Category: Views & Ramblings

1. I Want To Be .....

   Posted on 9:43am Friday 1st Aug 2014

   What did you want to be when you grew up?

    

   I am not sure I ever had a burning desire to be "something" but then again, I am not entirely sure I ever grew up either!

    

   My eldest daughter often talks about being a "grown up", I think she believes that you get powers when you are an adult and money magically appears from the hole in the wall ( I don't want to destroy the magical powers illusion bit just yet, I kind of like being a super mum) but as for what she wants to be, I am not sure she has a vision yet.

    

   I was therefore interested to hear that Blossom Magazine have launched a brilliant competition for their readers this week.  The #IWantToBe campaign is asking young readers to submit a video entry of what they want to be when they grow up. (I promise I am not going to subject you to a video of my brummie accent)

    

   

    

   Entrants have until 6th September to submit their video to the email address of [email protected] and one winner will be selected to win a VIP London family trip which includes one family ticket to ZSL London with a Meet the Meerkats experience; one Rainforest Café voucher worth £100; overnight accommodation in one family room at 3-star hotel, in Central London and a visit to Blossom HQ plus a Blossom Goody Bag.

    

   In each edition of the magazine, Blossom features a different aspirational career to show girls they can be whoever they want to be - whether it's an airline pilot, an author or a doctor.

    

   So what does your little one want to be when they grow up?

    

   

    

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   The full terms and conditions are here, and are found in the current magazine edition too:

    

   T&Cs:  Terms and conditions: Promoter: Immediate Media London Company Limited. You must make sure that we have your entries by 11.59pm, 6th September 2014. 1. You can enter if you live in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands, unless someone who lives in your house works for the Immediate Media Company. 2. By entering the competition, you promise to us that you have read these rules and that you will follow them. 3. We can’t include entries which arrive too late and we can’t accept responsibility if your entry is lost. By entering this competition, parents/guardians grant permission to Immediate Media Company (publishers of Blossom) to post the winner’s video and entrants’ first names in its publications, websites and on its social media sites. 4. Winners will be chosen at random. 5. One entry per household. We don’t allow bulk entries or entries made by other people on your behalf. We will disqualify all entries which break this rule. 6. If you win, you will receive the prize described. We won’t swap the prize for cash. No alternatives or substitutions for any unused elements of the prize. If there’s ever a reason why we can’t give you exactly the same prize, we’ll give you something  j ust as good or better instead. Prize is one family ticket to ZSL London valid for 2 adults and 2 children aged 3-16. Children must be at least 5 years of age and be accompanied by an adult for the Meet the Meerkats experience. One Rainforest Café voucher worth £100, see voucher for expiry date and additional T&Cs – includes drinks. Overnight accommodation in one family room at 3-star hotel, in Central London selected by Immediate Media Company. Visit to Blossom HQ includes a Blossom Goody Bag. Travel and other personal expenses are not included. Prize must be redeemed before 31st December 2014. 7. Winners will be contacted within 28 days of a competition closing date, either by post, telephone or email. 8. If we contact you to tell you you’re a winner, but you don’t reply within a month, we may have to offer the prize to a runner-up or give it away in a future competition. Your details: We will use your name, address and any other details that you give us to run this competition. If you win, we will pass them to the person who’s providing the prize so that they can post it to you, and we may use your first name and county in the magazine or on our website but we won’t provide them to anyone else without your permission. You can find out the winner’s first name and county once the competition is over by sending a stamped addressed envelope to Competition Rules, ATTN: Marketing Assistant, Blossom Magazine, Immediate Media Limited, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT. Remember to tell us which magazine, issue number and competition you’d like to know about. 

2. Country Kids : Skytrail

   Posted on 9:57pm Friday 25th Jul 2014

   We haven't joined in with Country Kids for a few weeks, as we have been out in the sunshine with a drink in hand rather than the camera but this week we took the girls to the amazing Skytrail and I couldn't resist snapping these shots. Skytrail is right on our doorstep and I didn't know it was there!

   The little one enjoyed the mini beach ....

   

   While the big one showed me that she is suddenly a fearless 9 year old by not only going on the Skytrail ....

   

   ..... but going to the top level of the Skytrail. She was harnessed in and totally safe and in the end we had to convince her to fall off because she was so good! (she took great pleasure in this!)

   

   Unfortunately for me, she has now turned into an adrenalin junkie and wants to do it for her next birthday party! I love that she wants to be outside, rather than in front of a TV screen .... I just need to remember that I need to wear suncream as well as the children as I *may* have got a little sunburnt whilst staring at her in the sky!

   

3. What pet should we get?

   Posted on 9:58am Tuesday 22nd Jul 2014

   There has been much talk recently on the Lilypad about getting a new pet (!!), now those that know me will know that we have a cat. A somewhat crazy cat that loves to bring us presents and I am not entirely sure that I can cope with the delivery of any more mice, frogs or birds at the moment, so we decided to look at what else might suit our family.

