by jo

The Big Little Tent Festival has Launched!

The Big Little Tent Festival launched on the 16th and 17th July, and it’s something which appeals to me. It’s a scheme set up to encourage families to camp – even in their own back garden. Read on to find out more.

the big little tent festival logo

The Big Little Tent Festival is happening right now! Do you have a tent? Does it get used very often? Or are you like me, you once had a tent which is lost somewhere between house moves, never replaced, so your child has never experienced a night outside under the stars?

We live in London, and we have a yard. This is, of course, a difficulty when it comes to camping. There’s no ground to put the pegs in which is quite annoying. I’d love to camp outside. I have memories of my teenage years camping out in my parents back garden, listening to the radio and having a brilliant time. Add to that the aforementioned missing tent, and it’s fairly safe to say we haven’t really got going on this one.

However, I think The Big Little Tent Festival is a great idea! Which got me thinking, as we’re soon going to be staying in a yurt – doing a spot of glamping, as they call it. So we’ve been sent a kit from The Caravan Club who organise the festival, in order for us to create our own. Just because it launched on those dates doesn’t mean you can’t hold a festival of your own over the summer.

Here’s what The Caravan Club have to say –

Thousands of children are missing out on the fun and excitement of exploring the great outdoors because of parents’ aversions to camping.

A new survey released today by The Caravan Club reveals that despite nearly two thirds (61%) of British parents camping in their youth; more than a third (37%) have never given their own children the same opportunity to make family memories on a holiday in the great outdoors.

The research has highlighted parents’ attitudes towards camping, with more than half avoiding trips because of the unreliable British weather (56%).  Other reasons include not having the right gear (22%) and fear of mud, dirt and wildlife (13%).

A surprising one in 20 parents have never spent time outdoors with their children despite more than half of parents (56%) admitting that their children ask to go camping.

Yet when it comes to who is responsible for introducing children to nature, there is some confusion. A whopping 82% thinking it is dad’s job; three quarters of those surveyed (74%) think it should be up to mums; and over a quarter (28%) think after-school clubs should be leading the way.   

The survey falls ahead of the launch of The Caravan Club’s Big Little Tent Festival™ in partnership with BritMums.  The campaign encourages families to pitch a tent in their own back garden, and enjoy the delights of camping; campfire cooking, outdoor games, exploring the local fauna and flora and creating shared memories all within reach of the comforts of home. 

big little tent festival

With this July set to be a scorcher, after the recent weeks of miserable wet weather, the Big Little Tent Festival™ will demonstrate what the British outdoors has to offer this summer and why families should be getting outside and having fun. The free festival begins on the weekend of 16 and 17 July.  Families are encouraged to join in the fun throughout the summer holidays, on a day that works best for them, right up until 19 September by downloading the free festival pack at caravanclub.co.uk/BLTF. The packs include wristbands, bunting to help create a festival atmosphere, recipe suggestions to be cooked over a campfire (or barbecue), festival flags and invitations for little ones keen to get their friends involved in the garden camp out.

There are plenty of chances to win prizes with The Big Little Tent Festival™ too – every family who signs up will be entered into a prize draw to win a European camping holiday. There are BBQ prizes across the social media platforms live from now until 19 September 2016 along with Keela outdoor clothing and Dometic cool bags. Simply share your photos and videos of you showing off your outdoor cooking skills during the Big Little Tent Festival™ using #BigLittleTentFest16 to be in with a chance of winning.

Families can follow the fun on Facebook
Twitter: @BigLittleTent
Instagram @BigLittleTentFestivaland join in the festival feeling with the hashtag #BigLittleTentFest16

by jo

Bottersnikes and Gumbles is Coming to CBBC!

Bottersnikes and Gumbles is coming to CBBC! We were recently invited to a launch to learn more about the show and to help spread the word.

Bottersnikes and Gumbles is coming to CBBC at the end of this month. It will live in the 6pm slot.

