The June Roundup. This month I have been mostly…
Living it up…
…before our flight to Orlando in the Virgin V-room. Sorry to focus on the food, but there’s complimentary bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs (I had a mahoosive bacon roll) as well as fresh fruits, cereal and yoghurt, soft drinks, gorgeous smoothies and tea and coffee on tap. There’s loads for kids to do (including video games for your… ahem… larger child) so they don’t get bored before your flight, plus a spectacular view of the runway and – even better – there’s even an adults-only area where you can chill out with the paper or even check your email on their bank of computers. Bliss. (Adults £17.00, kids £10.00 – which, when you think about how expensive hotel breakfasts are, is a bit of a bargain).
Living in a box…
…the night before our flight in the quirky but surprisingly comfy Yotel at Gatwick Airport. It’s certainly compact, but not at all stuffy or claustrophobic and I had a great night’s sleep too.
Telling my story…
…with Aviva, who have chosen to partner Railway Children – the only charity working across the UK with vulnerable children living on the street. Together, they’re aiming to champion the needs of street children and support them back into school or training.
The harsh reality in the UK is that 100,000 children under the age of sixteen run away from home every year and that 1 in 12 young runaways are hurt or harmed while they are away. There are now only 5 refuge beds for runaway children in the whole of the UK and 1 in 6 young runaways sleep rough. As a mum of two boys aged 12 and 15, these statistics really shocked me.
Tell Us Your Story is giving people the opportunity to recognise and reward others who have made a positive impact on their lives or in their community over the past year. Entries are submitted online at http://www.avivatellusyourstory.co.uk/
For every entry Aviva will donate £1 to the Street to School Programme – a global initiative with the aim of reaching 500,000 children worldwide, helping them get off the streets and back into education, so please, please go on – pay it forward and tell us about someone who’s touched your life.
A weekly prize of £1000 will also be awarded to the local hero that captures the hearts of visitors to the site and receives the most votes. One overall winner will be chosen by a celebrity judging panel for a prize worth £10,000!
Scoffing…
… gorgeous Soreen malt loaf. And I’ve got ten fantabulous Soreen goody boxes to give away too! First ten emails with the header ‘Soreen’ get a prize! (UK only, I’m afraid).
Feeling pretty darn safe…
… packing my new Ila Dusk 130 decibel personal security alarm. Unlike other ‘rape alarms’, they’re really quite pretty and blingy and look lovely in your handbag or on your keyring. And yes, of course we tested it, are you mad? I’m still completely deaf in one ear.
For more information, click on ilasecurity.com
Choosing a photo…
…to send to the lovely chaps at Barry’s.
As a big thank you to everyone who voted for Barry’s Tea in the SuperValu People’s Choice Awards, Barry’s (our tea of choice when we lived in Ireland) are offering all fans a chance to send in their pics to be immortalised in a collage on packs of Barry’s Tea 80’s. The boxes will be on sale in SuperValu’s all over Ireland the coming months. Send in a picture to barrystea@thinkhousepr.com. There’s some more info on www.facebook.com/barrystea and keep up with Barry’s on twitter @BarrysTeaTweets.
Learning the words…
…to Disney’s AMAZING Alice, we’ve seen it so much! Yes, I’m a Think Parents Blu-ray Ambassador and we’re mental Disney fans anyway, but this really is my favourite, favourite Disney film in a long time. And I love Johnny Depp *sigh*
See you on the other side! x
Thrills and Spills: The ‘SeaWorld 6′ go ‘ooh’ and make themselves dizzy
Erica (LittleMummy.com), Jo (jobeaufoix.com), Laura (AreWeNearlyThereYetMummy.com), Liz (kidstart.co.uk/livingwithkids/), Tara (stickyfingers1.blogspot.com), Me
Sooooo, back to the ‘Mummy Blogger Trip’ then. After our animal adventures at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, the beautiful Discovery Cove and Aquatica, I thought you might like to hear a bit more about the things that really made us go ‘oooh’. And ‘arrrrrgggghhhh!’ too.
1. Manta at SeaWorld
It HAS to be Manta. Only a ride that, after you’re strapped in, slowly lowers you face-first into a horizontal position, has that ability to make your stomach go a bit weird before it’s even set off and makes the usually quiet and sober Tara Cain shout ‘shiiiiiiiit’ can make the number one spot. When you first walk in to SeaWorld, you actually walk right underneath the screaming, upside-down victims of this awe-inspiring ride. Be afraid.
