Nottingham Forest - Football and Family

Last season, I headed down to the City Ground on a typical English day, cloudy, sunny with a chance of rain, to watch my first ever Forest match, I absolutely loved the buzz around the ground and seeing the way it bought people together.

After much internal debate about whether I could manage it on my own, I decided to take my children along for the next home match. Thankfully, they loved it too and despite being sat in the cold, they loved the excitement of the game and listening to the cheers, chants and boos of the crowd.

One thing that occurred to me that night however, was that I was possibly one of the only women there alone with their children and it got me wondering why? Is it really just 'a man's game' as I'd heard often from those around me at my first match?

Undeterred, we kept on going and the more we went the more we loved it. I sometimes got annoyed at the the occasional archaic comments, but we didn't let it spoil our enjoyment.

We'd wrap up warm when it was cold, I'd take a blanket and hot chocolate and we'd sit there and be a part of the fun. What I loved most was that it gave us something to look forward to as a family; something that we could all get in to.

My daughter joined the Junior Reds 7s scheme in the following weeks and got her first Forest Garibaldi shirt. She wore it with pride to every match and even created her own hand drawn Forest flag, inspired by the other colourful displays around the ground.

Football isn't necessarily hooligans, swearing and an expensive habit; it can be about family bonding and for us it has been just that.

This season, I'll be working alongside Forest to showcase that a trip to the City Ground on a matchday can be the perfect family activity, no matter what your family dynamic.

Plus the club have made it even cheaper to get to games now; with their children's season tickets starting from £15 for up to 11 and then £70 for up to 17.

Even if you just fancy going to the odd match here and there, Forest's regular Kids for a Quid promotion has meant we have managed to get to lots of games for under £30 for all three of us. And considering how much the cinema can cost these days, it's great value.

Football doesn't have to be about the 90 minutes the players are on the pitch, Forest are striving to make more of the Match Day experience. The Family Area in the Peter Taylor Stand has some great new pre-match events with the club mascot lined up.

Plus with the ground being a stones throw from the wonderful West Bridgford and Nottingham itself, it really is a great way to spend the day with your family.

A few weeks ago we went to pick up our season tickets from the newly refurbished ticket office and whilst we were there couldn't help checking out the club shop.

We'll be there in the Family Area, cheering on the Reds this season. #COYR

This is a collaborative post, we are working with Forest in return for our season tickets. All words and opinions are my own.

A Family Lunch at Ego Mediterranean Restaurant

Last weekend we were invited to Ego in West Bridgford, a new mediterranean restaurant offering great food in a light and airy environment, but most excitingly on a Sunday they offer children's entertainment, to make dining with your little ones that little bit easier.

Both of my children are pretty good when we are dining out, I take books or felt tips to keep them occupied and they usually sit still. However, like most children they do get a bit bored after a while and this is where in addition to a colouring pack on arrival, the children's entertainment comes into its own.

With colouring in, balloon animals and some fabulous scratch art bookmarks the team from Party Crew keep the children entertained whilst you get some time to yourself, whether for a chat or to mull over the menu in peace. It is a great idea and one that I think makes the dining experience for everyone that little bit more relaxed.

On to the food itself, we ordered the Greek Meze to start, a mixture of hummus, chicken, stuffed vine leaves, pittas, cous cous and halloumi. A tasty starter with something on it that both the adults and children could enjoy.

Being a Sunday it meant that they had a Sunday roast on offer, or you could choose from the A La Carte menu, I love a roast but equally the food on the menu really caught my eye. I chose the Andalucian Pork Fillet, tender pork wrapped in prosciutto, pan roasted & served with apricot & sherry cream sauce served with dauphinoise potatoes, it was really tasty and the portion size was generous.

My partner chose Lemon Chicken Milanese, flattened breaded lemon chicken, rocket, sun blush tomato & Grana Padano with lemon caper dressing & skin-on fries, I am told this was rather delicious and the plate was empty so I am guessing so.

For the children they have the standard range of children's option, chicken goujons, pizza, pasta, roast chicken, however since a smaller roast was on offer the children chose to have this instead. And I am glad they did, as what came out was amazing and I was kind of jealous.

The Elfe potatoes, giant Yorkshire pudding and beautifully tender vegetables made for a fabulous Sunday lunch and I think i'll chose this next time we go, because there will be a next time.

Puddings were equally as tasty, with a large range of sweet treats we were spoilt for choice, I chose my one of my all time favourites, Tiramisu, the children both had brownie and my partner had Sicilian Lemon Tart, all very tasty and all eaten rather quickly.