So what exactly are Bottersnikes and Gumbles? Based on the much-loved Children’s Books by S.A. Wakefield, and the illustrations of Desmond Digby, the creators of the show, the creatures are lovable Gumbles and evil Bottersnikes who have adventures in their land based around the Australian bush.

Bottersnikes and Gumbles - Introducting the Gumbles, Bottersnikes and Gumbles is coming to CBBC

The Gumbles are Tink (voiced by Jason Callender who is on CBBC’s 4 O’Clock Club – H was very excited to meet him!), Happi (voiced by Jeff Rawle of Drop the Dead Donkey, Harry Potter and Hollyoaks fame – again, H was excited to meet Cedric Diggory’s dad!), Toot (voiced by Richard Grieve of Neighbours, Home & Away and Emmerdale fame – we got to have a chat with Richard too), Willi and Jolli (voiced by Akiya Henry), and Merri and Bounce (voiced by Kathryn Drysdale of Two Pints of Lager, Tripping Over and St Trinians fame). They’re the good guys. They do fun stuff like hang around in their tree house watching the world go by and eat grubs.

Bottersnikes and Gumbles - Meet the Bottersnikes, Bottersnikes and Gumbles is coming to CBBC

The Bottersnikes are The King (the laziest and greediest, voiced by Richard Grieve), Chank (who wants to be King, voiced by Alex Babic), Gubbo (voiced again by Alex Babic), The Weathersnike (voiced by Miriam Margolyes), Glob and Smiggles (again, voiced by Richard Grieve) and Snorg (voiced by Simone Craddick).

Tink, Bounce and Willi are our main three Gumbles, and indeed when Bottersnikes and Gumbles comes to CBBC you’ll get to meet them properly. For now, there’s a trailer over at the CBBC website.

We had a chat with Richard Grieve which I’ll post about soon!

 

Bottersnikes and Gumbles is coming to CBBC on the 25th July at 6pm every day, repeated the following day at 4.30. There are 52 episodes, all eleven minutes long. The targeted age for these are 6-11 year olds. We’ve seen a few of the episodes and they’re all great fun.

As well as this, there will be a Bottersnikes and Gumbles game on the CBBC Website. H had several goes and she loves it!  She loves playing the CBBC games, so keep an eye over there – the game will launch in September.

You can follow Bottersnikes and Gumbles on Facebook and Twitter too!

by jo

Finding Dory

Finding Dory is the follow-up to the highly successful Finding Nemo, and takes us on a story with Dory. We’ve been to see a 3D preview screening as part of our DisneyLife membership which we now pay for.

Finding Dory

Finding Dory. Ahh see, sequels can be so difficult to make when following something which is much-loved and done well. In a nutshell, Finding Dory succeeds – it really does. It’s funny, it isn’t a tear jerker like some of the Pixar films can be, though it has its moments.

We have a brief recap of Finding Nemo and Dory’s life before we’re whisked forward a year and our story begins.

Dory has short term memory loss. We find this out straight away as her parents are trying to teach her to remember things – and through a chain of events (which Dory has flashbacks to throughout the film) she loses her parents. In the future she has a flashback while helping Nemo’s class and remembers her family and information about where they live. Accompanied by Nemo and his dad Marlin, they make their way to the Marine Life Institute on the other side of the ocean. They handily get a lift there from some turtles!

Finding Dory - Dory

So then it’s the big task of Finding Dory ‘s parents, which of course isn’t straightforward. Marlin and Nemo are split from Dory, who is captured and placed in the Marine Life Institute in quarantine, where she meets Hank, a seven legged octopus aka a septopus (he has seven tentacles due to being grabbed in the ‘Touch Pool’ area of the Marine Life Institute). Dory also meets friends she knew when she was younger.

There are plenty of twists and turns, plenty of laugh out loud moments, and some moments where you really hope good things will happen. It’s a really enjoyable hour and a half – and there’s a lot of Dory of course.

There is a LOT going on in Finding Dory, with an easy to follow plot. I found I didn’t drift off at all and was laughing a lot. It is definitely the lighter side of Pixar and – SPOILER ALERT – handy for concerned parents who know how Pixar films tend to go – there are no deaths.

