Andy & The Band Launch Party - Live on CBeebies!

Last weekend the kids and I headed into London for a very very exciting event - the Andy and the Band show live launch!

Regular readers of this blog will know that we have been fans of Andy's since Elliot was small and have followed his Odd Socks music career since the beginning. We love going to their live shows but the children were really excited to hear about a brand new show on CBBC featuring Andy and the Odd Socks. And they were even more excited to get an invite to the launch!

Saturday morning arrived and we were on the road by 6am...a little bleary eyed but raring to go. We parked at Richmond and hopped on the tube which was a massive novelty - the kids haven't really been into central London properly before so the tube was a totally new experience for them!

The launch was being hosted at the Royal Institution in Mayfair and when we arrived, the children were given an Andy and The Band lanyard which they immediately put on. We headed upstairs where everyone else seemed to be and waited to be let into the auditorium. In typical Elliot style, he was in the right place at the right time and managed to get high 5's when the band walked past!

It was soon time to head into the auditorium and excitement started to build as we spotted all the cameras and equipment! We found a seat and played a game of "who can we spot off the telly!" - the first being Dodge from CBeebies.

It was fascinating watching him - obviously he's a puppet but the man that moves him round and talks is just so funny! Elliot was really chuffed to get a selfie :)

Elliot also spotted Ed and Naomi from Marrying Mum and Dad - it's one of his favourite shows on CBBC so he literally ran over to them to say hello, it made his day!

Soon it was time begin and Andy and the band came in to rapturous applause - the audience seemed to be made up of mostly family/friends and fans so they got a brilliant welcome!

It was really exciting to hear that they would be playing live on CBeebies - apparently CBeebies has only been live once before so this was a real treat - it's not often we get to watch TV absolutely live.

The band had a few rehearsals, and they played some songs (including some new ones!) and soon it was time to GO LIVE!

After that we were able to watch two of the episodes of the new show and the episodes got a great reaction from the audience. Elliot and Erin were certainly transfixed.

Once the filming had been completed and the episodes watched, everyone headed out to have photos with Andy and the band. As always, Elliot was greeted like an old friend and even Erin was all smiles! Previously at meet and greets she has cried or screamed but this was the first time that she was not only keen to say hello, but actually smiled for the picture :)

We also caught up with some of the other Odd Sock families - we bump into each other at lots of gigs so it was nice to say hello.

Odd Sock Superfans!

Soon it was time to say our goodbyes and head back to Dorset after our whistle stop visit to London. We had a brilliant morning and it was amazing to be part of the launch. Andy and the band work so hard and it's brilliant to see all the hard work paying off. I think it's fantastic for children to have such positive and talented role models to look up to and I'm sure the Odd Socks are going to get a massive influx of new fans this year!

Andy and The Band is now streaming on iPlayer and you can catch them playing live all over the Country this year. 

**A BIG thank you to Odd Socks HQ for inviting us along to this - see you soon :)

Spooky Half Term Fun - October 2018

I think the October Half Term is one of our favourite times of the year. For a start, Halloween is just around the corner but there just seems to be so much on in our local area - this year was no different, and I think I could have filled 4 weeks with activities and days out and not just one week! Usually I try and pace ourselves by scheduling quieter days at home but not this time - our week was busy, fun, full on and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Pumpkin Picking - Saturday

We decided to go and pick some pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch at the start of the week - usually we just pick up a couple of cheap ones in Asda so this was a bit different for us! We've never been to a pumpkin patch before but it was such a lovely morning and I'm really glad we did it. The kids loved finding all the different shaped pumpkins and Elliot took great pleasure in finding the biggest one there to take home with us!

Autumn Fun at Kingston Lacy - Monday

The Monday began with a visit to one of my very favourite places in Dorset - in fact, my National Trust Membership is pretty much made up of visits to here! The grounds are beautiful but especially at this time of the year with the stunning Autumn colours. It's a fab place to take the children because there's no traffic and they can pretty much run free! We met up with some friends, Elliot dressed up as Dracula (standard half term attire!) and we had a lovely walk followed by a picnic while the children played on the ride ons.

