Far Away…

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Far Away

The irony that we are pointing to a plane in the sky is not lost on me, as thirty years later my brother is currently taking off for a new life in Australia.

I wish we'd stayed as close as we were in that photo, but with him joining the ambulance service just a few short years later, it meant that our lives have followed two very separate paths. Were it not for the blood tie binding us, I'm not sure how strong our relationship would be.

And I think the reality of that breaks my heart more than the 10,444 miles that will separate us for the next few years.

20 Ideas For Summer Fun

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We've got just over a week until I go back to school. Normally I treasure this last week with him, while desperately trying to deny that I'm looking forward to some regular adult contact that isn't my mum or husband. However this year, I'm hoping that the time really drags as a day after I return to work (for an INSET day), The Boy will start school for the first time. And I must confess that while it is a fun and exciting prospect for him, I see the next fourteen years zooming along through primary and secondary schools towards adulthood.

I may be overthinking it somewhat.

That's why I am desperately trying to fill our last week with as many activities as possible; to make memories together and enjoy every second. I've still got a bank of activities that we can crack on with including cooking and craft, however after four weeks, even my 'toolkit' of ideas is beginning to feel a little empty!

Next weekend though is a special treat weekend for The Boy as he hasn't stopped asking to go to Peppa Pig World since around Easter time, and so I have planned for us to have a trip down to Southampton to visit the special pink porcine and her family. It's a fair old trek down to Southampton from Cardiff and so I'll be making sure I've packed a variety of activities for The Boy; it's far too easy to put on the DVD player to keep him amused for an hour and half. I do have a feeling though that as I will be spending around eight hours listening to Peppa and her family snort while queuing to ride on George's Dinosaur, I need a back-up plan so I'm not subject to endless renditions of the music on the way down. I've found in the past that packing a rucksack with activities for amusement, can be a great tip to make travel easier for children and parents.

Until that trip though, we're going to fill our days with painting, craft, cooking, play and visits to the park and beach. If anyone else is struggling for ideas on how to keep their little ones amused until the beginning of term, here are some great activities to help create a fun-filled last week of the Summer holidays!

LolliBop 2013: Tips For A Children's Festival (Review)

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We were very lucky on the weekend to have been invited to attend the LolliBop Children's Festival, in London as an ambassador family. I am not so naive that I'm not aware that as an ambassador family, our experience might have been slightly different from families who paid to go, and didn't have access to the press tent as we did, however I did go with my ever discerning eye. My eye that assesses whether things are worth the value of the ticket, worth the queues and the travel, and whether the event has been fun for my child or not. Yes 'free' is good, but I've been to some rubbish complementary events and been more than happy to 'critique objectively'.

The LolliBop festival has had a mixed reaction from parent bloggers this year, and I think that the response is very much based on what visitors are looking for from the festival. Personally, I went with a few 'must-sees' and the aim to 'go with the flow'. Our aim was to see Alex Winters and give him some Welsh cakes (admittedly, this wouldn't have happened without our little hospitality wristbands), and watch Justin Fletcher and Katy Ashworth. That's all I had planned. Anything else was a bonus.

To start at the beginning, LolliBop is an annual children's festival based in London which is now in its third year. Using the philosophy of a 'big bash for little people', it bills itself as Glastonbury for children. I think that paints the wrong impression, it's far more entertaining and comfortable with far less mud! There is a central stage for the main acts, and plenty of other smaller tents with shows running alongside the main stage throughout the day. Combined with some of the best toy companies around sponsoring play areas (Little Tikes, WOW Toys, etc.) and the variety of activities available (design a River Island t-shirt, create a Sand Art picture, etc.), along with areas to picnic, relax and play, then the whole event lends itself to some great family time enjoying a Summer's day.

The main attraction for us though was how many prominant CBeebies personalities were there, almost like an unofficial CBeebies event; Alex, Sid, Andy, Katy and Justin all were present and made it a child's dream! Combined with Dick and Dom, Rastamouse, Hello Kitty, Skylanders, Peppa Pig, Postman Pat, Mr. Men, Cloudbabies, Tickety Toc, Poppy Cat, and Titan the Robot, there was a character there to please every child.

LolliBop 2013

As far as were concerned, Katy Ashworth stole the show with her antics on the Lolli Kitchen stage. A complete natural, she interacted with both parents and children, bringing squeals of laughter during a fairly rubbish rainstorm. Ever the professional, she persevered with a wet stage and a seven month pregnant baby-bump to really show the children a good time and enthrall them. Alex Winters and his partner in crime Jem Frazer, were excellent comperes for the main stage and kept the atmosphere buzzing the entire time.

