The main reason for us visiting Babbacombe was the Babbacombe Cliff Railway for my train-mad toddler. Every day of our holiday he constantly shouted ‘choo-choo’ and we began to worry that we would run out of train-related places to take him. The Cliff Railway was another of those places we’d been meaning to visit for a while. The Babbacombe Cliff Railway is a 1920s jewel, transporting visitors to Oddicombe Beach. The railway and ticket office at each ends have been restored to their original glory so it really does feel like you’re stepping back in time. The railway only takes 90 seconds…
-
-
We were lucky to have time to visit the bustling fishing town of Brixham. We’ve been meaning to visit for years and finally found we had a couple of hours spare. It’s a really lovely town, some great independent shops, brilliant charity shops and lots of cafes so you can sit and watch the boats in the harbour. Although our primary purpose wasn’t to look round the charity shops my poor daughter gave me a very good reason. She had a nuclear nappy explosion which resulted in my throwing away the clothes she was wearing. Now when I go charity…
-
I had a wander round Paignton today whilst the husband, toddler and grandad went on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway to Kingswear. We go on this beautiful heritage line every year and I always get left in the carriage looking after the bags whilst they rush to take photographs at every halt and stop. This year I decided I would have some time with my 6 month old and explore the shops. The station at the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway has recently been restored and is a great place to start a visit to Paignton. We walked to the sea…
-
Our holiday was going quite well until my husband slipped and twisted his ankle. This meant that yesterday I had to entertain the children whilst my husband went to A&E. After exhausting the possibilities of the play park, beach and pier I thought I deserved a treat. Teignmouth is brilliant for charity shops and I never leave without some bargains. There are at least 8 charity shops which is pretty good for a small seaside town. They are all within easy walking distance of each other and can be visited in under half an hour. I started off by visiting the Rowcroft…
-
Did you know today was World Baking Day? World Baking Day is all about sharing the joy of baking cakes, and what better way to share the love than #caking! I have been very busy baking but I wanted to share this vintage Nutbrown Party Time Cutter Gingerbread Man. I love the original packaging which proudly says “For use in making super Gingerbread Biscuits, highly popular with young people”. Eek, that makes me feel old! The cutter was made in England by Thos. M. Nutbrown Ltd and the cover shows a freaky gingerbread man with scary eyes, buttons and belt…
-
Last week we participated in the P&G Future Friendly Five Days of Sustainable Living challenge. The aim was to do little things each day, reinforcing the idea that you can make your household more sustainable. We were sent a lovely hamper full of P&G Future Friendly products (which are constantly being improved so they use less energy, work with less water and produce less waste) as well as ‘energy saving tips’ to inspire us to live more sustainably and future friendly. Over the week we managed the following: Kitchen hung out the washing (on the only day of sunshine) instead of…
-
Amongst the piles of Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder puzzles I managed to sneak in this lovely vintage puzzle on my latest shopping trip. I absolutely love it, it shows the traditional independent shops you’d expect to see on your high street before the big supermarkets wiped them out – the baker, grocer, toy shop, greengrocer, chemist, Post Office, butcher and bank. The pieces are made from chunky board and when you remove them they reveal the inside of the shop! It’s made in England by G J Hayter & Co Ltd., Bournemouth, a member of the…
-
I have been in my favourite stomping ground over the last few days which means charity shop heaven for me! I’ve picked up some lovely bargains both for myself and the children. Besides lots of Thomas the Tank Engine books and jigsaws for Big Brother I found this book of vintage cigarette cards I just couldn’t resist. They’re displayed in a cardboard book which is missing its cover but there are some lovely images on the cards. They are all from Wills cigarette packets. My grandmother worked in the Wills factory in Swindon before she got married so these cards…
-
It’s been a while but I couldn’t resist this wooden abacus in my local charity shop. They must be quite common as after buying it I saw another one in a different shop. Big Brother won’t be using it just yet but I like to think (everything crossed) that it’s robust enough to withstand his full force. He seems to be going through a ‘stage’ where he’s a little, dare I say, manic. He’s 2 next month and not afraid to let me know he has his own opinions, regarding the clothes he wears, the food he eats, the toys…