Flashback Friday: The Enormous Bramble

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The past two days have seen me revisiting my old haunts in Reading, our home between 2001 and 2004. This was the place that hubby and I set up our first marital abode and I embarked into the world of teaching for the first time. My final year in my first school was a difficult one; the class had many social and emotional problems and were a real challenge, but I adored them!

We had a difficult first term which often saw me coming home and sobbing on hubby that I wasn't strong enough to win them over or 'break' their toughened exteriors, and my health did suffer with the amount of stress that I suffered in that year, but by the Summer term I had won them over. To quote one little angel (she really was!) who knocked on the staffroom door one lunchtime "I know we should have spoken to the dinner ladies, but they just shout at us. At least you listen first!"

That term to ease the flash-points I set up a gardening club to tackle the conservation area and reduce the incidents with the other children. We met once or twice a week and they adored getting to grips with the overgrown mess. It was a little metaphorical, but by the end of the year I had tamed them in the same way they had tamed the brambles.

So here they are working together as a team, and having a damn good laugh at the same time.

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Now pop over and check out the other Flashback Friday entries on Cafebebe's linky


A 'Good' Friday

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What better way to start the day than with a full English breakfast?

After a long night with one male snoring on one side of me and the other shouting semi-conscious demands of "up-py" (you work out which one was who), I was quite relieved to 'feel' the dawn break; sunlight peeking through the curtains, birds singing in the trees, silverware being delicately placed on the dining table next door to our bedroom. If the temperature last night is indicative of what the Summer will bring, I am moving to Alaska.

I've raced ahead, let me rewind. Yesterday we 'popped' up to Reading to see a couple of old friends; a few ex-colleagues of mine. We stayed with one of them in Thatcham last night having had a really pleasant evening consisting of a meal out at a local carvery (scrummy veggies galore), followed by red wine, nibbles and chat later on. The Boy decided that mummy and daddy didn't need sleep between 1.30 and 3.00am, which was marvellous because daddy had kepy mummy awake with his snoring between midnight and 1.30am. At 3.30 I fell into a state of comatosed delirium and woke at 7.25.

Once breakfast was troughed, the travelcot packed and the boot re-assembled we pegged it off to meet up with the other ex-work friend that I keep in touch with, at Beale Park. Beale Park is a fabulous wildlife park and gardens just outside Reading. It's great for children of all ages, but I think best for those under the age of 10 years. There's a selection of animals in really well thought out enclosures; nothing zoo-like, think wallabies, meerkats, prairie dogs, lemurs, storks, macaws, kookaburras, owls, etc. There's a dedicated safe area for picnic-ing in with a zip-wire for the older children once they get bored.

One of the best things about Beale Park is the train that runs around the gardens, the other is the Little Tikes Village, and the final one is the paddling pool found in the play area! This was the bit I was really looking forward to, testing out the all-in-one SPF50+ swimming costume that I'd recently bought for The Boy, and seeing him splashing around in the sunshine and having a good time.

People say that you shouldn't look back, and this is true. After we'd said our goodbyes we drove back past our old house (our first house) and the school where I first taught. On previous occasions I've felt a pang of, not remorse or regret, maybe sentimental what might have been. Not this time. I felt sorry that the residents of our old house don't care more for it, and I had a little wave of memories from my promising career, but generally I felt content. Happy knowing that moving back home seven years ago was the right decision; that the life that we have now is good and satisfying. I've kept in contact with the colleagues that matter and they have proven to be real friends, people who are genuine and caring. Everything happens for a reason, and our reason is The Boy.

Musical Memories: Sizzling Summer

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Clearly Sabina over at Deep In Mummy Matters has been getting all hot under the collar with this scorching weather that we've been having. She's looking forward (or should it be backward?) to the summer and remembering fabulous summers of the past.

So the theme this week is Sizzling Summer!  What tune takes you back to the summers of old?

I knew instantly the memory, or should I say memories, that I was reminded of. It was the summer that I first discovered my teenage freedom with my best mate (I was a late-developer). I can picture us now walking down the local country parks to spend the afternoon sunbathing, getting beeped at or a few glances from teenage boys. Ah, those were the days when my legs were decent!

The song was popular for more than it's original 1991 release date, I personally feel that it cropped up for most of the summers of the 90s, especially when I discovered public houses and their alcoholic contents!

So cast your mind back to the mid 90s when the singer/rapper was not the international film star that he is now; he was merely a gawky kid from Philly with a weird mate who didn't seem to talk. Go on, you know you want something to break the monotony. Maybe a barbeque that's starting at 4?

 


Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff – Summertime by oublierleracismeskyblog
Apologies for the rubbish quality, but Sony have forbidden Youtube to allow embedding!

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Now pop over and see the other entries on Deep In Mummy Matters where the theme this week is "Sizzling Summer"

Musical Memories

Competition: MiaTui Bags

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I have been lucky enough to be approached to review a new range of 'big' bags created by Charlotte over at MiaTui.

MiaTui bags are a fantastic range of bags which have been created by mother of two Charlotte, who is currently living out in Vietnam as an ex-pat. Charlotte realised that many of the change-bags available nowadays just weren't practical or attractive enough for modern women, and therefore set about designing and producing practical bags which are fashionable and can be multi-purpose.

What makes these bags different for me is that they are not produced by a huge multi-national company by a man. MiaTui have used local (Vietnamese) designers, resources and manufacturers to produce the bags; I particularly found it fascinating that Charlotte has made the decision to work with "local women who have their own small businesses, getting paid a fair wage for their work and working their own hours to suit their family circumstances." This is an incredibly responsible attitude of Charlotte, it probably would be easy to having the bags produced in less than ethical situation, but she has thought long and hard about the image that MiaTui bags present. This post really illustrates the background to MiaTui.

