A Strong Coffee

We have been really lucky this year and the children have been to see lots of shows at the theatre. Some I would recommend, others not, so here is a little summary incase you are thinking of getting tickets as a Christmas gift.

Up and Down

Standing head and shoulders above the rest was Up and Down by Gaga theatre company. We hadn't read the book, but had read lost and found. It was proper theatre with no huge costumed characters. The boys loved it as it was engaging and they participated with the audience. The only down side was that as it was aimed at pre schoolers it was in school hours and big man couldn't join us. You can read my full review here.



Justin Live

I know that Justin Fletcher is a bit like marmite, but after seeing him in Panto for a couple of years I loved him. Yes loved not love. This performance has totally changed my opinion on the performer. It was the laziest show I have ever watched. Dancers were used as time fillers. There was very little humour. If you were sat in the stalls you may have enjoyed it more but in the circle you felt left out. All of the boys were bored as were all the children sitting near by. In my opinion a total waste of money.

Dinosaur Zoo

This was another good show. The puppets are amazing. There were a lot of small children here, which was a bit of a shame as it's filled with so many facts I think it better suited ages 5-9 than preschoolers. The best place to sit for this show is on cushions at the front as if you are sitting here you are more likely to be invited up on stage. The downside to the show is other parents not looking after their children. The presenter makes a joke of how rogue children will be eaten by dinosaurs. Unfortunately this didn't stop the same little girl walking up on stage twice and being called a rogue child. Don't worry if your child hasn't got to participate in the actual show though as afterwards there is a meet and greet with the puppets. It was a lively performance for any child with an interest in dinosaurs.

Octonauts Live

I have one massive Octonauts fan and 2 that used to be and still enjoy it. I was unsure what they would make of the show as at the time that the tickets went on sale there was no details about what the show was like. The show was good and consisted of costumes characters and puppets in parts. Personally I preferred the puppets but the whole show was well done and little man was particularly keen.


Have you seen any children's theatre this year? What would you recommend and what would you avoid?

Recently we have reviewed Justin's World Goldilocks app and Jigsongs app. Middleman loves them and I wasn't sure if he would like the letter sounds app as it is more phonics based. However, he seems to be enjoying it, and I feel less guilty about him playing on my phone when it his helping him with his phonics.


So if you are looking for an educational app for your little one and they love Justin Fletcher, then this might be worth considering. It can be purchased here from i tunes.


We were given the app for the purpose of this review, but the opinions here are my own.

Last week middle man helped me review Justin's World: Jigsongs and I can confirm that it is still a firm favourite of his. We have also been reviewing the Justin's World Goldilocks app, which is becoming a favourite of mine! Justin talks through the story of Goldilocks as only Justin Fletcher can. He becomes Goldilocks ( middle man has no idea it is Justin) and there are various challenges to complete on the way. For example finding honeypots and cleaning the house. You see in this story Goldilocks is good and can't "bear" mess! (That is one of Justin's puns not mine) It is currently priced at £1.99 and I am pretty sure that this app would put a smile on any little (or big) Justin Fletcher's fan's face.


We were give the app free of charge for the purpose of this review but the opinions here are my own.

It was inevitable.

Big man is nearly 6.

We didn't want to lie to him, but we didn't want him to know the truth either. He's not silly but he wants to believe.

At Disneyland it was clear that he was questioning the characters. He never actually asked as such. Just questions like is Stitch alive? "Well you saw him in the parade didn't you, so he wasn't dead a few hours ago?" I said calmly. But I caught him looking at Pluto's tail and I know he was wondering about pulling it off! So for now he is left wondering about Disney and I hope it will be the same about Santa.

Last week however, my husband went and ruined everything. We were discussing the Justin Fletcher app, and he asked big man how old he thought Justin was.

"Ummmmmm 18?"

My husband took offence at this on the basis that big man had recently told a neighbour that his Daddy was 95! Big man then asked his Daddy how old he thought Mr Tumble was.

"Well he's the same age as Justin isn't he? He's the same person!"

Big man was in shock. Confusion swept across his face. "But they look different?"

We felt it was time to tell him the truth. "He has a red nose big man, other than that they look the same...."

I joked with big man that he hadn't worked it out and explained a bit about TV trickery. Then I went the full hog.

"I'm going to tell you something now that may shock you....

.....He's Aunt Polly too!"

So that's it. The magic is fading. Big man knows Justin Fletcher is an actor. To be honest he is quite a clever child and I find it funny it has taken this long! I am now hoping that he will appreciate my honesty over this and therefore believe anything I say about a big jolly man in red. Of course this year we are meeting the real Santa. I totally believe this, therefore I have no issues with telling big man the same. I believe in Santa, do you?

