There was a stage in my life when Coronation Street was pretty much part my religion. Back in the days before on demand TV I'd make sure I was sat on the sofa at 7.30 in an evening ready to hear that famous theme tune. In the rare event that I was out the video recorder would be set and I'd come home hoping that no one had recorded over it whilst I was out. As a Northern family we didn't really do Eastenders as that was full of Southerners and it was just all too gritty for us. And whilst Corrie was from the "wrong side of the Pennines" it still found a place in my heart for many, many ... read more
Review: Tile – the ultimate phone, wallet and everything finder
Back what seems like a lifetime ago I headed off into that there London to the PC World Currys Christmas in July event. As I've mentioned before, the goodie bag from that particular event was fantastic and, alongside my friend and newly recruited gadget reviewer Kyle, I'm slowly working through the contents and trying to get reviews up here. One thing that intrigued me in particular was Tile - described a bluetooth tracker that can help you find your keys, phone, or anything else that you may have lost. Now, the last tracker of any sort that I reviewed was one of those things that you ... read more
Peppa’s Alphaphonics Campervan
I'm pretty sure there isn't a child in the country that doesn't recognise Peppa Pig. Heck, my two seemed to know who she was before they'd even watched the programme on the television. No idea how, but that's the power of Peppa. We've had a few Peppa Pig related toys over the years and they've always been fondly played with by both children. What we've not tried before is linking Peppa in to a bit of learning, but that is what we were encouraged to do in reviewing Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan - and what a mouthful of a name that is. Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan is designed to help ... read more
Review: Ravensburger’s My First Clock
It's not just Master C that I've been trying to do educational stuff with this summer. Little Miss C hasn't escaped my attempts to be a good parent, so I've had her helping me to review Ravensburger's My First Clock which also comes from their Play & Learn range. The game consists of a clock with movable hands and 27 clock cards. Each off these shows a time on an analogue clock on one side and then on the reverse there is the same time shown on a digital clock. Now, what I find a tad strange about this is that the digital side shows the time twice, one for morning and once for ... read more
Review: Ravensburger’s Ready, Set, Count!
Master C starts the pre-school year at the local infant school today. Today! How on earth has that happened? It's hard to believe that it was three years ago that Little Miss C was in that same position. There are so many differences between my two kids and if I'm honest quite a few differences between they way that they've been brought up. After all LMC was an only child for the first two and a bit years of her life, yet Master C has always had to fight for attention against his older sister - I just wish he didn't do that quite so literally at times! It's also fair to say that as LMC was ... read more
School Reviewer: Empowering parents with knowledge
There's no denying it - St Albans is one of those places that people move to to have a family. It means that the local parents Facebook groups and online forums are absolutely full of questions about local schools. Things about how big the intake is, where the catchment area stretches to and where they can find the latest Ofsted report. Information about all these things is out there somewhere on the internet, but the relaunched School Reviewer website brings it all together beautifully. As a parent, your child's education is one of the most important things you can plan for and parents are ... read more
PornBurger – Mathew Ramsey
Burger Porn. Now I don't know about you, but when an email came into my inbox featuring those two words I simply had to read on. I love a burger. The juicier and larger the better. There's something about them that is just utterly gorgeous but at the same time slightly dirty. Let's be honest, eating the best burgers is often a messy affair. The whole process normally involves juices dripping everywhere and you're bound to get sauce on your fingers too. And then there's the whole matter of whether or not you can actually fit it in your mouth or not. Eating one in front of someone else always ... read more
Review: Opening Fairy Doors
Every since the tooth fairy came to visit Little Miss C for the first time she's been somewhat obsessed with fairies and in particular the idea of them appearing whilst she's asleep and leaving her notes to read when she wakes up. Opening Fairy Doors therefore seemed the perfect thing for her to kick off the school summer holidays with and she wasn't disappointed. The idea behind Opening Fairy Doors is that the set (there are three to choose from with different colours and different fairies) provides a miniature door, window, fence and mailbox and you can you can easily attach all these ... read more
Nine Lives – film review
Imagine a world in which someone that is a cross of Richard Branson and Donald Trump (before Trump decided that trying to become President was a good idea) turns into a cat. That may sound quite far out, but it's pretty much what happens in Nine Lives, which Little Miss C and I went to see a VIP screening of this morning. Tom Brand (played by Kevin Spacey) is that Branson / Trump amalgamation. A man who goes in for the publicity stunts that Branson always uses with his Virgin brand, but with Trump's determination to always beat the competition - in the film's example in terms of having the ... read more
Finding Dory with Specsavers
Last weekend saw me have a rare weekend away without the kids, but being the amazing mum that I am (or just because timing worked out that way...) I made sure that Mr C would have something special to entertain the kids with on Saturday morning, and so he headed into central London with them to a special screening of the new Disney Pixar film Finding Dory to celebrate the launch of the Specsavers new Finding Dory eyewear range. Now with both kids loving the film Finding Nemo (to which Finding Dory is the sequel) and with Master C having worn glasses for the last year it seemed like a ... read more