2. SheiKra at Busch Gardens
Take a terrifying journey straight up into the clouds in a totally ‘floorless’ car, then hang over the edge of a precipice, for just enough precious seconds to totally terrify you – then plunge 90 degrees straight down. Add in a second, 138′ vertical drop into an underground tunnel, and a quick whoosh through a steamy water spray to finish. Blood curdling.
3. Snorkelling in the tropical reef at Discovery Cove
Okay, so not a ride, but bimbling gently along in crystal waters when a GIANT ray – bigger than your outstretched arms – whooshes underneath you is truly a spine-tingling moment. I made the most ridiculous screechy/trumpet noises come out of my snorkel, I can tell you. Oh and get this – from the underneath they have comical faces and look as though they’ve smudged their lipstick a little too.
4. Kraken at SeaWorld
Climb aboard a massive metal mythical creature, with your feet dangling underneath you, and rocket around at speeds of up to 65mph. You may well just lose your lunch. I nearly did.
5. Omacka Rocka at Aquatica
I won’t lie. We were like a bunch of four year olds on this fabulous water ride. We whizzed down in double inflatables, screaming like lunatics, alternately shooting forwards, then backwards, upside down and down huge funnels, only to land with a big splash at the bottom, have a massive giggle, pick ourselves up and do it all over again. I loved Aquatica and none of the rides had queues that big either. A big plus.
6. The Taumata Racer at Aquatica
Yes, yet another water slide makes my top ten. This one whizzes you on squishy neoprene ‘floats’ with hand holds. Racing against your buddies, there’s even a score board at the bottom showing your times. And we’re a competitive bunch, us bloggers.
7. The Shark Encounter at SeaWorld
8. Sharks Underwater Grill at SeaWorld
Later, we had dinner at the Shark Grill alongside the Shark Encounter aquarium (fabulous food, by the way – check out my caged white chocolate mousse):
… where a mahoosive shark took a bit of a liking to Ms Cain. It’s okay though, apparently the acrylic panels are well able to support the pressure of over the 500 tons of angry-shark-infested water. Shudder.
9. The Teppanyaki Chef at the Japanese Restaurant in Orlando
This was my first visit to a Japanese Restaurant, and I’d never tasted proper sushi (I don’t think Marks and Spencer’s sushi really counts). The chefs are incredible – juggling razor-sharp knives, making flaming towers with onion rings (no, really) – and putting on the most fantastic and slightly scary show. Luckily there were no bits of finger in my dinner. And darned yummy it was too.
Ooh, and get a look at Kerry’s sushi. Wow:
10. The Tiger Keeper Experience, Busch Gardens
Okay, not a ride, admittedly, but certainly a thrill. When would you ever get this close to such an awesomely powerful creature? In between excited squeaking, I was struck dumb (a rare occurrence, let me tell you).
Special thanks and big licks must, of course, go to the scrumptious Kerry, the lovely Lucy, the happy and slightly mental Felipe from Discovery Cove (I promised!), as well as John, Anne and Melissa from SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in Orlando and my fellow bloggers – love you, you crazy ledez.
If you want to recreate our trip, Virgin Atlantic flies from London Gatwick to Orlando twice daily. Fares start from £476.00 including taxes. These can be booked either online at Virgin Atlantic.com or by calling reservations on 08448 747747.
Seven nights in Orlando with Virgin Holidays, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick direct to Orlando, accommodation at the 5V Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld® on a room only basis with car hire included starts from £899. Prices are per person based on 2 adults travelling and sharing a standard room, price includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Prices are based on select departures 05 – 18 Nov 2010.
Start your holiday before you’ve even taken off in the v-room at Gatwick Airport…adults £17, Kids £10
Virgin Holidays is a member of ABTA and is ATOL protected
A Flexticket will give you unlimited park-to-park access to five or six parks for 14 consecutive days. SeaWorld Parks are also doing a three for two park offer at the moment: book by 15 December 2010 and you can buy a three park ticket which includes unlimited admission to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens for 14 consecutive days: adult £79, child (3-9 yrs) £72, under 3s go free.
