This week has been pretty rubbish for our neighbours. On Monday, their house caught fire.
The whole place is gone. There will be lots of rebuilding necessary. Right now they’re in a hotel which insurance will cover for 20 days, giving them an allowance of around £10 a day for food.
They don’t have much money. Their bank cards have been melted in the fire.
They don’t have any clothes. They are all fire damaged.
Their daughter doesn’t have any toys. They were all destroyed too.
It took the fire service an hour to put the fire out, and that’s it. Everything gone. They only had the things they were stood in – and the lady of the house didn’t even have shoes on initially.
Seeing someone’s possessions, home, disappear like that – it’s a big shock.
But people are trying to help every way they can. We have a GoFundMe set up which is giving them much needed cash to be able to do things. They can’t get to the bank as they’re having to sort out things in the house.
People have given clothes. They’re amazing people. Some still had tags on.
People have given toys and books. A friend locally works for a large toy company and has lots of new toys for the three year old daughter.
People have such amazingly big hearts, and it makes me so happy we can do something, as I feel so helpless with their situation. Working together something is coming together.
But it has made me think. Losing everything is something you never think will happen to you, but I’ve watched it happen to a friend and neighbour. I thought you’d just be able to pick up the jewellery and cards and be okay, but it’s the last thing you think about. Photos? Who can carry pages full of albums? You just want to be safe, it’s just things.
So yes, things have been busy here helping our friends and blogging has taken a back seat. But I’ll be catching up as best I can over the next week or two. If anyone can recommend a book which helps explain a house fire and loss to a three year old, please say.
When you’re in my vicinity and share living space with me, there isn’t a lot of choice – football is a part of it.
When Shaun first came to the UK we saw York City play – vs Hull City. He adopted Hull of course. We allowed him to change his team just the once, as long as it was Tottenham, which he duly, eventually did.
So, when H was born football was going to be her game. When she was a baby she watched games with me. She had no idea what was going on, but has grown up with it from birth. I was on maternity leave for the 2010 World Cup – talk about good timing! As soon as she could speak, the names Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Harry Redknapp were taught. She even made a Gareth Bale out of Hama Beads. Harry Kane is her hero at the moment, and rightly so.
Once she turned four I took her for lessons with Crystal Palace which started out well but didn’t end as well as I’d hoped. She enjoyed playing, and that was all that mattered to me. But when she stopped enjoying it, tearfully asking if she could stop, we had a break. Her friends had all gone to different clubs and it wasn’t the same.
All this time I’d been looking out for England Women games to go to, having missed one in Brighton by a matter of hours – so when they got to play at Wembley vs Germany, I booked us tickets – at last! Except on the morning of the game H was sick – properly sick. We couldn’t go as she was too unwell so caught it on television instead.
Fast forward to May of this year, and H had a training session with Casey Stoney, the former England captain – and she got back her love of playing the game. I asked around for clubs to play at, and found our local Carshalton Athletic – who are brilliant. Other girls go, the coach wants to set up a girls’ team, and things are progressing in a really positive way. Girls go free to encourage them to join in – one week we had seven girls; enough for a team!
We’ve gone almost every week and H loves it. Her friends all come along too – all girls. They really fight back at the boys to get the ball and aren’t fazed by it. They’re happy when they score goals and not happy when they lose. They take it all incredibly seriously, and it’s great to see. H plays because she wants to play, not because she has to. It’s different.
This weekend we’re going to the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley – we bought tickets way back when we spotted the game on the big screens outside the ground (on the way to Wembley Arena for Disney On Ice), catching the last days of Early Bird prices – so that’s £23 for the three of us. Notts County v Chelsea – and we’re going as neutrals as we still haven’t chosen a Women’s team to support.
The Women’s World Cup has made such an impression on H. Of course girls can do it too, but when you’re five you need to see it, and that’s what the World Cup did. The fact we came third and have players H remembers means that she wants to name her new Build a Bear, Fran Kirby! It could have so easily been a Frozen character. Football and Frozen are on the same level for my daughter now.
It makes me sad to see some of the England squad have full time jobs, but I love where it is coming from. It’s people playing football because they want to, not in it for the money, but that’s just what they do. If only the men’s game had more players like Harry Kane. He has a fantastic attitude and is a great role model with no scandals to speak of.
Things are changing with the women’s game. H is part of a new generation of girls who will have it easier playing football, because people like Casey Stoney fought to play games back when she was young.
It’s normal. It’s going to get better. This is why we support the #WeCanPlay FA Campaign. You can sign up to receive a newsletter and there’s also a handy link to find your local club.
H grew up with Dora the Explorer, and now enjoys watching Dora and Friends on Nick Jr. Read on to find out about some exciting things happening this summer!
Dora and Friends have a new range of toys available now at Smyths Toy Superstores. We were sent a selection of Dora and Friends toys, and H is getting a lot of play from them. The Dora Smartphone (rrp £9.99) looks just like Dora’s from the tv show. You can press the screen and receive calls and voicemails from Dora and Friends, as well as pretending to take photos of friends, and use the Map App!
