I'm Going to BritMums Live

Name: Ellie

Blog: The Mummy Diary

Twitter ID: themummydiaryuk

Height: 5'10

Hair: Short and shades of brown and blonde.  I had it cut off for charity 20 months ago and I've kept it short ever since (much easier in the morning rush)

Eyes: Blue

Is this your first blogging conference?: Yes, I am kinda nervous as it's my first time but I know lots of great bloggers from Nottingham already and have the lovely Jaime from The Olivers Madhouse to take me under her wing. Although once i've had a glass of wine there is usually no stopping me from chatting!!

Are you attending both days?: Yes, got me a day off work for this bad boy ;)

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2015?: Putting names to faces, socialising with lots of like minded people and finding some great brands to talk too. A weekend away is also a bonus!

What are you wearing?: What right now???? On the day I have no idea, hopefully weather permitting at least some Sun Jellies on my feet for comfort and then probably skirt or jeans and whatever is clean and ironed!

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2015?: I've been blogging a while now but I am still kind of a newbie, having only 'come out' about my blog about 20 months ago, before then I was just writing about me and not really shouting about it. So I am looking forward to hearing from the experts and finding out how I can make my blog better.

I am still looking for sponsorship for Britmums. I have a few packages available so if you are interested and would like more information then drop me an email at ellie@themummydiary.co.uk for a virtual cuppa and a chat.

Disney on Ice - Magical Ice Festival

Who hasn't loved Disney at some point in their life? I love sharing the Disney stories that I enjoyed as a child with my daughter, so imagine being able to see some of those characters for real and on ice.

With the new Disney on Ice - Magical Ice Festival currently working its way around the UK, there is no better time to enjoy some of your favourite characters as part of a spectacular event on ice.

With firm Disney favourites including Mickey and friends leading the way....

...and some of the more recent characters Disney have created popping up as well. Including a duo sure to get most little girl's attention, Anna and Elsa from Frozen, they are sure to be a huge hit and have everyone singing along.

This is sure to be a spectacular show, full of energy and a great way for the family to spend some time together.

You can see your favourite Disney characters between now and 17th May at London, Cardiff, Nottingham and Leeds so why not book your tickets to Disney on Ice - Magical Ice Festival.

NB: I have been given a family ticket in exchange for a preview post and review of the Disney on Ice show.

Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure - Live Show Review

My son and daughter have been into the Octonauts for a long time, we have the books, figures and magazines and now we have been to see them live.

So when we got the opportunity to head to the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham to see the Octonauts Live we were super excited. More so because we had the pleasure of visiting with the lovely Jaime from The Olivers Madhouse and her adorable son.

This fabulous live show was an absolute pleasure to watch, the characters were engaging and being in full costume meant there was nothing else to distract from the characters and shows.

Image Credit http://www.octonautslive.co.uk 

Following one of our favourite adventures, the show follows the crew of the octopod on a journey to the midnight zone, along the the way you get to see some brilliant underwater scenes using UV light.

The play starts with actions and songs that got everyone singing, the inclusion of the children as sea cadets means that they felt part of the show and were getting involved from the start.

Image Credit http://www.octonautslive.co.uk

Overall this show was wonderful, my one small gripe was the sale of small spinning lights which distracted from the show and were so bright they dazzled you. 

But the children didn't notice and they were still talking about the show for days after so it really was a hit. 

This fabulous show is currently touring around the country and is the perfect way to introduce younger children to the theatre with characters they already know and love. 

NB: We were given tickets for the purpose of the review, all opinions are my own. 

Win a Family Ticket for Octonauts Live

We are huge fans of the Octonauts in our house, in fact they are an integral part of our bath time routine, usually the first choice of toy to take the plunge into the bath. So it is exciting to see that one of our favourite adventures is coming to the theatre.

Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure sees the entire crew of the Octonauts, led by intrepid explorer Captain Barnacles, Lieutenant Kwazii and Medic Peso, embark on an exciting new underwater quest and visit amazing underwater worlds full of adventure, with surprises around every corner. This action-packed interactive show features new music (from BAFTA-award winning composer Mani Svavarsson) and all the Octonauts live on stage for the very first time.

Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure is produced by live children’s show supremos Fiery Light (a joint venture by Fiery Angel and Limelight Productions), the team also behind the recent tours of the three successful Peppa Pig stage shows. Their most recent – Peppa Pig’s Big Splash - is currently on tour. It has broken box office records for a pre-school show and will return to the West End for fifth consecutive Christmas season at the Criterion Theatre this year. Other Fiery Light productions include the recent tour of Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, LazyTown Live! and Roald Dahl’s The BFG.

Director/adapter Richard Lewis said: ‘Octonauts is all about adventure and exploration which offers up a whole host of possibilities in a live environment. From the colourful characters and fantastic underwater setting to the amazing octopod where the Octonauts live, there’s great scope for a really unique, interactive theatre experience. We can’t wait to take fans on an adventure like never before.’

And why am I telling you all of this? Well I have one family ticket up for grabs for a venue of your choice (T&Cs apply). Just enter via the Rafflecopter form below, terms and conditions on the Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Southwell Ploughing Match and Country Show

Today we visited Southwell Ploughing Match and Show, an annual event which we had not had the pleasure of going to before. But with about four generations in tow we decided to make it a family day out.