Corfe Castle - Tuesday

Another National Trust visit, this time to the spectacular ruins of Corfe Castle. This is another brilliant place to visit in school holidays because there are always special events on for children and plenty to keep them amused. We loved spotting the pumpkins around the castle and the children had lots of fun doing the creepy creatures quiz. We sent our teddies down the terrifying zipline and we also managed to catch the trebuchet being fired. All in all it was a great day!

Pumpkin Hunt at Moreton Walled Garden - Wednesday

It took us a while to decide on todays activity. We discussed visiting the Shire Hall Historic Court Museum in Dorchester but in the end the weather was lovely again so we decided to head outdoors.

We met up with our friends and spent a wonderful morning in the sunshine following the pumpkin trail and exploring the beautiful gardens. We even found a brilliant play area that we didn't even know existed so that kept the children amused for ages!

Spooky Fun at Lulworth Castle - Thursday

This was probably our favourite day of the week - we had so much fun! The castle and grounds had been transformed into a spooky attraction and honestly, the effort that had gone into the event was fantastic. As we walked through the entrance we were greeted by a friendly ghost and then there were lots of spooky themed games scattered throughout the walk up to the castle.

Once inside the castle we were directed through the basement where there were spiders, witches and all kinds of scary things. But still tame enough for the gaggle of 1-6 year olds we were with! We stumbled upon a disco in one of the rooms so the kids had a good old boogie to bat out of hell - we could have stayed in there longer but we were itching to see what the rest of the castle held for us!

There were spooky crafts and even a magic show which was great fun. It was a nice dry day too so we were able to sit outside at lunchtime and enjoy the Halloween themed music blasting out from the castle! After lunch we went to explore the haunted forest and for those that were brave enough, there was a zombie infested area....Elliot and I wimped out of that one ;)

It was such a brilliant day and when we finally managed to drag the kids away, we realised we'd been there around 5 hours so we definitely got our moneys worth!

A Weekend in Brighton - Saturday/Sunday

Our fun packed week ended with a lovely, if a little cold, trip to Brighton. I'd forgotten what a vibrant, fun place Brighton is and we had a really nice time exploring on the Saturday. We loved finding the giant snail sculptures that are scattered around the city too!

On the Sunday we woke up the sounds of the sea right outside our window (we stayed at the Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront and it was a fab location) and fortunately the kids weren't awake too early with the clocks going back. After a big breakfast we headed to the Old Market theatre nearby to see our favourite kids band, Andy & The Odd Socks!

It was a fab show and it was brilliant to hear their newest song, Choose Respect which has been written for Anti-Bullying Week 2018 . I think it's fantastic that Andy his using his celebrity platform to publicise such an important cause.

The kids had so much fun dancing to their favourite Odd Socks songs and at one point I thought Elliot's arms would fall off because he was so flossing so fast!!

After the show we were lucky to meet the band again and Elliot was able to give them a drawing each that he'd spent ages doing. Erin did her usual trick of screaming when Andy spoke to her....I'm wondering if she will ever grow out of this!!

A big thank you to Odd Socks HQ for inviting us down to Brighton for the show!

We hope you had a fun half term break too! 

Camp Bestival 2018 - A One Day Visit, Our Review

Last year, Camp Bestival was one of the highlights of our Summer and I knew that we would end up going again this year. As luck would have it, we were only able to go on the Friday (which is the first proper day) and this coincided with the Andy & The Odd Sock show AND the nice weather!

Unlike last year when I packed wellies, raincoats and black binliners, this time round it was sunglasses, sun lotion and plenty of water! We decided to leave nice and early again incase of festival traffic but we needn't have worried, we arrived on site around 830am and got parked straight away. The carpark was massive and we had a good 10/15 minute walk to the entrance but I'm just glad the ground was dry with no chance of my buggy slipping out of my grasp down the hill like last year!

