Get Snap-Happy with VTech at the V&A

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Did you know that the Victoria & Albert Museum had a Museum of Childhood? No, me neither. But they do, and they have a wide-range of exhibits and workshops running over the summer. One of these is running in conjunction with VTech, one of the best brands of children’s electronic learning toys. They are offering a series of workshops which aim to introduce children to the exciting possibilities of the digital word in a fun and engaging way.

This is the type of thing that I would love to take The Boy to as he is really beginning to explore the photographic capabilities of the iPod Touch, but unfortunately at two years old he is too young for the workshops. The hour-long sessions are ideal for children aged 4-9 years old and are running every Saturday over the school summer holidays at 2pm from the 23rd July to the 27th August. What's even better about these Digi-Fun workshops, providing children with the opportunity to explore, invent and create with the very latest kid-friendly technology, is that are that they are free!

So if your little Annie Liebovitzs and David Baileys are eager to learn how to take pictures, film and edit their own footage then pop over to the V&A museum to book a session. You'll need to hurry though because the next two Saturdays are fully booked, but they are still taking bookings for 13th, 20th and 27th August!

This is not a sponsored post and I have not been asked to blog about this. I just thought you'd like to know about it!

Luminarium: A Wonderous Kaleidoscope

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When I broke up for Summer last Friday, I vowed that The Boy and I would do a lot of fun things this summer and so far, I don't think I've done too badly. Last weekend we went to Cadbury's World and West Midlands Safari Park (where we had a little tweet-up), earlier in the week we met up with friends and had a fantastic picnic in a beautiful park in Cardiff, we had friends over and have visited others. Today, we were lucky enough to be invited to attend the Luminarium at Taurus Crafts, Lydney.

Taurus Crafts, in the Forest of Dean is not only a craft centre, but also a social enterprise. Elizabeth, the lovely manager, explained to us that this meant they worked along local businesses and artisans to provide products and crafts that were locally sourced. In addition to this, Taurus also work with local care agencies and schools to provide real-life and relevant work experience developing life-skills for people with learning difficulties whose needs are not well met through mainstream education and training. To support this brilliant and worthwhile enterprise, there are 15 craft businesses, a cafe, gift shop and local food shop and deli, which all supply amazing products and unique crafts that are out of the ordinary.

The Boy and me (ha, see what I did there?) arrived a little after the agreed meeting time of 11am (sorry Mummy Mishaps and Would Like to be a Yummy Mummy). Mainly because when I sat down in my car and programmed in the GPS I had a little fit that a journey that was only 40 miles was going to take an hour and a half. It was 10.20! That combined with the oh-so-convenient fire in the Brynglas tunnel in Newport meant that I was late. No surprise there, I'm always 10 (or so) minutes late. I think of time, like Dr. Who (DT not MS) says, as more of a wiggly-wavy thing meant to be bent.

And so to the Luminarium. What is it?

The best explanation that I have seen so far of a Luminarium is in this video, where it is explained that the original creator started designing them over twenty years ago and came up with the idea of "inverting a bouncy castle." See! I wasn't so far off the mark when I said about being inside a bouncy castle! Incidentally, I spoke to a member of Architects of Air afterwards who told me that the first one was designed as a stage for a play performed by children with special educational needs. That is completely understandable because the whole experience is visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.

With something this difficult to explain, you just need to be in it. And if you can't be in it, then here's a video to show you what it's like.

We received free entry into the Luminarium. I was not asked to blog about this but have chosen to, because I think it's a fabulous thing to experience.

We Went to the Animal Fair!

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When I get an idea in my head, there's no stopping me. I don't always think around the situation and sometimes the logistics of my ideas are a bit squiffy. Like going away for the weekend, having two day trips and meeting new people the day after I've broken up from school.

Teachers reading this will think "are you mental?" while everyone else is wondering what the problem is. Usually I lie low for the first week of the summer holidays, making sure that I've given my head time to adjust to the change in circumstance and the ability to stop thinking about school for a while. Only being part-time, I forgot. Whoops!

On Saturday we went to Cadbury's World which was really good. Following this we took advantage of a Groupon offer that the lovely Helen from The Crazy Kitchen had pointed out to me. So we both arranged to stay in the Park Inn in Walsall, followed by a trip to West Midlands Safari Park on the Sunday, where we planned to meet up with Wendy from Inside The Wendy House.