Finding Dory H with poster

The final word goes to H on this, who as we were leaving the cinema (we had to rush out, but I’ve since read there’s a little Finding Nemo reference right at the end) said, “we’ll be getting this on DVD, right?” – think that’s a big thumbs-up then!

Finding Dory is in UK Cinemas from the 29th July 2016. We received a free invite to attend a 3D screening via our paid DisneyLife subscription.

Oh, and as a final note, H still has NO idea she’s going to Disneyland Paris this year – and we’re doing a great job at keeping quiet about it all!

by jo

Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Up with Team Dory!

Tom Daley and Rebecca Adlington have launched a summer of activity, encouraging families to join Team Dory and ‘just keep moving’ with Disney, Change4Life and the Amateur Swimming Association.

Tom Daley Change 4 Life Team Dory

Tom Daley filming at the London Aquatic Centre for a new campaign from Disney, Change4Life and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA).

Team Dory would like to invite you for a brand new 10 minute Shake Up in association with Disney, Change4Life, The ASA and the release of Finding Dory.

British sporting champions Tom Daley and Becky Adlington have joined forces and are encouraging children to ‘just keep moving’ this summer, as they launch nationwide interactive family swim sessions and a brand new 10 Minute Shake Up campaign – all inspired by the new Disney·Pixar blockbuster, Finding Dory.

The campaign from Disney, Change4Life and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) sees the launch of themed family swim sessions at hundreds of pools across the UK as well as new 10 Minute Shake Up activities, in a bid to make exercise fun and help children get the 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity they need each day.

Rebecca Adlington Change4Life Team Dory

Becky Adlington filming at the Manchester Aquatic Centre for a new campaign from Disney, Change4Life and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA).

The Finding Dory inspired swim sessions, which are co-created with the ASA and run from 22ndJuly until 4th September, will provide an hour of in-water storytelling for the whole family, teaching children key swimming skills as they are taken on a journey with Dory and friends, led by trained instructors.

The Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Ups with Disney are back for a third summer to encourage children to get the 60 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity they need each day with fun 10 minute bursts of activity. For 2016, there are even more interactive Shake Ups than last year, including those inspired by the new Disney·Pixar film, Finding Dory, which set a box office record for an animated film when it opened in the United States in June.

British diving champion Tom Daley, alongside double Olympic Gold medal-winning swimmer and mum Becky Adlington are supporting the initiative. Tom is starring in a series of short films, which show that even serious athletes can take time for 10 minutes of fun, whilst Becky is sharing her top tips for inspiring children to get active in and out of the pool.

To coincide with the launch of the campaign, Disney, Change4Life and the ASA commissioned a survey of more than 1,000 children aged 5 to 11 and their parents on their attitudes towards physical activity. The survey revealed that three quarters of children aged 5 to 11 (73%) want to do more physical activity, and 56% of children miss taking part in school PE lessons over the summer.[i] Finding ways for their children to be active is a challenge faced by families, with 61% of parents saying they struggle for ideas during the school holidays.1

 The research showed that more than half of children (55%) said that swimming is one of their favourite ways to keep physically active during the summer holidays.1 39% of 5 to 11 year olds also said that they would want to go swimming more often if they could go with family members.1

Physical activity helps children build social skills, boost self-confidence, improve bone and heart health and maintain a healthy weight,[ii] yet just 21% of boys and 16% of girls currently meet the national recommended level of activity of 60 minutes each day.[iii]

 Campaign ambassador Tom Daley comments:
“Most people look at professional athletes and see the years of training and dedication they have put in, but do sometimes forget that what we do is also really fun and exciting. I’m a massive Disney fan myself and can’t think of a better way to get kids enjoying being active than combining their favourite stories and characters with exercise – whether that’s a Finding Dory swim session where families can learn key ASA skills or a Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Up game kids can play with their friends in the park. For me, showing that sport is not a chore and really has a fun side is an important message and I’m thrilled to be supporting this campaign”.