Our first stop was the Dorset Farmers Market for breakfast because surprise surprise, the kids were hungry already! Randomly, on Elliot's summer holiday bucket list he wanted to have a croissant so he managed to tick this one off, it was a chocolate one too. I've no idea where his need for a croissant came from, we have had them before!

After brekkie we headed up to the Magic Meadow to get our bearings and start exploring. I have to say, it was so nice to be able to wander round freely and not be dragging the buggy through thick mud like last year! We didn't really have a strict itinerary - I know some people do at festivals, and you could go through the timings with a fine tooth comb and plan your whole day around who you wanted to see but ours was very much a laid back plan.

The Magic Meadow has a whole host of things to see such as the Bollywood tent, Caravanserai, The Wall of Death, climbing walls, the Love-Bot robot, the Big Top, trapeze and circus school, HMS Bestival (a life sized ship filled with entertainment), an inflatable church, a giant disco ball and the World's Biggest Bouncy Castle. And trust me, it's massive! Elliot missed out on this last year as the queues were too long so we decided to do this first - and luckily because it was still quite early in the day, he was straight on. He loved it!

World's Biggest Bouncy Castle 

We spent the next hour or so wandering through the Castle Field where we discovered the charity area tucked away in a quiet spot. Lots of great charities with stalls and most of them had something for the children to either win or do which is always a bonus! Elliot managed to win himself a big cup of fruit which was swiftly claimed by Erin! The kids spent ages at the Litter Free Coast stall where they got busy making medals and trying on different accessories for a photo. Elliot looked quite fetching in a blue wig!!

Next up was the area Elliot was most excited for - the lower kids garden. Here you will find the Science tent which plays host to lots of live experiments on stage, the CBeebies tent, facepaint, softplay, funfair rides, Insect Circus and Museum, LOL surprise fun, Family Traveller, lots of tempting food and drink vendors and Make Space - which is every arts&crafters dream! There is literally so much to see here that you could spent your entire day in the Lower Kids Garden and not be bored.

Number one on our list was a Duggee hug in the CBeebies tent. My children are obsessed with Hey Duggee and I've heard the Stick song more times than I care to mention! We queued up and as predicted, Erin freaked out at the sight of Duggee. She's not really a fan of a)things bigger than her and b)people in costumes! Elliot got his Duggee hug though and they both had a bounce to the stick song that Elliot sung....those poor people working in the tent, wonder how many times they heard "Stick!" over the weekend?!!

Erin is not impressed!!

We could have spent longer in the Lower kids garden but our tummies were rumbling so we headed up to the Upper Kids Garden which is where the Feast Collective is located. The Feast Collective is a celebration of exceptional, artisan food producers from across the UK and there is something to tempt every taste!

It does get very busy in the tent and I really struggled to get the buggy round due to the crowds, and it was SO hot. Paul got himself some kind of fish dish but I couldn't decide, too much choice! Me and Elliot decided just to get an ice cream - the heat does funny things to your appetite doesn't it. We also spotted Mary Berry at Zoe's Ghana Kitchen and she was filming - I have to say she looked a lot less sweaty and hot than us!

After a quick play in the circus area and a promise to come back later we headed for Dingly Dell. This is an area that I have heard so much about from fellow bloggers but we totally missed it last year! It feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of the festival but there were so many things for children to do - plus being a woodland, it was very shady which was VERY needed on a hot day like it was.

Elliot was immediately drawn to the Kew Gardens area where he found a totally amazing interactive installation of a giant fungi. It was fascinating! It was musical, it lit up - I can only imagine that it looked even more impressive at night time.

Heading deeper in Dingly Dell we found Lizzie's Way which Camp Bestival describes as a woodland wonderland. Here we found a mud cafe, potions, woodland snaps, puppet show - so many things to fuel little imaginations.

There was even a wooden band area so of course Elliot had to pretend he was in the Odd Socks!

