sinead latham

Getting Lost in Moomin Valley

We headed upstairs to one of the performance spaces and whilst we were waiting the boy spotted Snufkin hiding behind some cases.

‘Why is he hiding?’

‘I think he’s waiting for all of us to go in a sit down’

‘Oh’

As we went into the room we were greeted by Stuff & Nonsense; our storytellers for the performance. The children were encouraged to sit on the floor so they could get closer to the magic. I too had to sit on the floor as the boy decided that he wanted some company (I was so happy to get the old pins and needles in my toes for the next 40 minutes or perhaps not!)

The show started without anyone even realising. The children were asked if they had bought their imaginations as it was very important, which led into a very important discussion around what ‘magic’ sounded like.

Stuff & Nonsense helped to tell the tale of the changing of the seasons and how Moomintroll feels when his best friend Snufkin goes away for the winter.

With appearances from Little My (ever the pessimist) and Thingummy and Bob causing mischief along the way the story is told through a mix of 2d and 3d puppetry along with the children using their imaginations as each season changed.

The thing that I love about children’s performances is the interaction of them. Instead of being told to sit and be quiet, they are encouraged to get involved and share their ideas.

Mischief and Mystery in Moomin Valley continues to tour until the end of the year, so do check it out if they come your way.

With Moomins returning to our screens next year I cannot wait to sit and watch it as a family.

MAC kindly offered us tickets to the performance to review the show. As ever our views are entirely our own. 

Hello week 2 and another mixed bag.

With no plans of time away I sent a desperate email to HR to ask how much annual leave I had remaining.

Success! 5 hidden days I had somehow forgotten about. So whilst we survive the next 3 weeks, I am hopeful the last week before school will be one to remember.

Anyway, let’s look at the success rates of week 2

Monday: Same as last week (and the same as next!) Boy gets to spend some quality time with his dad as it’s a set day off from work. This week they watched films and ate all the spaghetti hoops!

Success rate: 8/10

Tuesday: I had an all staff meeting at work, with no set time for it to finish. Frantic checking of phones and crossed fingers. Hoping that I could dash back home so the fella wouldn’t be late for work.

Made it with 2 mins to spare!

As it was payday the boy and I decided to head out for tea and we dined on delicious pasta and the garlic bread of dreams!

Success rating: 8/10

Wednesday: Stuck on the M6. Late for child handover. Not bad for the first time in 10 days (I had assumed this would have already happened at least twice by now!)

The afternoon was a trip to one of our local libraries to get involved in Heathlands Festival. 3 of the neighbouring libraries have come together to put on 4 weeks of free activities for all ages. It was such a lovely afternoon getting messy and seeking out new books

Boy made a Gargoyle (called Clocky) and got to create a story. Clocky can stop time. He stops the hands moving as he does not like the ticking sound (a little bit dark for me, I do love his imagination though)

Success rate: 7/10 (would have been higher if I wasn’t late!)

Thursday: Handover a success and the boy and I stayed at home watching Inside Out (again) and was also introduced to The Nightmare Before Christmas (yes he’s 4 and yes he loved it!)

Success rate: 8/10

Friday: With the ability to complete my admin tasks during any time slot (all hail #flexappeal), I got up super early to get them done so I could spend more of the day with the boy. We headed into town for a long overdue trip on the tram. We had our first visit to Saints Kitchen where he ate a slice of toast and jam that was bigger than his head (and I had a delicious coffee!)

A flying visit to see Dippy (4^th time now), and time spent in the children’s activity room where he quickly made friends with another boy (Johan you were an absolute delight and a gent) and they happily played together for 20mins while me (and Johan’s grandma) got to sit and chill

Burgers for tea

Cake before home

Success rate: 10/10

Saturday: Swimming lessons completed, we all headed into town for some birthday shopping for the sister in law. Successful shopping was celebrated with coffee and brunch at Waylands Yard.