I will however admit to being a little disappointed with the Justin Fletcher segment. We'd seen him only a few months ago in Cardiff on his tour and he was excellent then, albeit aided by wonderful sets and an excellent cast. This weekend, some of the sparkle had gone from his act although I'm not sure if that was more to do with him being Justin and not dressing up as any of his characters (note to Justin: choosing to do their voices when not dressed as them is a bad move for infants; it confuses and distressed them!). We actually left his show after ten minutes due to poor visibility at the back of the very large crowd, and a daddy with a sore back from The Boy sitting on his shoulders.

Tips for LolliBop

  • LolliBop 2013 was sold out on Saturday and Sunday; that means 15,000 tickets were sold for each day. 15,000 people attending mean that visitors will have to queue for some things; toilets, activity sessions and food. However, most of those queues were fairly fast moving, and if comfort breaks and food stops are timed carefully, then the waiting time is reduced.
  • There is a huge bank of portaloos along the edge of the park, meaning queues were never very long. They are portaloos so there isn't running water for hand-washing; take wet wipes and antibacterial handgel. Toilet paper was plentiful, but I'm old fashioned and take enough to keep an Andrex factory on its toes.
  • There is a huge selection of food stands available around the entire park, there is no need to take a picnic but I would suggest packing grazing snacks so that blood sugar levels (and happiness levels!) are kept even throughout the day. There are also several stands providing free samples of their food, Barny sponge cakes and Chobani yoghurts were two.
  • Buy a lanyard programme at the main entrance and identify no more than three or four shows your children would like to see, evenly spaced throughout the day. We found ourselves having to cut off the Sid & Andy show in order to get to see Katy. Likewise we arrived too late for Justin's show and had to stand right at the back with poor visibility. Allow plenty of time beforehand to obtain prime viewing position.
  • If doing one of the very popular activities like designing a t-shirt with River Island is a must, then time it carefully and either do it straight away or at the end of the day. Lunchtime and early afternoon will see gargantuan queues.
  • Take time out to play under the trees in the Lollipromenade or The Meadows, it will help refresh and calm your nerves!
  • Do explore the discovery tents, but do it during one of the larger shows that you won't mind missing as there is more space. We missed out on the National Science Museum tent completely, much to my annoyance and by the time we walked past at 5.50 they were beginning to pack up.
  • Take plenty of water and drink a lot. Last year I didn't and ended up dehydrated with near heatstroke.
  • Avoid taking a pushchair around the site! We did take one, but only because I was able to dump it in the hospitality tent and I knew that The Boy would be tired walking back to the station afterwards. There were three pushchair parks and I recommend using them, as the main pathway which flowed through the venue was overrun with fraught pushchair parents and even more fraught people trying to guard their ankles. Use a baby carrier or sling if your child is young enough.

LolliBop 2013 1

Yes, there were queues. Of course there are going to be with 15,000 people on site. I think if a family goes with a strict timetable in mind, and tries to fit in too much or too many organised activities, then that is where discontent (and parental stress!) will set in.

I went last year when the event was held in Regent's Park, and while it was superficially prettier than this year's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, I found it less organised with fewer things to do, and I didn't particularly enjoy it. This year's venue was in the heart of the East End which made travelling to it a little more fraught, but it was in a fairly decent location and much larger with more exciting things to do.

Criticism has been made in other reviews of the lack of trees, quality of the grass and the industrial style building nearby, all of which are unfair on the LolliBop organisers; they are not in control of the wonderful Summer we've had which has blanched the grass, nor were they able to prevent another event happening weeks before which deadened the grass (LolliBop was supposed to have been the only event there this Summer). Likewise they can't control the demolition rate of the building alongside. And trees take a while to grow…

Super Earlybird Tickets for LolliBop were £16.00 each or £62.00 for a family of four. That is incredible value for money, and I would thoroughly recommend buying that price if you're looking to go next year. They then rose in price to £20.00/£78.00 (Earlybird), £23.50/£92.00 (Pre-advanced) and £28.00/£110.00 (Standard Advanced).

Would I have paid £84.00 for the three of us to attend? Yes I would. I paid £75.00 (& booking fee) to see Justin Fletcher in Cardiff for an hour and a half, so I would consider an additional £9.00 to see all of the above stars, shows and activities well worth the money. The Boy had a wonderful time, as did we.

I received free entry into the event and hospitality tent wristbands for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

The Washing Line (Flashback Friday)

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This morning I decided to take a chance on the weather and hang out some washing on the line.

It's not a terribly astounding washing line, especially at the moment as it's lopsided due to The Boy sliding down it like a fireman.

