Fleetwood, Singleton & Lytham Gala's

Our first outing with Princess Molly and Co was to Fleetwood Gala

We went to Lytham the next week. When re arrived we realised we had lost the back panel of the float on the way, which was really upsetting but we throw my crochet blanket over the back and carried on.

We were more than happy though when Molly got Best Princess!

It was so funny though, as Alex was carrying a big inflatable dolphin (one of the inflatables we bought for the kids to play with on the float,he refused to leave it behind and trailed after the retinue,one they had stopped for judging he was rolling around wrestling the dolphin in front of Molly! It was cute!

Such a hot day ice creams and a go on the fair 

Singleton Gala is a very small traditional gala, a walk from one end of the road to another, just the Queens,a band and the Singleton Cloggers,plus a few in fancy dress.

Then its on to a small field with stalls like tombolas and traditional games and a few little rides.  The retinues perform May pole dancing and every year i wounder if we should try it but it looks so complicated, i imagine trying to teach children that would be a nightmare! 

 They all look so lovely, when you are making the costumes it hard to imagine what they will look like when they are all together x

Princess Molly

Finally i have the time to post about this years Thornton Cleveleys Gala Princess, Princess Molly!  After 4 years Molly finally got chosen and she got Crowned Gala Princess. You have seen the float and the hours that it took to get it all ready, then we have been out weekend after weekend representing our area and i can safely say she loved every minute of it and the weeks that followed.

Mollys crown is the second one we bought and Paul picked this one and Molly agreed with him, so as it was gold, i decided to use gold with the pink. For her tayne, i bought these two gold appliques and some gold trim that went all the way around the trayne. I had wanted to bling it up a bit more and perhaps put her name on it, but it just looked right the way it was

Mollys dress the first time she tried it on!!!

I had bought a dress from e-bay for £50, as everything was so busy in the months leading up to the gala. Molly picked it online and when it arrived it was nothing like the picture and you could not fit a hoop under it,it was not well made at all. I was really disappointed. Then i noticed that the style of the dress was the same as one of the other Queens (but hers was really nice and well made!) so i decided to make Mollys dress myself. I got Molly to draw a picture of what she wanted and as we were watching Wizard of OZ that day, it was very much like Gindas the Good Witch, mainly she wanted big puffy sleeves and a big skirt!

I took her off the the fabric shop and we picked out a white chiffon with tiny gold stars on that i used for the skirt and stretchy white velvet, along with the Pink for the trayne. I was not sure at this stage how it would pan out, but it all cam together really well and i made it quite quickly really. I actually made a leotard that fastened underneath and the shirt was a circle and a half skirt (a full circle skirt with an extra side) to make it very twirly, and added a gold belt so you would not realize they were separate. I did them separate so  it was easy for her to go to the loo and get changed as more often than not at the galas they are all porta loos.

I ordered Molly a special hoodie for her to wear.

This parasol wasin the window at a charity shop and was the perfect colour, must have been there just for us!

For her flowers, i bought a bouquet from ebay , but again was not very happy with it, so ended up buying 3 bunches of silk flowers from Wilkos and taping them together and covering the handle with ribbon

So this was Gala Day and her Crowning!

She was crowned by the local MP Paul Maynard, you can see Fred there holding the cushion.

After Molly made a speech and she did an amazing job far better than i did when it was my turn!

I know she loved ever minute of it and she has waited a long time for it, we are so proud of her x

Last Day of Term

I have been up early this morning so i can have a little quiet time before another busy gala day. This is the last week end of galas that we will attend this year,we have one today and one tomorrow. I can't tell you how much we have enjoyed it this year, we always do, but with Molly as Princess and all the work we put into the float, its made it even more special and i have lots pictures to post from it all,(once i get a spare moment!). Next weekend will be the first weekend since February that we have not had anything planned or anything we have to do, the madness thats been the last 6 months is coming to an end, and it will be nice to be able to relax over the summer holidays and just spend time at home doing things with the kids or having more relaxed outings. I have taken 3 days a week off over the holidays, mainly as childcare is is expensive for four kids, which i am glad i did as i am really looking forward to it,we have so many crafts and activity we want to do. I started teaching Molly to crochet last night so she is sat here now working on chains.

Yesterday i went to Ewan's leavers assembly at school, he starts high school in September! It was really nice to see them all reading out what they were going to miss and there were quite a few tears from the leavers and from the other children in the hall. It a fairly small school that Ewan attends and there are only 15 children in his class, all of them are off to the same high school which is nice and his best friend is in the same form group. He was given his record of achievement which had pictures and work from right through school, time has just flown by.
When all the kids got home we made a strawberry cream cake, which was very tasty and had a fake Mc Donalds using some burger boxes and fries boxes i bought ages ago, we watched some films and just chilled out.

Everybody is awake now and its time to get ready for the gala x

Mollys Gala Float Ta Dah!!!

Gala Day has come and gone and i am starting to feel quite relieved its over, don't get me wrong i have really enjoyed it all and Molly has defiantly enjoyed starting her role as Princess, but the work i have put into it all along with everything else and work has been hard and i am officially knackered! I worked out the hours that it took to make the float as i did it all the plucking myself and its a grand total of 140 hours!!!!!

Stripping the old sides was the kids job, mine was sorting the mess out into colours and that tool time, but i we reused quite a bit of it which saved money. These sides ended up being warped so we used another set, so another lot of pulling all the plastic out.

Paul had the great job of cutting up bin bags for the other colors we needed.

The flags were so fiddly to do and took ages.

It started coming together and we had a puppet theatre, we had decided to use the Theme "Beside the seaside"!

