21/04/201307/10/2014 by jo

Operation Dollshouse – Part Two

So last week we left the house as a shell which needed some personality, with gorgeous furniture inside but already Madam has decided she needs a bathroom. As luck would have it, she was ill on Monday still so Shaun stayed off with her and the two of them added paper to the inside of the house, and decorated the roof with orange ’tiles’. It reminds me of a kind of Dubrovnik orange – and looks fantastic.

There wasn’t enough orange paper to go round so I had to head to Poundland on Tuesday for their bargain packs of paper and fabrics (£1 of course!) – where there was a matching shade as well as some fabulous scraps which have since been made into carpets for the houses.

Tiger Stores have some fabric tape in stock at the moment (for £2-3), as well as some really good sticky paper (£3) so I bought a few bits – and these were used on the carpets as it’s good strong tape but easily moved. The sticky paper I used on the other side of the carpet – both sides are on some light card which is just slotted into the house, mainly to strengthen but also in case H fancies changing the carpets – then she has two options for each floor; the scraps from Poundland or a design from Tiger! It works pretty well.

One thing H feels she’s missing is a bathroom – it was our local car boot sale today and I found someone selling some Le Toy Van pieces (including ones from the starter set!) but no bathroom bits – and anyway we need to build an extra room for that! We did get some chairs which will fit in well, there’s just no room (but now I’m thinking a roof terrace on top of the bathroom.. ha, I’m getting a bit carried away here…) – but this is the joy of making the house this way, you can do anything.

So right now we’ve fully papered walls, floors and the roof – but we’ve still the outside of the house plus the chimney to do, as well as the bathroom.. and I just found a bargain Le Toy Van set on ebay! We’ll see how things go… H may have to earn the set through good behaviour… (is that mean?)

20/04/201326/03/2018 by Karen

Tommee Tippee

I have been a massive Tommee Tippee fan, ever since my son Jacob was born. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, I was very excited to get the chance to review a selection of products for the company.

Tommee Tippee set

I was asked to test the Active Sipper, Active Sporty and Active Straw cups, the First Cutlery Set and Snack N Go pot. Tommee Tippee recommend these products for children 12 months onwards.

I’ve been thinking about getting Jacob a ‘big boy’ cup for a little while now and was very pleased when I saw these products. Firstly what struck me is how attractive the cups are, they are brightly coloured with really pretty designs on them. All cups are available in ‘boy’, ‘girl’ or ‘neutral’ design. The Active Sipper is designed to help children practice open cup drinking, the Active Sporty, for the want of better words, is a child’s version of a sports bottle and the Active Straw has a nifty little flip-up straw. The Active Sipper and the Active Straw are insulated, which is great for on the go.

TT L Blue Cup

On the first day of receiving the Tommee Tippee products one was held hostage! My friends little boy came over and fell in love with one of the cups, this ended up with said cup being taken home and my friend desperately trying various methods of distraction to get the cup back to me… which, I believe, says great things about product desirability! The lids are interchangeable and the cups are very sturdy, which is great as a certain little person loves to throw his cups on the table once he has finished. As a result, this means we are always on the look out for items that can take a certain degree of throwing around and punishment. Jacob took to the cups quite easily, I expected him to have issues with the cups having no handles and the cup with the straw (as he’s used to tipping his cup up to drink) but he quickly realised how it all worked, which I was really impressed by.

TT Cutlery

Jacob has only very recently started taking an interest in cutlery. Before then he has developed a very efficient way of eating… namely by grabbing big handfuls of food and shoveling it into his mouth!

The Tommee Tippee cutlery is brightly designed and easy to hold. I have only just discovered that Jacob actually prefers metal cutlery so this is a very nice go between. This was his first time holding a knife, it seems very effective as a knife but also safe (which is great as he seemed to enjoy putting it in his mouth!). I found it really encouraging that he found the cutlery interesting, willingly picking it up of his own accord and trying to feed himself.

Now, the one product I felt a little unsure of was the Tommee Tippee Snack N Go pot. I’ve seen these before and have always been a bit confused by them!! Namely, how do they work and are you really supposed to put your hands through the little pointy looking bits? So I was very interested to try this product out and see if it was for me (and Jacob!). I duly cut up some apples and popped them in the pot. Jacob looked as confused as I was, however this was apparently all a ruse as I disappeared briefly to the kitchen (we’re open plan) and when I came back the apples were gone! I looked on the floor then at his mouth, which was full, and sure enough it seems fair to say that Jacob found it a very easy concept to grasp, even if I didn’t! Jacob is very good at throwing his food all over the floor so I have to say I love the idea of anything that will leave me with less mess!