It's a quite unassuming Brabantia whirlygig.

But as I hung up the clothes, I had a moment when I remembered hanging out The Boy's brightly coloured pants. His first pants.

Sunday 21st August 2011

Almost exactly two years ago, I posted that photo as a Silent Sunday to show the coloured gems that The Boy was getting to grips with. Potty training was a success and he was dry during the day within a fortnight.

And it feels like only yesterday that I was pegging his little, dinosaur pants on the line.

So how come I was doing the same thing earlier, but with these?

Flashback Friday 16th August 2013

How have the past two years gone by so quickly?

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'Kids Capture The Colour' Summer Photography Competition

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If there's one thing that's obvious from my blog, is that I love photographs. I have always been that person snapping away at family days out, gathering memories to laugh and cry over in the future, capturing the ridiculous, the poignant and the ordinary moments which otherwise pass us by. That's what my 365 project is all about, and why I am so happy to help promote photography with other parents.

The Boy is beginning to become really curious about photography, and since I gained a new dSLR last week he has been eager to snap away like a young David Bailey. That's the wonder of digital cameras; children (and adults) can take numerous photographs and view them straightaway, seeing how to improve the shot. With The Boy, mainly getting the subject in the frame is a success!

That is why I am overjoyed and proud to announce that I have been selected as one of five judges in TravelSupermarket's Capture The Colour competition.

Following the success of last Summer’s photography blogging competition Capture the Colour, Travel Supermarket have teamed up with Venture Photography to launch ‘Kids Capture the Colour’; an exciting challenge for children aged 15 or under to get creative and photograph the world around them. Children can be so creative, why should such a fun opportunity be restricted to grown-ups?

To get budding photographers started, Travel Supermarket will be sending out digital cameras to parent bloggers across the UK to help their children capture the colours of red, blue, green, yellow and white while on their Summer holidays.

A category winner for each of the five colours will be selected by the judging panel which is made up of five familiar bloggers:

To apply to take part, please email Travel Supermarket at kidscapturethecolour@travelsupermarket.com with the subject title ‘Kids Capture the Colour’. They will select 100 lucky bloggers to take part, sending each a digital camera for their children to snap their photos on the coloured themes. Once the bloggers' children have selected their five photos, their mums or dads need to showcase them in a blog post explaining the stories behind them.

I will be judging the photographs in the 'White' category and I can't wait to get started! I even let The Boy have a play at capturing things that he could see which were white. Not too bad for a four year old, but I bet your children can be more imaginative!

Kids Capture The Colour Competition

Full terms and conditions can be found on the 'Kids Capture The Colour' information page, however it is worth noting that by entering the competition and receiving a camera, you will write a blog post featuring images taken by your child using the camera provided by TravelSupermarket.com.

The cut-off date for applications is the 25th September and entries must be submitted by the 9th October. E-mail in to kidscapturethecolour@travelsupermarket.com with the subject title ‘Kids Capture the Colour’. The 100 bloggers chosen to take part will be notified and sent a digital camera. Those selected to take part should publish their Kids Capture the Colour blog post on their own blog. All entries must be made via a blog post.

What are the prizes?

5 x Colour Category winners will win a Venture Photography Family Experience worth £500:

The experience includes:

  • Fun and memorable photoshoot (A one hour unique and personal studio photo session worth £150)
  • Creative image preparation (Several hours of digital work by the Venture photography creative team)
  • Personal cinematic viewing (Preview of your image show in the Venture cinematic studio)
  • Hand-made framed photograph (A Gallery Mini (152 x 152) framed wall product worth £350)

1 x Overall winner will receive £1,000 cash prize via bank transfer.

To get involved with the Kids Capture the Colour conversation on Twitter, follow the hashtag #KIDSCTC. For more information about the competition, prizes, and terms and conditions see the competition page here.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing the entries!

Going MAD at Legoland

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There are some things that happen through the world of blogging that really mean I am the world's best mummy. Taking my son to Legoland for a birthday treat a few days after his 4th birthday is one of them.

Well he doesn't understand what blog awards are, let alone the MADs.

To be honest, he doesn't even know what a blog is.

And if you called him The Boy he'd just be confused.

Basically, he thinks the postman is a really kind man to keep giving us presents for him to play with.

I've digressed. A lot.

The very kind and lovely Sally from the MAD Blog Awards team is the person who should be getting the praise and smiles for us being able to visit Legoland back in June, which just happened to coincide with his birthday. She had arranged for all the finalists to have a special day out there together, and although we were a little bit late and missed the first part of the day with the official meet and greet, we had an amazing day in gorgeous weather enjoying the newly opened Duplo Valley and desperately trying to fit everything else in.

