There is one happy little five year old tonight that I know of – she’s upstairs right now, excited. For a lot of the time she was in Reception she was obsessed every night, tuning in religiously to Cbeebies to watch Topsy and Tim – and they released the news today that Topsy and Tim are back!!
The new adventures will place them in Year 1, and tackle things which six year olds are likely to come up against – Tim needing glasses, going camping – oh it’s quite exciting really!
CBeebies original drama Topsy And Tim is to return to the channel for ten brand new episodes this autumn. The new series has been commissioned by Controller of CBeebies, Kay Benbow, and is made by award-winning production company Darrall Macqueen.
Topsy And Tim draws on the legacy of the books by Jean and Gareth Adamson, with a focus on big drama inspired by the small stuff in little people’s lives, and was the most successful series on CBeebies in 2014/2015.
The series returns with the same core cast, Jocelyn Macnab as Topsy, Joshua Lester as Tim, Anna Acton as Mummy and Chris Hannon as Dad – and with some bold and exciting adventures for the twins. All ten episodes are 15 minutes in length and are filmed from the point of view of the six year-old twins who are taking the next steps towards independence. The series aims to encourage children’s personal, social and emotional development as they identify with and learn from the twins’ experiences.
Topsy And Tim are now in Year 1 at Hatcham Primary School. The series follows their adventures inside and outside school as they face new, bigger challenges: a camping adventure with their great friend, Kerry, and her family ends up becoming a dramatic emergency. In another episode, Tim realises he might need to wear glasses. Across all ten episodes the twins encounter unexpected difficulties that they overcome together, making their family unit even stronger.
We got to visit the Topsy and Tim set and watch them film the episode where they’re nervous about starting school almost a year and a half ago (which feels like yesterday). H swears by Topsy and Tim – it’s a soap opera for five year olds – normal stuff happening to normal kids. It doesn’t matter what I think, as for each fifteen minute episode she is giggling along with the twins’ stories – and she has grown up with the books. We’re delighted that Topsy and Tim are back, and we’re really looking forward to it starting! Roll on September….!
Shrek’s Adventure opened recently at the South Bank in London, and as we’re Merlin Premium passholders we got a chance to go and visit. Read on to find out what we thought.
Shrek’s Adventure is the newest Merlin attraction at London’s South Bank. It seemed an odd choice for Merlin – what exactly would it involve? Information is scarce, though there are trailers up on the official site. Being Premium Merlin passholders we got a special green ticket invite to book tickets and try it out, and despite the site crashing, we managed to get tickets for last Sunday.
We had no idea what to expect. Information is scarce on the Shrek’s Adventure website other than mentioning a 4D bus ride – it seemed like there was quite the surprise element to it all.
TOP TIP. Watch Shrek at least a week before you plan to go. We didn’t, so forgot a few of the references. We also forgot H wouldn’t remember ‘I’m A Believer’ which does feature – oops.
Your timeslot is carefully monitored by someone at the door dressed in a pilot’s uniform (think Scooch at Eurovision), and when it’s your turn you’ll head into the building, past a security check (where we were also handed three limited edition Puss in Boots pop badges) and an x-ray which showed up funny things, the obligatory photos in various poses, then onwards to the main area – but you’re not there just yet. After walking down a corridor you’ll enter an area where you’re asked to wait to take a lift down to the next floor.
The timeslot before us were just heading into the lifts, so we knew there would be a bit of a wait, and once we were downstairs we could hear them shouting out something. Soon enough it was our turn – where we were greeted by another actor in a pilot’s uniform, but this time a bit of audience participation – and our turn to do the aforementioned shouting. You’re probably a good 20 minutes in by this point – so be prepared for the queuing.
TOP TIP. The staff made sure to mention the toilets are at the entrance – so make sure you go before you start rather than relying on finding somewhere once you’re in there.
Were we excited – YES! So we made it known, and once the group before us had moved on, we entered the main room, a large room where Princess Fiona greeted us, had us doing a singalong of ‘I’m a Believer’ and directing us to the bus for Far Far Away.
