Haunted Mansion (Lego)

 Well, it's not because I'm a grown-up that I cannot enjoy Lego play sets. So, for my last birthday, I received the Lego Haunted Mansion. I wish there were these kinds of sets when I was a kid. It's a three sets in one, as you can also make a ghost train and a ghost ship. But truly, what I wanted to have is a proper haunted house. This one not only has a ghost, but a ghostly tree, a lady vampire, a werewolf, a skeleton and a Frankenstein's monster, among other things. Wolfie and I have started building it. We will keep it on display until Halloween. And we will not only have it on display, but we will play with the critters that come in it and I intend to invent a few scary (but suitable for children) stories.

Le Concorde en Lego

Lors de notre voyage l'an dernier, dans l'un des magasins de l'aéroport, une boîte Lego a capturé mon attention. C'était, comme vous le voyez, un Concorde en Lego. Il ne vole plus, mais aumoins on a des modèles à construire. C'est quand même une merveille de la technologie (je parle du vrai Concorde, pas de celui en Lego). Je sais qu'il y a pleins de raisons pour sa mise au rencart, mais je suis toujours un peu triste qu'on n'ait pas continué à l'utiliser. J'ai quand même été chanceux pour le voir en service à une certaine époque.

Arctic Explorer Ship (Lego)

There is one of Wolfie's Christmas presents he received last year which I have been wanting to blog about for a while: this Lego Arctic Explorer Ship.  We didn't get nice toys like these when I was a child, not even Lego toys. I mean it has everything in it: action figures of various professions, a Viking sunken ship, a helicopter, a crane, a little robotic submarine and a killer whale. It can even float on water, like a real ship. It's maybe the best Lego set we ever had (well, as a family, I mean, I know it's not mine) and it really stimulates imagination. But what got me happy about it, more than anything else, is that Wolfie finished it in two days, all by himself. Except for the string on the crane, which mummy helped setting up (because you have to put the string in a tiny hole). But otherwise, it is all my son's natural engineering skills and patience. Two things I am utterly devoided of. I am a very proud father.

Lego Magazine

 Boy the things Wolfie receives by mail. I mean, we don't get all that much mail, but when we do, it is often for Wolfie and, in any case, he receives the coolest mail. So anyway, he received at the beginning of January a Lego magazine. This issue covers January, February and March. Enough, one would hope, to keep him interested for the next two months. But I just like that my son keeps the old and kind of forgotten tradition of receiving a magazine in the mail. It's just nice, you know.

New Lego train station

For Christmas, Wolfie took to heart my love of everything trains related. He decided to give me a special present built by him: this train station made of Lego pieces. I don't know how my wife managed to wrap it and keep it in one piece, but it looks absolutely lovely andit might be the best present I had this year. Okay, so we might not have the fancy Christmas village and train set my parents have, but my son sure put his heart into it all the same. This is truly a labour of love.

Titanic in Lego

 As you know, we went on holiday to Belfast ecently. Partially because Wolfie has an obsession for Titanic, which was built in Belfast. So anyway during our time in the city, we found out that there is a Lego replica of the world's most famous ship. I cannot remember how many pieces it has, but it costs the bargain price of £599.99. Wolfie suggested I'd buy it for his birthday. I told him we had no room to put it. I hope that will be a good enough excuse.

Lego Mansion

As I mentioned in a January post, my son is obsessed about mansions. He wants to visit them, find them, he even wants us to buy one (!). Which gave me an idea: I suggested that he built his own mansion, using Lego pieces. Wolfie thought it was a brilliant idea and started working on it a few weeks ago. I took this picture when the project was in its infancy. We have a a huge box, present from my wife's brother, full of pieces, so that is being put to good use. Wolfie is the architect, but I do help and give suggestions from time to time. I must confess, this is quite an exciting building project.

Lego's Christmas Magazine

A couple of days ago, I found this in our mailbox: Lego magazine, Christmas edition. It was of course for Wolfie. Apparently, it's a freebie he subscribed to, or rather his mummy did on his behalf. Sometimes I think Wolfie receives more mail than us! There are worse toys to play with than Lego, there are worse things to receive than this, yet I cannot help but think: this is way too early. Surely they could have waited until December? Be that as it may, I think this is the very first Christmassee thing that entered this household this year.

Le Moulin en Lego

 Bon, pour la petite histoire,toujours est-il que petit loup a construit, avec l'aide de sa mère mais de sa propre initiative, un moulin à vent fait de blocs Lego. Sans plan ni rien, devrais-je ajouter. Il est vraiment fier du résultat, avec raison. Moi je suis vraiment fier de mon fils. C'est quand même admirable qu'il soit aussi compétent comme architecte et ingénieur et qu'il soit aussi créatif pour penser à faire un moulin à vent en Lego.

Lego Police Gun

 Wolfie has recently made something out of Lego pieces which he is really proud of: this gun. It is not just any gun, it is a police handgun. He designed it specifically as a police gun. I think it looks a bit like a Glock 99, a common service weapon for police forces around the world. Anyway, Wolfie has started getting into the "cops and robbers" kind of game and he decided to create his very own gun for it. Sometimes he is the police officer, in which case I'm the badguy and he chases me and puts me in jail. Or shoots me down, sometimes he does that too. I used to love playing cops and robbers (or a variation of) when I was his age. So I'm not complaining.