When the new sides arrived we had to move to the lounge and for weeks all the outside could see was the big woodern boards

 From the moment i got up on the weekends this is what i would be doing, sat plucking away

These are the railings on the prom and the sand and sea, funnily i thought this is what the railings looked like, but then i realised they are exactly the same as the railings outside my window at work! so must have been in the back of my mind

One finished... then another one exactly the same for the other side!

Our Beach Huts for the back

A week before our gala we got the truck to have a trial run, this was frustrating with it only just fitting the truck

We had quite a bit of adjusting to do!

But gala day came and with some finishing touches like these chalkboards that i made

and some vintage ice cream posters

We were off!

I made the sticks of rock out of pool noodles and celeophane.

I have some vintage puppets as well that goon the theatre at the back, but with it being our gala and i was so busy we didn't get chance to put them on, but i am sure more pictures will follow x

Close to the finishing line...

I can't describe how much pressure i feel i have been under for the last few months, at times it has threatened to over whelm me, its been exciting and daunting all at the same time,didn't think i have every tried to cram in as much as i have recently, but i am close to the end of a lot of it now and other things i have had to pospone.

In a couple of weeks time you will be inundated with posts about Gala and Mollys float and costume, which i have done by myself, a recent tot up of the hours spent on the float alone is around 140 hours! there were times i though it would never get finished and it still isn't but in a few days it will be.

Tomorrow afternoon is Freds 5th birthday Party,which is another thing,we have had all the birthdays along with everything else the last few months, just Molly left but hers is in the summer.Today we are having a day off all of us together are going to spend some well deserved family time together, there hasn't been much of that these past months, its just been about getting the basics done, so we are off to get some breakfast out and then a trip to the beach (fingers crossed it doesn't rain!) I am taking some crochet with me, although it s a cardigan for one of the retinue so still gala work really, but i have missed knitting and crochet so much, its just so relaxing and i keep seeing all these new projects i want to start. After our gala day, i will just have work and councillor work to do for a while, the election will be over so no more leafleting and we will be out at galas for the following 6 weeks which the kids love and its a really great thing for us to do as a family, take a picnic and just enjoy the days.

Emma x

The Count

Last time i posted it was the morning after the election, it was the count, clearly i was up mega early, i just couldn't sleep and it was so quiet as the kids weren't here. I was just waiting for Paul to get up so we could go out and have some breakfast before we had to be at the Marine Hall for 10am. The atmosphere in the Marine Hall was excitement,  of course at the beginning everyone feels they have a chance, after all it could go either way and you never know what could happen, the polls aren't always right. In the centre of the room the tables went all round like a giant horse shoe with the counting staff in the middle and each group sectioned off with a sign stating which election they were counting. My count was to last, as the other approx 12 counts were all Lancashire County Elections and mine was a borough by-election, this was going to make it along day. we were all allowed to stand on the outside of the tables and watch as they first checked the number of papers against those they had issued and then started to separate them. This is where everyone is leaning over the table trying to count and guess who has more and as they are piling them up you are trying to judge which pile is bigger. Once they have finished that they start to clip the papers together in piles of  them band them up in hundreds and then they stack them up in a tub. This is then point that everyone is watching anxiously as you can clearly see who is winning in most cases and once they have done you can workout the winner. The only thing i can liken it to is being at the casino, everyone stood round the table , you can feel the nerves and excitement and also the disappointment. I never expected to feel such a range of emotions that i did, as they started announcing the winners, as they did this each time a count was finished even while other are still going on, i felt a surge of excitement and pride when one of my party was elected, when it cam to the other  candidates that i had been out canvassing and leafleting with from my association i cried when they won as it really felt like a team effort. Paul was with me and was so excited and was keeping me sane as i was swinging from one thought to another. Finally it was my turn for the count and i couldn't stand up as i was shaking that much, my heart was pounding and i couldn't breath, once they started stacking them up it looked quite close but then i seemed to get ahead and when they had finished it looked like i had won, but i couldn't believe it. I went upon the stage and they made the announcement i had won and by a good amount! I came off the stage straight to Paul, i was shaking, everyone was congratulating me, it felt amazing! I have never felt so proud of myself and so excited what lies ahead. Paul has been amazing and so supportive , we really are a team and this victory was as much his and the whole teams as it was mine. After i received a letter with invites for various events with Councillor Emma Ellison on the front..... It all starts here!

Election Day

Yesterday was Election day here in Lancashire. There were two elections near me the Lancashire County Council Elections and the by election for the borough council for the ward i live in. I was one of three candidates for the by election,Conservative, Labour & Green. I don't know the results yet at we have to meet for the count at 10am today so i am in a waiting game.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me really, from getting the call so see if i would stand, through the selection process, to getting out and about, pounding the streets leafleting and canvassing. It been busy and hard at times with all my other commitments, but i have loved every minute of it and the nearer the day has got the more i have wanted to win! Paul has been amazing he has been sorting out the house and kids to going out night after night after night leafleting for me! i am so lucky to have him and i think he has enjoyed it all too.

When Paul got his postal vote a few weeks ago it was very emotional to see my name on it and i felt so proud. I really do enjoy all the volunteer work i no and this just feels like the next step.
I have no plan, no agenda i just want to make a difference and i really hope i get the chance.

Once the polling stations were closed last night we all went to the pub for a few well earned drinks and as my parents had the kids a child freenight!

Its all so exciting, but also nerve racking!, the seat i am going for is held by Labour so i have everything to gain!!!

Wish me luck! x

P.S As i think its going to be a long wait today, i have packed the sock i am knitting...