All items, except the Snack N Go pot, are dishwasher safe. The RRP for these items is around the £5 mark, which I think is very good value.

We were sent the items for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own

18/04/201308/10/2019 by jo

Poppy Cat Partners With The Woodland Trust

From April 19th 2013, The Woodland Trust is teaming up with Poppy Cat, launching an outdoor campaign for pre-schoolers. On the Woodland Trust website there’ll be some special Poppy Cat Mystery Trail Adventures to download and try – we’ve had a sneak peek and there’s some great things to do, which are similar to things we already do (so that’s a good thing!) – looking for certain colours, or things while you’re out in the woods (in our case usually stones, sticks and feathers with occasional pinecones thrown in).

VisitWoods.org.uk hosts information on over 11,000 UK woods that are open to the public – take a look and you’ll probably find woodland near you that you never realised existed (or that you constantly forget about – like us and the nature reserve down the road) then a car ride away is Banstead Woods, another favourite and great for wandering around. In fact, this time of year is great for bluebells.

To celebrate the launch of Poppy Cat with the Woodland Trust, Nick Jr will be broadcasting some nature-themed Poppy Cat episodes from the 18th April at 7.15pm. You can also find additional support materials at visitwoods.org.uk, nickjr.co.uk and poppycat.com – and don’t worry if you’re a bit older – there’s more age appropriate activites at the Woodland Trust’s Nature Detectives initiative over at naturedetective.org.uk

Simone Ashley-Norman of the Woodland Trust says, “You are never too young to visit a wood and our partnership with Poppy Cat will enable families across the country to get outdoors this spring and make the most of our beautiful native woodlands. Visitwoods.org.uk makes finding and visiting woods as straightforward as possible, for all ages and abilities, so there’s no excuse to stay indoors!” Michael Dee, Director of Content at Coolabi the producers of Poppy Cat adds “Poppy Cat is an adventurer who is often embarking on journeys to the woods with her friends. This provides a natural link to VisitWoods and we are pleased to partner with the Woodland Trust to provide exciting content for children and families to make their everyday adventures extraordinary!”

Me personally, I’m craving getting out of the house after the wet and cold start to the year – and can’t wait to try a nature trail or two. Head over to the sites above for more information and downloads!

We were sent some a Poppy Cat goody bag for our help promoting this, all opinions are our own.

17/04/201317/02/2019 by jo

Aliens Love Underpants – On Stage and On Tour

Possibly one of the funnier titled books you’ll come across in the first few years of your child’s life are the Underpants series from Claire Freedman and Ben Cort – especially the first book, ‘Aliens Love Underpants’

“Aliens love underpants
Of every shape and size,
But there are no underpants in space
So here’s a big surprise!”

If you’ve not read the book, the gist is that Aliens really do love Underpants and come down from space to steal them from your washing line!

So what makes more sense than to get the ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ book onto the stage? Big Wooden Horse who have done many fantastic productions for kids (‘Stuck’, ‘The Way Back Home’, ‘Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus’ and more) have it on tour from July until September 2013 – the dates are here.

If you head over to the official site there are activity cards to download – worth checking out, and Twinkl also have some fantastic printable resources over here

The zany and hilarious tale based on the best-selling children’s book is delightfully brought to life on stage for the very first time. With stunning effects, madcap action, original music (and lots of aliens of course!) this fantastically fresh and funny production will delight the whole family.

The total running time is 50 minutes, no interval. Suitable for children aged 3 and up – for lots of fun Aliens stuff go to www.aliensloveunderpants.com – also there could be a possibility of signed performances, so keep an eye out!