Campaign ambassador Becky Adlington comments:
“Since I stopped competitive swimming a few years ago, I understand how tricky it can be to fit exercise into a busy routine – and also make it fun. As a mum, it’s even harder. But I’m passionate about inspiring the future generation to get active and that’s why I’m supporting this summer’s campaign from Disney, Change4Life and the ASA. The summer holidays can seem really long but there are loads of great ideas to get kids up and about with new 10 Minute Shake Ups, and what better way to spend time together than enjoying a family swim session where you’re learning key skills.”

Search Change4Life online for Disney and Finding Dory inspired 10 Minute Shake Ups and don’t forget to book your swim session today at www.disney.co.uk/justkeepmoving. We signed up for the Just Keep Moving sessions last year and received our Team Dory pack in the post last week too, so keep an eye out!

by jo

Going to Junior School

I hadn’t really thought much beyond H starting school when she was offered her place three years ago.Yet here we are at the end of her last term, and I’ve had to think ahead for some things, if only to save a bit of money and spare H’s anxieties. Here are some top tips for starting Junior School.

back-to-school, junior school

Junior school covers the next four years of H’s education – from Year 3 to 6. (they were never called that back in my day).  I’ve found myself being prepared almost a year up-front. Here’s my top tips if you’re in the same position or heading that way.

  1. Know your new school uniform. We’re changing from a red uniform to blue which is slightly annoying, as you end up forking out for new jumpers and cardigans. However, there are still lots of things which can be worn across both schools. There are common colours with things like socks and tights and trousers and skirts stay the same colour. If H grew out of any of her red jumpers and cardigans I replaced them with cheaper ones from the supermarket. I’m looking forward to ditching all the white socks!
  2. Visit the new school fairs! We didn’t know until April whether we had a space at her new school but having her familiarise herself with the building and what could be has meant she isn’t anxious at all about the change. For H it was her first time visiting her school so the idea of it became less scary. She had her first proper visit with school last week (in June) – it can feel like a long time to wait when you haven’t been before. She walked around like she’d been a million times when she finally got to go! We did this with her current school as well.
  3. If you’re offered the chance to tour the school but you can’t make what’s on offer, it’s worth getting in touch with them to see if you can organise an alternative time. We couldn’t get the time off work, and organised another time when we could. It meant we could point out things we’d been shown and teachers we had met.
  4. Sign up to Facebook/Twitter groups relating to the school. While you’re not yet there, it’s handy to find out about things like second hand uniform sales. We picked up a waterproof school coat and a PE bag for £1 each. We’ve ordered uniform for when she starts, but from doing that we’ve saved ourselves almost £20.

Do you have any top tips for making that switch to Junior School? Let us know in the comments!

by jo

Souptastically Souper Sweet Summer Soup

It’s been a while, but here we are, the middle of summer and yes, we’re still eating soup – and I’ve been experimenting over the last few months with a combination that I think works a treat – a Souper Sweet Summer Soup.

Souper Sweet Summer Soup served

My Souper Sweet Summer Soup is made with my Morphy Richards Soup Maker, pretty much on a weekly basis. We’re on our second maker now as the motor went on the first (we were offered a discount on a replacement one, but got a good deal via Argos in the end).

Every Wednesday H has swimming, and while her lesson is at 4.30, by the time we’re home it’s getting on for 5pm, and I really don’t fancy cooking. I like sweet soup, as does my little madam. Shaun isn’t so keen. So the good thing is this one tastes good but also works with some salty seasoning if you prefer savoury.

Also – it’s really easy.

Souper Sweet Summer Soup

For the Souper Sweet Summer Soup you need…
one butternut squash.
A handful of sweetcorn. I use frozen sweetcorn, but you can also use canned. I’ve used an entire can and can highly recommend!
One apple – the sweeter the better really.

Chop it all into cubes and add water to the lowest line inside the soup maker, and that’s that. I don’t even add any bouillon to it. Sweet soup isn’t to everyone’s taste, so if that’s you, just add salty seasoning when serving. Shaun says the Nando’s Peri-Peri salt works pretty well – and gives it a bit of a kick.

