• days out - Local Review - London

    Festival fun!

    Last year we went to our first family festival and had lots of fun. More and more festivals seem to be on every year and this year we are lucky to be going to A Jolly Day Out on Hampton Court Green. Jolly Day Out! is Hampton Court’s Summer Festival on Hampton Court Green from Friday 26th to Monday 29th August 2011. There’s plenty to do for the whole family. Edward will love the Zing Zillas, I’m going to enjoy the shopping and my husband will be sampling the food. With live music playing throughout each day, a fun fair,…

  • competition - days out - Family Life - London

    Hackney City Farm {and Farmerama giveaway}

    One of the activities on our list of things to do this summer was go to a City Farm. Fortunately last week Edward and I were invited down to Hackney City Farm to have a look around and hear about an exciting new website where you can be your own farmer. We enjoyed our visit and Edward met pigs, sheep, goats, a donkey and lots of geese and chickens for the first time. He didn’t exactly react as I thought he would and was scared of some of the animals! I’m hoping a couple more visits and he’ll be chasing…

  • competition - days out - swimming

    Tickets for British Gas Big Dip (Clapham Common) up for grabs

    With summer on its way how do you fancy a dip in the pool at Clapham Common? You didn’t know there was a pool at Clapham Common? Well, thanks to The BigDip, there’s a temporary heated outdoor pool and beach area. Sponsored by British Gas, The Big Dip is an urban swim festival happening in London (June to July) and Manchester (July to August) that’s aimed at encouraging families to have fun in the water together. It’s part of a national campaign led by former Olympic bronze medallist Steve Parry to help more kids feel confident in the pool. And…

  • baby - days out

    Baby’s First Day Out

    We had some friends over last week for a playdate. It was fun seeing three little people in the sandpit and great for Edward to have some friends to play with. They are so much younger than Edward that it reminded me just how quickly he’s growing up. It’s hard to believe he 15 months already, it doesn’t seem that long since we brought him home from the hospital. After a three day stay in hospital I was itching to get out and about with him but as we kept having to wait around for the community midwife visits it…

  • days out - playing

    The day the toddler and I Built a Bear

    My son and I were invited to the Covent Garden Build A Bear store to see for ourselves the magic that goes into building a bear. So this morning we hopped on the tube and walked out into the beautiful sunshine at Covent Garden. The staff at the Covent Garden were incredibly friendly and helpful and took us through the steps needed to build a bear. My son eventually chose a dog, this step took ages as there were lots of animals to choose from! We decided to put a woof and a heart inside then we watched as he…

  • days out - playing

    Exploring the world

    The warmer weather has coincided with Edward finding his feet and we’ve been spending an increasing amount of time outside. For his first birthday we bought him a sandpit to which we soon added a water play table, play tent and pretend lawn mover. Our garden now resembles a playground! Edward loves being outside and will stand at the back door jiggling the handle until I get the message he wants to go outside. http://vimeo.com/24238779   We also love to go out and about when we can. One of our favourite hobbies is geocaching – as long as we pick…

  • days out - Local Review - London

    Do you believe in the power of pixie dust?

    Today Edward and I were invited to have a look round the new Disney store on Oxford Street which opens to the public tomorrow. Do you believe in the power of pixie dust? The store is 100% bigger than the previous Oxford Street store and is the biggest Disney Store in Europe. Some of the very special features include: A 28 ft high Princess Castle which stands in the centre of the store Approximately 3 tons of pixie dust have been added to the bricks in the Castle to make it more magical! The Cars Ridemakerz experience which allows children…

  • competition - days out

    HMS Belfast review and giveaway

    We were invited to explore the newly opened Operations Room on HMS Belfast, an historic vessel moored on the Thames. The Operations oom area was the nerve centre and brain of the entire ship and new interactives have brought it back to life. We tried our hand on the new interactive experience inspired by the Pony Express, the code name given to a major exercise in which HMS Belfast played a leading role. We gathered round the plotting table for the newly created game which uses simulated radar to show the position of other ships and aircraft involved in the…

  • days out - Family Life - Local Review - London

    Our Half-Term Adventure: London Aquarium

    We had an adventure last week when we hopped on the tube and ventured into central London. Wednesday was my husband’s birthday and we thought we’d head to the SEA LIFE London Aquarium for the day. Pre-baby we used to do pop into town at the drop of a hat but with a small child in tow it takes a bit more planning. Anyway, Edward loves the tube and we soon arrived on the South Bank.  Unfortunately we hadn’t remembered that it was half-term and it was also overcast with the promise of rain. The size of the queue outside…