Tour Dates Scheduled

VENUE	DATES	BOX OFFICE	BOOK ONLINE
RADLETT ARTS CENTRE	Wed 24 July	01923 859291	CLICK HERE
GLIVE, GUILDFORD	Thu 25 – Sat 27 July	08447 701797	CLICK HERE
NORWICH PLAYHOUSE	Mon 29 – Tue 30 July	01603 598598	CLICK HERE
ROSE THEATRE, KINGSTON	Thu 1 – Sun 4 August	08444 821556	CLICK HERE
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE	Sat 24 – Sun 25 August	01159 419419	CLICK HERE
THE CAPITOL, HORSHAM	Tue 27 – Wed 28 August	01403 750220	CLICK HERE
ST GEORGES HALL, BRADFORD	Fri 30 – Sat 31 August	01274 432000	CLICK HERE
THE HEXAGON, READING	Sun 1 – Mon 2 September	01189 606060	CLICK HERE
CIVIC THEATRE, DARLINGTON	Sat 7 – Sun 8 September	01325 486555	CLICK HERE
THEATRE SEVERN, SHREWSBURY	Tue 10 – Wed 11 September	01743 281281	CLICK HERE
THE MARLOWE, CANTERBURY	Fri 13 – Sun 15 September	01227 787787	CLICK HERE
ST ALBANS ARENA	Mon 16 – Tue 17 September	01727 861078	CLICK HERE
ASSEMBLY ROOMS, TUNBRIDGE WELLS	Fri 20 – Sun 22 September	01892 530613	CLICK HERE
ARTSDEPOT, LONDON	Fri 27 – Sat 28 September	020 8369 5454	CLICK HERE
WYCOMBE SWAN THEATRE	Fri 25 – Sun 27 October	01494 512000	CLICK HERE
CORN EXCHANGE, CAMBRIDGE	Mon 28 – Tue 29 October	01223 357851	CLICK HERE
THE HAYMARKET, BASINGSTOKE	Thu 31 October – Sat 2 November	01256 844244	CLICK HERE
BUXTON OPERA HOUSE	Sun 10 November	08451 272190	CLICK HERE
DERNGATE THEATRE, NORTHAMPTON	Mon 11 – Tue 12 November	01604 624811	CLICK HERE
MAYFLOWER, SOUTHAMPTON	Fri 15 – Sat 16 November	02380 711811	CLICK HERE

17/04/201326/03/2018 by jo

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash! Coming to a Theatre Near You!

One lasting memory H has from last year which she’ll constantly go on about and howl with laughter at, is going to see Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt live last year, when we were close enough to the front that George cried and it landed on her tights – so imagine our excitement when a new Peppa show was announced – and it starts this October! (which feels like a way off, but will be here in no time, I’m sure)

Fresh from the huge successes of previous tours Peppa Pig’s Party and Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt comes Peppa’s brand new show, Peppa Pig’s Big Splash. Opening at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford on 24 October, this touring production will travel throughout the UK and into Ireland until summer 2014. The tour will also include a fourth consecutive Peppa West End Christmas season (details will to be announced) and it will be the biggest ever to date.

The nursery roof is leaking and Peppa and her friends need to fix it quickly. They set up a fete to raise the money for Mr Bull to do the repairs. There’s plenty of fun to be had as Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig, as well as Danny Dog, Pedro Pony and Suzy Sheep put up bunting, run stalls and organise a great day out. There’s also a Champion Puddle Jumping competition judged by Mr Potato where everyone gets wet and Peppa needs to find her Golden Boots. Another all-singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and muddy puddles is guaranteed for all the family.

Peppa Pig returns live on stage with puppets and brilliant sing-a-long songs from BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson. Richard Lewis adapts and directs this brand new show, following his previous successes with the first two Peppa Pig stage shows and the current Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom tour.

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is produced by Fiery Angel and Limelight Productions (Fiery Light), the team also behind the recent tours of LazyTown Live!, Roald Dahl’s The BFG, the previous two Peppa Pig tours and the current tour of Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.

Martin Ronan, Executive Producer, said, ‘Fiery Light are delighted to be presenting their third live Peppa show in 2013-2014. Following the huge success of Peppa Pig’s Party and Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt comes the biggest tour yet for Peppa. Touring the UK & Ireland for 47 weeks, Peppa Pig’s Big Splash will be a fun-packed experience for all Peppa fans. To date Peppa Live has played to almost 650,000 people and as we approach the 10th anniversary of Peppa being a family favourite, we hope the new show will thrill fans up and down the country’.

