New Series on CBeebies

On Saturday we were invited by the BBC to see previews of two new series on CBeebies.

Nina returns in Nina and the Neurons Go Engineering. This series is all about engineering, so we will find out how hovercrafts, cranes and planes work. What I love about Nina is that she is a woman presenting a science programme.

Not all science on CBeebies is so obvious, but if you watch the Octonauts, for example, you will know more about marine biology than you thought.

What's great about Nina is that the experiments the children do are easy to replicate at home. The episode we saw explained how aeroplanes fly. I may be an accountant, but my education prior to that career choice was arts focused. I know very little science and even less about engineering. I can report that I now understand how aeroplanes fly. Thank you, Nina and CBeebies.

Nina and the Neurons Go Engineering starts today on CBeebies at 4.30pm. For more information check out CBeebies Grown-ups.

Mr Bloom himself introduced his new series of Mr Bloom's Nursery - Get Set Grow.

This new series takes Mr Bloom and the Veggies out on the road, following the trend set by Mr Maker and I Can Cook. There are enough familiar segments of the show to keep fans of the allotment series happy, but there are also new songs and locations to keep it fresh. 

In the episode we saw Mr Bloom takes Colin the irritating runner bean to an enormous greenhouse, growing peppers. It was a bit like Auntie Mabel and Pippin visiting a toothbrush factory, but a little more up to date...

I like Mr Bloom's Nursery as it's a gentle introduction to gardening and food provenance.

Mr Bloom's Nursery - Get Set Grow starts in the spring.

Here are my children meeting Mr Bloom, played by Ben Faulks.

Another change for CBeebies is that you can no longer find its content on other BBC channels. CBeebies is on channel 71 on Freeview and is also available on the iPlayer.

Exclusive: we also met the new link presenter (and eventual replacement for Sid Sloane). She moves into the CBeebies house this weekend, so look out for a friendly new face on your screens.

Disclosure: we were given coffee, pastries and fruit at the BBC - thank you license payers. We paid for our own travel to this press event. 

New Series on CBeebies

New Series of Justin's House 25 August 2012

Last weekend we were invited to watch Justin's House live at Media City, Salford. Part of the BBC's summer in the City season, we were treated to live action from Justin Fletcher and Robert the Robot (and Little Monster too). We also saw a brand new episode from series two of Justin's House. 'Little Monster's Birthday'.

The new 23 episode series starts next Saturday, 25th August 2012. The new series is similar to the first, with the notable omission of Dee Livery. I hope there are plenty of female guests to redress the balance.

My children didn't know what to make of Justin's House when they first saw it last year, there were tears, but they soon came round and squeal with delight every time Justin gets a custard pie in the face.

We loved the songs at the end, Justin sang his hit 'Hands Up' as well as children's classics 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' and 'Jelly on a Plate'.  This is Presley (above) joining in with a game of musical statues.

The only thing we didn't like was the catering. It was geared towards grown-ups. I bought the boys a cupcake each because they were ravenous, but they were fancy cupcakes and my children didn't like the mallow fillings or the nut ganache - they fell apart as you ate them. At £2 a pop this was a huge disappointment all round. Well, obviously the cakes weren't completely wasted (ahem).

Apart from that, we had a wonderful time. Before the show we were able to watch Tom Daley at the Olympics on the big screen.

CBeebies had invited us for a buffet lunch where the producers wanted to know our thoughts on CBeebies programmes. Presley and Cash made a serious dent in the fish cakes and huges slices of pizza. It was lovely to catch up with my Northern blogging friends and make some new friends too.

We also got to meet Robert the Robot and Justin Fletcher. They both engaged with the children and posed for  photographs. When my two went up to Justin he made them roar with laughter by trying and failing to shake their hands. They were over the moon to meet their CBeebies favourites.

Afterwards we enjoyed looking around Media City.

Look out for new content on the Justin's House page of the Cbeebies website, this will be available next weekend to coincide with the launch of the new series.

If you would like to be in the audience for any future recordings of Justin's House I'm afraid tickets are not generally available. The audiences for Justin's House are made up from schools, nurseries and children's organisations in the local Salford area. If you live within a 20km radius of Salford Quays, and represent one of the groups mentioned above, then you can enter the next ticket ballot. The details are here and the FAQ's are here. Also keep an eye on the CBeebies Grown-Ups pages.

EDIT: The ballot is now open (applications will be accepted until 30 September 2012)

If you're disappointed not to fulfil the criteria for Justin's House, Justin (& Friends) is touring next year and tickets are on sale now.