Much has been said about the bus ride – and it is really impressive. You’re given an amazing 4D experience riding in the bus and meeting a few Dreamworks characters along the way (you can see parts of it on the YouTube video below). H’s face was a picture! Shaun and I both got splashed and H thought it was magical – not being able to work out how they did it – she was convinced we had definitely driven somewhere. I wish it had been longer – definitely the highlight!
Things don’t go to plan which is where things begin – you’re set with the challenge to locate Shrek and find the magic portal to get back to London. This is where the people in charge of each room (there are ten rooms in total) must be really on the case – once one set of 30 people have vacated a room, the next lot are in. Each room has different scenarios, stories, activities, participation – this is an adventure, after all.
The most refreshing thing of all was being asked not to take any photos. The uniqueness of Shrek’s Adventure is not knowing what is coming. I loved the surprise element of it all.
My only criticism of Shrek’s Adventure is that it seems like the sort of place you’d only go to once – when you know the story, that’s it. I’m hoping they’ll change things around a bit, as what might make you jump or be unexpected won’t be a second time. How long could it stay open? Why just Shrek and not a Dreamworks Adventure? I don’t know, but I know I enjoyed it, and wondered how it would work, and now having done it, it makes sense. All the characters I remember from Shrek made an appearance, and most of all, H loved it.
You get to meet the big man at the end too – and everyone gets a turn. There are also other Dreamworks characters – we got King Julien – and plenty of photo opportunities with scenes from Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. Again, H was very happy – and at this point you can get your cameras and phones out again.
At the end you get an opportunity to buy a book with the three photos taken at the start plus more taken on your journey – all logged via a wristband you’re given at the start. I liked the book – it’s quite nice and sturdy, and with our Merlin discounts it was £20. You can buy more photos for an additional £10, but we didn’t bother. On the way out there’s the merchandise stall, where H spent some of her pocket money (on a proper bark pencil, branded Shrek) and we treated her to a magic wand pen. There was plenty of merch for the other Dreamworks characters too and we made the most of our passholder discount again.
For Shrek’s Adventure we were able to prebook for £1 on our Premium passes , though you can just turn up and get the next available slot – but as the numbers are strict you may end up waiting if it’s busy. Standard passholders can get into Shrek’s Adventures for free from January next year.
The official Shrek’s Adventure website is over here. Tickets can be bought from £23.40 which seems like a lot, but the whole experience is over an hour, and if you compare what you get price wise to the London Eye, then it’s good value. It is also available as part of a combination ticket for all the Merlin attractions around the South Bank.
One day I received an email offering me the chance to review from the I Heart Wines range, and being a wine-loving kind I was not about to turn it down – so enthusiastically accepted! The only downside was finding time to drink it, but drink it we did, and here’s our thoughts.
I Heart Wines are a range of wines which are fruit-driven and great quality. We were sent the Pinot Grigio to try. I was saving it for our Wedding anniversary back in June, however on the day I had a funeral, so all celebrations were postponed. The following day I had my school reunion, so again, postponed. The following weekend we finally got to open the bottle, sit outside and relax, celebrate 12 years of marriage and chat, and it was a wonderful summer night.
My first thoughts, I liked the bottle and label. They get the type of wine across well, and there are suggestions of foods to eat with it which was helpful. We had already eaten so didn’t match our food, and instead just had it once H had gone to bed, I do always find it helpful with meal suggestions though as I don’t have the time to look it up. I Heart Wines have nice clear packaging, and I’m a sucker for the little details like the love heart on the cap.
The wine itself was a very light and crisp Pinot Grigio with hints of lemon, lime and peach, and suited our evening well. The label suggests seafood or chicken, but being vegetarian I settled with some plain crisps which were the perfect snack to drink alongside a glass. It dates back to 2013 and originates in Hungary, with an alcohol level of 11.5%.
