Tag: house

Hatfield Farm Park Hatfield House

I was in a bit of a rush to write this up as they are open on Bank Holidays and tomorrow being one.  But for those of you who read this later they’re open Tues through Sunday and Bank Holidays from 10-5.30.

Fun for the whole family!

I’m always on the lookout for family days out, that the whole family can enjoy, not just the kids and this is one of those.  We have been to Hatfield House Farm Park before but had a truly great day out there today.  The weather was in our favour.

Cheap!

One of the reasons that I love it is that it is reasonably priced when you think we spent £20 for hubby and daughter to go to the cinema yesterday.  It’s £4.50 per adult and £2 per child and FREE parking.  As farms go it isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but do remember I’m Canadian and my sister is married to a rancher, with 400 cows and they think it’s hilarious that we pay to go to farms, but the adventure playground is amazing.

Hatfield House Adventure Playground, Herts

It’s set in a dip in the woods, with ample shade and a replica of Hatfield House.  As a St Albian, I’m very jealous of the quality of the playgrounds elsewhere.  I do hope our council takes note as our local playgrounds are lacking.

My top tips:

  • Start at the adventure playground, but send someone to the restaurant to grab coffee.  It’s diagonally across the car park, in the Stable Yard.  You can also get a child-lunch box (£5.50 for 5 items) and have an impromptu picnic, but to save a few pennies, you may want to bring your own lunch.  There is plenty of seating outside the playground.
  • We then did a walk around the farm, some unique breeds but wish we would have bought some animal feed at the entrance.

Hatfield Farm Park, Herts

  • If you decide to ride on the tractor, make sure, when you’re looking at the back of the tractor that you sit on the right or else  you end up looking at the car park and dual carriageway.

Hatfield House, Family Day out, St Albans, Herts

  • Take the time to wander up to the Stable Courtyard after, we weren’t interested in visiting the house or gardens, but plenty to see in the courtyard; Butchers, Toy Store, Sweet Shop, Burstons Garden Centre and a Pimm’s Stand!  Don’t mind if I do!

Miniature Railway, St Albans, Herts

  • Save the train ride till the end of the day when you’re heading for the car.  It’s included in the price of a ticket.

All in all it was great value and I highly recommend it, but do bear in mind the weather as there is not a lot of cover.

 

How to stop your cat urninating in the house…..

I did not kill my cat, but to be honest I was really close! For the record, I’m a cat lover; I can’t remember when I haven’t had one. Currently we have two, a brother and a sister, they’d been abandoned in a box next to a river with their mum, we’ve had them for 5 years but recently the female has started to wee everywhere and when I say ‘everywhere’ I really mean it.

She’s ruined over £500 worth of footwear (I like expensive shoes), when a friend came to visit from South Africa, amidst making up her bed the cat jumped up and peed on it, one night after I’d been out I came home saddled up next to hubby and the cat jumped up and peed all over the both of us and one morning hubby was all suited up for work it backed up to him wiggled it’s tail and wee’d all over him.

To be honest I was at my wits end, nearly in tears and the cat was minutes away from being taken back to the RSPCA. Many people suggested that she may have cystitis and I should take her to the vet, but I watched her closely and it wasn’t a matter of being incontinent and unable to get outside but more of a behavioural issue.

Basically, we have a normal cat flap and all the neighbourhood cats come and go as they please, we also found a dog ball in the house which was full of scent and she has a nervous disposition hence why I think she is peeing everywhere, just marking her territory.

We bought some Felaway spray which is a pheromone that is supposed to relax the cat and it did. It worked brilliantly for a few days and the weeing stopped immediately but sadly it started again.

A few people recommended chip cat flaps but I misunderstood them. I thought they meant the ones with the magnetic collars. Our cats won’t keep collars on so this wasn’t an option but in the end I worked it out and I love gadgets so I was all over this one. Basically the cat flap works on the identity chip that is implanted in the cat. Both of our cats had one implanted when they were spayed and neutered.

The Sureflap Microchip Cat Flap was a bit pricey (approx £90) but when you work out the damage, the amount we save on lost magnetic collars and feeding all the neighbourhood cats it really wasn’t that bad. Installation was a breeze but persuading our cats to go through it was rather challenging. Once you install the cat flap you have to put it in learn mode and then pass your cats through the cat flap. I have to say they weren’t convinced but with a bit of gentle persuasion (brute force) they did it.

But the most important thing…………….she has stopped weeing in the house, she now feels safe and secure as the neighbourhood bullies can’t get in.

Thanks to @cocabeenslinky for the artwork. It’s amazing what a bit of port and wine can produce!

Iphone Apps for Kids – Pocket Playhome

Pocket Playhome (available from iTunes for £1.49)

I know this app was designed for kids but my mate and I, both circa 40, had a scream playing with it. It’s a virtual doll house where you can move around the house, turn the lights on and off, fry an egg, open the fridge, flick the TV on, flush the toilet, open the blinds etc. Being juvenile we spent most of the time trying to kill the fish and getting the entire family to jump up and down in the cot!

Not sure what my daughter thinks yet because…erm….she hasn’t had much time to play with it because we’ve been hogging it.

I have 3 promo codes to give away to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this blog post. Please leave me some way of contacting you (twitter or email)

So overall here is what we thought:

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