MADs | TheBoyandMe

Going MAD at Legoland

August 1, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 9 Comments

There are some things that happen through the world of blogging that really mean I am the world's best mummy. Taking my son to Legoland for a birthday treat a few days after his 4th birthday is one of them.

Well he doesn't understand what blog awards are, let alone the MADs.

To be honest, he doesn't even know what a blog is.

And if you called him The Boy he'd just be confused.

Basically, he thinks the postman is a really kind man to keep giving us presents for him to play with.

I've digressed. A lot.

The very kind and lovely Sally from the MAD Blog Awards team is the person who should be getting the praise and smiles for us being able to visit Legoland back in June, which just happened to coincide with his birthday. She had arranged for all the finalists to have a special day out there together, and although we were a little bit late and missed the first part of the day with the official meet and greet, we had an amazing day in gorgeous weather enjoying the newly opened Duplo Valley and desperately trying to fit everything else in.

This was made significantly easier due to the fact that we were given VIP wristbands, which we thought acted like the Q-Bots, allowing us to go through the fast track path on most rides. On the last ride, we discovered that the gold VIP wristband actually meant we got to queue jump every ride. Did I say that I love Sally yet?

Highlights from the day included:

Duplo Valley: newly opened a few weeks before, the two different water parks and adventure play area were a welcome break from the structure of going on rides. The Boy was quite comfortable in the younger water park area, but when he tried to venture up to one of the water slides in Drench Towers, a huge gush of freezing water from the tipping Lego block drenched him and knocked him over. One of the many fabulous attendants on duty brought him down to us, where we then retreated to the safety of the Duplo Valley adventure play area and he learned how to swing along monkey bars.
Atlantis Submarine Voyage: We'd missed this ride when we went to Legoland back in March, and I was very eager to have a go on it. The part submerged 'submarines' move slowly through the water with windows in the bottom half of the walls which allow passengers to see the many forms of sealife swimming around. Clever additions are Atlantis ruins, fish and divers made out of Lego blocks. The sealife area afterwards is also excellent as children are able to pop their heads up into a tank via a dome to see fish swimming all around them. It gets very crowded though so timing is key here.
Driving School: He loved being able to drive a little car around, albeit proving that he is distracted way too easily because watching the children in the other cars was far more interesting than looking where he was going. There may have been a four car pile-up. This was also where I managed to accost the altogether charming Lucy from Capture By Lucy and have a thirty minute chat with her and her lovely family. The Boy likes her because he said she sounds like Candi from the Skyline Gang at Butlin's. This is a compliment as he loves Candi.

Legoland Windsor

After the many hours traipsing around, we still didn't managed to make it around the whole park, missing out on Kingdom of the Pharaohs, Pirates Landing, Land of the Vikings and Knights' Kingdom.

Nothing for it, we'll just have to go again!

Sally, can we have some more gold wristbands please?

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We were invited to visit Legoland as finalists in the MAD Blog Awards, and we received free entry and VIP wristbands for this. I wasn't asked to blog about it, I have chosen to do so. Thank you to Sally and the MADs team for making this happen, and to all those fabulous people who voted for me to be a finalist.

£20.46!

September 29, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 16 Comments

One vodka and coke, one kahlua and coke.

In a hotel in London.

£17.90!

In a well-known supermarket anywhere else in Britain.

And at that rate, MammyWoo and I had one drink.

Just as well that the rather fantastic Sally Whittle (Evil Overlord extraordinaire) had arranged free wine on each table in the MAD Blog Awards to help us enjoy the celebrations of the blogging world. Seventy bloggers, all female bar one, in pretty, bejewelled dresses with swit-swoo hair and make-up at a three course meal in a London hotel. Lots of high heels, squealing, underwear adjustments, photographs, hugs and a lot of blog love.

I had a great time meeting up with some of my real-life blogging friends (The Five Fs, Not My Year Off, The Crazy Kitchen and Coombe Mill) while having a brilliant time with the one and only inimitable MammyWoo.

I didn't win, she did. And I screamed because she did.

(To be fair I also screamed when Coombe Mill won).

This is my 24 hours in Londinium.

Thank you to every single person who felt that I was a good role-model for photography in the blogging world and nominated me, and then went on to vote for me. I'd be lying if I said I am disappointed that I didn't win, of course I wanted to! However, I'm not lying or being insincere when I say that being there as one of the top five has made my year when it comes to blogging. Thank you.

Instagram: #VictorianDecay

June 2, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 10 Comments

Earlier this year I discovered the world of Instagram, but it wasn't until I came across other photo-editing apps that I really found my feet with it. The filters and borders on Instagram are very limiting I think, plus it doesn't tend to save a copy to your camera reel. Both of these factors meant that I started using Camera+ more often than not for my IG uploads.

About three weeks ago, I saw Instagram's weekly blog entry and it highlighted the work of an American photographer that takes photographs of derelict buildings in his home of St. Louis, Missouri. I was really intrigued by them and it reminded me of the amazing houses in my own town in south Wales. Much of the area where I live, specifically my town, was built between 1870-1890 with the boom of the coal industry in the Valleys. The houses, which would have been owned by the mine-owners, are grandeur and almost like estates with coach houses and folly-style Summer houses at the bottom of their garden.

However, a small proportion of these stunning examples of Victorian architecture have been allowed to fall into a terrible state of disrepair over the past forty years. Some (like the three-storey redbrick hotel on the seafront or the four storey detached house with turrets and a roof garden) were bought by an unscrupulous 'businessman' for redevelopment. When permission wasn't granted, they had mysterious fires or internal supporting walls were demolished until they were ordered to be pulled down. Other buildings, through the sheer weight of financial upkeep have become derelict and abandoned.

Luckily in the last three-five years there has been considerable interest in the remaining treasures, resulting in massive renovation and restoration. It meant it was a bit difficult to find any of them to photograph when I went on a hunt, but I did manage to snap some. I wish I'd thought of this three months ago and I would have been able to photograph the beautiful single-storey church school (which I'd had my eye on for when I won the Lottery) before it was ripped down.

I've started posting these photos onto Instagram using the hashtag #VictorianDecay, but not everyone (including my husband) has access to the network. Here they are:

[slickr-flickr tag='VictorianDecay']

I've been shortlisted for the MAD Blog Awards in the Photography category. If you like these photos, I'd love it if you could vote for me please? Voting closes on 6th June. Thank you

I Might Be Going MAD

April 19, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

I've previously written on the TOTS100 that I don't agree with asking for nominations for awards ceremonies, and I maintain that. I personally feel that people should nominate a blog based on the fact that it clearly speaks to you about that subject.

However, I would like to acknowledge that some kind souls have thought my little corner of cyberspace worthy of an award and have therefore nominated me in a few of the categories:

Best writer
Blog of the year
Best family life
Best family fun
Most helpful
Best photography

It means a lot that my tales of life with The Boy and Mr. TBaM have made an impression on some of you. And after my lonesome 365 project last year, and the success of this year's 366, I'm overwhelmed that people have nominated me for Best Photography blog. We have a big discussion group on Facebook for this project, and I'm guessing it's from that that the nomination for Most Helpful Blogger has come. As a primary school teacher, my job is to help, to have people recognise that is humbling. Thank you so very much.

If you'd like to nominate anyone else for the MADs, or if you agree with these above and would like to reinforce that vote, click the badge below to register your vote. But hurry, you have until Friday.

Thank you!