We could have spent longer in Dingly Dell but we had to get to the Big Top for the highlight of the day - Andy and the Odd Socks!

The Big Top was even bigger this year - and probably just as well because Andy drew a massive crowd. We were right down the front (as usual!) and it was a bit mad down there - I took barely any photos as I was holding Erin up on the barrier! It was a great show and the atmosphere was brilliant in the Big Top. We love the Dinosaur Football Legend Megamatch song and it's always entertaining watching the giant footballs bouncing around the crowd, not to mention the T-Rex on stage!

We were really lucky to meet Andy after the show, we were walking past the barrier and Elliot spotted him. There were quite a crowd wanting to say hello but Elliot was so chuffed that Andy came straight to him for a high five :)

After stopping at Shaken Udder for a delicious milkshake, we headed for HMS Bestival. Erin had a nap while I sat and enjoyed the entertainment on stage. The boys decided to try out the games in the Actual Reality Arcade. Think of your favourite childhood arcade games....but life sized! They were in their element and spent a good half an hour battling laser beams and space invaders.

Bollywood....Camp Bestival Style

After a quick mini rave in the Bollywood tent we decided to head back to the Upper Kids Garden to grab something to eat and it was nearly impossible to decide again! Everything smelt and looked so good but in the end I decided on a tandoori chicken wrap with chips, whilst Paul and Elliot got burgers. Obviously the food and drink prices are a bit higher than average but you do kind of expect that when you go to a festival. Most stalls were offering child portions though which was good to see.

It was lovely to have a sit down and watch the world go by for a bit. We actually bumped into some friends so it was nice to sit and have a chat whilst Elliot and his friend Willow showed off their flossing skills!

One of Elliot's favourite bits of last year's Camp Bestival was the circus area so we made a beeline for this after our food. Elliot literally could have spent all day there! He had so much fun walking the tightrope, attempting to ride a unicycle, balancing and bouncing on the giant balls.

After deciding not to run away with the circus, we headed for the Greatest Tent on Earth in the Lower Kid Garden where we caught the tale end of the ZSL Gruesome Nature Live show. Elliot got a bit upset when he realised he'd missed most of it so we hope we get another chance to see this at some point!

The crowds had thinned quite a lot by this point so we were able to take a look at the stalls - Erin was fascinated by the bubbles by Elliot predictably wanted to look at the toy stall! The staff were really helpful and helped him pick out a diabalo which was the right size for his height. He was a bit of a natural with it and had it spinning like he was a pro!

Our time at Camp Bestival was almost over for another year but on the way back to the carpark we stumbled across one of the parades. This is the first time we have caught one of these and what a treat it was. There was a nautical theme and the parade included a giant mermaid, pirate drummers, jellyfish, lobsters - even a shark! It really was a treat for the eyes and a fantastic way to round off our day at Camp Bestival.

It was a slow walk back to the car - the hill seemed a hundred times steeper going up! We had a fab day and I've no doubt we will be back again next year :)

A Half Term Break at Butlins Minehead

Our first family holiday to Butlins was back in 2014 - Elliot was a cheeky, wobbly toddler and the Just for Tots break was a perfect introduction to the quintessential British caravan holiday!

We've been a few times since then but recently we returned for the May half term holiday - it was our first time visiting in the school holidays and I was interested to see how it would differ from the term time breaks. (Aside from the price which was a very obvious difference!!)

Here's what we got up to...

Day 1

After packing what feels like 1,456 bags into the car, we leave Poole just after 10am in glorious sunshine and are on our way to Minehead. It's a clear run down and we arrive in Blue Anchor just in time for lunch. It's a bit of a tradition, we always stop at the Driftwood Cafe for lunch on our way down but it wasn't to be today - everyone else had the same idea so the cafe was packed! They were so busy that they'd actually stopped taking orders so we headed back up the coast to The Blue Anchor pub which had amazing views across the beach. It wasn't the best meal - we had to wait over an hour for our food and they got the order wrong about 4 times but they got there in the end! 