Dragon Dojo and City Pizza

Last Christmas, Wolfie got quite a few presents, including lots and lots of Legos. His favourite might be a Lego City Town Center set, which was huge. I'm of two minds about Lego: I had lots of fond memories playing with them and building things, but now that I am an adult, I often find them messy. And painful, as the pieces seem attracted to the floor beneath my feet. But there is one part of Lego City which I love: it's a dojo set above a pizza place. The dojo is called Dragon Dojo and, accoring to the box, is owned by a sensei named Madison. The pizza place is called City Pizza and I have no idea who the owner is. But anyway, we spent ages building this particular set, Wolfie and I, which proved quite challenging. There were so many small pieces and so many details to get right, including plants on the roof (Madison has a garden I believe). But the result is, well, pretty impressive. Of course, the set didn't held for very long and it is now shattered. But Wolfie has decided that he wants to rebuild it this weekend. I'm not sure why I love Dragon Dojo and City Pizza so much. Maybe because it channels old memories, watching cheap martial art action movies and eating cheap greasy pizza back in the 80s. This looks like a childhood's dream building.

Le cadeau de Wolfie

Je reviens encore une fois sur ma fête, même si elle date un peu, parce que je voulais montrer lecadeau que Wolfie m'a donné. En fait, il l'a même fabriqué lui-même, de ses propres Duplos. Les Duplos sont des Legos, mais pourles moins de cinq ans ou quatre ans, enfin pour les moins de l'âge requis pour jouer aux Legos. Il a des Duplos neufs et des Duplos de seconde main, achetés dans des marchés aux puces et des ventes de charité, ainsi que données par des amis et de la famille. Enfin bref, il a fait ceci, un petit bonhomme qui tient des ballons sur un piédestal. J'ai trouvé ça très mignon et je l'ai mis sur mon bureau.

The Dynamite Game

Wolfie has invented a new game, or maybe he found it with one of the silly programs he watches at lunchtime. You tell me if you heard about it before. So anyway, he uses a piece of Duplo (that Lego blocks toy range for younger children) and throws it, saying: "It's dynamite! Run away!" or some such thing and then we must all get away as far as possible from the piece of Duplo, then it goes "Boom!" (well, I say boom, or he says it). I must say, it is quite fun. And it is very simple to play, with minimal props necessary.

Les impasses du franglais

 Parfois, mes cours de français impromptus pour petit loup, ainsi que sa curiosité naturelle prennent des détours qui mènent à de drôles d'impasses. Ce qui mène à cette anecdote. Donc, Wolfie, pointant à un assemblage de Lego de son invention, une sorte de boîte rouge avec un volant,me demande: "Daddy, what's the word for that in French?" Moi: "Ben, je sais pas, c'est quoi le mot équivalent en anglais?" Wolfie pointe encore la construction et dit, un brin d'impatience dans la voix: "Well, that!" Je réponds finalement: "Heu... un cossin?"

Les lions de Legoland

Comme nous sommes un peu confinés ici, j'ai demandé à mon père de m'envoyer des photos. Il m'en a envoyé une entre autres de lions faits en Legos. La photo a été prise lors de notre voyage au Danemark il y a trente ans environ, ce qui ne rajeunit personne. Nous avions passé une journée à Legoland et l'endroit nous avait beaucoup impressionné. C'est moins impressionnant de nos jours, d'autant plus qu'il y en a plus qu'un.

Les visites à Legoland

Comme je l'ai mentionné hier, petit loup est allé avec sa mère, l'amie de sa mère et la fille de l'amie de sa mère à Legoland. Une destination très populaire pour les enfants ici. Ce ne sera donc sans doute pas sa dernière visite. Malheureusement, je n'y étais pas. Je suis allé dans l'autre Legoland, au Danemark, quand j'avais douze ans. C'était dans mon souvenir un endroit assez modeste, avec pleins de trucs faits en Lego, mais rien qui ressemble au Londres miniature que vous voyez sur cette photo. Tout semblait plus... primitif, en tout cas dans mon souvenir. Primitif et cheapo aussi. Ccela dit j'avais beaucoup aimé, même quasi adolescent blasé. Je ne sais pas pourquoi. Il faudrait que je regarde les vieilles photos de notre visite.

Wolfie and the Big Bad Wolf

Recently, my wife and Wolfie went to Legoland with a friend of my wife and her daughter. It saddens me that I could not be there, because they enjoyed themselves a lot. And there was a little boat ride with a section of fairy tales. My wife took this picture for me. I think I would have enjoyed it. Now Wolfie is very familiar with the Big Bad Wolf. He has two plush toys of wolves, including Lufsig, and he loves them both, even though they both have fangs and look nasty. This one is not nearly as scary, even if he is trying to fool Little Red Riding Hood. But all the same, fairytale characters made of Legos, that's just so very, very cool. And I wish I had shared this moment and others with my son.