The bag came in a large box well protected by air-pockets, but again this is another example of Charlotte's responsible attitude; Opus Air Pockets are biodegradable and compostable, so when put into plastic recycling it only takes 12-24 months to degrade. Underneath this is a beautiful wrapped bag in bright pink tissue paper: I felt like it was Christmas!

And so on to the bag and why it's better than others out there!

I chose the Amelie White-Pink bag to review after much deliberation, although I had the choice of seven different colours and I seriously considered the Aubergine (a brilliant colour for Autumn and Winter I feel).

Sunday was test day, a beautiful day to go to the park (by the sea) and the picture on the left illustrates all the things that would normally be shoved into the change-bag or bottom of the push-chair. I know what you're thinking, "That will never all fit in there!"

"Ha!" says I, "Look!"

Look at the organisation in that bag! And look how little space is taken up in it!

Inside the bag are several really deep pockets to hold the contents in an organised way:

  • a big pocket along one side which is perfect for The Boy's spare clothes and nappies.
  • a pocket for your phone (underneath the end of the zip so you can access it quickly) and it's also big enough to fit the iPod touch (a necessary must to distract The Boy sometimes)
  • a proper-sized insulated drinks pocket (how infuriating is it when only half the bottle fits in like in other bags?)
  • two further pockets along the other side, into these I put my purse and camera, and the wipes and nappy sacks.
  • in the middle section I had the two PVC bags which come with the Amelie bag but are also sold separately. One of them had nappy cream, Savlon, teething gel, anti-bac handwash and sun-cream. The other had packets of snacks for The Boy. There was a towel (in case he went paddling) and I also had the matching clutch bag into which I put essential make-up and other bits and bobs that you'd find in a lady's handbag!
  • my car keys which were clipped on to one of the two safety clips.

The Amelie bag hangs brilliantly off the back of the stroller because, as well as the big handles which enable you to use it as a shoulder bag, there is a long strap which can be attached to either end of the bag. Yes, that is a photo of me!

The bag held everything in it that I needed it to and there was space for more; I could quite easily have had a couple of small toys or a book in there for The Boy, or his swimming stuff and a picnic blanket (I'm thinking ahead here to Friday when we're going to country park which has paddling facilities in it). The most important feature for me was the long zip closing the contents up nice and secure; I hate it when everyone can see into your bag and everything falls out!

The Amelie bag is adapatable to your needs; travel bag, work bag (the large pocket can hold a 13" laptop or iPad), change bag, beach bag (it is made from a splash-proof material). I actually wish that Charlotte had created this two years ago and then I could have dispensed with the two or three change-bags that I've tried during that time!

For a short-time only, until Easter Monday, to celebrate the launch of her online shop, MiaTui are offering the bags with 20% off which brings them down from a very reasonable £54.99 to a bargain £44.50 with free postage and packaging. They are despatched from the UK, so don't worry about waiting more than a couple of days for them to be delivered.

Not only do MiaTui produce multi-purpose bags for mums, but they also produce a range of rucksacks for children with 8 different designs for both girls and boys. I actually really like the silver dot and am thinking of sneakily buying one for myself The Boy!

To be in with a chance of winning one of these rucksacks for your little one (or yourself!) then you will need to do all of the following:

1) Visit www.MiaTui.com and then come back to tell me your favourite item in the comments box below.

2) Either follow MiaTui on twitter or 'like' on Facebook.

3) You will also need to tweet the following message:

"I've entered to win a @miatuibags with @TheBoyandMe's blog https://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=2095"

There are no additional entries, so please just leave one comment in the box telling me: your favourite item from www.MiaTui.com and whether you have followed on twitter or liked on Facebook.

Competition closes on Thursday 5th May 2011 at 8pm. I will contact the winner that night and they need to reply with their colour choice of rucksack by Saturday 7th May 2011 at 8pm or I will redraw a winner. Open to UK entrants only.

While I have been provided with this bag for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and fair, and I have not received any payment for this post.

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The winner of the competition is: SomethingBlue_2!

Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who entered!

An 'Easter Egg' 365 – 'Who are you?' (110a/365)

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I've cheated slightly with this post. It was going to be my entry into The Gallery but two minutes after publishing it, I bottled it and changed the image. I don't know why I felt so panicking about having this photograph up in The Gallery; I suspect that it is because then I was confirming my identity and I do like to stay anonymous. As far as I am aware my family and friends do not know about my blog and I want to keep it that way. Being a teacher in a small-town where I grew up, I do not have my own anonymity in real-life. This blog is my haven, my blue-skied peaceful life where everything is in soft focus and peachy. I actually really like this photograph of The Boy and Me, even in this heavily edited guide.

I know that my 365 is supposed to be a photo taken on that day, and this one clearly wasn't. But a) I wanted to share it with you, and b) I think some of my loyal readers and twitter folks deserve to know who I am. Even if I am just some blurry pixels hiding behind a giant pair of Jackie O's!

My Blog

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Talking about last week's theme, Tara said:

I promised I'd follow (it) up with a nice easy one; give you a week off; ease off with the brain power required.
Well I lied.

This week's theme is: My Blog.
A photograph which sums up your blog. Simple as that (bwaha ha ha ha ha).

Oh that woman is a demon with the themes!

And so I bring you a photograph of The Boy and, well,  Me! I did try and tell him about my antennae but he didn't listen!

(You very, very almost had a real photo of me with The Boy. In actual fact, I published it for all of two minutes until I freaked out and took it down!)

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Now pop over to The Gallery and check out the other entries using the little gadget over on the left.

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