We received two kinds of charm bracelets – the Dora Magic Adventure Charm (rrp £7.99) and Magic Charms Bracelet (rrp £9.99), both of which have easily removable Dora-related charms (backpack, Perrito, a camera). You also get a small Dora figure in the Adventure Charms pack. The Magic Charms Bracelet has Dora and Friends (Alana, Kate, Emma and Naiya) on there, with extra sections where charms can be added. You also get two additional bracelets to add charms.
But how to collect the extra charms? We received a Dora and Kate doll (rrp £10.99 each), and both come with a mysterious charm which can be added to the bracelets. Both dolls are dressed in an outfit inspired by Dora and Friends, and has soft hair and poseable arms and legs.
Sing-A-Long Dora Tour
Across several Smyths Toys stores in the UK there’s going to be a Dora Sing-a-Long tour – which will feature a booth, where you can sing to your favourite Dora song. Look out for some booths in shopping centres too – you can also have the chance to meet the character in some stores and have your photo taken – please see the dates below.
Smyths Toys
Waterfields Retail Park, Watford (Dora Costume Character) – 27th July
Westwood Cross Shopping Park, Thanet – 28th July
St. David’s Retail Park, Swansea – 29th July
Crown retail park, Leeds (Dora Costume Character) – 31st July
Clifton Moor Retail Park, York (Costume Character) – 3rd August
Ravenhead Retail park, St.Helens – 5th August
Halls Mill Retail Park, Bury – 6th August
Middle Engine Lane, Wallsend – 10th August
Glasgow fort shopping park, Glasgow (Costume Character) – 12th August
Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen (Costume Character) – 14th August
Sky stands
Centre MK, Milton Keynes – 25th– 26th July
White Rose, Leeds – 1st– 2ndAugust
Intu Eldon Square, Newcastle – 8th– 9th August
Bon Accord, Aberdeen – 15th– 16th August
Tune in to Nick Jr’s Sing-A-Long Summer every day from 10am-1pm to sing the songs from the shows, which feature words along the bottom of the screen. I may have caught H singing along to Wallykazam on more than one occasion…!
Competition
If you can’t make it to any of these appearances, never fear. There’s a competition online where you can submit your own song which runs from July 27th to August 16th. All you have to do is upload your child singing a Dora song, over at Nick Jr or at their Facebook page.
We have been sent a box of Dora toys for the purpose of this campaign.
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.
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!
Miffy needs no introduction on Mum Friendly – I grew up with the books and now H does – and to celebrate Miffy’s birthday we bought tickets to see the Miffy Movie at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square.
Because it was Miffy’s birthday, we were promised a chance to meet the character as well as a goody bag – so H was pretty excited. I worry she’s getting to the age where she might stop liking Miffy – though to be fair, I haven’t – so I’m fairly confident she’ll love her for life.
H had her favourite Miffy Uniqlo t-shirt on, we met Jenny from The Gingerbread House outside (although she had VIP tickets so got to see the film on a different screen), and eventually got inside and waited for the film to start. The screening was an event with Bliss, and all proceeds from today go towards their important work.
At an hour and 10 minutes, it’s the perfect time film-wise for a toddler who can cope with slightly longer films – and there’s enough going on that you’ll be yelling back at the tv when Miffy asks you things. Oh, and there’s a very catchy song all the way through as Miffy and her friends solve clues around the zoo.
This is the new style Miffy, rather than like the Dick Bruna books in cartoon form, like the tv series. The film was actually released in the Netherlands in 2013, and is finally getting a release over here – as Miffy is now 60. She still looks fresh and new, and has many new fans every year.
We have a trip to Utrecht planned – though the Dick Bruna Huis is closed until next year for refurbishment, there is still a Miffy exhibition within the main museum there. There are also the Miffy statues around Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague – most of which I’m hoping we’ll see. The statues are there until September time. I can’t WAIT!!!
So as I’ve mentioned several times, we were invited to the McDonald’s Football Mum of the Year launch at Petts Wood FC back at the start of May. H had an hour-long training session with Casey Stoney MBE (as announced yesterday – how brilliant is that?) and we got to interview Casey. Actually, I got to interview her as H was a bit shy.
Football Mum of the Year can be anyone you know who is a mum who helps football matches exist, who helps a child make it to games just by making sure their kit is washed. If you drive your child to football, that counts too!
All you need to do is nominate the mum and the judges (which also include Colleen Rooney) will decide – and you’ll be presented with an award on the 2nd August at Wembley.
So what has changed in the last month? H is back playing football again – Casey’s enthusiasm with the youngsters has definitely helped reignite her love. We’re watching all the England games at the Women’s World Cup (and any others we can catch) and H feels very involved. She gets excited when she sees Casey on the screen – and that’s the other thing about women’s football – it is so much more affordable and accessible than the men’s game. I think H may have a new favourite player in Fran Kirby, so we may be trying to make it to a Reading Ladies game sometime too.