PEPPA PIG’S BIG SPLASH

TOUR DETAILS:

THURS 24 – SUN 27 OCTOBER 2013 ORCHARD THEATRE, DARTFORD
Thurs 24 at 4 pm www.orchardtheatre.co.uk
Fri 25 at 1 & 4 pm
Sat 26 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm
Sun 27 at 10 am & 1 pm

WED 30 – THURS 31 OCTOBER NEW THEATRE, CARDIFF
Wed 30 & Thurs 31 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk

SAT 2 – SUN 3 NOVEMBER CONCERT HALL, CROYDON
Sat 2 at 1 & 4 pm www.fairfield.co.uk
Sun 3 at 10 am & 1 pm

TUES 5 – WED 6 NOVEMBER G LIVE, GUILDFORD
Tues 5 at 1 & 4 pm www.glive.co.uk
Wed 6 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 9 – SUN 10 NOVEMBER GROVE THEATRE, DUNSTABLE
Sat 9 at 1 & 4 pm www.grovetheatre.co.uk
Sun 10 at 10 am & 1 pm

TUES 12 – WED 13 NOVEMBER NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM
Tues 12 at 1 & 4 pm www.atgtickets.com
Wed 13 at 10 am & 1 pm

FRI 15 – SAT 16 NOVEMBER WYCOMBE SWAN, HIGH WYCOMBE
Fri 15 at 4 pm www.wycombeswan.co.uk
Sat 16 at 10.30 am, 1 & 4 pm

WED 20 – THURS 21 NOVEMBER HEXAGON THEATRE, READING
Wed 20 at 1 & 4 pm www.readingarts.com/thehexagon
Thurs 21 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 23 – SUN 24 NOVEMBER GRAND THEATRE, BLACKPOOL
Sat 23 at 1 & 4 pm www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk
Sun 24 at 10 am & 1 pm

2014

SAT 18 JANUARY LIVERPOOL EMPIRE
1 & 4 pm www.atgtickets.com

WED 22 – THURS 23 JANUARY CREWE LYCEUM THEATRE
Wed 22 at 1 & 4 pm www.crewelyceum.co.uk
Thurs 23 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 25 – SUN 26 JANUARY NEW THEATRE, HULL
Sat 25 at 1 & 4 pm www.hullcc.gov.uk/hullnewtheatre
Sun 26 at 10 am & 1 pm

WED 29 – THURS 30 JANUARY CHARTER THEATRE, PRESTON
Wed 29 at 1 & 4 pm www.prestonguildhall.com
Thurs 30 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 1 – SUN 2 FEBRUARY PRINCES HALL, ALDERSHOT
Sat 1 & Sun 2 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm www.princeshall.com

WED 5 – THURS 6 FEBRUARY THE ALBAN ARENA, ST ALBANS
Wed 5 at 1 & 4 pm www.alban-arena.co.uk
Thurs 6 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 8 – SUN 9 FEBRUARY ASSEMBLY HALL THEATRE, TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Sat 8 at 1 & 4 pm www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk
Sun 9 at 10 am & 1 pm

WED 12 – THURS 13 FEBRUARY DE MONTFORT HALL, LEICESTER
Wed 12 at 1 & 4 pm www.demontforthall.co.uk
Thurs 13 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 15 – SUN 16 FEBRUARY CIVIC THEATRE, DARLINGTON
Sat 15 & Sun 16 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm www.darlington.gov.uk/arts

WED 19 – THURS 20 FEBRUARY THEATRE ROYAL BRIGHTON
Wed 19 at 1 & 4 pm www.atgtickets.com
Thurs 20 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 22 – SUN 23 FEBRUARY CLIFFS PAVILION, SOUTHEND
Sat 22 & Sun 23 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm www.southendtheatres.org.uk

WED 26 – THURS 27 FEBRUARY GORDON CRAIG THEATRE, STEVENAGE
Wed 26 at 1 & 4 pm www.gordon-craig.co.uk
Thurs 27 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 1 – SUN 2 MARCH CORN EXCHANGE, CAMBRIDGE
Sat 1 at 1 & 4 pm www.cornex.co.uk
Sun 2 at 10 am & 1 pm

FRI 7 – SAT 8 MARCH DERNGATE, NORTHAMPTON
Fri 7 at 4 pm www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Sat 8 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm

WED 12 – THURS 13 MARCH CORN EXCHANGE, KING’S LYNN
Wed 12 at 1 & 4 pm www.kingslynncornexchange.co.uk
Thurs 13 at 10 am & 1 pm

SAT 15 – SUN 16 MARCH HACKNEY EMPIRE
Sat 15 & Sun 16 at 10 am, 1 & 4 pm www.hackneyempire.co.uk

More tour dates to be announced

17/04/201331/03/2018 by jo

LolliBop 2013 Is Coming!

LolliBop, The Big Bash for Little People, is returning for 2013 to a new venue – the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London – and takes place on August 16th-18th.

