We are very lucky where we live. We live in a lovely market town which is steeped in Roman History, it’s only 20 minutes from London by train and we have access to loads of green space; within minutes you can go from being in the city to being in the country.
We recently discovered Heartwood Forest, which is going to be England’s largest new native woodland. It’s only 3 miles north of St Albans in Sandridge. The Woodland Trust has acquired the 850 acre site and hopes to turn it from open fields to a wood in just 12 years by planting an additional 600,000 trees and they’re going to need some help.
I just wanted to let you know about the tree planting party tomorrow the 23 of Jan 2011 from 10-3pm. Full details can be found here.
They’ll also be trying to set a New Guinness Record for Welly Wanging. I really don’t know what that entails but sounds very interesting.
Our family will definitely be going, rain or shine as the thought of planting a tree for a new forest is truly special.
Note: There is no parking at the site on Sunday but there is a park and ride service being offered from Townsend School.
We went to see Father Christmas on Saturday courtesy of the lovely people at Hop Farm in Kent! I know, it’s only flippin November and Christmas Comes Far Too Early! However, it was absolutely brilliant and worth the 70 mile journey with a 3 year old in the back alternating between ‘where is Father Christmas’ and ‘are we nearly there yet’!
In the past, we’ve been to a local Santa’s Grotto and we also went on a Santa’s Steam train but neither of them compared to Santa’s Magical Kingdom. It was a bit of a trek for us but once we got there it all ran very smoothly. I was impressed by the whole set up. You make your way through 9 checkpoints, with naughty elves to entertain you along the way.
Our journey began at the 4D cinema, that’s not a typo, it’s a 3D cinema but they pump in the smell of chocolate and bubbles. It was absolutely magical watching Madame trying grab the 3D objects that came flying past.
Then we made our way through the Enchanted Forest, with a little something for the dad’s, a drop dead gorgeous Snow Maiden! I love the smell of pine trees.
We had to make a quick stop at the Post Office to write our letter to Santa and post it up the magical chimney. Madame has asked for all the Toy Story Characters and a Fish in a Bowl?? Hubby has vetoed the fish as he says that water and electrics don’t mix. He’s such a party pooper.
We then wandered through the North Pole to meet Santa’s Reindeer, including two new babies born this year? I wonder what their names are. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer?
We were greeted in the Craft Workshop by Mother Christmas and we busied ourselves making a decoration to take home.
Mrs. Christmas then read the children a story in the Story Room and can you guess whose daughter kept shouting out during it??
Madame got up to a bit of mischief with one of the naughty Elves on the Ice Walkway! Parents are treated to Mulled Wine and Mince Pies in the sweet shop.
Don’t miss my favourite, the singing and dancing Yeti! What a scream!
Then it was time for the Grande finale, Father Christmas! Once my husband stopped making jokes about the hallway looking like a brothel in Amsterdam, not sure how he knows this, we made our way into see Santa in cosy, private study. I was truly impressed and he was a good looking Santa, if you know what I mean. He took a good 5-10 minutes talking to Madame and then gift tumbled down the chimney for her. It was a pink and white stuffed puppy that she hasn’t parted with since.
Thanks to everyone at Santa’s Magical Kingdom for a brilliant day out and one we won’t forget!
Disclosure: We received 3 tickets compliments of Santa’s Magical Kingdom
It must be a boy thing! When I first moved in with my husband and to this day I’ve never found any evidence of any porn?? Weird I know and trust me I’ve looked. However, I did find a plethora of RC Airplane paraphernalia. This should have sent the alarm bells ringing that a future of Air Shows and Air Museums lay ahead.
For our anniversary, I bought my husband a netbook (romantic eh?) and honestly thought he’d eventually wander into those sites but no, he spends hours on end searching on EBay for 2nd hand remote control glider equipment. He’s even bidding on stuff that isn’t in English, thanks to Google translator.
I really shouldn’t complain, it’s not like he has a gambling problem nor is he a secret cross-dresser and Madame loves them as well. So, I do humour him and have been to the RAF Museum in Hendon and this morning we went to the de Havilland Mosquito Museum near Potters Bar. To be fair, it’s not just Airplane Museums that bore me but museums in general. The only two exceptions to this have been the Sex Museum in Amsterdam and the Icelandic Phallological Museum (yes it’s a museum dedicated to willies).
At least, I save a few quid on an Audio Tour as I get a blow by blow from hubby the whole way around!
Madame had her first ever ski lesson this morning courtesy of The Snow Centre. Even though I’m Canadian, I was secretly hoping she wouldn’t like it as it’s one of those sports, like horse riding, that may require a second mortgage! However, she absolutely loved it! At the end of her lesson she demanded more and tried to make a break for the big slope!
A special thanks to Ali Fischer, the Marketing Assistant, at the Snow Centre for such a warm welcome and to Nicole for being and ever so patient Instructor.
I can’t wait till she turns 4 so I can get her into lessons. Shhh, don’t tell hubby!
The music is by Blues Traveller one of my favourite bands.
We accidently had a Dinosaur themed weekend. Someone recently suggested ‘theme-ing’ your week with your kids (e.g under the water, at the Zoo, etc.). However, to be honest I thought it sounded a bit wanky and far too organised for me. Nonetheless, in this case it worked out well.
Last week a friend recommended Knebworth House and said it had a fantastic Dinosaur Trail. So, Saturday morning I decided that’s what we would do. I sat Madame on my lap and showed her all the pictures of the dinosaurs and the adventure playground. She was very excited, until I flipped to the opening times and realised it closed in September. Doh!
Quick change of plans, with a bit of gentle persuasion I convinced hubby, who is a London Commuter, to go to the Natural History Museum in London. It was brilliant! As it was a Saturday we drove in, no congestion charge on weekends, we have a diesel, parking was only a tenner and the museum is free! Madame’s highlight was the robotic T-Rex. She also liked these guys. They reminded me of @chickenruby and me.
She was fascinated by the blood around their mouths and reckoned they needed some baby wipes!
Then, today, thanks to @zooarcheologis, we went to the local museum where they had a Dinosaur Day. Madame made a miniature dinosaur and giant wellie boot dinosaur foot prints. I wasn’t there, so I’m hoping Claire jumps in and tells us how they’re made. I think they look fab, even though they do look a bit phallic (rotate footprint 90 degrees clockwise)????
We are very lucky where we live. We live in a lovely market town which is steeped in Roman History, it’s only 20 minutes from London by train and we have access to loads of green space; within minutes you can go from being in the city to being in the country.
