Children's NON Health and Safety Playgrounds - the BEST!

Sitting here waiting for guests arriving this morning, I am remembering yesterday's excursion to "the play ground" which my son Zack wanted to take me on ... together with his lovely friend Lucas.

We packed water and several plastic bags for "treasure" and set off in the direction of our lovely 8 sided church.

Walking through the olive groves, just coming into flower now, we dipped down through the silver trees, birds and wild flowers everywhere - the wild garlic is absolutely beautiful at this time of year.

All I could see was what looked like a roped off quarry, so my hackles were up for signs of danger ... but as I relaxed, I started to notice that the ground all around us was sparkling and twinkling in the afternoon sun.

Stopping and paying more attention to what was underfoot, we all started to find crystals - quartz, mica, citrine and pyorite - turned and churned by the ploughs working the land between the trees! It was amazing - I have never found crystals "in the wild" before and was secretly hoping to come across an amethyst cathedral at any moment.

Zack then told us that he wanted to go down to the playground ... and shot off with little Lucas bobbing along behind him. He looked back at me, beaming his bright sunny smile, and said "Look Mummy, here's our slide!" ...

And there, next to an abandonned plough with jagged edges everywhere and all manner of items that in the UK would make the place deemed unfit for children, was an earth bank, with a very clear earth funnel smoothed out of it heading vertically some 25 feet down to the grove beneath .... down which shot Zack, bumping all the way to the very bottom, whooping with glee all the way !

Who needs plastic?!