A miniature VE Day street party

Everyone knows that 8 May 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Helen Warner has created an astonishing model, at about 1:20 scale, of a shop and 1945 street party scene. Don't miss the bread in the shop window, the cat and pram, and the cakes ready to eat!

Enjoying your immediate surroundings

We may not be able to go very far, but we can appreciate and enjoy our gardens, parks and neighbourhoods as spring brings everything to life.

A new thatch on Joss’ cottage

Joss’ cottage in Northamptonshire is being re-thatched, a rare experience.

It’s interesting that the thatchers are using two different methods. The boss is doing the front side and he likes to work top down. You can see some of the spars he’s using to hold the thatch in place. The chap working on the back of the house uses the more traditional method of starting at the bottom. Grant prefers not to thatch this way as the ladder then rests on completed thatch. At the back you can see the metal rods that hold the thatch in place.

Many of you have been busy crafting and creating

Colin got the wheels for his ramp from Screwfix, and the aluminium from a materials supplier in Southampton.

You can learn how to make masks like Bob’s using this video.

And, of course, there’s always food

Nom nom.

So much to see if you look

The natural world can be astonishingly rewarding to observe.

Something more contemplative

Wendy Benson and Jenyth Worsley set pen to paper and created these poems about the lockdown.

Quick contents

• Full table of contents
• Chair’s Video Message
• The Chatterbox
• Lockdown Locks-Off
• Contribute to the Chatterbox
• Paul’s 2.6 Pasta Challenge
• Daily Delightful Anecdotes
• Lockdown Lingo
• The Corona Shuffle
• Visit to Tutankhamun Exhibition
• Merit Badges for the Housebound
• Paul’s Coronavirus Update