Find out all about our Picnic & Plays with the Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Cranhill Hubs!

These Blog posts show what we got up to and all the Storyplay-ing we did!

Porridge & Play Hubs is running throughout 2022 with this block being the 2nd of our exciting New Scots Integration Project!

Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us to provide such amazing experiences for our children & families, and to all our Storyplay Champions!

 Picnic & Play at Castlemilk Park!!

Wednesday 18th May

Magic Map, Magic Map show us the path to CASTLEMILK PARK!

Jack’s Magic Map showed us that in fact Emma, Jared & Levi knew the path already and so they took the lead and guided us all from Castlemilk Community Centre to the woods at the heart of Castlemilk Park where we met our new friend, Stuart!

It was a lovely afternoon and we merrily walked using Jack’s Magic Map to guide us into the heart of Castlemilk Park. With Jared’s help we were able to find Park Ranger Stuart!

Stuart told us to follow him, to be careful with our steps as the woods have bumpy grounds and to keep our eyes and ears at the ready, for the woods do have many creatures and interesting wildlife for everyone to enjoy.

Stuart had even set up a wee camp with a tarpaulin for shelter in case it rained and a fire pit so we could make hot chocolate!

A tarpaulin is a heavy-duty waterproof cloth that keeps people dry in the outdoors.

Luckily we didn’t need it as it stayed dry for our Picnic & Play!

Stuart also had clay for us to play with and to make faces for the trees…just like in our Monster Footstep’s game where the trees turn into monsters, remember?

Everyone had a ball playing with the clay, moulding it with our fingers, sticking it on to trees and using twigs and leaves and branches to create faces, caterpillars and even a ladder inside a tree trunk! Abu, Jared, Ameerah, Lewis & our new friend Collins were particularly interested in playing with all these different textures.

Making our circle in the middle of the woods surrounded by beautiful big trees and with sticks cracking under our feet made our Funky Chicken extra fun. We had some really funny animals inspired by the woodland around us! Animals like Emma’s Nibbly Squirrel and Kevin’s Jumpy Spider! And it was so nice to welcome some new friends like Becky & Collins and of course Stuart who joined in every game!

We also met Amanda who is someone who cares very much about Castlemilk Park and would like to invite everyone to get involved in all sorts of activities in the woods!

Amanda and Stuart are good friends with Emma, Jared & Levi and they were all delighted to have their Porridge & Play Castlemilk friends discovering that this very special place is right in the heart of Castlemilk! Everyone is welcome to enjoy it, respect it and cherish it.

Our picnic was very nice and we even had Triple Choc Cookies baked by Rhianne and hot chocolate prepared by the fire!

Sayeda loved the smell of fire and being in the woods took her right back to when she was a child herself growing up in Pakistan and playing in the jungle!

Cathy also remembered that when she was wee she would always be climbing trees and playing outside exactly like her granddaughter Freya who showed Jared, Kevin, Abu & Levi how to safely climb and walk on a massive tree trunk of a tree that the wind had toppled down!

I think we all agree that we had a fantastic time at our first Picnic & Play outing without even having to go very far at all! What other fantastic things are there in your neighbourhood??

Jared said he felt happy & Levi said it feels good inviting all his friends over. Emma was really excited to introduce Porridge & Play to the woods, ‘it is such a fantastic place to use our imaginations and have fun, and what’s even more exciting is we can all visit it again and again. The woods change every week – there’s always something new!’

So, if you fancy exploring the woods even more why not join a Buggy Walk? Buggy Walks are starting on the 6th of June and you don’t even need to be in a buggy…ALL WELCOME!!

See you for our next Picnic & Play Castlemilk! We will be going to the Huntarian Museum! Remember to check your calendars for all our exciting adventures coming up.

By Andre, Taz, Ruby, Rhianne & The Castlemilk Hub Pals

Picnic & Play at Tollcross Park!!

Saturday 21st May

“This is magical, them playing and finding the swing, it’s great just watching them be carefree and children in a day and age where all they want is iPads.” – Joy

What a magical experience we had at Tollcross Park!! From exploring hidden gems, to meeting new and exciting animals and even discovering a rope swing, there was so much to see and do at Picnic & Play Cranhill!

Rhianne started off by meeting Aga, Princewill, Priscilla, Presley, Joy and Aga at Cranhill Development Trust. From there we boarded a bus, which took us on an exciting adventure to Tollcross Park! It was so great going somewhere local that we can take a bus to as it means we can come back again and again. While on the bus we met Ibiyinka, Donald and Peace who are a part of the Licketyspit family! It was so nice to see them again and we loved having them at our session. Meanwhile Ruby and Andre had the joy of meeting Roja and Mojgan at the park along with some new friends!

This session was jam packed filled with fun! We started off by warming up or bodies and getting ready to play. We did this by making ourselves as Big As A Bear! When then quickly found our Flying Balloons, blowing them up and up and up until we were flying over Tollcross Park! Aga saw a red house which her dad was in, meaning we got to wave at him! Donald saw a pig and said how excited he was to see lots of animals. Then Ruby found Jack’s Magic Map!

Magic Map, Magic Map point us in the direction of Farmer Sandy with the funny hat!!

With the help of our trusty map we came across Farmer Sandy. Farmer Sandy knew lots about the petting Zoo at Tollcross Park. He granted us entry and soon we got to see loads of animals. Some animals we got to see were alpacas, a rooster, cockerels and goats!

Say, do you know the Funky Chicken?!

Well, Princewell sure did! He stood in front of the group after visiting the petting zoo and led us to our picnic by showing us his Fast Black Horse! We galloped down toward our picnic but on our way we discovered a magical stream! Presely thought fairies or a Monkey might live there and Roja thought we could take a swim and help them decorate their home.

We decided to say goodbye to the fairies and their magical river and carry on, only to discover another hidden gem! Priscilla led the way to a rope swing! Presely was very good at making sure we all took turns and Andre helped some of our youngest friends take a great big swing. What fun we can find outside in nature!

After that great adventure we all gathered around and had a lovely delicious picnic, with tuna pasta made specially by Ruby and some spicy pakoras and hummus that some of us enjoyed trying for the first time

It was such a joy to be outside playing, we had so much fun with you all and we can’t wait for our next Picnic & Play Cranhill in which we will be going to the Science Centre!!

See you soon!

Blog by Rhianne, Ruby, Andre and the Porridge & Play Cranhill Hub!!

Thanks to our Hub partners, funders and Picnic & Play partners!

Porridge & Play Hubs Castlemilk, Cranhill & Bridgeton is a New Scots Integration Project by Licketyspit, in collaboration with the Indigo Group, Cranhill Development Trust & Church House.

For Picnic & Play we have partnered with Castlemilk Park, Tollcross Park, The Hunterian Museum, The Science Centre, Glasgow Green, Glasgow Women’s Library, Forth & Clyde Canal Boat Society, the Riverside Museum, the Tallship, Balloch Castle Country Park and Dream Machine! We’d like to say a big THANK YOU to all our partners for helping us provide such an amazing programme for all our families.

Find out all about Jack and his Magic Map here!!

Jack loves to go on adventures and during Lockdown he went on so many! He took us along too and that’s how Jack’s Magic Map came to be! We now use it on Picnic & Play when we want to find our next adventure.

Where will you go next with Jack’s Magic Map?!