• eating out - Hillingdon - Local Review - London - parenting - Ruislip

    Enjoying the new Spring menu at Cafe Rouge

    We have a lovely Cafe Rouge on our local hight street. It’s in a beautiful old building – for some reason this always ticks all my boxes when I’m eating out – and I love to eat local. We were invited along to try the new Spring menu at Cafe Rouge so yesterday, after a day of gardening and relaxing at home, we went along to try it out for ourselves. We’ve been to Cafe Rouge quite a few times now. It’s our go-to place when we have family and friends round as we know there’s always something on the…

  • days out - Hertfordshire - Local Review - London - parenting

    A visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor {exploring the local area}

    As a stay at home mum I have plenty of free time to help at my children’s school. This is something I love to do. Every week I listen to children read for a couple of hours and I’ve helped on a few school trips too. Last term I was lucky to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor with my son and his year group. Their topic was religion and we had previously visited the local Church of England Church. A visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple, just outside Watford. The Manor is owned and run by the International Society for…

  • days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    7 things to do in London in 2017

    I can’t lie. A small part of me was glad that the children returned to school and the husband to work this morning. I really enjoyed our Easter holidays but the days were just so busy and sociable. I missed my quiet time. We’re not blessed with any family anywhere near us so it’s pretty hard to do anything as a couple. For the last 7 years we’ve been a family and I love our family days out. But occasionally we remember our child-free days of going out after work, lazy weekend lunches and the hottest tickets for the latest…

  • days out - Hillingdon - Local Review - London - parenting

    Eastcote House Gardens {exploring the local area}

    We’ve now lived in our present house for 4 years. The time has gone so quickly but we’re still discovering local places. I thought it would be fun to write about some of favourite places, and record the new ones we discover too. As the weather is getting warmer we’re so excited to get out and about more. Eastcote House Gardens Eastcote House Gardens is actually one of the first places we visited when we first moved to the area. It’s a large public park, formerly the site of Eastcote House. The house was demolished in the 1960s, leaving a…

  • days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    PAW Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue comes to the UK this summer

    If you have little ones then you’re going to want to know about PAW Patrol Live! “Race to the rescue” which has just announced the 2017 UK tour calendar. Oh yes, the UK’s favourite pups star in a heroic musical adventure coming to the UK this summer. My children adore PAW Patrol so we’re so excited to go and see our first live show! PAW Patrol Live! “Race to the Rescue” shows that “No job is too big, no pup is too small!” and shares lessons for all ages about community, social skills and problem solving as the characters each use their…

  • days out - Local Review - London - Star Wars crafts

    Star Wars Identities at the O2 London

    My son received tickets to go and see Star Wars Identities at the O2 London. He’s a huge Star Wars fan, we all are, so thought it would make a great trip during the Easter holidays. We planned a day out, travelling by tube, seeing the exhibition and coming part of the way back by river boat. Yesterday we had our big day out and had a brilliant time. When we entered the exhibition we were given a wristband and audio guide. Throughout the exhibition there were 10 points where you could touch in with your wristband and choose a Star…

  • days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    Introducing children to opera {Silver Electra by the ETO}

    With our Easter holiday in full swing, today I had a real treat for my children, tickets for Silver Electra by the English Touring Opera. The performance was taking place at Wilton’s Music Hall in London, the oldest grand music hall in the world. Silver Electra by the English Touring Opera Silver Electra is a show written for children and is suitable for the whole family, reimagining the story of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly the Atlantic. My children love watching live performances so I thought they would enjoy trying something new. The English Touring Opera is the leading…

  • days out - London

    Sightseeing in London with kids {London Duck Tours}

    With the weather getting warmer it is lovely to get out and about again. It doesn’t feel like we did much over the winter months, except for attend endless children’s parties. So with the warmer weather and longer days – thank you Spring! – we’ve booked plenty of activities to get outside. Today we hopped on the tube into London for the London Duck Tour. When we were in London a few weeks ago for The Art of the Brick we saw plenty of the distinctive yellow Duck Tour vehicles out and about so I was really happy we were…

  • days out - Lego - Local Review - London - parenting

    The Art Of The Brick: DC Super Heroes in London

    My 5 year old absolutely adores Batman so for Christmas we gave her tickets to go and see The Art Of The Brick: DC Super Heroes, billed as the world’s largest collection of Super Heroes-inspired LEGO artwork! Created by legendary Lego artist Nathan Sawaya, this is the second large-scale exhibition of his that we’ve been to see. It’s actually been two years ago since  we saw the last one, blogged about here. This new The Art Of The Brick, sub-titled DC Super Heroes is a contemporary art exhibition using nearly 2,000,000 bricks to create large-scale sculptures of the most enduring…