sinead latham

Never before have I headed to Resorts World to kick off our Christmas holidays. But on Friday the boy and I went running out the school gates and straight onto the train to go and see our favourite festive film live on stage. Bring on Elf!

Whether you love the film or not, there is no denying it is all about the Christmas feels and it was translated onto the big stage with the biggest tinsel money can buy (quite literally).

Buddy (played by Tam Ryan) is, of course, the star of the show and we all fall in love with the silliness of it all as he goes on his journey to find his family. With the addition of some great show tunes (my personal favourite was Nobody Cares About Santa), it was a show for all the family to enjoy.

Jovie was played by Martine McCutcheon and David Essex in the role of Walter Hobbs my boys most favourite person to see was Jennie Dale (aka Captain Captain from Cbeebies Swashbuckle), with the ensemble rounded out with local theatre students from the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (which reminded me of a youth spent as a panto babe back in the 80s!)

This is the first time I’ve seen a stage show on such an epic scale and no matter what way you looked there was something to see including a tightrope walker and some wonderful aerial acrobatics with Santa’s sleigh being the star of the show in terms of bringing a touch of magic to the arena.

With an overall running time of 2 ½ hours (including interval) the show was a little too long for my boy (he was over tired and over stimulated by the time the final song was sung), and so whilst it was a great festive adventure for the grown-ups, I would recommend you leave the little little ones at home for this one.

Elf: A Christmas Spectacular is on until December 24^th and so plenty of time to get into the festive spirit.

Resorts World Arena kindly invited us along to watch the show in exchange for our review. As ever opinions our ours

Dashing from a Softplay birthday party on a Saturday evening the boy does a Speedy costume change into his PJs and we crash into MAC with minutes to spare before Rudolph begins.

Walking into a Theatre filled with children (and adults) in their PJs makes it feel quite magical, and with our complimentary red noses we were seated and waiting for the show to begin.

We join the story in the Starry Safari Park where an alien lands with a bump in the night. This isn’t your usual Xmas affair. 

Although we quickly realise that this isn’t an alien. It is a rather lost Rudolph.

A rather lost Rudolph who doesn’t know who she is. Yes. SHE; we all know that it’s the females that lead the sleigh (the poor males lose their antlers in the winter!)

Through the guidance of Baggy (Snowy Owl and narrator of sorts), Rudolph explores the safari park trying to fit in with the other animals and finding it hard when they say she is different to them.

There are funny and tender moments throughout and everyone was drawn into the tale. And here is where I leave it, as I don’t want to spoil the ending.

Pins and Needles have bought us another Christmas show to remember and to feel all the festive joy, you’ve got until December 31st (Click HERE to grab your tickets)

MAC kindly invited us along to watch the show in exchange for our review. As ever opinions our ours (and we both loved it!)

Sunday mornings were made for hanging out at MAC and seeing what babies get up to when it’s bedtime.

It is no secret that I adore Little Angel Theatre Company (they made me cry with last years production 'Me') and so I was expecting great things. As ever, I was not disappointed (and neither was they boy)

Suitable for ages 2-5 (and not forgetting the grownups too) we settled down to watch Dad and Baby as they get ready for bed.

As us grownups know, it is not often that bedtime is smooth sailing and the next 40 minutes we see Baby have the most wonderful time causing mischief and having all the fun.

When a studio full of kids are belly laughing away at the silliness of Baby and a Rabbit with a suspicious French accent, you know everyone has been brought into the magic of the moment. I won’t tell you too much more as I want you to experience the delightful silliness for yourselves.

Sleepyhead runs until Sunday 2^nd December so grab your tickets quickly HERE

MAC kindly invited us along to watch the show in exchange for our review. As ever opinions our ours (and we loved it!)

What better way to kick off the festive season than heading to The Old Rep on a Saturday afternoon to watch this year’s seasonal offering of Pinocchio.

My date for the afternoon (the kid) and I took our seats and from the second the house lights dimmed and the stage lit up, my son was whisked away on a journey of the little boy who just wanted to be good. 

My memory of this particular tale is based around the Disney classic; the story of the Toy Maker who desperately wanted a son, and so created a puppet that came to life. Along Pinnochio's journey, familiar faces appeared alongside the Blue Fairy (in place of a cricket) offered up plenty of moral guidance and entertainment along the way.

The story is filled with musical numbers and light-hearted moments with both the young and older laughing away. If you want to watch something a little different from the usual panto affair, this show gets a Two Thumbs Up from the 4-year-old! And as an additional FYI (and possible spoiler alert) the kids favourite part was... 

'When the puppet got their skin' 

A familiar tale with a musical spin on it’s telling, Pinnochio is a great way to get into the season of Good Will. Along with a fab production and leading roles the supporting cast is made up with local students from Birmingham Ormiston Academy having their opportunity to tread the boards in their own fair city.

Pinocchio is on at The Old Rep until December 30th (with a relaxed performance on December 15th)

We were invited along to the press launch in exchange for our honest review. As ever our opinions (mine and the 4-year-olds) are our own.

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! 

There are so many posts around how to plan for the summer, I thought I’d try and put together a weekly update of how we are surviving. Like many families the summer holidays are tough. We don’t have family close by, and it has taken us 12 months to get out of the pit of Nursey Debt and so we are trying our best to wing it.

We are only able to do this with the most understanding of employers and a 4.5year old who goes with the flow (most days)

So here we go. 

Week 1…

Monday: Easy win: spent the day in the car driving back from Devon

Success rate 10/10

Tuesday: I leave at the arse crack of dawn to get in a days work so I I can tap in at 1pm when the fella has to go to work I can take over childcare duties.

Handover a success, kid requests a trip to town so we dine on 99p baguettes and cash in the coffee loyalty cards. Minor meltdown on where to grab babychinos, but all forgiven after spending an hour in TK Maxx looking at ALL the Tupperware

Success rate 9/10

Wednesday: Arse crack of dawn again, handover success, afternoon at home doing fun-filled life admin things

Success rate 8/10

Fun rate 2/10

Thursday: See Tues/ Weds handover. An afternoon spent seeing school friend and fixing the world while kids pick blackberries in the garden

Success rate 9/10

Friday: Another successful handover. Afternoon at home painting and just shooting the breeze. Then early evening we headed to our favourite establishment for food galore in the shape of Bretzels, Bratwurst and Spaetzle

Success rate 10/10

Success rate 3/10

Sunday: Coffees, shopping and birthday parties galore. The boy even gave away his balloon to another kid when their balloon went pop

Heart Melted

Success rate 10/10

We crash into week 2 with no solid plans for the week so wish us luck!

How do you surviving?

Any advice/ tips will be greatly received!