Just outside of Nottingham it is easy to get to and for us is on the way back from Rushcliffe Country Park, one of our favourite places to go for a walk. I think it is safe to say this is one place I will find myself visiting regularly for a Sunday lunch, I have already recommended it to many people.

The staff were all super friendly and attentive, the service was quick and we felt un-rushed, it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon following a walk.

With the giant roast dinner costing just £10.95 I think this is a great option to get out of doing the dishes on a Sunday. The mains are a little more expensive but the portion sizes are plentiful and the food really tasty as well as being something a bit different. The children's menu is very reasonable costing just £4.95 for two courses.

We all left full and very happy after a wonderful few hours at Ego, the children had a wonderful time and for me if all four of us are happy then that is always a bonus.

We were invited to try lunch for free, however all words, opinions and pictures are my own.

Strong Women Standing Tall

I apologise in advance for the possible rambling nonsensical post that is about to follow, but it is straight from the heart.

This past six months has seen my life change in such a big way, I haven’t mentioned it on the blog until now but in August our family of four became three with my husband leaving our family home.

When someone leaves your life after 14 years of being there it is a huge upheaval, it is like a death and I spent several weeks in mourning.

But one thing that became clear was the strength of the women (and some men) around me, the group of women that supported me are amazing and for that I am so unbelievably grateful.

My mum watched as her daughter crumbled in a heap, sobbed on the phone to her for hours on end, she watched as her daughter tried to figure out life and what it meant. I apologised so many times to her, knowing the heart ache she must be going through too and yet she always remained strong and listened.

My work colleagues were amazing, the day my marriage ended I went into work, I sobbed most of that day and no one said anything. Knowing that I just needed to get on with stuff in my own time. When I did tell them they gave me strength to carry on, I had to make the hard decision to start working five days a week, not easy when you suffer with chronic pain but they were there every step of the way.

My best friends listened, didn’t judge and even when I repeated the same things over and over again they kept on listening and hugged me and told me it would be ok.

I posted snippets of my journey over on Instagram and I was amazed at the support of women who only new tiny squares of my life, in addition to the wonderfully kind women in my everyday life, it was their support and acknowledgment that I wasn’t alone that got me through what was undoubtedly one of the hardest times in my life to date.

I had an amazing counsellor who when I walked out of my last session had tears in her eyes, I had come into those sessions sobbing for the whole hour and I left that last one with my head held high that I was strong and could do this.

And not only did this journey help me, but it has opened my life up to other women going through the same thing, wonderful ladies have contacted me via Instagram, thanking me for sharing my journey. Looking like I did for answers and understanding even if there were none to find.

It seems 2016 was the year of the affair or simply parting ways, but maybe marriage isn’t forever like the 10 year old me thought. Maybe it is about finding people to make memories with and then if enough memories have been made you need to move on to make more.

I try not to regret anything I have done in my life, hard when it has left you so hurt. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and right now I feel stronger and more empowered than I have ever felt.

Sometimes it isn’t until we need that support that the true extent of friendships is made clear, without my circle of friends and family I would never have got this far.

Starting on a journey of finding myself again, taking time out for me and realising who I had been and who I wanted to be. The people I have met along the way have enriched my life, my children have grown and watched their mum blossom too. Being a single mum isn’t what I envisaged my life to be, but I wouldn’t change it for the world, its hard work but you know what, I’ve got this.

To any women who are going through the same thing right now then you’ve got this too, it isn’t always easy but it does get easier.

Fun Family Games from Tomy - Review

We love a good games night and with the evenings getting darker even earlier now, there is no better time to shut the curtains, grab some snacks and setup camp in the living room playing board games.

We have a good selection already but you can never have too many, so when we were asked to try out some new games from Tomy we of course said yes.

We were sent Pop-up Darth Vader and Greedy Granny, both perfect games for younger children and also if you just fancy a quick few games before bedtime.

Pop-up Darth Vader is based on the classic Pop-up Pirate, a game I loved playing as a child but with a new twist of one of my sons favourite film characters. The mini Darth Vader sits inside the barrel and you place tiny little light sabres in slits around the sides, eventually one of the light sabres makes Darth Vader pop up, sending squeals of laughter and slight heart palpitations through the three of us.


It even has its sound effects including the Star Wars theme, light sabre sounds and Darth breathing, it is lots of fun and great for any Star Wars fans out there. It is a great twist on a game loved by generations and is something children of today can relate to, I love it and so do the kids. It is one of those games that doesn’t take long to set up and can be played just a few times as a boredom buster.