Disclosure: We were guests of CBeebies and were given lunch, that's all.
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New Series of Justin's House 25 August 2012

Dreams Come True at Gulliver's

There was a party at Gulliver's theme park in Milton Keynes last weekend. They threw the party for their chosen charity, Dreams Come True.

Dreams Come True works with terminally and seriously ill children, aged between 2 and 21, across the country. Last weekend all children on the waiting list with Dreams Come True were invited to Gulliver's, along with their families, for a Dream Weekend event. Local businesses supplied hotel rooms and refreshments, and Gulliver's supplied a fun day. There was music, dancing, fluffy characters and cake, and the odd celebrity thrown in for good measure.

This charity aims to bring joy to children by making their dream come true, however big or small. They have arranged for children to meet Lewis Hamilton, work on a fashion magazine, meet a husky, swim with dolphins, and experience zero gravity. So far they have brought joy to 5,000 families. They also provide equipment to make everyday lives better. Gulliver's have raised money in the past for sensory equipment for a little boy called Jake.

When my late brother was ill, he was given a VIP day at Manchester United Football Club (by the company he worked for). He looked forward to it for weeks and it was a huge deal for him. He wore his signed shirt all the time afterwards. A word to the wise footballers: please only sign shirts with indelible pens. Mum washed Pete's shirt, and the signatures disappeared. Thanks, Sandy.

We thoroughly enjoyed Gulliver's. It's suitable for all ages. My three year old could go on all rides, accompanied by an adult, apart from the big roller-coaster. My four year old went on that four times. My heart was in my mouth watching him. Luckily I have a slipped disc and could only go on the big wheel and the train. Shame, that. I am soooo not a thrill-seeker. I am, however, perfectly happy to hold the coats.

We spent five hours at Gulliver's and didn't manage to go on everything. This wasn't because of the queues - there were none - but because there is so much to do. We will definitely go back and may take the boys (and their friends) for their birthday party.

A particular highlight was the free Zingzillas show in the Main Street Theatre. Yes, the Zingzillas are performing at Gulliver's. If that's not a reason to go, I don't know what is.

For more information about Dreams Come True please visit www.dctc.org.uk.

Disclosure:

We were given free entry to Gulliver's in return for coverage of the event. I made a donation to Dreams Come True in return.

Dreams Come True at Gulliver's

New on CBeebies

We were invited to a screening of two new CBeebies programmes, Andy's Wild Adventures and Tree Fu Tom, as part of the channel's tenth birthday celebrations.





It was a massive thrill for my sons to meet CBeebies presenter, Andy Day, at the screening. He, along with Kay Benbow (controller of CBeebies), talked about a wonderful new programme, Andy's Wild Adventures.

Andy's Wild Adventures was made in conjunction with the BBC's Natural History Unit and stars Andy as a zookeeper. He and his furry sidekick, Kip, travel in the Kipmobile to visit animals in the wild. During filming Andy said he was covered in water, mud, ice and fungus - and more mud. The programme gives more than a passing nod to the late Johnny Morris and Animal Magic (my favourite programme when I was growing up in the 70's).

Presley and Cash LOVE Andy's Wild Adventures and have been watching it avidly since it was first broadcast a couple of weeks ago. They pretend to be Andy and Kip in the Kipmobile. It must have been surreal for Andy to watch my children pretending to be him, but we could tell he was genuinely pleased at how well-received the show has been.





This is the official introduction to Tree Fu Tom.

"Former Doctor Who stars David Tennant and Sophie Aldred voice the lead characters Tom (Aldred) and Twigs (Tennant) in the new multi-platform fantasy action adventure series, Tree Fu Tom coming to CBeebies in March.

Aimed at four to six year olds, Tree Fu Tom is set in an enchanted world where movement creates magic. Tom appears to be a normal eight-year-old boy but putting on his magic belt and performing a special sequence of magic action-movements (known as Tree Fu) transforms him into a tiny but mighty magical super-hero.

Using a Tree Fu spell, Tom is transported into a wondrous enchanted kingdom in a tree called Treetopolis, inhabited by sprites, bugs and naughty fungi – the ‘Mushas’. Here he meets his faithful sidekick Twigs, a silly and energetic Acorn Sprite.

Tom and Twigs are inseparable as they become embroiled in amazing, action-packed adventures, which always lead to trouble, impending disaster and catastrophe. When events run beyond their control it is only with help from the audience performing Tree Fu moves, that Tom can create spectacular Big World Magic and save the day!