I may have mentioned once or twice that I am a bit of a Justin Fletcher fan. Luckily the boys like him too, so I jumped at the chance of reviewing his new jigsongs app. Middle man absolutely loves it. There are 4 puzzles to chose from (above) and then you get to pick easy, medium or hard. This is just how many puzzles pieces there are. You then put the puzzle pieces in the correct places on the jigsaw picture with some encouragement from Justin. Your prize for completing the puzzle is Justin singing a song. It is a simple app which a child that is a Justin fan or likes completing jigsaws will enjoy. The app costs 69p and can be purchased from itunes by clicking here.



We were given the app for the purpose of this review but the opinions here are my own.

Today we went to the Lollibop children's festival in Olympic Park. When I had seen all the social media for the event, it looked great. The thing that stopped me from buying tickets, was that I wasn't sure how my children would cope with a festival. Then I had an tweet from The Boy and Me saying I had won 4 tickets, so I decided to buy another from Littlebird and give it a go.

We headed down to Westfields and parked there. At £5 for a days parking I was very pleased. The walk to the Olympic Stadium took about 15mins. This was problematic for middle man and his small legs! We had only taken the single buggy and he was not happy with this.

When we got there we headed towards the Wow and Duplo tents. Here they had toys to play with and big man got a Duplo sticker pad so he was happy. We then headed for the main stage to sit down and get some lunch. Here we saw Pre School. I don't watch Britain's got talent so had never heard of them and was really impressed. Next was Peter Pan who are touring around Christmas with what I would describe as a Baz Lurhman style show. Dick and Dom then came on. I would have liked to have watched them, but the boys are a bit too small so we wandered off. Big man was extremely happy that Haribo were handing out sweets and Barny were handing out cakes!

We then went to the science museum tent. Big man was extremely keen to have a go at some Science and get his card stamped. This meant a bit of queuing but he managed to get an experiment book at the end so he was happy. We then went to the National Geographic tent. I liked it in there mainly because middle man got hold of the microphone and told his one and only joke. He was so proud of himself.

"Clownfish taste funny!"

They had boxes to put your hand in and guess the materials which big man enjoyed and then all three of them searched for dinosaur bones.



We then headed to see Katy Ashworth. Big man really enjoyed her. I now have a new found respect for her. I can tell you that at no point in any of my pregnancies did I have the energy and enthusiasm that she showed!


We then rushed to see Justin who had already started. It was heaving and hard to see him even on the big screen. We still managed to have a dance and do the Hokey Cokey. I would have loved to do more but the boys were getting really tired and heading fast towards meltdown. We headed towards the meadows where they rolled down the hill and then headed out.

We had a nice time, but weren't there all day as the boys were too tired to cope with anymore. I can totally understand why some people didn't enjoy the Lollibop. It was very very busy. The layout wasn't that great, and it's a long walk from a car park or station. Food and drinks weren't horrendously priced, but when you've already paid out for the tickets it adds up. I think the biggest problem is that although there are lots of things for the smaller children to do, they can't cope with a long day out with long queues. If our children had been older, or we just had just taken big man with us, it would have been much easier. I know I would have felt extremely disappointed if I had paid full price for our tickets as it would have totaled over £100. Would I go again? It would really depend on if I thought the boys could cope with more than 4 hours, and if I could get a half price deal like we did with Littlebird (or be lucky and win tickets again!) I would make sure that we got there super early so that we could enjoy it whilst it was quieter, pack a picnic and hopefully if the children were older we could get a slightly better spot near the main stage.

Did you go to the Lollibop? What did you think?

New Year's Eve 2011 was a turning point in my life. I went from thinking that Justin Fletcher was a kid's TV presenter who did nice things (but told terrible jokes) to thinking he is one of the funniest men alive. We went to see him in panto and I really did laugh out load. He was fab. Since then I have positively encouraged the boys to watch him on the TV - not that they need much encouragement. Justin's house is a firm favourite.









When I showed big and middle man the Justin's annual 2013 they were interested straight away. For a 2 year old there are big stickers, stories, recipes and ideas on crafts. Middle man really enjoyed completing Justin's fancy dress outfits.


Big man is nearly 5. For him there are games, colouring, puzzles, and jokes. The rrp is £7.99 but most stores have offers on annuals on the run up to Christmas. Even at full price, I think it is well worth the money compared to a couple of children's magazines which tend to be filled with adverts. If you have a Justin Fletcher fan they will not be disappointed. As I have said, I am bias as I think the man is great. The real question is do my boys' like the annual? Well they were running about the house with it at 7.30 this morning singing the theme tune to Justin's House - so I would say it's a yes!



I was given the annual for the purpose of the review but all the opinions contained here (including my admiration for Justin Fletcher) are my own.