   There are definitely two tupes of people, those that love animals and those that don't and although different nations have different attitudes to them we all favour some pets over others. Here are the four most popular pets worldwide which are dogs, cats, birds and fish and with vetinary costs spiralling, it pays to choose someone like More Th>n who can offer insurance for your pets.

   Cats and Dogs

   The most popular pets worldwide are dogs and cats, however there is some confusion about which are the most popular. While it used to be thought that there were many more cats than dogs, in fact pet dogs outnumber pet cats by a factor of two. A report published by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) estimates that there are 432 million pet dogs and 272 million pet cats.

   People keep pets for a variety of reasons, and this varies from country to country, but overall 49% of pets are kept for companionship; 43% for guard; 5% for hunting; 2% for religious reasons, and 1% for herding. It is also interesting to look at how this varies across various continents. In Europe the order of importance for keeping pets is companionship, guarding, hunting, and working (mainly herding) while in Africa it is guarding, hunting, herding, companionship.

   Birds

   Birds are the third most popular pets and again there are a number of reasons why we keep them. One of these is that compared to cats and dogs they make inexpensive pets. All they need is a little food and water.

   Although we think of dogs as intelligent, so too are birds; they have much more intelligence than they are usually credited with. They are even clever enough to use tools, which is more than dogs can do. They don’t need walking, house training or even a litter box; cleaning out a bird cage is very simple. We keep them because of their beauty, their companionship, and also sometimes for guard duties which include warning of intruders and chasing them away.

   Fish

   In terms of the numbers that are kept as pets fish far outnumber all other kids of pets, but the reason is that people who keep fish tend to keep large numbers of them.

   Keeping fish has been popular for hundreds if not thousands of years. Originally kept for food, in Japan it was traditional to keep brightly coloured koi and goldfish as pets 2,000 years ago. In Ancient Samaria fish were kept in ponds for aesthetic reasons, and in Ancient Egypt they were kept in temples. In Europe carp were kept both for aesthetic reasons and for food.

   There is something particularly calming about watching fish swim in an aquarium tank or in an outdoor pool, and keeping fish can be inexpensive, but fish can also make expensive pets. For instance some koi can cost many thousands of pounds for a single specimen which is light years away from the goldfish I won as a child at the fair! I am not even sure that they do this anymore.

   

   So in the end, I think a fish may end up being the new pet on the Lilypad, I just hope the cat doesn't choose to go fishing!

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   This post is in collaboration with More Than.

4. Childhood Memory Challenge

   Posted on 12:29pm Wednesday 16th Jul 2014

   Mecca have challenged me to come up with my favourite/cherished memories from my childhood, which is certainly a challenge as usually I can't remember what happened last month, let alone the last decade (ahem) or so, but here goes .....

   1.     Name your group of best friends during school – are you still friends?

   In junior school we were all best friends and I love that I am still in touch with three good friends from junior school. Senior school was a little different and friendships could change from term to term. In the latter years I found great friendships and Ashley is godmother to my youngest daughter ..... so we are most definitely still the best of friends.
    
   2.     What would your typical weekend look like as a teenager?

   Staying up late and sleeping all day. I think that is fairly standard for most teenagers!
    
   3.     At 14, what did you want to be when you were older? What do you do for a living now?

   I thought I wanted to be a vet at one point (although that may have had more to do with my friends wanting to do the same thing) but in the end, I realised that I am a bit squeamish so it wasn't the ideal career path for me! Today, well spending most of my day at a computer is certainly a "cleaner" profession than dealing with germs and blood in a vetinary practice. 

   4.     What artists/bands did you love as a teenager?

   I balked at the usual boy bands and liked to be a little different and I never forget seeing Prince when I was about 14! When he recently toured again I saw so many of my friends desperate to get tickets ..... I was clearly a trend setter, I just didn't know it!
    
   5.     Who was your first celebrity crush?

   Tom Cruise! I remember a lad in my class being the spitting image of him and swooning over him hopelessly! Thankfully I got over it, which was good for my own self esteem when I saw him in a club years later and the butterflies of yesteryear had disappeared.
    
   6.     What was your favourite film? Is it still your favourite?

   My favourite film was Beaches and it is definitely still in my top 5 films of all time. It was hilarious to find out that my friends husband also loves that film ..... although our spouses refuse to let us watch it (and weep).
    
   7.     What were your hobbies as a teenager?

   I danced, danced and danced a bit more. I may not do ballet any longer but give me a dance floor and I will still dance the night away.

   
    

   8.     Growing up, who were your inspirations? Has this changed and why?

   Darcy Bussell the ballerina inspired me to take up ballet and she also inspired my choice of name for my eldest daughter. I still think she is amazing but I am a little disappointed that she chose to have so much surgery done. Each to their own eh?
    
   9.     What is your biggest regret?

   I always say you should never regret the things you have done as they were right for you at that time. Maybe we should regret the things we didn't do? Like travelling round the world before settling down?
    
   10.   What advice would you give your 16 year old self?

   Don't take yourself too seriously, have fun and don't change for anyone!
    

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   This post is in collaboration with Mecca but all childhood memories are my own!