Serve with some freshly toasted naan (I use Weight Watchers ones) or pitta breads, and that’s pretty much it. Incredibly easy and really tasty. I’ve tried with two apples which makes it just a fraction too sweet, and I’m going to try with cauliflower very soon (maybe next week) as I think this combination could work!

H ate the lot too. So for that reason alone I can’t complain. I’ve been browsing at Amazon and can see Morphy Richards have a new soup maker out – this time you can pause it! That’s the one disadvantage you have with the maker I’ve got – so that’s on my to-get list for future reference.

by jo

Enjoy More Water with Robinsons

Robinsons Squash’d have just launched two new flavours: Orange & Peach and Lemon & Pink Grapefruit which are also available as limited edition Wimbledon themed bottles! We were sent those and one of each of the other flavours to encourage H to drink more water – something I’m forever nagging her to do!

Robinsons Squashd Swingball

Robinsons have just launched two new flavours of their juice – also available as a Squash’d bottle. I don’t know about you, but every single day H comes home from school with a water bottle which is almost always STILL full. It’s quite frustrating. We’ve had incidents recently where her daily water consumption needs to be upped, yet she gets too distracted at school to actually drink it – I should be grateful she’s playing and doing stuff, but I do wish that something would give her an incentive to drink water.

Then along came Robinsons. Their Squash’d range of drinks arrived thanks to BritMums, and it has helped a lot. Every afternoon from school I can fill a pint glass with some water and a squirt of whichever flavour I choose, and you can guarantee within half an hour she has drunk the lot (and tried to guess which it is). Each Squash’d capsule makes 20 drinks – and it’s small enough to take around with you when you’re out and about.

Drinking Robinsons Squashd after Rainbows

We were provided with a sticker chart to track how much she has been drinking. Being a six and three quarter year old, H now thinks she’s too old for such a thing (I thought this too, but then realised being a motivated 40-something Trip Advisor contributor who gets virtual badges when I submit a certain number of reviews is pretty much the same) but stick the water and juice in a fancy cup and that’s it, she drinks the lot.

Annoyingly, school won’t allow the children to take in juice with their water as I know she’d drink a lot more if that was the case.

Robinsons Squash’d contains real fruit in every drop, and is definitely working in getting H to drink more water. It contains no added sugar, is free from artificial colours and preservatives too.

What I like the most about the Robinsons Squash’d we received was getting H to work out which flavour her drink is. I’m growing to love the “ooh, I taste a hint of apple in this one” and “I bet this is the Summer Fruits flavour”.  It’s really good for After School Snacks too!

Robinsons Squashd After School Snacks

H’s friends came over for a playdate after school and tried out a few of the flavours. One of the mums always keeps a bottle of Squash’d in the cupboard – it doesn’t take up a lot of space and is great for making a quick cup after school – especially when you get caught out and don’t have much in! Our biggest problem is making sure that Shaun doesn’t drink it all….

Of course, fruity water is fun but it isn’t the only way to guarantee your child drinks enough every day. We have our handy Lego moulds which I’ve been playing around with a bit as well as colouring in the ice tray in the freezer in pretty pinks, yellows and oranges as I spill them everywhere! So what I’ve done, I fill the bottom of the mould in one flavour. Once that has set it looks something like this, which is utterly pointless when it comes to having your lolly as the stick is barely joined to the main body.

Robinsons Squashd Ice Lollies Stage 1

So you add another Robinsons Squash’d flavour! Voila. Stripy lolly. If I had the patience I’d make one with all six flavours we received – so keep an eye on my Instagram feed, you never know.

Robinsons Squashd Lego Ice Lolly

Two of the three lollies weren’t right so I’ve added a third layer in a different flavour, so that’ll be interesting to see after school tomorrow. See, that’s another thing – our school seems to permanently have an ice cream van outside at home time and I always make sure not to take any money with me. Now we’ve got better ones at home!