This was made significantly easier due to the fact that we were given VIP wristbands, which we thought acted like the Q-Bots, allowing us to go through the fast track path on most rides. On the last ride, we discovered that the gold VIP wristband actually meant we got to queue jump every ride. Did I say that I love Sally yet?

Highlights from the day included:

  • Duplo Valley: newly opened a few weeks before, the two different water parks and adventure play area were a welcome break from the structure of going on rides. The Boy was quite comfortable in the younger water park area, but when he tried to venture up to one of the water slides in Drench Towers, a huge gush of freezing water from the tipping Lego block drenched him and knocked him over. One of the many fabulous attendants on duty brought him down to us, where we then retreated to the safety of the Duplo Valley adventure play area and he learned how to swing along monkey bars.
  • Atlantis Submarine Voyage: We'd missed this ride when we went to Legoland back in March, and I was very eager to have a go on it. The part submerged 'submarines' move slowly through the water with windows in the bottom half of the walls which allow passengers to see the many forms of sealife swimming around. Clever additions are Atlantis ruins, fish and divers made out of Lego blocks. The sealife area afterwards is also excellent as children are able to pop their heads up into a tank via a dome to see fish swimming all around them. It gets very crowded though so timing is key here.
  • Driving School: He loved being able to drive a little car around, albeit proving that he is distracted way too easily because watching the children in the other cars was far more interesting than looking where he was going. There may have been a four car pile-up. This was also where I managed to accost the altogether charming Lucy from Capture By Lucy and have a thirty minute chat with her and her lovely family. The Boy likes her because he said she sounds like Candi from the Skyline Gang at Butlin's. This is a compliment as he loves Candi.

Legoland Windsor

After the many hours traipsing around, we still didn't managed to make it around the whole park, missing out on Kingdom of the Pharaohs, Pirates Landing, Land of the Vikings and Knights' Kingdom.

Nothing for it, we'll just have to go again!

Sally, can we have some more gold wristbands please?

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We were invited to visit Legoland as finalists in the MAD Blog Awards, and we received free entry and VIP wristbands for this. I wasn't asked to blog about it, I have chosen to do so. Thank you to Sally and the MADs team for making this happen, and to all those fabulous people who voted for me to be a finalist.

The Ultimate Summer Driving Playlist (Meme)

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As we drove along the M4 last Sunday, heading towards Westonbirt Arboretum for some tree-climbing and forest craft, the sun beat down from a clear, azure sky and there was a very strong desire to sing some 'old school' classics at the top of my voice.

And when I say 'old school', I am talking about cheese from the 1990s.

I fished out the Summer CD from the side pocket, the one I bought from Marks & Spencer when I worked there aged 19. It was the CD that was blasted forth from the swimwear section, and I may have done some sneaky skipping of tracks to avoid the Dire Straits numbers, but by and large it was a great compilation; full of sunshine, mellow base tracks, and laughter.

It reminds me of a Summer filled with balmy evenings spent with my mates in pub beer gardens, of long walks with my best friend to the nature reserve to sunbathe, of pizza in the park for my 19th birthday, of the carefree ways that young adults have when the world is their oyster and full of promise.

And so I have a selection of songs that for are my feel-good driving songs, and because it's Summer and everyone feels the same way, please excuse the naffness of these tracks!



And so it happened that on our return journey last Sunday, The Boy happened to ask for the 'only' song to be put on again. Exchanging a surprised, yet pleased look with my husband in the rear-view mirror, track 19 was played for him. Again and again. And once more for luck.

You can see the video of him singing it here.

For everyone else, this is it. Cheesey Chesney at his best (although I hadn't realised quite how cheesey the video was until now).

This post is one that I was going to write anyway because I do like a bit of 1990s' naffness, however I then discovered a competition from MoneySupermarket which asks bloggers to share their Ultimate Summer Driving Playlist. It's a fun idea with a serious message behind it, "THINK! research suggests that almost 20% of accidents on major roads are sleep or tiredness related. Long journeys on motorways can lead to a lack of concentration and, as well as other preventative measures, listening to songs you love can be a great way to stay alert and focused on the road."

Plus it's good fun!

And that's why I'd like you to share your songs with me. I've not taken part in a good old meme in ages, so I'm tagging the following to share their Summer songs with me:

Please don't wait to be tagged though, I'd love it if you'd join in and share your songs with me. And if you are quick and follow the link to the MoneySuperMarket competition, you could be in with a chance of receiving £20.