Event Manager, Jenny Kane said: “We are really excited to be taking LolliBop to the iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This is the first children’s event to take place in what looks set to become one of the premier event locations in the UK. It has so many benefits for our visitors, including great transport links and family friendly tube stations.

“LolliBop has gone from strength to strength since our first event in 2011 and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park gives us the opportunity to create an even more exciting and dynamic family day out. It’s an amazing opportunity for LolliBop to be part of such an important legacy ”

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park said: “This summer at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park there will be something for everyone. We are delighted to be welcoming LolliBop to join this year’s line-up. LolliBop encompasses some of the best-loved names in children’s entertainment, as well as quality theatre, crafts and activities. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park begins to open from July 2013 and will be fully open from spring 2014. We are on track to deliver a fantastic summer events series and a great legacy for east London.”

Returning LolliBoppers will see old favourites mixed with new attractions for 2013, including:

LolliBop Live – playing host to some of the biggest names in kids entertainment, with live music and performances from stars of stage and screen. Headliners coming soon…

Lollipalladiam – is a live theatre tent showcasing performances from pioneering and internationally renowned companies and artists.

The LolliBop Kitchen where creative little cooks will have the chance to learn new skills from live demonstrations and interactive workshops.

Tween Town will host a number of activities including street dance, hula-hoop, and beat-box workshops.

Imagination Stations – A hub of creativity with lots of mess and mayhem thrown in! From clay modeling, puppet making, customised fashion workshops, balloon modeling, graffiti painting, face painting and much more

Science Zone – Make a rocket, hold a dry ice-cube, or get messy with gooey slime in the LolliBop lab – brimming with exploding experiments for pint-sized guests to try!

Run wild and have fun in the LolliSports area. With activities including retro favorites like swingball, hula-hoop and frisbee to football tournaments and sports day style races.

The pre-school 3ft & Under area is also returning, along with the Enchanted Forest and The Village Green with live music, craft stalls and street theatre, making it an ideal spot for a picnic.

Extensive covered buggy parks, baby changing and breast-feeding areas will be available.

For Early Bird ticket information (on sale from Friday 19th at 12pm) and more head to http://www.lollibopfestival.co.uk

15/04/201326/03/2018 by jo

It’s a National Trust Free Weekend This Weekend!

We love our National Trust membership, and easily make our money’s worth on it in a year – are you one of those people who just aren’t quite sure, and wouldn’t mind trying a couple of places out? Fear not – there’s a free weekend this weekend – providing a family saving of around £30.

They’re opening the doors to more than 200 of their gardens and houses for free – on the 20th and 21st April. Also, what better excuse to get out of the house – the forecast around here is good and all being well we’ll be going somewhere.

Whether it’s building a den in the woods at Gibside or discovering rare breeds of farm animals at Wimpole Estate, the National Trust has lots of activities offering a variety of family fun.

To plan your free weekend visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/freeweekend and download a free voucher today for the place of your choice.

There will be a number of excluded places, which will be detailed at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/freeweekend. To enter a property all you need to do is show your free weekend voucher, which can be downloaded from the website.

15/04/201307/10/2014 by jo

Operation Dolls House – Part One

We’re big fans in this house of making toys using cardboard boxes. For ages H had a car, which was essentially a box with four glued on wheels and the Mario Kart Wii wheel for steering – the rest was H’s imagination – and she loved it! The car had to be written off, the box converted instead into a pirate ship which has lasted just as long and is just as loved. Recently we’ve come to the decision it’s time to recycle it – it lives upstairs and isn’t played with as much (if only you could do that to all toys), so my next idea was hatched – we love The Mouse Mansion by Karina Schaapman which is about a house where mice live made from recycled material (it is amazing) – and while we’re not at home for long enough to do anything which comes close to that, a simple dolls house would work.

The right kind of box was procured, then it was finding the time to put it together. Any good dolls house needs some preparation time – so H and I spent one Wednesday morning doing potato prints to be used as wallpaper and carpets. I fully intend to go through my scrap fabric collection and make H some curtains for the house too.

Operation Dollshouse

So today Shaun and H assembled the box to make what will be her new toy. A roof was made (with a chimney), as well as a floor so the box was broken up into two rooms.

We were sent a Le Toy Van starter pack of dolls house toys which are a perfect size – and also fit all her Playmobil toys nicely too. The furniture is all wooden and gorgeous – another incentive to make sure the house looks fabulous when it’s finished.

