Perhaps something to do with being a child of the 80’s, and spending a lot of time outdoors, but I am always drawn to nature and green spaces. I think one of the earliest photos of me is in a massive pram, tucked up tightly in blankets, out in the back garden. I used to spend hours with my sisters out in the garden, making mud pies, playing with toys, shuffling about in our ‘Wendy house’ handmade by our dad, or out in ‘the road’ (not the actual road, worry not, but the turning circle in front of our house) with our neighbours and friends, playing blocky, ‘tennis’ and tag, or riding our bikes along the pavements. I don’t think my dad was too impressed the time I came home having unearthed some actual dog poo with the remnants on my hands, but still…
Lots of happy memories of childhood that centred around the outdoors and that’s something that’s continued into my ‘adult’ life and is of big importance to me in my own little girls upbringing. So discovering conker crew was like being served a tasty dish of homemade, 80’s flavoured, fresh air, mud sprinkled (but without the dog poo) fun! With the heartiest, joy sprinkling, Geordie - Chantel, whose ease, warmth and friendliness has some kind of pied piper effect on children (without the grizzly end).
Real outdoor fun at its best, with something for all the gang - crafting, mud kitchens, sand pits, painting, willow crown making, snack sharing, music making - my little girl still sings the opening ‘camp’ song - “shout, shout, let it all out, here’s some hello’s we can’t (though she sang it as ‘CAN’ for quite some time) do without…”
So it felt like becoming one of THE crew when Chantel asked if I’d like to join her at an our kids social event in Manchester to photograph conker crew ‘on the road’. A whirlwind of colour, craft, pine cones, glitter, pom poms, music, flowers, laughter and nature! Most recently I joined the crew at the jubilee themed our kids social and got to bring my little girl and other half with me for the ride. Here are a few of the images from the day. I highly recommend giving both conker crew and our kids social a try if you haven’t already, you’ll be very glad that you did!