I Heart Wines are available in many different varieties to suit all tastes, all packaged with their striking detail – you’d know one of their bottles when you see it. You can buy the wines in all good supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons. I’ve spotted Nisa stock them too, so I’ll be stocking up in our local store next time I’m there!
Not sure which wine to buy? Well never fear, as there are now miniature bottles available for six of the I Heart Wines summer range too – at 187ml that’s a nice size if you fancy trying a bit of each one. I’m looking out for the Zinfandel Rose myself – although I think I may just go for the bigger bottle!
As I Heart Wines say :
We love wine. We love everything about wine.
We love that there is always something new to try.
It might be a grape variety, a style, a country or even an unusual food match.
This range is a collection of some of our favourite wines.
All you have to do is follow your heart and pour yourself a glass
♥
We were sent a bottle of I Heart Wines Pinot Grigio for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.
Sunday 5th July. H had a party, and we went to buy a new umbrella for our outdoor area. However, we don’t have as much money any more. Fortunately, we have some Love2Shop vouchers. We had an awful experience in Homebase the previous weekend, being kept at Customer Services for 45 minutes before we walked out, so I reserved in store at Argos. Shaun paid for the umbrella, only for them to have a power cut – not their fault, mind! About 45 minutes later we finally had our umbrella!
Monday 6th July. Our paddling pool has has holes in it. Arse.
Tuesday 7th July. When you get a song stuck in your head, your child tries to video you singing it and ends up taking a bad photo. AKA too tired to remember to take a picture, this is all there was.
Wednesday 8th July. Impromptu meet up after school today, which resulted in H and her friend writing some songs. Bear in mind she’s five, likes One Direction and is learning a Bruno Mars song for school. This is the result.
Thursday 9th July. My desk fan. Best thing ever. A USB desk fan. All MINE.
Friday 10th July. Gave H her copy of ‘First News’ which she settled to read. We weren’t sure if she was too young, but had to bear in mind although she’s still five, she’s doing mostly Year 2 work at school anyway, including watching Newsround. She knew it was the ten year anniversary of the London Bombings this week – I had no idea she knew anything about it. So I thought it was probably time she read a bit more.
A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on
Saturday 11th July. Football of course. Seven girls turned up this week – enough to make a team. They were given pink bibs. H wasn’t happy about this (she hates pink, loves blue). I chatted with another parent about how a lot of people are saying it’s sexist the girls get to go for free, whereas boys pay – but there are 20 boys, to usually 2 or 3 girls. 7 girls is a huge step forward – having a team of girls is massive. They were given pink bibs and called the Pink Ladies which I approved of for the Grease connection, but that was it. They were fabulous, so proud of them all – even though they didn’t win and had help (two of the girls were really little, and all the boys were much older). We were all cheering on the pink ladies at the side of the pitch, it was lovely.
Miffy is 60, and there are many things to help her celebrate – including a fabulous Miffy Art Parade in several cities across The Netherlands and Japan.
The Miffy Art Parade is along the same lines as the Paddington and Shaun the Sheep ones we’ve had in London – and are a fab idea. We’re going to The Netherlands in August, and H and I are pretty excited to be there! The Dick Bruna Huis is currently being refurbished so is closed (shame, we’ll just have to go back next year…) but there’s still a Miffy exhibition at the main Centraal Museum in Utrecht – as well as plenty of statues to find. There are two at Schiphol Airport which means we’ll be starting almost as soon as we land!
Across Amsterdam, The Hague and of course Utrecht there are several Miffy statues to be found. I have to say, I was pleased the Shaun the Sheep app existed as quite often I was stood metres away from the statues, having no idea they were there, so this will be a challenge – but one we’re all looking forward to. I’ve been reliably informed by a colleague who lives in Amsterdam that there’s a Miffy Square and they’re quite easy to find!
Each Miffy Art Parade statue has been customised by a different artist – including Dick Bruna’s daughter – there are 45 statues in the Netherlands – how many will we find? We shall see…
The Miffy Art Parade is across various sites, locations can be found here. The statues are there to see until the 30th September 2015!