All of the Tree Fu magic moves that children are encouraged to copy are developed from therapeutic techniques that are used to help children with movement disorders like Dyspraxia, but are designed to assist and enhance the development of all participating children at a crucial time in their growth."


I spoke to the producer of Tree Fu Tom, Dan, who told me that this new show has been five years in the making and was developed to help children to move. All of the children at the screening joined in with the magic movements and my boys are very excited to see more episodes.

Tree Fu Tom starts today at 5.25 on CBeebies.






Disclosure: The BBC provided coffee and pastries on the day, but nothing else! We paid our own travel. Just so you know. I write about CBeebies because I like it. It is gentle and well thought out. It keeps my boys occupied, entertained and educated while I cook the tea every afternoon.


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New on CBeebies

Justin Fletcher Made My Son Cry

Yes, you read correctly.

The lovely Justin Fletcher - Mr CBeebies himself - made three year old Cash cry yesterday.

So how did this happen? Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

The boys were ill over the weekend. They had some virus or other. They were feverish, with sore throats and colds. Also, Cash vomited all over me and then all over his bed. Nice.

When this happens (after I've put the washing machine on) we make nests of towels on the sofa and switch on CBeebies. We have many programmes recorded on our PVR, mainly Bob the Builder, ZingZillas and the boys' new favourite, Iconicles. Four year old Presley in particular is mesmerised by it. He stands in front of the television as if it's his own Iconiscreen and seems to know every word to every episode. When the boys run in to wake us up every morning, they pretend they are Splish and Splash. Every squirrel they see is now called Skitter. Even Maisy's friend Cyril has been renamed.

I did an experiment two years ago.  I switched off the television and left it off for two months, only turning it back on when the boys were ill one day and I wanted to distract them. Even now it never goes on before 4pm. Then they can chose what they want to watch while I cook the tea.

Yesterday we had exhausted our cache of Iconicles episodes. I really couldn't face another, so we watched the CBeebies channel live.

The new programme, Justin's House, was on. After five minutes of watching Justin and his friends larking about Cash burst into tears. He looked terrified and said 'I don't want to watch this'. So that was that.

Were were invited to watch Justin's House being recorded.  It's filmed in front of an audience of children. On the show they all look like they're enjoying themselves, none of them are shrieking. I don't know what it was that upset Cash. I'm glad we couldn't make it to Salford now. Sorry, Justin. We still love Something Special.

We also like the new look CBeebies Grown-ups website, there is even a blog. I hope the BBC don't mind me using the photo of Justin's House. From the reaction of the parents on Twitter over the weekend, I think we were the only family that didn't love the new show.

I'll be sad when the boys grow out of CBeebies and I'll miss watching them laugh their heads off at the 'Spud the Hotel Manager' episode of Bob the Builder. I've almost perfected my Spud impression too.


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Justin Fletcher Made My Son Cry

We Met The ZingZillas at Harveys

Don't worry, we didn't bump into them shopping for a new sofa for the Coconut Hut or anything weird like that.

We were invited to spend a bit of time with them before they posed for photographs with the children of Milton Keynes. Boy, was there a queue... that we went straight to the front of.

The occasion was the opening of the new Harveys furniture store in Milton Keynes. By the way, she added conspiratorially, there's an additional 10% off most items until the end of tomorrow (Monday 26th September).

My boys LOVE The ZingZillas. They were absolutely thrilled to spend some time with their idols. Tang's eye had been fixed since their appearance at Lollibop and they were all full of beans and wonderful with the children.

Huge thanks to Harveys PR for the invitation.

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We Met The ZingZillas at Harveys

Our first Family Festival

Neither Andy nor myself are big festival goers. It's the toilets that put me off. Still, when we won VIP tickets to Lollibop last weekend we decided to go. After all, how often do you get the chance to take your children to see their idols?!

Not only was it our first festival as a family, it was our first time taking the boys to London on the train. Just a trip to have a burger at Euston Station and then come home would have been treat enough for Presley, 3, and Cash, 2. They were so excited on the train. Our nerves at being out and about in London with no buggy were calmed by a gentle journey in 'that man's car', also known as a taxi.

We arrived at Lollibop just before it opened and had a plan for the day. We would go straight to the main stage to get a good view of The Zingzillas and Rastamouse, then we would go straight to the Meet and Greet with Bob The Builder. We thought this would be enough for the boys and we were right.

Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew were brilliant, slick, cool and fun. Also reggae is perfect for a festival. The Zingzillas looked quite poor and under-rehearsed by comparison. We couldn't stop laughing at one of Tang's eyes, it was permanently closed. It looked like DJ Loose had punched him for being late for the Big Zing. They went off after a couple of songs, maybe to fix his bulging eye. They came back and 'Bhangra Beat' was a highlight. The boys loved it all.

We bumped into the lovely Babes About Town and her gorgeous family on our way out and then had an easy journey home. It occurred to me afterwards that we didn't even spot the VIP tent, let alone look for it. It would have been lovely for me to catch up with the other bloggers there and have a free drink, but it was a day for the children, not for me - and I had to drive home from the station.

I know there have been complaints about prices and queues and it was very busy. We planned our day well and took a picnic, we only had to queue for a few minutes to see Bob The Builder. If we'd had to pay £100 for our tickets we may have spent longer at Lollibop to get our money's worth, but we experienced quality over quantity and I still feel weepy when I remember how excited Presley was to hold Bob The Builder's hand. I've never seen a smile that big.

Here are our highlights:

Cerrie from CBeebies:

The Zingzillas:

Tang's broken eye, still makes me chuckle:

Rastamouse:

"Give it up" Live:



And finally, meeting Bob The Builder:

Our first Family Festival

In The Night Garden... LIVE!

We were lucky enough to win tickets to see In the Night Garden... LIVE at Woburn Abbey.

My boys are three and two and rarely watch ITNG these days, but they were dancing around with excitement on Saturday.

As each character appeared on stage my children leapt up, waving and shouting "good morning, Iggle Piggle!", "good morning, Makka Pakka!"...  you get the picture. I loved hearing the parents singing along too.

The show is very well done. It uses a mixture of live action, puppetry and projected images. Derek Jacobi narrates the action and the show is a live version of an episode of the programme.

What a fantastic introduction to the world of theatre. We all had an amazing time. Andy and I spent more time watching our boys' faces than watching the show. I'll let you in to a little secret now, I spent the first ten minutes crying. Seeing the joy on their faces, their eyes wide with excitement, was a treat.

One little quibble, we bought the boys a helium balloon each, shaped like the Pinky Ponk, guess how much... £8 EACH. £8. EACH. Shocking.

Was it worth going though? Of course it was. It was a magical experience.



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In The Night Garden... LIVE!

Wordless Wednesday: Beany Giant

Wordless Wednesday: Beany Giant

Snowed in

This time last year we were snowed in. We live down a lane, down a hill. It's almost impossible to get the car out to the main road. After almost a month I was going stir crazy.

On Friday it snowed again.

A lot.

I hate that we get snowed in. I hate even more when we can get the car out and the roads are icy. Even though I pretty much hate the effects of the snow, I still watch it fall with child-like wide-eyed wonder. I'm excited by it. It's beautiful. If I wake up in the middle of the night I peek out of the curtains to see how much we've had.

The boys love it!

There's only so much time you can spend outside in the snow before you get too cold, although we've done our best.

Our snow is weird this year, it's a fine powder and not great for building snowmen.

It's deep enough to go over the top of little wellies.

And to coat woollen mittens.

So we came indoors to paint. I made the mistake of answering my phone and moving into the kitchen to chat in peace. This is what I came back to.

Andy took pity on me and bought back a packet cake mix from the local shops to entertain us.

This is what the cakes are supposed to like like.

There are Presley's.

There are Cash's.

I think they're wonderful AND they were edible.

I'll have to find some more activities for tomorrow or maybe we'll just snuggle up in front of the television.

It is nearly Christmas after all.


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Snowed in

Meanwhile...

...over on Sandy Calico Reviews I've written about some of the things sent to try us. Oh no, that's wrong! Try again, I've written about some of the things I've been sent to try. Yes, that's more like it. ;-)

Since becoming Toys R Us Toyologists we've had quite a few toys to test. Find out what we thought about the Tomy Aquadoodle Desk, the Timmy Time Pop-Up Game,  Old MacDonald Lotto, the Crazy Chefs Game, the Fireman Sam Fire Engine Convertible, the Moon Sand Demolition Kit and the Mega Bloks 2-in-1 Buildable Thomas the Tank Engine.


We have also reviewed the ZingZillas CD and My Favourite Nursery Rhymes DVD.


I was given some clothes to wear to the MAD awards by Very.co.uk and my underwear was provided by Spanx Higher Power. What do you mean you don't want to see my pants?! I was also sent my first pair of Converse trainers by Rubber Sole.



Finally, Sandy Calico Reviews... DotComGiftShop - just in time for Christmas.






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Meanwhile...