Half-term theatrical shows, Mercury Theatre, Colchester, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11am and 2pm, £7.25, £5.50 concessions. 01206 573948 The Colchester theatre is once again putting on a whole host of family-friendly shows which should delight both young and old.

On Tuesday, will be the Bird Book, an interactive show from the One Moment in Time Theatre Company, which combines poetic storytelling, puppetry and live music.

It follows two puppet boys, Eric and Bill, who embark on a great adventure to follow the epic journey of an osprey’s migration all the way from Africa.

On Wednesday, the Multi-Story Theatre Company presents Clever Clogs and the Cunning Princess.

Clever Clogs is a soldier who thinks there must be more exciting things to do in the world than guard a tower. The Cunning Princess thinks there must be more to life than having to marry a daft prince, however rich he may be.

Each of them competes to tell their version of when they met and how their lives were turned upside down by the appearance of a naughty imp.

Shows continue on October 30 and 31. For details, see next week’s Gazette.

Get active at the various sports centres in our area From Monday to Friday, Tiptree Sports Centre will be hosting all kinds of activities, from trampoline sessions and gymnastics to craft activities and classic party games. Children will also have the opportunity to climb the Big Red climbing wall and even have the chance to take part in a football coaching session with players from Tottenham Hotspur.

At High Woods Sports Centre, activities include athletics sessions, dodgeball, trampolining and indoor mini golf. Children can also enjoy getting messy with potato printing.

At Colchester’s Leisure World, in Cowdray Avenue, there’s glass painting and autumn crafts, archery, circus skills and street dance.

Children can even enjoy ghoulish face and body painting, before learning Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance with a professional dancer, in a special session on Wednesday.

For more details, call 01206 841463 for High Woods Sports Centre, 01621 817499 for Tiptree Sports Centre or 01206 282000 for Colchester Leisure World.

Meanwhile, Colchester Museum Service will have plenty of craft workshops to get involved in.

Sixties Seen exhibition, Colchester Castle At Colchester Castle, take inspiration from the Sixties Seen exhibition, and have a trip back in time to create a a groovy Sixties style mobile with fantastic images.

The cost is £1.50 per person, plus castle admission, with sessions taking place from Monday to Friday at 11am, noon, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

In the town’s Natural History Museum, making a scary spider pen pot is the order of the day, complete with a scary spider climbing out.

Again, the cost is £1.50 per person and sessions take place from Monday to Friday at 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm.

To book a place on either of these workshops, call 01206 282940, or drop in to Hollytrees Museum.

Finally, hear some fascinating tales of smugglers and local legends of East Anglia such as Shuck the Devil’s Hound, at Hollytrees Museum, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Smuggler’s Tales takes place at 11am, noon, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm and the event is free.

On Thursday, a British Sign Language interpreter will be available at 11am and 1pm.