Jasmine visits Ford Green Hall
Year 5 children have been studying The Tudors this term.
After clambering down the steps of the coach, the class walk through the gardens. It all looks very interesting, but they are told to hurry up in the hall as the guide is waiting for them.
They look downstairs and see rush matting on the floor – no carpets. The floor feels very uneven and the ceiling feels low down. They see how things were stored in the kitchens in Tudor times.
Next they go upstairs and try on the Tudor clothing, and laugh at each other.
Then they go into a very big room. Someone has made a hole in the wall, and now you can look at the wattle and daub inside the walls. You can see how the hall was built. There are lots of spinning wheels in this room. The wool feels very soft.
In the next room there is old furniture. Everyone is very surprised at how small the beds are. Zoe laughs and says people must have been midgets in those days, but Jasmine knows this is not true, and that the real reason is that people slept sitting up on pillows and cushions. They are talking about this, when the classroom assistant tells them off for talking and threatens to split them up (again!). Jasmine is very cross and her teacher is not bothered.
There is a lovely old wooden cot for a baby. The man taking them round doesn’t mind them touching this and they stroke it. It feels very smooth. It seems funny to think that babies slept in it hundreds of years ago.
The guide tells them about the saying “Night, night sleep tight” and shows them how the beds were tightened by pulling the ropes underneath the mattresses. This is very interesting to Jasmine as she remembers Nana saying this to her before she went to sleep when she was little. She thinks she must tell her Nan when she gets home.
They then go out and look at the gardens. The herbs smell beautiful.
After looking at the gardens they go to the lake to eat their sandwiches.
They go into the hide to look at the birds. A man gives a talk about the wild life.
They go for a walk around the lake. When they arrive at a very wet part, Jasmine loses her sandal in the mud and everyone laughs. It got stuck, and when she moved her foot it got left behind. Claire had told her not to wear the strappy sandals that she loves, but Jasmine wanted to, as it was a non-uniform trip. She had a row with mum before leaving home; mum wanted her to wear her school shoes but Jasmine refused. Secretly she now knows that mum was right. She is upset because the straps are covered in mud and will take ages to clean.
Chloe is laughing a lot and it is really annoying her. Jasmine has gone off the whole trip now, and wishes she were at school instead. Her foot feels very sticky and uncomfortable and it is making her walk in a funny way.
She also feels a bit sick. She wishes she had not packed all that chocolate. Another cause for an argument with Claire that morning.
