Redwall Abbey

For a number of years now the dc have been avid Redwall fans. Not only do we have the entire set of Brian Jacques’ books but they are collecting ‘extras’ as they each want their own set.

A couple of years ago their friends also caught the Redwall bug. One holidays, friends decided to host a ‘Redwall Feast’. Excitement was high as we outfitted everybody in costumes. We included characters such as Rakkety Tam, Martin the Warrior, Tess the Churchmouse and Prince Charming made a lovely Log-a-Log.

Bows were made and archery skills were sharpened. Many a visit was made to the Redwall Kitchen for recipes. We made a Hot Root Soup that was hot enough to even please PC. But our crowning piece was our Redwall Abbey.

We visited the Art Attack site for the directions needed. We adapted the castle into an abbey. We visited shoe shops all over town to find shoe boxes of similar dimensions. After trial and error we realised that the layout would work best with a piece of plywood as our base. Once the boxes were taped into place and egg cartons as the castle wall were also taped on, we began our layers and layers and layers… of toilet paper and tissue. It was a huge task that took days. By the end of it we decided to spray paint the Abbey as it would have become too expensive if painted, besides it was quicker;)

The project taught us many things, it taught the dc a valuable lesson in group participation, ‘many hand do indeed make light work’. It taught them perseverance and ‘stickability’. Imagine their satisfaction of their work when completed. It is a project that they will always remember.