I finally edited the interview we did with Casey. The camera work was done by Shaun, I think you can hear everything, so here it is for your enjoyment too. Congrats Casey on the MBE, and thank you again for letting us interview. Come on England!
Thank you again to Casey Stoney and Red Consultancy for inviting us – we had a brilliant time!
Today Shaun and H went to Legoland, mainly as she’s pretty obsessed with Lego Friends and was desperate to see the new Heartlake City area now it’s fully open!
Heartlake City is the central area of Lego Friends where all their shops are. Legoland Windsor has revamped the old High Street into Heartlake City, so Shaun and H popped along for a visit today.
It was rammed at Legoland, so they did the sensible thing and bought a Q Bot Mobile – so you don’t have the gadget, it just works on your phone. It meant they got to do a lot more than if they’d braved the queues, and now we’ve made our money back on our Merlin Passes it made sense.
Heartlake City didn’t disappoint. The main ride there, Mia’s Riding Adventure was a bit too much for H though, as she fancied the more sedate rides – imagine a large circular area where everyone sits, which turns around as you move from side to side. Definitely one for older kids, but at five she wasn’t keen – but she loved everything else – especially the more interactive area, where you can build extra parts onto Heartlake City via an iPad type tablet.
Around Heartlake City you can find Mia, Andrea, Stephanie, Emma and Olivia models, and at Olivia’s house you can help build a home for one of her pets. Emma’s Ice Cream Parlour is close by and serves up delicious desserts!
There’s also a Lego Friends show which is in the same area as the Pirate show, called ‘Friends to the Rescue’, an action packed adventure full of songs.
The train which goes around a lot of Legoland has been renamed the Heartlake City Express – though remains the same as before.
Keep an eye out for a large Taylor Swift Lego picture too! We’re not entirely sure why it’s there, but it’s impressive anyway!
Shaun and H made it home by 9pm, exhausted and happy. Going on how much H wanted to go to Legoland again, and having the Qbot’s, both of them had a brilliant time – and a lot of that was thanks to Heartlake City – go and visit!
Two weeks ago we were invited along to Petts Wood FC for an hour-long training session with Casey Stoney, the England and Arsenal Ladies footballer, to celebrate the launch of McDonald’s Football Mum of the Year.
Football Mum of the Year is an award to celebrate us mum’s who make football happen – and the launch we attended involved H and the other kids having a training session with Casey Stoney – a nice simple training session too. The children had to imagine they were on a pirate ship and complete a few tasks – from kicking the ball from one side to the other, and chasing the ball as Casey rolled it down the pitch, or just running as quick as they could to Casey to give her a high five. You don’t need a field to do these exercises, you can do them at home too – all you need is a brick wall (for kicking balls against) and you’re set! (preferably outdoors)
I’ve already done a quick writeup about how the experience has changed H – how something plugged in with her again and her love of playing football reappeared. The last two weeks have been quite remarkable. She is now playing football with Carshalton Athletic every Saturday we can make it, and is really enjoying playing again. I’m a Football Mum again! I get H’s clothes ready, I wash them, I do her hair, I make sure her shinpads are clean and I make a mental note I need to get her new tracksuit bottoms and socks because she has grown. Again. I make sure her footwear is the right kind and fits. Oh, and pack a fleece in case it’s windy, and be at the side ready for a quick hug if she falls over and feels sad.
Do you know a football mum? It doesn’t have to be someone who takes their child to football – what about the mums who make sure everything is ready to make it happen for their child? Or someone who helps a club exist maybe? Or even does fundraising. If you know someone, then why not nominate them for the Football Mum of the Year Awards? The winner will be presented with their award on the 2nd September at Wembley! You just need to vote here.
I grew up watching York City in my teens, and before H was born we went to Tottenham games as often as we could. My dream is to take H to games and her to enjoy them as much as we did. When Shaun first arrived in the UK from Australia, football had to be his sport – even if he resisted supporting my two teams to start with! So poor old H has no choice, but fortunately she seems happy with the teams she has (thank you Harry Kane, five year olds like players who score lots of goals).
We’ve bought tickets for the Women’s FA Cup Final on the 1st August this year, to take H to Wembley for the first time (she missed the England v Germany game due to being ill) and I know she’ll enjoy it, watching her first big game as a neutral. Let’s not forget the Women’s World Cup this summer too – Casey Stoney has been selected for the team as well, so H has been really proud she might see someone she’s met playing football on tv soon!
Also, I’ve never played a game of football in my life. But that doesn’t stop me supporting my daughter and making it happen. If you know someone else that does that, get nominating!
Here’s a video which was produced on our morning out – look out for our blink-and-you-miss-it appearance! My interview with Casey will go live as soon as I get a chance.
