My Girls have been begging to go and see Inside Out since they first saw the trailer at Easter. So, because I am a stellar parent, I booked the first showing at Bluewater on the day the film opened in the UK. Lucky,, as it turned out, since the South East was battered by storms and we weren't missing out on any amazing British Summer Sun by spending our lunchtime inside. The latest offering from Pixar certainly made us forget the weather. I … [Read more...]
Summer holidays are a time of magic
Summer holidays are a time of magic. With any luck the unpredictable British Weather will smile for most of those long lazy days and the sun will shine. My childhood summers stretched endlessly in front of me, filled with possibilities. There were no summer holidays that you have in the UK: when you live on a Mediterranean island, you don't really need to go anywhere. Every day I would leave the house with friends and wander the "wilderness", … [Read more...]
Blending real and digital learning with Tiggly Apps
My children are not really the glued-to-the-iPad types. Which is good, because they don't have iPads. They were both given Hudls at Christmas and tend to use them on high days and holidays. When they do get used, I tend to stick to apps that have a educational bent to them, or apps recommended by sites such as the Good App Guide, so I know they are developed with kids rather than money-making as their priority. We are currently on the third … [Read more...]
Celebrating summer with The Boss
The weather is simply glorious, and being British I want to make the most of it for fear that it will not last, so am celebrating summer now. And though I admire the wizardry of Mummy Barrow, who put a cheesecake in a blender and called it a cocktail, it is categorically too warm for milk-based cocktails. Wouldn't you know, I got sent The Boss- the luxury all purpose blending machine that Mummy Barrow so raved about- so I thought I'd take her … [Read more...]
Omlet Eglu Go Hutch Guinea Pig Tragedy
LBG has waited a very long time to claim the Guinea Pigs that have been deemed an Age Right. She spent 365 days in the run-up to her seventh birthday considering names, reading up on Guinea Pig husbandry and even attending a Caring for Guinea Pigs course at our local Pets At Home. Because of our pet dynamics- namely the presence of the Wonder Hound- in-house Guinea Pigs were not an option. I spent a ridiculous amount of time online looking at … [Read more...]
National Women in Engineering Day Panel
I dropped Biology as soon as I was able. I did very well at Chemistry and Physics at GCSE but never considered taking them further and certainly never considered any kind of engineering-based degree as, by then, my subject choices were not compatible. Yet in day to day life I feel I spend my time waiting for a plumber to have availability or, as with this week, chasing round to find a boiler expert who can restore the hot water to a house … [Read more...]
A Stamptastic Day out at Kew Gardens
I have always been a fan of the Stamptastic brand since I read about them on Mediocre Mum's blog a few years ago and bought my own. And although our school requires that name tapes be sewn on, and in specific places, I still do not regret the purchase since there are plenty of things that get the Stamptastic treatment. That includes the friends and family to whom I rave about it every time the topic of naming anything comes up. I was, of … [Read more...]
