Dinosaur Zoo at The Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Fresh from its success at the Edinburgh Festival and following a UK and international Autumn tour, West End hit show DINOSAUR ZOO is back by popular demand this spring for its fourth major UK tour, stopping at Fairfield Halls, Croydon on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 March 2015.

Australian-based creators Erth use ingenious puppetry to bring dinosaurs to life in this interactive and imaginative live show. Suitable for all the family (ages 3+), DINOSAUR ZOO introduces audiences to a range of creatures from cute baby dinos to teeth-gnashing giants, including a carnivorous theropod known as the ‘Australovenator’ – Australia’s version of the American T-Rex.

Intrepid audience members who are brave enough to get up close and personal with the dinosaurs are invited up on stage to assist the Zoo Keepers in their daily tasks - but be warned - not all of these ravenous reptiles are as tame as they seem! Each performance concludes with a post-show ‘meat & greet’ session offering every audience member a chance to meet the dinosaurs in person.

 

We will be going along to the show when it's on, so pop back here for our review. Noah is a huge dinosaur fan at the moment, every library visit yeilds another 5 or 6 dinosaur books to read. He loves finding out their names, knowing most of them off by heart and he knows if I get them wrong!  

If you've also got a dino-mad child then go to Fairfield Halls for tickets.

Running time: 50 minutes + post-show ‘meat’ & greet

 

Santa Claus and the Magical Christmas Journey - Review

Last Thursday we popped along to the Fairfield Halls in Croydon to see a special little Christmas production they have going on in the run up to the big day. It's called Santa Claus and the Magical Christmas Journey and it's a short, sweet festive show that's brilliant for pre-schooler age and upwards. 

When we arrived we were directed to the little studio theatre where a small stage is set up. It's a great intimate space where the kids can get up close to the action and right from the start the actors did come out into the audience, engaged the kids and encouraged them to call out. Mine love a bit of shouting out and joining in! It's also only 50 minutes long and so restlessness doesn't really happen, making it a pleasurable experience for parents too.

Both my kids were enchanted by the play and really warmed to both of the elves, Charlie & Kara who are a bit naughty! There was also Muffin the bear who Isla loved and felt very sorry for him when he lost his job navigating Santa's sleigh. There was also a familiar voice in the show, Russell Grant! He was the voice of the computer on Santa's sleigh. 

The story goes like this: 

It’s Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is flying high above the clouds delivering presents to all the good boys and girls around the world. Hiding in the back are two naughty elves, Charlie and Kara, who have snuck on board for the ride!

All is well until suddenly, just as Santa Claus flies high above Croydon, the Sat Nav goes haywire and breaks leaving him stranded without his list of postcodes to deliver presents to! With the clock ticking and morning fast approaching it’s down to Charlie, Kara and Muffin the bear to come up with a clever plan to save Christmas!

Our favourite part was when Isla got chosen to go up on the stage to sing Twinkle Twinkle. She was a star! She loved every minute of it and actually may have been slightly put out if she hadn't been picked! And the next best bit in her book was getting to sit in Santa's sleigh and meet the big guy himself and they were both given a colouring book. There was also a lovely moment when snowflakes fell down all around us, Noah loved that bit. 

Check out http://santaclausonstage.com/christmas-journey/tour_dates_info for information and tickets. It runs until Wednesday 24th December. Tickets are priced at £12.50 & £14.50 for adults and £10 & £12.50 for children. Family tickets are £40 & £49. £1.50 booking fee applies. 

This is one Christmas delight you won’t want to miss!

We were given free tickets to see Santa Claus and the Magical Journey. All opinions are my own. 

Cousins Day Out at Chessington World of Adventures

The week before school started I decided to make use of the last few days of freedom and take Isla to Chessington World of Adventures for the day. We'd been given 4 tickets to the theme park and we went with my sister and Cousin M. The girls love hanging out together and it gave me and my sister a chance to catch up too! The beauty of going to a theme park when most of the kids are at school is that it's very quiet and you get to go on all the rides you want to and see all the animals too! We didn't do that well with the weather, it rained a fair bit but it didn't spoil our fun.

When we got there we took a good look round the animals that are closest to the entry gates. Most impressive were the gorillas and tigers.

Next we decided to go on a couple of rides and the great thing about Chessington is that it does have plenty for 3-4 year olds as long as they're accompanied by an adult. We braved the little pirate ships and then took it easier on the carousel. I was keen too avoid a repeat of the Cranky episode at Thomasland a few weeks back!

Following that we went on Professor Burps Bubbleworks, a ride I remember from new when I used to work at Chessington many moons ago in my summer breaks from University! Unfortunately it broke down while we were on it and Isla did seem a little bit spooked by the fantasy nature of the ride. Cousin M liked it though.

After lunch we caught the Madagascar Live show, which was great! It's an outdoor theatre and the rain held off long enough for us to see the show, I think it lasted half an hour, and then we ran for cover! Isla was dancing along and was desperate to be picked to go up on stage to do limbo! She got over that disappointment quickly though and carried on jumping around!

As it was raining pretty heavily we made our way to Tomb Blaster which is an indoor ride. However Isla decided it was a scary one without even going on it so Cousin M and my sister went on without us and said it was good.