We had a great time and The Boy and Jack thoroughly enjoyed meeting up, even if they did only discuss the finer points of a Trunki. Helen and I consumed a rather scintillating bottle of pink fizz over dinner and we set the world to rights. However by 10pm, I was seriously flagging and had to excuse myself. What poor Helen doesn't realise is that I was having massive issues keeping my eyes open and was about to cry with tiredness. I was asleep by 10.30pm. For me, this is unheard of!

Next day Helen's clan and us three all trotted off the WMSP, and after having been accosted by a giraffe through the sun-roof we met up with our Toyologist comrade and her brood. We had a fab time and my first tweet-up wasn't anywhere near as scary as I thought it was going to be! (Before I could walk into the Park Inn on Saturday, I texted MammyWoo explaining how petrified I was and she sent a virtual kick up the arse my way. I wish she'd been able to make it as originally planned; your presence was sorely missed chick-a-dee!)

A Purple Paradise with the Elixor of Life!

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When I'm having a rubbish day, my poor husband is despatched to the nearest shop to return with a certain bar of chocolate. It's the only one that will do it for me really, from the moment that I remove its trademark purple covering to the moment that the first chunk melts on my tongue; I'm a Dairy Milk girl through and through!

Therefore visiting Cadbury's World in Birmingham is, quite frankly, my idea of Nirvana!

We were fortunate enough to be provided with free entry tickets into Cadbury's World by the marvellous Superbreak who offer a great range of family days out. They also have a great range of Birmingham hotels on offer if you wanted to combine the trip with another break, as we were. They even offer a specific Cadbury World Short Break if you don't have time to search around.

Driving up from Cardiff yesterday, we found that it was really well signposted from the moment you leave the motorway. We drove through the beautiful surrounding area of Bourneville with its chocolate box cottages and idealistic village green, before arriving at the majestic Cadbury's factory.

A little logistical talk here: Parking is not a problem, there is a huge amount around the back of the factory; the queue for tickets is well organised with it being split into pre-booked and pay on arrival; there is a screen up with information showing when the next available tour is if you haven't booked (and there's plenty to do if you do have to wait an hour or two); and the tours leave every ten minutes with another large screen showing displaying which tour needs to queue up at that point. The cafe is large and well stocked, and typical prices for a large tourist attraction. The toilets are plentiful throughout, clean and well-kept. One more practical note; there are oodles of bins for both general waste and recycling throughout the site.

Back to the fun! On joining the tour, each member of your party is given two bars of chocolate; we had a Curly-Wurly and a Crunchie each. My philistine of a husband had never experienced a Curly-Wurly before, which I was appalled at! That was soon rectified, and The Boy quite happily munched his way through daddies (I might have been frugal and kept his for another time!). As you meander through the tale of Cadbury's inception from the discovery of cocoa in Aztec times to the expansion of the Cadbury's factory, there is plenty to keep you informed, interested and nostalgic. Cadbury's have transferred their mixing skills over to blend together videos, displays, the written and spoken word, along with interactive displays to keep everyone interested. This part of the tour is aimed at older children, The Boy was kept entertained by the sights and sounds, but at two years old he wasn't able to fully enjoy it. However, the highlight of this part of the tour for me was the second theatre show with the interactive seating!

Following the history part, there is a walk-around the packaging plant. We were really lucky because it was operational that day and they were packing up none other than my favourite bar of purpleness: Dairy Milk! It was fascinating to see the huge slabs of chocolate in a sterile environment (you're behind a wall with windows in it) and the size of the foil wrapper canisters was astounding. And yes we had a bar of that too! At the end of the tour is a carriage-ride that takes you through a Cadbury's version of 'It's a Small World' and this was one of the best bits for The Boy! He adored seeing all the little moving figures. His second best bit was being given a small pot of liquid Dairy Milk to eat afterwards! Absolutely divine.

At the very end of the tour is a section full of interactive displays. This part contained The Boy's final favourite part of the visit; a very clever and nifty screen which has balls projected onto it. Somehow, they can be bounced around the screen. He had great fun chasing and trying to catch these balls; simple things hey?

There are lots of bargains to be had in the shop, although I can imagine it would be only too easy to spend a small fortune in there. I stocked up on Old Jamaica because I find it impossible to find anywhere else! Additionally, there is another theatre show called 'Essence' around the back of the main attraction, but we didn't go into that because The Boy was getting tired and irritable. However, this is right next to two brilliant children's playgrounds.

I would recommend a trip to Cadbury's World; in hindsight and in my opinion, at two years old,The Boy was a little too young for it, but for three or four year olds and up it is a brilliant trip. And I loved it there!

We were provided with two free adult tickets by SuperBreak. My thoughts and opinions are my own and, as always, honest.

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