In conclusion, the Robinsons Squash’d bottles are already doing the trick – H will demand a drink when she gets home from school every night. She’s drinking loads more water, and I reckon that’s a RESULT!

This post is an entry for BritMums #EnjoyMoreWater Challenge, sponsored by Robinsons – you can find them over here.

We were sent six flavours to try out as part of this challenge.

by jo

BML16 – My Thoughts About BritMumsLive 2016

Yesterday was BML16 – BritMums Live – except these days there’s less of the mums and more of the dads (two of which were highlights for me with their keynotes) so it’s better known as BML. I was going for the third time, so knew what to expect… though really you don’t know exactly what to expect until you’re there.
BML16 start and end

So without going into a long ramble, let’s try summarise BML16 in bullet points….

• Meeting bloggers – I finally got to meet Paula from Mummy vs Work there. Years ago BritMums did a ‘Big Sis’ type thing, where they got experienced bloggers to help out newbies. I was paired up with three bloggers, two of whom I’m still in touch with, so it was lovely to finally meet Paula and her husband Phill after all this time! I hung out for most of the day with Mary from Over 40 and Mum to One, talking wine, politics, 80s pop music and all kinds of things, and it was a fabulous day. Plans will be made to meet again and have H hang out with her boy, Monkey wherever we meet!

BML with mary drinking fizz

• The brands. I never go specifically for them, so I like being surprised by what is there. I was really impressed with the following ones…

BML16 Diary Doll pants
– Diary Doll – It took me about five minutes to realise I was buying some pants from Carol Smillie. Someone (maybe a BML16 person) took a photo of me holding some pants up when I was working out which size I was (14-16 which Carol estimated when we were trying to work out my size) – and they’re SO pretty too.

BML16 Carol Smillie Diary Doll
– Bollox. I’d read up about them beforehand, and they’re a brand I want to support. Basically they have men’s undies which contribute towards male cancer charities. I bought a pair for Shaun who says they’re very comfortable – I suspect they’ll be his new running undies…
– Touchnote. I really like what they offer. Basically, you download their app and are able to send postcards from wherever you are from your phone. So, say for example we’re in Disneyland Paris and H has a fabulous picture taken with Mickey Mouse. I take a photo on my phone, I can create a postcard via the app, and get it sent to Shaun’s mum in Australia. Because they have a printing facility in Australia, it gets processed there! It isn’t cheap, but I love that postage is included in the price and that they have several centres around the world. They’ve also got a new service where you can get your photos printed which isn’t cheap – BUT – they have your whole photo on there, not cropped like some services do. So I’m looking forward to using Touchnote.

BML16 touchnote laminated dress up doll
– Fellowes Brands. I never thought I would want a laminator as much as I did, especially once I was making my way home. We laminated a Snow White style doll and two dresses which are now H’s latest thing, a dress up doll. We’re talking about drawing some more dresses so she can decorate them, or in H’s words “just find someone with a laminator so we can make more!” (if only it was that easy!)
I was impressed with their air purifier too – what a difference something like that would have made when we had our carbon monoxide leak.
– DC Thomson. The magazine people. H now has a Jacqueline Wilson magazine and I think we may be heading in that direction with her reading… she loves watching Hetty Feather on CBBC, so this was a good match for us. Add a goodie bag with lots of things perfect for an almost seven year old, and I hope we’ll be doing more with DC Thomson over the coming months.
– The Big Little Tent Festival sounds like a great idea, though unfortunately we have a back yard – but there are still ways to join in. It runs from the 16th July until 19th September and we’re going to look into this – plus we are staying in a yurt for some of that, so then may be a good chance to dip our toes into the water! They had a lovely room at BML16 with plenty of fizz and food on offer – their tiramisu was FAB!

BML16 Merci Maman Pass the Parcel Duchess Necklace
– Merci Maman. I was one of the lucky ones – at the very start we played Pass the Parcel, with one of their necklaces at the end. I’ve worn it for two days now and it’s so pretty! It was also the most expensive thing I was wearing, worth almost £80 (it’s the Duchess Necklace). I wasn’t sure if it included nickel in it, but was reliably informed it’s an EU regulation that jewellery can’t contain it any more so I should be okay. They do some very pretty jewellery too!