Right now H’s imagination is off, and she was playing with it immediately. The house still needs some work (the aforementioned windows and decorations), but it does seem like H may miss nursery tomorrow, so Operation Dollshouse may be finished sooner than we think… I love anything which gets her imagination going, you don’t need to buy the best toys to have the best imagination.

We’ll be back with more updates on how the house is going… this is only the start (I give it a week before we’re ‘building an extension’…)

We were sent the Le Toy Van set for the purpose of review from Dollshouses.co.uk – all opinions are our own. All Operation Dollshouse progress can be followed on Instagram with the #operationdollshouse hashtag (by myself or Shaun)

14/04/201318/01/2015 by jo

Review – Shloer

While I was pregnant I didn’t miss wine – it tasted pretty horrid, but fortunately there was a substitute which tasted good in my all-out-of-sorts tastebuds – Shloer. Having something a bit different to drink was nice. In fact, I kept drinking it after I’d given birth – and there’s a fine selection of flavours.

The opportunity came up to review the new Raspberry and Rhubarb Punch, and with today being the sunniest day of 2013 and our bottle nicely chilled in the fridge, it was time to open it. (Actually, we were meant to go on a picnic but H still has a temperature).

But! What would go with it? We decided on some cheese biscuits we’d made for the picnic, as well as cheese on cream crackers – a nice simple summery kind of lunch – and it worked wonderfully! Even better, H could join us – which was nice. She said it was “yummy” (I think I need to work on her review technique here).

Shloer Raspberry and Rhubarb punch is a limited edition flavour, so keep an eye out for it. Alas, Ocado don’t have that variety in stock but they have plenty of choice of the other kinds. Each bottle retails around £2.29 for a 75cl bottle.

About Shloer –

The sparkling alcohol alternative
Shloer uses only the finest ingredients to create a delicious range of non-alcoholic sparkling juice drinks. All varieties make a tasty grape-based alternative to alcohol, suitable for all the family – including those who want to enjoy the Easter celebrations without drinking alcohol. Shloer contains no preservatives, artificial colours, sweeteners or flavourings and is available from all major supermarkets.

Summer Sunday’s On-pack Competition
Starting May 1st through the summer, Shloer is giving customers a 1 in 10 chance to win one of 200,000 prizes, ranging from BBQs and food hampers to cupcakes and Shloer with their Summer Sunday’s on-pack promotion. To enter, pick up a promotional Summer Sunday’s bottle ofShloer from your local supermarket and find the unique code under the neck label. Enter your unique code via www.shloer.com and find out if you could be one of many lucky winners this summer.

A flavour for everyone
Shloer is available in seven refreshing flavours including White Grape; Red Grape; Rosé; Apple & White Grape; White Grape Raspberry & Cranberry; White Grape & Elderflower; and now NEW Raspberry & Rhubarb Punch limited edition. For more information, go to www.shloer.com

We were sent a bottle of Shloer for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own.

13/04/201329/01/2014 by jo

We Love Books – Jack’s Amazing Shadow by Tom Percival

I love this book; we’re heading into the territory where H and her friends have funny, silly arguments which mean the world to them and trouble their little heads for days afterwards. Recently she had an argument with her best friend (over a Ninky Nonk) and he declared she would Never Ever be his Best Friend Ever Again. She was heartbroken for days, until he told me that of course H was his best friend (which I relayed back to her and it cheered her up again). So yes, this book covers this sort of event.

Jack and his amazing magical shadow are the best of friends, but he starts to get annoyed at his shadow when it misbehaves and they fall out. Jack tries to escape his shadow but the two just cannot be parted until Jack shouts at him and his shadow fades away.

At first Jack is happy, but then realises just how much he misses it, more than he ever thought he would – and the story I’m pleased to say has a happy ending. Targeted at 3-6 year olds, we found it funny – it’s a good book for reading and talking about everything else that’s happening on each page – and there’s plenty going on. It’s also a fabulous book about friendship.

I’d highly recommend – a lovely book – and there’s one other utterly brilliant bit – the inside covers have all the various silhouettes you can make with your hands – how good is that?

Jack’s Amazing Shadow by Tom Percival is released on the 18th April 2013, and is published by Pavilion Children’s Books, with a RRP of £5.99.

Tom Percival has an excellent website here

We received a copy of this book for the purpose of review – all opinions are our own.

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