Took the boy down to Eastside to play in the water fountains where he was living his best life until he wanted to join in with some older kids playing football. It was his first ever experience of being told ‘no’ by other kids and it absolutely broke his heart (head here to read more about it)

Sucess rate: 4/10 (we were doing so well until the park)

Sunday: Family admin day. Oven cleaning trips to the tip and sweaty naps in the car. All rounded off with Beauty and the Beast and leftover Chilli.

Success rate: 7/10 (no kid cares about cleaning the oven)

The start of week 3 sees the boy heading off to WaterWorld, so the rest of the week will just be downhill from Tuesday, so I’d just expect updates about the kid moaning

Good Luck for week 3

May the odds be forever in your favour!

When Influencers Fall Short - Head in the Basket

I joined Instagram because I wanted somewhere to document our chaos.

Really quickly I found myself in an echo chamber. Following squares, because they were ‘famous’.

I was bored

Same old photos

Different names

And everyone had the same bloody rug

Oh what a lovely bandwagon

In real life I had started to widen my circle, learning more about my city and stepping outside of my comfortable bubble.

Changing up my squares to reflect my life, following people who speak to me, who are passionate for change (across the board)

I don’t shout about it on my Instagram, because quite frankly it doesn’t mean anything.

I see the changes in my real life

However, more recently there seems to be a growing trend for people to declare:

‘I’m inclusive’

‘I’ve struggled’

‘I’m just like you’

Everyone has their story.

Some stories are hard to read.

Some perspectives are hard to understand.

And some completely miss the mark.

Numerous people have posted numerous things declaring all of the above and rather than being drowned in a sea of admiration they have managed to alienate their followers with a single hashtag.

What is even more frustrating and disheartening to see is that when people are challenged on their perspective, rather than open up the forum to debate, discuss and learn they go into shut down mode.

Ignore

Block

Delete

If you hit delete then it never happened. You haven’t offended people and you can just carry on as before.

Occasionally you may see a fleeting story with a half-baked apology, but mostly it just disappears into the Instagram trenches.

What baffles me, as much as the original post, is that grown ass (mostly) women are behaving in a manner that is incomprehensible in the comments section.

Judgey, one might say.

We talk about the sisterhood.

How It takes a village.

But.

People can be pretty damn nasty at times.

And if your opinion doesn’t fit?

Ignore

Block

Delete

There is absolutely a space to discuss and learn, but when someone types hurtful comments

Well.

It hurts.

If your child wrote something hurtful, what would you say?

Jeez, you don’t even need to be a parent to know being cruel is not ok.

Talk, listen, be educated. Have open and frank conversations

Challenge an opinion, but be respectful

We are living in one very messy and confused society right now and we could all do with opening our eyes and ears a little wider.

Oh Look It's my Netflix Log In Screen!

Jane the Virgin

I started watching this after I had finished consuming ALL OF THE GILMORE GIRLS and was feeling a little lost. This is an over the top telenovela about Jane, her family and how they cope with some very far-fetched plot lines. This show pokes fun at itself and you can’t help but fall in love with Rogelio De La Vega who is everything you want in a character.  

The Letdown

My latest consumed product and should be mandatory viewing for any parent. You will identify with at least one character and may also feel a little empathy for your ever-suffering partner. An Australian show following the stresses of parenthood and how a bunch of strangers are thrown together at a new mums group.

The Crown

Period pieces are not my bag. However, this is sublime. I have learnt more about the British monarchy watching this show than I ever did at school. And Matt Smith is perfection as Prince Philip.

The Good Place

Where do we really go when we die?

Ted Danson, is everything you would ever want from a character. No other reason needed. I refuse to give anything away about this show, you just need to watch it

Orange is the New Black
I have just finished season 6 and as ever am left wanting more. Following the inmates of Litchfield Penitentiary, we get to see the ever shifting dynamics as the characters navigate life on the inside. Each character is rich in story and a personal favourite of mine is Lori Petty's role as Lolly (you only have to wait until the end of season 2 for her to appear).

What are your favourites? 
I think I may have to put together a top 5 part 2!