Unlike the original Pop-up Pirate this version is only for three players, although this is perfect for us it may not be for everyone, it also requires an AA battery (not included) to play the sound affects.

Greedy Granny works in a similar way, you balance Granny’s biscuits on her tray and you have to spin a spinner with a number on it, you take a biscuit and then press a button next to Granny’s chair the number of times on the spinner, if you are lucky she stays asleep if you’re not she wakes up, throwing her biscuits everywhere and in a rather comical fashion her false teeth. The winner is the one to collect one of each biscuit without waking Granny up.

Greedy Granny is a really funny game with the same heart stopping finale of Pop-up Darth, you don’t know when she is going to pop but once she does it makes you jump out of your skin.

These games would make great additional presents for Christmas, the perfect something extra to play on Christmas Day and beyond.

Pop-up Darth retails at about £14.99 which is more than the Pop-up Pirate version but if you have a Star Wars fan then that little extra is worth it, Greedy Granny is £19.99, this is a little more than I would normally pay for a game, however, if you can find her on offer somewhere then she is a fab fun game which will have the family laughing out loud.

We were sent these items to form this review, all words, opinions and pictures are my own.

Intelligent Waste with the Totem 60 from Joseph Joseph - Review

When we moved into our new house our grubby old bins came with us, we'd had them for years and although they were cleaned, time had taken its toll on them. With two separate bins, one for rubbish and one for recycling we had to keep one in the garage and one in the kitchen, it wasn't an ideal situation.

So when Joseph Joseph asked me if I would like to review one of their Totem Intelligent Waste Systems I obviously said yes, anything that meant I didn't have to go through two doors and back to put something into the recycling bin!

The bin has a sleek design and being square, it fits more neatly into our kitchen than the old round one did. The Totom 60 is available in several different colours but since our floor and units are white, we went with the white and silver option.

From looking at the bin, it is hard to see how it is bigger than our old one and I expected we'd be emptying it more, however it does have a big capacity for rubbish, something I think is helped by it being square rather than round, so I have only been emptying once, twice at the most a week, although we don't really make a lot of rubbish anyway.

The recycling section, although not as big as what we used to have, is plenty big enough to hold most of what we make and is emptied every few days, the biggest plus point for me though is having the rubbish and recycling all in one place.

The simple slide out door of the recycling section means I can lift out the box and pop out to the bin with ease, it can also be split into two sections meaning you can have paper in one and glass in the other. The top section also has a handy food scraps box which sits in it, great if you have a compost heap, and with the lid having an odour filter, those nasty smells don't escape into your kitchen.

With our old bin, when you put a bag over the inner section as you slid it down into the bin itself the bag would unhook itself and wouldn't quite be a snug fit, and on removal it would always seem to rip as you tried to remove it from the bin, with this the lid is such that it fits over the edge of the inner bin and you don't have any problems on placing into the bin or on removal.

It really is intelligent waste, with nothing in its design that I would change, my husband has a different view and he would prefer a foot pedal, for me though this was always one of the worst places for dirt and half the time it wouldn't lift up or would fling the lid back against the kitchen wall. This has no nooks and crannies for dirt to get trapped in, making cleaning easier and more efficient.

This bin looks great in our kitchen and thinking about our families and their bins, they could all do with something like this, with two bins or a bin and a pile of recycling to put in the outside bin when they go past it, this is the perfect solution that would fit in any home.

People may look at the price of this bin and say it is too expensive, but if it is anything like our last one it will still be with us in 8 or 9 years time. This is an investment and something to last many years, with easy cleaning I expect that it will look as good for those years too. 

The bags for the bin cost £6 for 20 which is more than I was paying for our old bin bags, however they are much sturdier meaning no rips and leaks, which in my book is worth paying for. My only concern with this bin is whether the bin bags will be made in the next 8-9 years and what we will do if they aren't.

We have several pieces of Jospeh Jospeh in our house and they are practical, modern and functional, this is no different and I actually don't mind taking the rubbish out for once.

NB: We were given the Joseph Joseph Totem Intelligent Waste System in order to create this post, all words, opinions and pictures are my own.

Glamping at Lantern and Larks Rutland

Last weekend we were invited to spend the weekend with Lantern & Larks at their wonderful site in Rutland, Leicestershire. Sat in what I think would have been the walled garden of Exton Park, it is a wonderfully secluded spot surrounded by trees.