The show had everything from farm equipment to craft tents and rather large vegetables as well as best in shows and horse events.

We arrived at 10.45am and didn't leave until 4.50pm so t was a full day and for only £7.50 each adult it was money well spent.

First of all we found lots of tractors to see and climb in to.

 Who knew combine harvesters were so big?

 This tyre was huuuge!

We had always wondered how they harvested corn, now we know.

We loved this beauty, totally gorgeous.

Amazed at the size of these parsnips, the carrots were pretty amazing too. We all would have loved to try some of the fruit and veg on those tables ;)

We are definitely going to make some of these paper plates with leaves and other autumnal bits on.

These gorgeous vegetable animals were made by 11 and 12 years old, my son wants to make some now so we will be out in the garden looking for leaves and feathers later this week.

This gorgeous old steam engine was a wood plane and wonderful (and scary) to watch them cutting wood with it.

This old hay baler was wonderful to watch and we got to see the finished product and look at the corn too.

Looking at the ear of corn with grandpa.

Looking at the corn

This was a really lovely day and I can't wait until next year, we will definitely be going back.

We are linking up to Country Kids over on Coombe Mill Blog

Grandpa in My Pocket Preview

My son and I were invited on a tour backstage of the playhouse and then to watch Grandpa in My Pocket this week, the new production on at the Playhouse Nottingham.

The backstage tour was fantastic, we got to see the painting room, props department and clothing department as well as walking through the rabbit warren that is the belly of the playhouse.

Painting Room

Props Room

We also got to go up on stage after the show to see what happens behind the curtains and in the wings.

From the wings on to the stage

It was a wonderful experience to see all that brings the shows to life, for me it was a life long dream finally fulfilled. I spent many a christmas panto as a child wanting to see what happens in the back and to go up on stage.

On to the show itself, this was the first thing like this I had taken my son too as up until now he has been a little too young so I was intrigued to see how he would be.

We picked up some sweets and took our seats in the stalls, the view was perfect and I was super excited as was he.

Stage before the show started

To get everyone excited grandpa came on over the speakers to ask for phones etc to be switched off.

Then the show started, we were greeted by the actors who all took on roles of characters from Grandpa In My Pocket which helped the children understand it wasn't the actual characters from the show, which I was worried about my son understanding.

The actors playing the characters were all brilliant and had the mannerisms down to a tee, my sons favourites were Mr Whoops and Great Aunt Loretta, we have been chatting like Great Aunt Loretta since the show ;)

The show is advertised from age 3 and it seemed some of the younger ones were getting a little agitated towards the end so I would think carefully about it if you are going on your own with no one to take them out if needs be.

As the story progressed my son kept bouncing around on his seat with joy, especially during the bonglebirds song and he loved them so much he was even asking about them during the stage tour afterwards.

Looking out from the stage

It really is a wonderful show and if you are looking for something to do in Nottingham during the half term then it is well worth a visit.

After Nottingham Grandpa In My Pocket is going on tour round the UK so if it is coming to a town near you then it is definitely worth going to.

The One with the Lipstick

I recently read an article about a lady who at 35 decided to start wearing lipstick, I had been thinking about it for a while anyway and she seemed so happy with it I thought I am going to go into town and buy some.

With an evening out planned it seemed like the perfect opportunity, so off I went into Nottingham.

After a question on twitter mentioning MAC being good and no one in Boots seeming to care about me I headed into MAC, the lady I was served by was wonderful and instantly made me feel at ease.

I explained I hadn't worn lipstick in close to 17 years and had no idea what I wanted apart from something red and bright.

I tried on a few and then finally decided on MAC Red, it looked stunning and made me feel so different, I was probably too excited about a lipstick but I don't care.

So imagine my disappointment when I got home and sat at the bottom of the stairs to open it and try it on and it fell out of the case onto the carpet, pretty sure I heard my heart sink at the same time.

Never mind I thought, I was going in to town later for a show and could pop in and change before I went, so off me and my husband went, I explained what had happened and the lady got another one out and checked it for me.

At this point I was sure they had mixed them up and were going to hand me the wrong one but she assured me this was the right one and I put it back in my bag and off I went.

I had a few minutes to spare before the show started so I popped to the ladies and went to put it on, to my horror they had given me the original broken one back. To say my heart sank even lower was an understatement, I never even new it was possible to be so disappointed in a lipstick but this wasn't about the lipstick this was about an experience ruined by the incompetence of a sales person.

I am so gutted now I don't even know if I want to keep them and I certainly don't know if I can face going to see one of their team to have a make-up makeover session.

This was about a new me, a new experience and it was all ruined by a broken bloody and expensive lipstick. *Sigh*

Now someone slap me and tell me its just a bloody lipstick!

I can't go back into town today as I am taking my brother out to see my grandparents, so I am sending hubby into town instead....will be sure to let you know how it turns out this time!

Updated - My hubby managed to go back into the shop and speak to the lady who looked after me yesterday. She exchanged the lipstick and gave her apologies, an asset to the team :D