This week Storycorner was all about seeds. We are embracing spring time and celebrating this time of growth and expectation.

We had two great stories. One story followed the journey of a tiny seed which despite the odds grew into a magnificent giant flower.  The other story was about a magic seed that turned into a tree of wonders.
Then we made some bird feeders made of seeds and hung them up on a Bivouac tree.
Come explore the trees around the Bivouac cafe for some good bird watching – try to spot them munching on their tasty treats!

Sannah x

A great evening with friends and families filling the beautiful Cafe Barn

The Cafe was cosy with candles lit around the room, the fire roaring and the sound of laughter between friends and family. What a great atmosphere!

Our lovely Quiz Master Ian Whittaker took stage with his microphone, laptop and lovely assistant to welcome everybody to the quiz and gave out out our answer booklets. The quiz was divided in to eight rounds; Numbers in the answers, food and drink, famous faces, British geography, the arts, what comes next, general knowledge and music.
Everyone got their drinks, finished eating their hearty pie, chips and peas and the quiz began.

These were the 7 teams:Sean and the sheep, The dogs dinner, Femdom, Adults, The glamour moon pigs, Ilton cum potters and The Kids!

We came second!!! ... second from last place. I must admit, I only knew one answer to the whole quiz but thankfully everyone else on my team did a lot better than me!!! 

Well done to Sean and the sheep’s team! You beat everybody with a whopping score of 113 out of 160!!!

I hope to see everyone again on the next quiz night, Elise my lovely colleague will be taking stage on the 22nd Feb- Don’t miss out!!

What a treat…...

Sat 9th Feb…. a date we have been looking forward to. A rare day out for us girls at Biv…. Amber, Emilie and Beth left our hill for the day and headed down into Masham to the ArtisOn studio. We have been wanting to join in on some ArtisOn action for ages… And when this chance came up, we grabbed it!
Silversmithing! We signed up for a ring making course for the day, making two rings with the intention of giving these away to our loved one for valentines day! The honest truth is, we ditched that idea and made our own… Well….. If you can’t spoil yourself every now and then….
What a wonderful day ... From start to finish we were utterly pampered. The bright, colourful and warm space instantly puts you at ease and made us feel welcome. Gaynor and Sue hosted the space so well, offering home-made treats, refreshments and a gorgeous lunch - we honestly could not have asked for more. All day you felt able to have a snack or drink - which is so important when you have us three girls, one with a bad cold, one eight months pregnant and the other who just needs the blood sugar regularly topped up!
Our course tutor was wonderful. How she managed to get eight of us to finish two rings each I will never know! She was fun, relaxed, helpful, clear and she made our nerves wash away. It was great to have a laugh with the other ladies in our group too, from all over the country which was a nice added interest.
When Cheryl almost set her sister’s hair on fire and set off Braxton hix contractions for our mum to be… We all fell about laughing…. Such a relaxing day out, we didn’t think about anything but what we were doing on the workshop.
Thank you ArtisOn for a wonderful experience. We are already looking at more of your gorgeous creative courses for our next girls day out!
Just a few miles from Bivouac…. This place is WELL worth a visit.

Another amazing evening at Bivouac

Last Saturday the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and I was working on the bar for the first time with the bar manager Bee (the cocktail queen)! We had set up for the evening at 7pm when people started arriving. I had put all the seating and tables filtering out of the cafe on to the veranda and court yard so guests could sit out in the sun with their refreshing drinks listening to Lizzie sing. 10 minutes later the weather turned from lush sunshine to a rain storm, we all tried grabbing everything from outside, the lights were flickering and we were left with only candle light for a few minutes.
People starting coming in fast and we had a full cafe by 7:30pm ready for Lizzie to start, the large glass doors were shut and it felt so cosy and warm inside the barn with candles lit on all the surfaces. Looking through the glass to lightning and rain we listened to Lizzie’s acoustic set. As soon as she started the whole barn fell to silence, her voice was beautiful and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
This was Lizzie’s first gig on her own without her band playing with her, singing recognised songs with a twist; my favourite was the theme tune of Prince of Bellaire! Lizzie has also written a lot of the songs she sang which were all beautiful.

Can’t wait for the next gig now! Only a week to go…

Next week we are having a Yorkshire night with a big Yorkshire buffet and the one and only Roger Davies, an entertaining contemporary folk singer/songwriter!

The gig is on Saturday 28th July at 7:30pm, priced at £20 (buffet included).

The old saying “you can take the man out of Yorkshire but you can’t take Yorkshire out of the man” certainly applies to Roger Davies.

Like a modern day musical L.S. Lowry, Roger Davies writes songs that celebrate the places and people he has grown up with, having been born and raised in Brighouse. (The West Yorkshire town is renowned for its world famous Brighouse & Rastrick Band with whom Roger collaborated on his previous album The Busker)
 
Roger began to draw upon his love of Yorkshire as the inspiration for his songs while living in Brighton between 2005/2006. Here he underwent a bout of homesickness so acute he soon returned to his hometown and began composing songs such as Brighouse on Saturday Night, Huddersfield Town, Peter Brook’s Paintings, Bradford Girl, White Roses and Into the Sun which have helped Roger to establish himself as one of today’s most entertaining contemporary folk singer songwriters.

Many of Roger’s songs are set in and around his native West Yorkshire, as he explains; “I need a backdrop, a landscape in which to place my characters and stories in order to make them believable, which of course they should be because I only use true stories and real experiences as the basis for my songs in the first place.”

Come and relax with friends and family with great food and entertainment for the evening.

Please ring 01765535020 to book your tickets now!

Nature, Nurture or Trauma?

• What effects do a child’s early experiences have on their ability to learn and ‘succeed’ in life?
• Why do some children struggle and fail to even begin to tap into their potential?
• Why do some children’s behaviours appear to be ‘out of control’?
• How can teachers, support staff, parents, carers and others help to make a difference?

This inspiring and practical workshop, led by experts in the field of Early Trauma and Attachment will look at and answer these questions and more, which will give greater understanding, confidence and skills in working with vulnerable children and students.

There will be fresh new insights based on the latest research on brain development and trauma as well as practical strategies which can be immediately implemented to help in working and living more successfully with the most challenging children and young people.

Previous delegates have immediately been able to begin applying the learning’s, seeing valuable improvements including greater understanding, more harmony and rapport between pupils and staff in schools and enhanced relationships within social environments.

This workshop will particularly benefit Teachers, SENCO’s, Learning Support Mentors, Nursery School Staff, Social Workers, Youth Workers, Police, Doctors, Health Visitors, Family Solicitors and those working in charities and other agencies as well as parents and foster carers.

‘Children are not slates from which the past can be rubbed by a duster or sponge, but humans profoundly affected by what has gone before.’  John Bowlby (1951)

FRIDAY 22nd JUNE 2012
BIVOUAC, ILTON, MASHAM, N YORKS
9.30am – 3.30pm
COST : £60 to include lunch
For further information contact Ruth or to book contact Bivouac 01765 535020
or Ruth Adams – 07946 612480 www.in-your-element.co.uk   ruth@in-your-element.co.uk