BML16 Clangers
– The Clangers. There was a Clangers Kindness Tree where I added a kind thing I’d done (I’ve given up my seat on the bus or train several times this last couple of weeks – pregnant ladies, people on crutches, when people seem to live in their phone bubble or behind a newspaper ignoring what’s around them) and gushed a bit about how I love The Clangers and have a toy somewhere I’m refusing to let H have. Having said that, when I got home with a magazine and a whistle she’s laid claim to them immediately, so I’m hoping she’ll stay interested for a couple more years!! I grew up with The Clangers and it makes me happy that the new version keeps the spirit going so well.
• Then there’s the speakers. Anne-Marie Cockburn did the BML16 Keynote talking about her book 5,742 Days which deals with her life after her daughter died, up to her 16th birthday. She was selling copies of her book afterwards and I picked one up. I can relate to writing when grieving, I did it a lot when my dad died and found it helped me a lot although it has remained private, and while it feels wrong to say I’m looking forward to reading the book, I’m going to be reading it soon. She was amazing and inspirational.

BML16 Fat Girls Guide to Running
• Julie Creffield was a proper kick up the backside inspiration. She has the blog Too Fat to Run – the Fat Girl’s Guide to Running, which started because people told her she wouldn’t be able to do something, couldn’t do this, and so on. So she decided she would, and now runs marathons, and has a fabulous motto in life – set Big Fat Stupid Goals, as well as encouraging fat girls to run. She forgot to mention a new campaign which is encouraging more women to run – Julie’s target is to get 1 million women running by 2020, and this one is to get 10,000 women running on the 31st July. We’re on holiday then so while running might be out of the question, I know we’ll be doing a lot of walking so I’m going to try and make this work for me!

charly dove bml16 summary
• Charly Dove had a brill BML16 photography session. I love her photos, and know I’m more the take the snap and make it better kind of person – whereas she thinks a lot more about the picture. So I had some handy hints in this session.

bml16 cherry healey
• Cherry Healey was funny. I bought her book today.
• The BML16 Bloggers Keynote – big shout outs to the two dad bloggers who made me laugh and smile – Tim Liew’s Pretty in Pink was FABULOUS and Al from The Dad Network’s video was so funny too.

Did I enjoy BML16? Absolutely. The one day format works for me, even though I was shattered by the end of it all. If BritMums Live were ever to go back to two days again, please give the option of buying a one-day ticket.
I forgot my business cards! Typical.
I managed to catch up with everyone I wanted to, and met lots of new bloggers too, and put a lot of names to faces.
I even stayed for the BiBs – I don’t normally stick around for awards, but I was having too much fun.

Will I go next year? Well it depends on the format and price. I felt like I got my money’s worth. Thank you Susanna and Jen and the BritMums team for organising such a fab event!

 

by jo

I’m Going to BML16

It’s a funny old world. Back when I first became a parent in 2009 and started my original blog not long afterwards, which eventually became The Adequate Parent and had my pregnancy blog merged into it, I had no idea networks existed for bloggers.

But then BOOM! BritMums appeared, although I think it was called British Mummy Bloggers back then. I followed a few bloggers but didn’t make any friends. Somewhere along the way I persuaded some friends to be bloggers and met some mums locally who were too, and three years ago we all headed to BritMums Live (as it was then known). It was loads of fun and I got to know and meet loads of other bloggers. So much, that I went the following year – although that didn’t go so well as I had big back problems and left early.

BritMums

So here’s 2016. This year I’m on my own. No bloggers with me, just meeting others there. It’s quite a big step for me – in the past year my anxieties have really started to come out more – if I get too stressed or anxious about something I will have a hot flash – and they last for quite a long time and I get a bit embarrassed about it too (the joys of getting older). So why am I going on my own then?

