Some Week 2 Highlights, ahead of our freshly announced fourth and final week of the Pop-Up Summer Club, starting Monday 24th August in #hillyfields. With growing numbers and familiar faces from Week 1, we tried to keep things fresh and interesting for everyone, even if some of the core activities from Week 1 remained the same (including making sundials, compasses, cakes, and tons of tapenade). The week culminated in a well-navigated excursion to Blythe Hill feat. a Sonic Navigation art workshop led by Claudia, while a personal highlight was a slick and intense theatrical performance by some participants, set in a dystopian self-centred universe. Didn't see that one coming... Let's hope there are more surprises, passion projects and budding friendships to come. Without the support of @pistachioshillyfields it'd be hard to imagine anything like this (or indeed the Blackberry Eclipse Tarts), while without the support of the parents it'd have been Claudia and I twiddling our thumbs. More info and Week 4 spaces available on the website, www.curiosityworkshops.com

A dreamy week one of the Pop-Up Summer Camp featured: - fine-tuning and bringing to life the designs for our mini stone circle sundial - smoothly navigating DIY lunches every day (with the help of a lot of tapenade) - blackberry picking, baking the Blackberry Eclipse Tart, and Anna's delicious cookies - a load of activities around measurement and navigation: from making compasses to exploring the cosmos It went so well, we've added an extra week, meaning it'll run right through the weeks of the 17th Aug and 24th Aug. More info at www.curiosityworkshops.com It wouldn't have been possible without @Pistachiosinthepark - everyone there made it so easy and pleasant, smoothing over the slightly manic preparations behind the scenes. Couldn't have hoped for more from the participants, while the support from the parents was a surprise that made all the difference. Til next time - enjoy the eclipse!

Fresh out the oven - our Pop-Up Summer Club, running 3 weeks in and around @pistachioshillyfields and the glorious @brockley_society Stone Circle Sundial. Come along for Crafts, Cooking and Curiosities and make your own sundial, compass, tasty supplies and learning adventures. We'll be welcoming participants and optional companions from 10am - 3pm, Mon-Fri, for the weeks commencing - 20th July - 27th July - 17th August £36 per day with sundial kit and lunch included, discounts and concessions available. Recommended for ages 6 all the way up. More info and registration on the biolink. Cheers! #hillyfields #brockley #cooking #crafts #curiosities #summercamps #kidsclubs #lastminute.com

This was one of many fine moments at the end of the solstice weekend, relaxing with some recent and decents around the Stone Circle, as the passersby tinker with the Curiosity Workshops table. It's amazing what that Stone Circle does for the atmosphere there - a special spot if you ask me. And I'll be back there, along with the new model replicas of the Stone Circle Sundial, for Crafts, Cooking and Curiosities - the upcoming Pop-Up Summer Club. Stay tuned or visit www.curiosityworkshops.com, and thanks to all who made it a special solstice

A sunny day in May for a sundial session at the wonderful @streathamcommoncommunitygarden, with a particularly tasty lunch. In some ways, this was the most serious 'Making Time and Other Measurements' workshop so far, and yet with thanks to everyone at the Gardens, it was a relaxed and good-spirited affair. The spirit might have been tested a little when I pulled out the olives that hadn't been pitted for the tapenade we were making, but someone's suggestion of pitting them ourselves was taken on, and in no time we had our humous, tapenade, salad and pittas good to go. With all the fragrant vegetables and herbs generously thrown in by the Garden volunteers, there's a chance the lunch was more memorable than the sundials, but a fine day nonetheless.

Join us at @streathamcommoncommunitygarden to make-your-own and learn-all-about Sundials! @curiosityworkshops will be hosting 'The Making of Time and Other Measures' on Sunday 24th May, from 11am to 3pm. In this hands-on workshop, participants will build and learn to use their own Pocket Sundial, exploring the gardens and the broader topic of measurement, making discoveries (and lunch) together. £30 per participant (lunch and kit included) or £10 for a companion ticket (lunch included). More information in the second photo, or on the www.curiosityworkshops.com website, or indeed on the ticket link here: bit.ly/3R5Rt1I Aimed at ages around 8+, with a nice mix of ages already booked in, and 12 spaces available. With thanks to @SCooP, supported by ticket sale contributions, and to Clive @erlabrunn.imprint for the flyer artwork and support

It's one thing to make a basic sundial, it's another to understand them. That's why I've been working on an orrery - a mechanical solar model - focused on bringing to life the key aspects at play. It's been a long work in progress at the @southlondonmakerspace. Surprises along the way included helping @timnunhead to run an invaluable workshop on Automata; and a semi-impromptu pub demonstration of an early iteration of the orrery as part of the @pedestrianists energising Equinox walk. For me, it's an ongoing process to understand and communicate the relationships that affect such things as the varying difference between time on the clock and time on the dial, and how those differences vary through the year in different parts of the world. It includes building a deeper understanding of some of the key things going on in space and how they relate to experience on Earth, mixing and merging different physical perspectives. Imagination can go a long way, but a model seemed like a good way to clarify and share a fuller picture. It's not quite finished, but it's already helped to reduce the amount of eye-glazing from others, and hand waving from me. At least with the latest version, I have two hands free to wave with.

Snail Time A highlight of a refreshing, family-induced three weeks in the Dominican Republic was the coming together of this Snail Sundial. Travelling on solo to the quaint seaside town of Los Patos, and buoyed by a free lunch from the beachside restaurant @el_rinconde_los_pocitos_ when the local ATM wasn’t working, it occurred to make a sundial to say thanks. It could be a nod to the generosity and hospitality that shaped my travels; an excuse to build something from beach-found materials, far from the luxuries of @SouthLondonMakerspace; and as thoughts transpired, perhaps an excuse to finally post on Instagram again. Making the sundial, everything fell into place unexpectedly and smoothly. The snail shell I found became the theme, fitting for a place where everything except the sun moves at a different pace. A plank of wood held the snail snugly at an 18-degree angle; a small stick became the tentacles; a long thin stone I first imagined might be used as a dial became the tail. The tail was a late addition, suggested by Francisco — a man I got to know along with his chickens who lent me a saw. Turns out he was my host’s father. The man who nail-gunned the wood together was my housekeeper’s husband. Jorge, the local jeweller at dominican_larimarrd, who works with the Larimar stone unique to the region, was friends with the team at Los Pocitos and helped things along over another free lunch. The sundial had quietly become a communal project, appreciated and met with curiosity by the Los Pocitos team. This Insta post went less suavemente. Determined to photograph the snail casting a shadow from its tentacle — angled for the local latitude — I twice made the 5km coastal walk to Paraíso. The first time, I arrived too late for the sun, and dropped the tail behind a freezer. The second, on the day of my departure, they were closed. I left without the photo, unsure whether the tail was recovered. At the time, it felt like some things flowed more naturally than others. Here’s the post anyway. Maybe one day I’ll find out if the tail was recovered. The last couple of pics feature John, sundials and stones at @ekhotelr, where a missed flight worked out just fine.