Sadly, on the 25th March we had the last ever Cactus Club (the kids club we run in Longsight). Fortunately it wasn’t due to poor turn out, legal action, the fact that none of us wanted to be up early on saturday mornings, or vast debts which we haven’t occured. Instead it because me Marie and Thanh Mai are all bogging off to (in all honesty) pleasenter plains! However, it is not the last of Cactus Club for the kids (just when they thought they were getting away – in dodgy way). We have a plan! We’re going to be merging our kids club with the one run in church on sundays. I have to say I’m a bit upset that its gone! We’ve been running it for 3 years & seen it grow (well like fluctuate) from 5 kids upto 20, which may not sound a lot, but trying to handle 20 hyper 6-12year olds on saturday morning is not always pleasant! We’ve had so many great moments & it’s been so amazing to see the attitudes of these kids change! I’m just trying to think up some of the best bits!
Our first game of Musical Splatues – and also the conversation which lead to me becoming the Official Towel Monitor (I was so excited by the role I went and got a proper T-Shirt printed! Check out Elmo modelling it!)- Laughing at my and Naomi’s amazing lack of biblical knowledge – We never knew Samson killed a bunch of guys with an ass’s jawbone!
- Kit & Naomi’s obsession with my obsession of Smallville and Superman – It was honestly a coincidence that I always seemed to where my superman T-Shirt to club! None-the-less I do honestly appreciate my Justice League Coloring book!
- The time we had an old couple from the Methodist Church we were wanting to use come to inspect what we got up. Fate (or should I say God) made them turn up as we were playing the cotton wool and vaseline games and Naomi answered the door with a cotton wall ball attached to her nose with vaseline
- *sigh* our random planning meetings which seemed to turn in to fits of giggles as we came up with ideas for crafts. For example, one suggestion that Kit was seriously considering for the day with did David and Goliath was painting pebbles with blood!!!
- Itai! The fact that he was a leader never stopped him from putting up his hand to be picked to do the things!! He was the biggest kid ever!
- Oh! there’s too many I’ll be here for hours! I think of any other really classic moments I’ll post them. I’m sure Marie and Thanh Mai can come up with plenty too!
Most of those are “you had to be there” moments. In other rather depressing news, the amazing Cardboard Treasure Chest I made with my bear hands has also had to be retired 
*sniff* It was a true feat of Blue Peter-esque genius! Before I part ways with the hallowed beast, let us reflect on some images of it! Features of admiration are the beautifully curved & hinged lid, the perfect brown – mixed by myself, and the shredded newspaper insides (perfect for lucky dips, though it also had some other less pleasant surprises when i came to empty it the other day! *tsk* Kids!!!).
aww you’re making me all sad and nostalgic now! some other great kids club moments –
the time we made shakers with toilet rolls and rice, and the ends flew off when we tried to use them in the songs! there was a lot of rice on the floor that day!
Itai’s air guitar solos!
Liam’s role as the intelligent shepherd in the christmas play!