If all this wasn’t enough, we have an announcement to make – we’re joining the Miffy Mums! Having loved Miffy since I was a little girl (and I remember my parents going to The Netherlands in my 30’s, and my dad buying me something Miffy related for old time’s sake (but he lost it)), I’m glad to be passing the books on to H – who also loves them. So we’re going to have a super Miffy year this year!
Sunday 28th June. I woke up at midnight, after collapsing on the settee after the BBQ, as it was England’s crucial game against Canada – which we won. Which I managed to stay awake through, and couldn’t then sleep for an hour afterwards, taking me to around 3.30am. It was stressful – but so enjoyable. There have been so many people I’ve chatted to who have talked down the Women’s World Cup, and it makes me want to cry. You have women representing our country, who are amazing ambassadors, no scandal, no overpaid spoilt brattishness (some of them even have full time jobs) – just women proud to be playing, amazed they’ve achieved so much, and belief. It has been amazing and I’m so proud and looking forward to the FA Cup Final on the 1st August. H’s home learning was to write about an Olympic sport, though we’ve since found out there’ll be no Team GB at the Rio Olympics which is a great shame. H will have to cheer Australia instead.
Monday 29th June. New glasses. I almost forgot it was time for H’s annual check, booked her in at a local opticians on the high street, and within an hour we’d had the test (her eyes are the same as last year which is good) and had chosen her glasses for this year. I was particularly pleased as these ones were free NHS ones – they’ve changed so much these days. The whole thing didn’t cost me a penny.
Tuesday 30th June. Picking up H’s glasses after school, we wandered back through the village. It was lovely and warm, and we stocked up on ice lollies, stopping for a quick break by the ponds (and a sneaky Feast). After having had my love of Carshalton taken away for a bit, it’s creeping back again. I like that we’re in London but it doesn’t feel like you are. You can still get a bus to Heathrow (and pay with your Oyster), taking just an hour and a half. We’re close, but not too close even if the rents are astronomical. If you close your eyes enough and use your imagination, that isn’t All Saints Church by the ponds, it’s a mysterious castle.
A photo posted by Jo Brooks (@mumfriendlyjo) on
Wednesday 1st July. This was the hottest day of the year, the day when Southern Trains really messed up and I finally snapped (translate – started another blog which collects my bad Southern Trains poetry that I write when the trains are delayed – it’s in the public’s interest for them to be on time now otherwise more bad poems will occur), the plumber fixed our two leaks, and it was hot hot hot. So Shaun got the paddling pool out the night before, and after school we sat in it and it was SO good.
Thursday 2nd July. Of course, there should be a photo here. But I forgot to take one of the England game, which reduced me to a mixture of sadness (the way we were knocked out) and relief (the third place game kicks off at 9pm), but yes, I stayed up until 2am watching the football, and as soon as the whistle went I was back to bed. Midnight kick off’s are not good things on a working day. I even had to have a weak coffee – my first caffeine since November.
Friday 3rd July. We didn’t make it to Andy’s wake in The Sun on Thursday due to many reasons, so popped in on Friday to raise a glass and learn to crochet. Which, incredibly, I picked up really easily. I’m not sure how – but after customising the way I hold things and knowing what was important and what wasn’t, somehow I cracked it. Which was quite surprising as the first time I tried I was hopeless and we gave up. So yeah, crochet! Let’s just get it finished now…
Saturday 4th July. England’s last World Cup game, and our school fair. H has football of course, which Shaun has taken her to. I said “I want to take a photo of you in your kit. Do a World Cup pose” (as the players almost always have their arms folded) so she did this one. If your girl plays football and you’re taking pictures, don’t forget about the Football Association’s We Can Play campaign – right now it is an amazing time for girls to love football, so many more opportunities are being created, and it’s exciting. Football has never just been for boys – it’s for everyone.
