SS Great Britain Bristol School Summer Holidays 2017

From 22nd July to 3rd September there is so much happening in the school Summer holidays, for children, at Bristol's iconic ship The SS Great Britain. We were invited to the launch of the Summer activities last night to an out of hours social affair and my Aaron and Lottie were both absolutely CAPTIVATED.

They are watching:

Bristol-based Cirque Bijou bring a Victorian Summer Circus to Brunel's SS Great Britain. 

Above is their view from the upper deck of the ship itself. The Circus is at ground level. It's not quite as idyllic a scene as the photo leads you to think, as Aaron climbed up that mesh you see in front of the railings, so then so too did Lottie for the duration of the circus act. So rather than enjoy it in that adult way you can pre-kids, I actually spent it letting her climb to the job (holding my breath) while then gently placing her down, only for her to do the same thing again, ad infinitum. Luckily they were very well behaved before and after that, so it was a relaxed and fun evening, where each time I got distracted (or mingled) the lovely Jenni from Travel to Recovery minded Lottie for me

By the time the above pic was taken Lottie has had a costume change as the heat of the day was starting to cool away. Thankfully the rain held off till 8 o'clock which luckily was the exact same time the event was due to end. But speaking of costume changes you can get dressed up at the SS Great Britain which is great fun:

A fantastic afternoon at the @ssgreatbritain today. Thx @Rachel_IRL 🔍to see the detail. Maybe I should have done them as a "multiples" pic. Next time. . . . . . . . #LionessMama #PerfectAndProud #MotherhoodThroughInstagram #MotherhoodRising #childrenofig #MotherhoodAlive #MotherhoodInspired #worldoflittles #MotherhoodMoments #MotherhoodSimplified #childhoodunplugged #lifecloseup #developinglife #myhappycapture #dayslikethese #pixel_kids #cherisheverymoment #documentyourdays #candidchildhood #our_everyday_moments #UKParentBloggers #instakids #mamalife #ParentLife #thatsdarling #tinybeansmoment #IGersBristol #littleandbrave #mumlife #dailyparenting

A post shared by Parent Blogger Liska (@newmumonline) on Jun 1, 2017 at 12:23pm PDT

It was so much fun being on the upper deck, even though the circus act and the food and drink were at ground level, as it meant we got to meet all of the period costume people, like a Victoria child from steerage, below, and of course we were blessed with a great view. Not only of the circus act, but also there is a great view of Bristol from the SS Great Britain. I've taken pics with that fab Bristol view as a backdrop in the past.

steerage

1. 1.

   historical

   the part of a ship providing the cheapest accommodation for passengers.
2. 
   We even got to meet a period Police Man from 1851 from White Chapel. I was fascinated as he's been a R

   eenactor for many years AND was a real life Police Officer for 27 years.
3. 
   The brilliant thing is, the things we experienced last night, were not only part of the launch (although we were treated to pies, ice cream, candy floss and drinks). You can see the Victorian Summer Circus Cirque Bijou all throughout the Summer holidays for free (after paying entrance to the SS Great Britain, entrance that will last you a year) and take part in circus skills workshops as below.
4. 
   
   When you are up on deck though, make sure you take the stairs/lift down to the lower decks as there is SO much to look at and my Aaron never seems to get bored of it. He loves the mouse/rat in the kitchens and all of the dormitories with bunkbeds. Also go below deck (before entering the ship) where there is a controlled temperature and lots to see. Despite visiting the SS Great Britain many times, we find something new that delights and astounds us each and everytime. Helped by the fact that the team provides supplementary activities that regularly rotate. Last time it was shovelling coal and meeting a worker from the boat's engine room, this time the wonderful circus. It's so worth a visit as like I said earlier your entrance price gives you membership for a year. Don't let rain keep you away, as so much of what is wonderful about the SS Great Britain is the lower deck cabins and the museum which are all sheltered. Bye for now, Liska xxx
5. 
   
7. P.s. No doubt Jenni will be writing about the event too soon if only to say thank you for the candy floss LOL. Yep indeed she blogged about it straight away like me: traveltorecovery.com/bristols-ss-great-britain
8. 
   Was such a wonderful evening and it was so lovely to be at a venue we feel so comfortable in that the kids now know their way around. It must be a while since we've been to a bloggers' event though as when I asked Aaron to queue up for an icecream for him and Lottie he said "but Mummy I don't have any money" bless him. Thanks for having us SS Great Britain and we'll be back.
9. 
10. It was wonderful to see Purple Ella, Sarah and Natacha too.