If you can't wear matching t-shirts on holiday, when can you?!

After a quick stop at Morrisons for some supplies, we picked up our welcome pack at Butlins and found our accommodation for the next 4 nights. Usually we stay in a private caravan but our usual one was booked so instead we opted for one of the log cabins next to the lake - so glad we did, it was lovely! We find it's much quieter staying here rather than at the hustle and bustle of the Butlins chalets and apartments. (Details of the private caravans and cabins can be found here) 

The view from our cabin - the french doors opened out onto this decking, what a lovely view!

After a quick unpack and change we headed back out and up to the entertainment complex. The weather was so hot, it actually felt like we were abroad and not in Somerset! 

Elliot couldn't wait to hit the arcade - he loves the grabber machines! My Dad had given him 5 bags of 2ps (one for each day) so he was itching to spend these in the 2p machines. Erin was just excited to be out of her buggy - and funnily enough she made a beeline to the puppet show which is exactly what Elliot did when he was that age! 

We spent the rest of the evening in one of the clubs. There was a Justin Fletcher disco thing with the redcoats so the kids had a whale of a time on the dance floor. Erin didn't sit still - she was chasing the lights on the floor! 

We stopped for a quick photo at the giant deckchair on the way back to the cabin and even at almost 10pm, it was so warm still. The kids certainly slept well that night :) 

Day 2

Today was all about having fun and not making plans! I'd like to say the kids had a lie in but they were up at the crack of dawn ready to go...thank god for CBeebies is all I can say ;) 

We headed up to the main complex and that's pretty much where we stayed for the rest of the day! What I love about Butlins is there is so much to do for the kids and you don't even need to spend any money if you're on a tight budget. We started off at a children's fencing lesson which was also included in the price of the holiday. Elliot's never done fencing before but he loved it! 

From there we headed to the fairground which is brilliant fun  -Elliot's favourite is the helter skelter and he made a beeline for this. All the rides are free too so the children can go on again and again. We also spent some time in the little ones fairground which is located inside. All the rides are suitable for smaller children, even Erin was able to go on. Not that she enjoyed it - her face is a picture in all the photos!

Soon our tummies were rumbling so we decided to eat at The Diner. Last time we ate there, the servers would get up and sing but unfortunately it looks like they don't do that anymore - a pity because it made for an entertaining lunch! Still, the food was really nice and Erin devoured a kids meal - I swear she eats more than her brother! 

The afternoon was spent playing in the parks, eating amazing ice creams from the ice-cream parlour, attempting to win on the grabber machines, meeting Teletubbies, watching puppet shows, more fairground fun and generally just having a lovely time. 

Scoops do THE nicest ice cream!

We rounded off the day by watching Dick and Dom's Circus Showdown which was pretty good - Elliot kept calling them Dick and Dong though haha!

Day 3

We woke up to rain - boo! So what do you do on holiday when it rains? You head to the indoor pool! Along with hundreds of other families all doing the same thing! The queue for the pool was ginormous so we spent a bit of time inside entertaining the kids until we were able to swim. The pool at Butlins is fantastic and it's something we always look forward to. There's a lazy river, wave machine, slides, toddler pool and loads more to suit all ages.

Elliot went off with Paul to go on the water slides while me and Erin bounced around the lazy river - she loved it! She has been swimming since she was a few months old so is very used to the water - the waves and splashing didn't seem to phase her a bit. She was absolutely zonked after going crazy in the water so we got out to dry off while the boys had a bit more fun on the slides. Erin was asleep as soon as her bum touched down in the buggy! 

We stopped off for a late lunch in the Firehouse Grill which is very similar to Nandos - we always eat here and it's always really nice! We like to get one of the family platters so we can have a bit of everything - Elliot surprised us by taking a liking to the ribs. Erin was just happy with a plate of chips as per normal! 