The rain had stopped again so we went to Zufari, a brilliant new Safari-esque adventure! I didn't realise what we were getting into before we entered Zufari, so when we got in the truck and set off on our bumpy 'safari' ride I hadn't realised we were going to get close to the animals. I have a real soft spot for Giraffes and it was so cool getting near them. The girls really liked the Giraffes and pinched their noses together when close to the Rhinos' - boy they ponged! The terrain was really rough and it did feel like off roading, we liked that a lot. In conjunction with the new Zufari ride, Chessington has now employed a 'Birds and the Bees' consultant. She'll be there to explain to the children about animal baby making, which is quite handy indeed when you're a parent like me that gets a bit lost for words when caught on the hop with some of the questions that Isla asks! Isla and Cousin M really enjoyed this whole experience. The only thing I would say is make sure you check the height of your child on entry to Zufari, as there is a minimum height requirement and we did see a little girl turned away, so check to avoid disappointment.

We finished up by watching the end of the penguin feeding presentation (really interesting!) and then a ride on the flying elephants, the jungle bouncers and a couple of goes on Toadie's Crazy Cars in the pouring rain. 

All in all, we had a really great day out. The rain didn't dampen our spirits, we just donned our waterproofs every now and then and took cover when we needed to. We had two very happy and worn out little girls by the end of the day.

We were given 4 tickets to Chessington free of charge. All words and opinions are my own. Thanks for a really great day!

We Pay a Visit to Mayfield Lavender

At the weekend we paid a visit to Mayfield Lavender, which is a wonderful Lavender Field near to us in Surrey. It’s an amazing sight as you drive along the road and suddenly your eyes are accosted by pure purpleness! It’s beautiful.

There was a weekend ‘Lavender Festival’ where the shop was full to bursting with gorgeous Lavender products, there were lavender massages, face painting and a delicious BBQ on the go. We last went to the field just over 3 years ago when Isla was 1 years old and we have this photo of the three of us that I love. 

Us in 2010

So this time we went as a family of 4 and got a few shots. The field is really popular with Chinese people it seems, and they were very keen to have a photo with Noah! They seemed really taken with him and he loved their attentions – such a little flirt.

We had a little wander around the lavender, which smelt gorgeous, then we took advantage of the BBQ and had a few sausages and burgers between us. The kids both wanted a bundle of lavender each, they were £3.50, so we have some to dry out now. We also bumped into Maria and her family from Tiger Tales and I'm gutted that we didn't get a photo together! As is the way with Isla we couldn’t get away without a bit of face-painting. All in all it was a lovely way to spend a sunny couple of hours.

Entry to the field is free but I dare you to come away without buying something lovely from the little shop there.

PEPPA PIG’S BIG SPLASH LIVE

BRAND NEW & BIGGEST EVER SHOW ON TOUR FROM OCTOBER 2013 

including 

FOURTH WEST END CHRISTMAS SEASON 

www.peppapiglive.com

Fresh from the huge successes of previous tours Peppa Pig’s Party and Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt comes Peppa’s brand new show, Peppa Pig’s Big Splash. Opening at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford on 24 October, this touring production will travel throughout the UK and into Ireland until summer 2014. The tour will also include a fourth consecutive Peppa West End Christmas season (details will be announced in due course) and it will be the biggest ever to date.

The nursery roof is leaking and Peppa and her friends need to fix it quickly. They set up a fete to raise the money for Mr Bull to do the repairs. There’s plenty of fun to be had as Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig, as well as Danny Dog, Pedro Pony and Suzy Sheep put up bunting, run stalls and organise a great day out. There's also a Champion Puddle Jumping competition judged by Mr Potato where everyone gets wet and Peppa needs to find her Golden Boots. Another all-singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and muddy puddles is guaranteed for all the family.

Peppa Pig returns live on stage with puppets and brilliant sing-a-long songs from BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson. Richard Lewis adapts and directs this brand new show, following his previous successes with the first two Peppa Pig stage shows and the the current Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom tour.

Martin Ronan, Executive Producer, said, ‘Fiery Light are delighted to be presenting their third live Peppa show in 2013-2014. Following the huge success of Peppa Pig's Party and Peppa Pig's Treasure Hunt comes the biggest tour yet for Peppa. Touring the UK & Ireland for 47 weeks, Peppa Pig's Big Splash will be a fun-packed experience for all Peppa fans. To date Peppa Live has played to almost 650,000 people and as we approach the 10th anniversary of Peppa being a family favourite, we hope the new show will thrill fans up and down the country’.

Find out about Peppa Pig's Big Splash UK and Ireland Tour at www.peppapiglive.com

Dates close by in Surrey are:

SAT 2 – SUN 3 NOVEMBER FAIRFIELD HALL CONCERT HALL, CROYDON
Sat 2 at 1 & 4 pm www.fairfield.co.uk
Sun 3 at 10 am & 1 pm

TUES 5 – WED 6 NOVEMBER G LIVE, GUILDFORD
Tues 5 at 1 & 4 pm www.glive.co.uk
Wed 6 at 10 am & 1 pm

Another fantastic National Trust Day Out - Hatchlands Park

As National Trust members we try to make as much use of our membership so that it effectively becomes pennies to enter some of these amazing properties and gardens. This weekend we went to Hatchlands Park and we loved it! We're trying to do some of the National Trust 50 Things to do before 11 and 3/4's with the kids and so over the weekend at Hatchlands they had pony rides which helped us to tick that off the list. 

If you live in the Surrey area and you've never been to Hatchlands then you should as the grounds are beautiful and at this time of year there is a bluebell wood in full swing. It's the first time I've ever seen so many bluebells in one place and it was so pretty. In order to make it appealing to the kids there were 'fairies' dotted around in the trees for them to spot. We did so much walking that day - we walked through the fields where cattle were grazing in order to get to the bluebells and on the way there was Wizard Wix Willow Warren, a natural adventure area for children, which they loved running around in. There were also dens ready made for the kids to sit and play in too. 



Here are a few more snaps of our day - it was so sunny and being outdoors all day was so good for us all. Roll on another weekend of outdoor fun!