Inventions with legs
Prepare to look ridiculous on July 4 (or June 20 in Scotland and Northern Ireland) when there will be a rash, a kicking chorus, of oddly attired legs in streets and schools. This will be Wallace and Gromit’s Wrong Trousers Day, when (for the fee of pound;1 paid towards children’s hospitals and hospices) everyone is invited to dress, well, incorrectly below the waist.
In the meantime, the trusty pair, man and intelligent dog, are challenging young people to come up with new ideas for Wallace’s Inventing Competition.
Encourage children to put together beezer ideas in categories including At Home, Get the Message, and Looking after the Planet, to win generous prizes and a tour of the laboratories at computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard.
Closing date is June 6.
For entry forms and information got to www.wrongtrousersday.org.
Life inside
Discover something of what a prisoner experiences on the West Hill wing at HMP Winchester. Clean Break, the company for women who have had experience of the judicial system, regularly commissions new plays.
This year’s production departs from usual practice in that Dawn Garrigan’s Refuge will be performed by inmates rather than professional actors, with a supporting cast from nearby King Alfred’s College. Refuge tells the story of Amelia Drinkwater, a woman living in Victorian London who looks back on the circumstances of her arrest and imprisonment. Public performances in the women’s wing, May 13-16. Information: 01962 877977.
On the rails
Try travelling back in time between May 25 and 30 when visitors are invited to ride the historic Snibston Colliery Railway in Leicestershire. Information: 01530 278444.