Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

20th April 2018

Build a garden pizza oven, spot swallows, cook with blossom, have an inclusive St George's Day, party with Shakespeare!

Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

20th April 2018

Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

20th April 2018

EVENT Happy Bard-Day
It’s Shakespeare’s birthday! The annual parade and celebrations in Stratford-Upon-Avon are a mixture of the extremely traditional – wreaths are placed and town criers call for three cheers for the bard – with the more creative; head to Henley Street for junk music, circus skills and balloon sculpting workshops or to the RSC for free perfomances, pageants and stage fighting demos. For 50p, you can even cross the Avon using the chain ferry, while listening to live performances of poetry. There’s free entry into all Shakespeare’s family homes in the town for all CV37 residents with proof of address, and kids go free to the RSC’s exhibition The Play’s The Thing on Saturday.

LEARN and MAKE Swoop-ee!
One of the most cheering sights of the year is the swoop of the first swallows to return back to the UK, arcing into the warming air, and marking the start of late spring. Have you spotted your first one yet? Find out more about their treacherous journey from South Africa here. Want to encourage them to nest in your garage our outhouse? Try these tips - you could even try making your own nest. If you don’t spot any swallows, fold your own!

MAKE Pizza The Action
Building your own clay pizza oven in your back garden is a fun, cheap spring project – team up with a few friends and build one over a few weekends. An outdoor oven provides a fantastic focal point in your garden, and for family time; imagine summer evenings spent cooking and eating together or with friends. We’ve got a basic guide here

LEARN, COOK, MAKE In Bloom
It seems that Spring has come all at once; the trees in our garden have burst into blossom. Head into the countryside to spot flowering trees and catkins (there’s a good guide here). Alternatively, try some of these blossom-related crafts to bring the bloomage indoors – we like the spring blossom fairy lights, flower crowns, and paper friendship bracelets. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, why not take a little blossom and use it in some recipes? This pickled magnolia blossom sounds interesting, or try making scented orange blossom jam.

EVENT Here Be Dragons
Partying on St George’s Day can be a minefield, but the festivities in Trafalgar Square are inclusive and celebratory, and this year embrace the Mayor’s #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign to tackle gender inequality – expect music from great female music artists, a tribute show to popular female music hall entertainers, and an all-women morris dancing troupe. There are also old-fashioned rides, great art workshops, and performances from the truly excellent Lions Part theatre company. If you’d prefer something more gentle, the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green is celebrating with brass bands, a sea shanty choir and arts and crafts. Meanwhile, this Brighton concert pays tribute to St George’s multicultural heritage.

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