We spent a couple of hours back at the cabin to shower/get changed/let the kids recharge their batteries and we headed back up to the main area for that evenings entertainment.....which was only our mates Andy and the Odd Socks!! As you can probably guess, Elliot was bouncing off the walls with excitement - and even more so when we ran into Andy and the band literally as we walked into the Skyline Pavilion!

I have to say a big thank you to Andy and his team who are always so lovely to us. Elliot was invited backstage to say hello to Andy and the band and it absolutely made his day when Andy agreed to record a little video for him to show his school! (I wish I could say the same for Erin but she started screaming the minute Andy walked around the corner...sorry Andy!)

The show was great as always, we know the songs like the back of our hands now! Erin was mega tired but she was bouncing up and down to the music. One of our faves is the Dinosaur Football Legend Megamatch song and the kids love seeing the T-Rex running around the stage kicking the giant footballs! One of the balls came towards us - my husband was so busy trying to get it back in the air that he spilt his wine, oops!

Day 4

We decided to head away from Butlins today and went for a walk towards the harbour, stopping off at the train station to spot the steam trains.

If you're visiting Minehead then I'd definitely recommend going for a ride on a steam train - there's some lovely little villages along the route such as Wachet and it's a really great day out. We did just this on our last visit! We decided not to go on the train today but instead followed the coastal path which took us up to a lovely pub called The Ship Aground. It was lunchtime so it would have been rude not to stop for some fish and chips!

And what a lunch it was! Amazing food, friendly staff and really welcoming to the kids which is so important. I'm sure we'll be back at Butlins next year so this is somewhere we'll definitely be visiting again. Especially we were too full to try the puddings!

We walked a little further and found a large pebbly beach which Elliot and Paul went to explore - thousands and thousands of smooth rocks, I wanted to bring a bag of them home with me to paint!

After a quick play in the nearby park, we thought we'd better make a move as the sky was looking ominous and we kept feeling spots of rain....which turned into a torrential downpour! Silly me hadn't packed any raincoats so we did get a bit wet - the good old British Summer eh!?

On our way back we went via the town centre - there are the usual array of tacky gift shops, arcades and pubs so it's nothing special but I did stumble across a Rolys Fudge shop. Rolys do THE BEST FUDGE so of course we had to stop and buy some!! We also stopped at a really nice little ice cream shop called Scrumdiddlyumptious that did all kinds of wacky ice creams - Elliot chose the "George Pig" but was adamant it was a rat and even asked for the "blue rat cone please!"

It was a particularly wet walk back to Butlins with the rain pelting down again - next time I really must remember to pack rain coats! Fortunately I had spare clothes for the children so I was able to get them changed once we were back at Butlins but Paul and I were very soggy. We made a group decision to head back to the cabin and call it a (wet) day. It may have been out last night but everyone was feeling a bit tired...and the suitcases weren't going to pack themselves :-/

Zonked!

Day 5

Check out time for us was 10am but Butlins let you use the facilities for a few hours after so it's not a big rush to leave. We packed the car and headed up to the indoor fun fair to let the kids have a play - it was a good time to go because it was very quiet and Elliot was able to go on the giant slide again and again without queuing!

We had one last go in the arcade to use up our coppers and then we were on our way. Everytime we visit Minehead we try and visit Dunster Castle and today was no exception! It's a lovely National Trust property with some beautiful walks around the castle grounds. It's not massively big either so it's quite handy for a quick stop off on the way home.

We had a late lunch in Dunster (I won't tag the cafe as it was very disappointing!) and then started the journey back to Poole. Unfortuantely we hit really bad traffic near Yeovil and what should have taken us 2 hours took almost 5!

We had a wonderful 5 days away and Butlins was fantastic as always. It was a lot busier going in the school holidays but we expected this and it wasn't really an issue. The only thing I would say is be prepared to arrive at the clubs a little earlier if you want decent seats near the stages for the shows - the Dick and Dom show was absolutely packed out at Centrestage and people were struggling to find seats!

I'd always recommend Butlins as a family holiday - I'm sure we will be back next year!