Who doesn't love a puzzle? Well, after the success of the 3D Minions Sneaker puzzle that we reviewed last year for Ravensburger, this time we are going to try our hand at something on a bigger scale. Big Ben, in the form of this Ravensburger Big Ben with Clock 3D puzzle. Big Ben has obviously been in the news a bit lately as it's been silenced during a refurbishment. There's no scaffolding on this version of the London landmark though. This Big Ben with Clock 3D puzzle consists of 216 puzzle pieces and stands 41cm (that's 16 inches) high when complete. As the name suggests it also ... read more
How To Save Money With The London Explorer Pass
London can be an amazing city to visit. It will give you some unique experiences you won't have on any other trip. It is one of the best places in the world for art, culture, and history, and also for nightlife, attractions, shopping, and general fun. However, London can also be very expensive. Whether you are visiting from another part of the UK or from abroad, the cost of going out in London can be high, and even for people who live in London, visiting the biggest attractions can seem extremely expensive. Luckily, there are packages designed to make a day out or a weekend in London as ... read more
Paddington 2
Where on earth do you begin to write about Paddington 2? Never before has a film exceeded my expectations so much and there are so many things I want to tell you all about it. The key message has to be that you MUST go and see it. Even if you though the original film a bit naff (I did - I didn't even bother with the last 30 minutes on Amazon Prime as I was so bored) this is completely different. It's a million times better. Paddington 2 move you to tears of both sadness and laughter, but also completely change your opinion of Hugh Grant as an actor. Out on general release fro 10 November ... read more
Hetty Feather at the Foundling Museum
It's hard to remember a time when Little Miss C wasn't a bookworm. Even as a baby she loved being read to, and then since she learnt to read independently (sometime in Year One at school) there's been no stopping her. Her bedroom is full of books. As is her bed. I struggle to understand how she manages to get a decent night's sleep as she's usually got her head next to a pile of books with others all around her and under the duvet and her pillow. As someone who loves a good book myself, it's something that I'll happily support and encourage as I clearly remember how much pleasure I used to get ... read more
The Honk Line Reality: Jamie Oliver, Miranda style galloping and a portable pizza oven!
When Team Honk sat and planned The Honk Line walk around London I'm pretty sure that their list included a bullet point saying something like "A-list celebrity to start the walk". After all that's what they managed to pull off! And as evidence, here's Jamie Oliver at the start in London's Waterloo Park. Photo from Mummy Barrow on twitter The reality might be that we were just about to leave the park, slightly later than planned as we were all busy faffing around drinking tea and taking photos of Tanya posing with her teapot, when I saw a man fly down the hill on a kid's scooter with ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: Ladybird by Design, the exhibition
Well that was a bit of a longer than planned break from Ladybird Tuesday - sorry! There's been no decrease in the Ladybird hunting activity here, but school summer holidays have got a bit in the way of writing about Ladybird books over the last month or so. But as September and the autumn arrives Ladybird Tuesday is back, and restarting with a bit of a different one. I had one of those getting older life events back in July and to mark it Mr C and I had a rare child-free day together in London. Over the years I've learnt that if there's something you really want to do, rather than dropping ... read more
A sneak peak at the new Nickelodeon Store London #NickStore
Being a blogger has brought both me and the kids some amazing opportunities - things that money really can't buy - and today was one of those days. Imagine being a child and going in to a shop full of things with all your favourite TV characters on them. Imagine that happening when the shop is closed to members of the public and you're there as special guests. I'm sure you can imagine just how excited Little Miss C was therefore this morning when exactly this happened at the new Nickelodeon Store in London's Leicester Square. The Nickelodeon Store opens to the public tomorrow ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 2 – Old friends and new experiences
In the middle of the usual morning rush of trying to get up and through the shower before the kids awoke (which I failed at thanks to Little Miss C's 6.30am wake up!) I'm pretty sure I heard Chris Evans say something about thunderstorms and torrential rain in London today. There was other stuff going on so I asked Mr C. Nope, he had no recollection of hearing it, so I just kind of forgot about the weather forecast. Bit of a big mistake it seems when you're having a day out with the kids. An old university friend of mine is currently over from China with his wife and one year old son, so ... read more
Olympics with a large bump
Back in April last year (16 months ago) I joined in the frenzy of applying for as many Olympic tickets as I could through the ballot. At the time I obviously had no idea that by the time the games came to London I would be nearly eight months pregnant with a rather large bump. I went for the cheapest tickets in all the obvious events - opening and closing ceremony, 100m final, swimming etc and also added on the canoe sessions that are local to us in Hertfordshire and a few odd-ball ones - mainly the tennis as I figured it might be the cheapest way to see some WImbledon Centre Court ... read more
The Subterranean Railway – Christian Wolmar
With everything else that's been going on recently reading (like blogging) has been taking a bit of a back seat. I'm starting to catch up a bit now on the reading front though - so book reviews will shortly return! Working in London the underground forms quite a major part of my life without me really realising it. Without the tube I'd struggle to get to the office everyday, or to get home at the end of the working day. I'd also not be able to quickly whizz underneath the city to go and meet friends of an evening, or to get to work meetings in other parts of the capital. Apart ... read more