On arrival we were greeted by June the host at this site, she was lovely and took us down to our tent for the weekend, she made sure we knew where everything was and how everything worked. We then set about bringing down our bags for the weekend, since cars aren’t allowed on site, you leave them in the car park and then use the wheelbarrows provided to bring your luggage and bags down. This means that with no cars you can spend your time free of the worry that they might run near traffic.

It is also really fun and the children spent many happy journeys back and fourth to the log shed, helping Daddy to pick the best logs for the firepit and fire in the tent itself.

With a double bed, bunk beds and twin room there was plenty of space for everyone, all kitted out with beautiful wood furniture. The comfy sofa made it the perfect place to relax whatever the weather.

The kitchen had a small hob and since there is no electricity, the fridge was instead two cool boxes which you kept cool with frozen ‘hot’ water bottles, it worked really well and we had no problems with our food being kept cool and fresh and we only had to change them a few times.

The kitchen was well stocked with utensils and crockery and had everything we needed to be able to cook proper meals. There is an oven which is part of the range that also acts as the heating for the tent, it is easy to get going and once all the doors are closed kept the tent nice an warm. There is an honesty shop stocking things such as cereal, drinks, marshmallows and just down the road is the fabulous Hambleton Bakery so great for fresh bread.

Outside is a fire pit which doubles as your bbq, it was a welcome spot in the evenings as well as allowing us to cook a hearty meal, there is plenty of outside space too with a picnic table and outdoor seating under the tent entrance which allowed for you to be outside come rain or shine. Two super bright deck chairs were the perfect spot for some reading and relaxing and when the sun shined it was a real sun trap.

The grass around the tents had been left long and it was great for the children to run around and play in, with a couple of mown areas for football they were soon playing with some of the other children on the site, although the other children were slightly younger, it was still sweet to see them so easily make friends. There is no park but they didn’t need one, it was so easy for them to kick a ball about, play Pokemon or lions in the grass.

We toasted marshmallows on the fire and the children both stayed up until late, you forget that once the sun has gone down there is no light other than from the many candles I had lit in the welcome hurricane lamps and lanterns that were dotted around the tent, it is strange how we become so used to putting on a light and is such a natural reaction to reach for the light switch, but it was lovely to be free from the confines of a normal house.

Over the course of the weekend we experienced every weather possible, but it didn’t dampen our spirits only made us appreciate spending time doing nothing. As the rain fell and the sun shone with a rainbow flying high above, us we sat in the window of the tent, it was so warm and was a lovely way to spend time with a book or just appreciating the swishing grass.

The Friday night we hadn’t really got the fire going and so it was cool but with our Mountain Warehouse base layers and some snuggly duvets we kept warm, so my top tip would be get the fire going inside so it keeps you warm once the doors are closed, with the sound of the tent gently flapping in the breeze and some owls made for a peaceful nights sleep.

Saturday was a little different but at no fault of Lantern and Larks, a wedding party for one of the girls from the local village meant loud music was being played until early morning. It was one of those things and very unfortunate it was whilst we were there. I spoke with Lantern and Larks and I was assured it was not from the Exton Park estate as they have an agreement in place to ensure music is not played after 12, they confirmed it wasn’t them and was in the village itself. Exton Park have spoken with the relevant people to make sure it doesn’t happen again. They have had people staying here for a while now and this is the first time something of this nature has occurred, I am mentioning this only because I am here to write an honest and transparent review.

The tent was clean and beautifully decorated, as it was my birthday they had put up banners for me, it was a wonderful way to spend my birthday weekend, so would I go again? Definitely, it was a truly wonderful experience, the children were able to run about and be free, we could sit and enjoy watching the children play whilst we had a little bottle of champers. The lake at the bottom of the site was fenced off, they had thought of everything to make sure it was a safe and relaxed environment.

Whilst we could have spent plenty of time exploring the local area from the tent we did venture into nearby Oakham, it has some wonderful independent shops and restaurants so if you have forgotten anything it is well worth a visit.

Then of course there is Rutland Water itself, with water sports, bike hire, parks and plenty of walking it is a great place to while away a few hours, and then the tent is the perfect place to come back to and sit and enjoy the sunset.

We had an amazing time here and I would love to go back, they have some other fabulous locations around the country including Lancashire, Suffolk and Somerset, so wherever you are in the country there isn't one too far away.

A huge thank you to June and the team at Lantern and Larks for having us and if you fancy glamping then why not take a look at Lantern & Larks fabulous Ultimate Guide to Glamping

NB: We were given a weekend break here in return for our honest opinion, all words and pictures are my own.