Ichthyosaurs' on Thursday 12th February from 6.30-7.30pm at Central Library, Milton Keynes. A talk about Milton Keynes' very own Ichthyosaur by Mike Palmer, the Curator at Bucks County museum. He will explore the Caldecotte Ichthyosaur from 150 million years ago to the present day and look at other marine animals which lived alongside it. The talk will be followed by a question and answer session. Tickets are required in advance at £2 and are available from the Library.

Special story times for children under 5 with Red Phoenix Storytelling and Productions. From 2-2.30pm at Newport Pagnell library on Friday 13th February.

'Meet the keeper' at Central Library, Milton Keynes on Thursday 26th February. Mike Palmer, Curator at Bucks County museum, brings a hands-on display of rocks and fossils and talks about a variety of natural history exhibition pieces from the Bucks county museum collections. Come along for free between 10am and 2pm to find out more.

There's lots to get involved in over the next few weeks at the Libraries, for more information visit the Libraries website.

'Tell a fairy tale day'

For adults and children alike, fairytales have a special place in many of our hearts, and some of them are even aimed at the adults- a little bit too scary for the kids! Today is tell a fairy tale day, whether or not this tends to be implemented in schools or libraries I don't know, but I can imagine these would be the places to celebrate the day! For those of you with kids it might be the opportunity to get out some of the old-school fairytales or opt for the more modern day film versions of one of them!

Fairytales go back for centuries, originating as tales which were dramatically told or enacted rather than written into books, and the idea of telling such stories has carried on through the ages. The Brothers Grimm were the first to actually put the fairytales down into book form, in a way of trying to preserve the plot and characters of the stories. They initially collected German fairy tales, and later went on to re-write many of them to change them more into stories than folk tales.

Called fairy tales because of their inclusion of fantasy creatures, the term is perhaps a bit looser today than it was, but the stories typically include fairies, trolls, goblins, elves, dwarves, giants, witches etc. So it should be easy to find a tale with one of them in, have a read and enjoy tell a fairy tale day, or why not use your imagination and invent your own! (or get the kids to!)