I have no idea. But I am. So if you see a mum with a bright red face and chest, it’s just me. Do say hello!

So, there’s some questions to answer. Let’s go then…

My name: Jo
My blog: My first proper blog is Sweetfoolthemouth which dates back to around 2003. I was on LiveJournal for a few years until eventually doing my parent blog about H (my almost seven year old daughter) and then starting Mum Friendly. I have a few others, but since the price of domains has gone up I’m going to be getting rid of a few.
Find me on social media at: @MumFriendlyJo @Schmindieblogs on Twitter (least active social network though I do use it), MumFriendlyJo on Instagram (pretty active), Jo Adams on Facebook (most active).
How I look: Tall, long dark hair, bad roots (currently, hoping to get that sorted by Saturday). Indie. Glasses.
Is this my first blogging event? No, I’ve been to BritMums Live twice, plus several others.
I will be wearing… not sure yet. Something I will feel comfortable in though.
What I hope to gain from #BML16: I’m not sure. Inspiration.
My tips for a great conference: Plan which things you want to go to and stick to it. I missed almost everything at the last BritMums through a lack of planning and horrible back pain. There will be a lot of people there and a lot of people = a lot of noise, so choose an area with your friends will be so you know roughly where to look when you’re trying to find them. Have business cards ready too, even if you don’t give any out. Everyone else is probably as nervous as you.

See you there….

by jo

Mary Poppins at Southampton Mayflower

Way back in the early 2000’s, Shaun bought me tickets to see Mary Poppins on stage as my birthday present. I was pretty happy with it, and really enjoyed the show. When I spotted Cameron Mackintosh was bringing it out on tour I hung on hoping for a date near London, before eventually deciding we could really do with a weekend away – and our closest venue happened to be Southampton!
Zizi Strallen as Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins is one of my favourite Disney films – it’s magical, brings back fond childhood memories and of course has the wonderful Julie Andrews starring in the main role. So how well does it translate onto the stage?

Firstly, this isn’t an adaptation of the film. Many parts cross over, but it does focus on the books a little more. The focus of the film is Jane and Michael’s behaviour and relationship with their parents – and the various nannys they’ve had to squash their behaviour. Along comes Mary Poppins and the whole family goes on a magical ride while dealing with their issues, and coming out of the other side.

So what is different? Some of the songs have been rearranged, but not in a bad way. Some songs have been dropped. Some new songs have been created.

But what stays the same in Mary Poppins? The magic. Mary does go up the bannister on the stairs, she flies – several times. The classic songs are there. The first half highlight is ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ with the second half being ‘Step in Time’. ‘Chim Chiminee’ forms a narrative around the story as well. Quite frankly with these three I was delighted.

Then the cast – Zizi Strallen was wonderful – she played Mary Poppins straight, but with a good comic timing – I was often laughing out loud. She had me in tears at the end of both halves too – and only The Sound of Music makes me do that. Bert is played by Matt Lee who is brilliant – and what I liked the most, neither actor tried to be Julie Andrews or Dick Van Dyke (which I think The Sound of Music had a bit of – only Connie Fisher and Petula Clark have been the least-Julie-like Maria’s). The supporting cast were brilliant too – H loved the children who brought out plenty of giggles from her.

Here’s the trailer :

Mary Poppins is on tour right now – it’s the last night in Southampton tonight and they’re booking right up until next year. If you saw the London production, it’s exactly the same.

It’s a fabulous, magical night out. Oh, and there’s plenty of Mary Poppins merchandise for sale at the shows too – there’s even a parrot umbrella (£22 for us, I passed).

We managed to get tickets at the rear of the stalls at the Mayflower – a reasonable £35ish each. Add to that a night booked at the Ibis Budget which was a ten minute walk away and it all worked out pretty well.

For an even greater idea of what it’s like, here’s the trailer from when we saw it, starring Laura Michelle Kelly as Mary Poppins and Gavin Lee as Bert.

Check the Mary Poppins Musical dates over on the official site here – and get your tickets ordered soon!