Discovery Cove Ultimate Adventure Package includes 1 day’s admission to Discovery Cove with a dolphin swim and a further 14 days’ admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Aquatica and costs from £177 pp.
Visit SeaWorldParks.co.uk
The patriotic brownie: a dark chocolate brownie with meringue icing and raspberry cross!
So yes, we’re feeling all patriotic. And while England are still in the World Cup *crosses fingers and toes*, here at English Towers, we thought we’d celebrate with a little ‘Come on England! brownie’. The meringue icing is adapted from Harry Eastwood’s fantastic ‘Snow Meringue Icing’. You will need an electric whisk for this icing. If you don’t have one, stick to white chocolate ganache or just whipped cream:
For the brownie:
200g good quality dark chocolate (I use Green & Black’s)
170g salted butter
3 eggs
225g caster sugar
110g plain flour
110 walnuts chopped (optional)
For the meringue icing:
170g icing sugar
2 tbsp water
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
So first, make your brownie. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain marie (heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water – turn it off as soon as it bubbles – and remember, don’t allow bowl and water to actually touch), then leave aside to cool.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy, pour in the cooled chocolate and butter mixture, then gently stir in the flour.
Pour into a rectangular baking tin (I use a non-stick lasagne tin, otherwise grease and line it) and bake at 180 degrees/gas 4 for about 35 minutes until shiny and cracked on top. Leave on a rack to cool.
When cool (and only when – this icing is a total last minute job) – make the icing:
Bung all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl (don’t to what I did and try to separate the egg straight over the bowl – it will probably end in disaster and you’ll have to start again) and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the sugar.
Now just whisk the living bejaysus out of it for ten whole minutes, either with the whisk attachment of your mixer, or with a handheld electric whisk.
Flip the brownie over (otherwise you’ll have all flaky bits attaching themselves to your meringue), then cover the brownie with the meringue and add your raspberries in a suitably patriotic fashion.
Stuff into face whilst cheering on your team of choice (obviously if you’re not English, you might need to improvise your flag with blueberries, mango or, if you’re Ghana – erm… good luck with that).
Come on, England!
Erica’s week of Annabel Karmel Pasta Recipes
From Erica at LittleMummy.com:
A little while back ok, quite a while back the lovely English Mum asked me to review Annabel Karmel’s book ‘Annabel Karmel’s Top 100 Pasta Recipes’, you see they aren’t big pasta fans over here at English Towers. Of course I was more than happy to oblige, but then I started to worry about how I would keep up the cookery standards you’ve come to expect here on Englishmum’s blog. It’s a well known fact that Englishmum is a baker extraordinaire, even this post involved a bribe for lime and pistachio cupcakes (Englishmum forget my cupcakes and there will be trouble, you hear me?)
Anyway onto fulfilling my end of the bargain, and in answer to the cookery standards quandry I’ve gone with quantity over quality. It was meant to be ‘a week of recipes from Annabel’ (including homemade pasta, with like a pasta making machine and everything), like all the best plans this did not come to fruition and we are left with three recipes (I believe we have a chinese takeaway and a chippy to blame for that *cough*).
Right! So here we have three recipes from Annabel’s book.
Stir-Fried Beef
First up was the stir-fried beef recipe. This recipe had a number of processes, a couple too many in my opinion. The beef ended up a bit soggy and the dish on the whole was a bit flavourless. Oh, and I don’t want to rub it in Annabel but my husband said that my own chilli beef recipe was superior in the flavour department (although this may have been in a bid to secure extra conjugal rights *cough*)
Spicy Sausage Meatball Pasta
Moving on then, the second dish we tried was the spicy sausage meatball pasta. This was delicious and very easy to prepare. The little meatballs were particularly tasty, especially as I made my own pesto *insert smug look* which complemented them beautifully. We even managed to get Erin to eat them passing them off as ‘sausage nuggets’ (she’ll only eat things in nugget form, bloody kids eh). Definitely one to try again and this time I’ll make extra meatballs sausage nuggets to freeze.
Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle
Finally I made mushroom tagliatelle for myself because nobody else likes mushrooms. I made my version with closed cup mushrooms and chestnut mushrooms as I didn’t have any wild ones. It was surprisingly light and very tasty and probably quite low fat as it’s made with creme fraiche. I think you can see that by this point I was finding my feet, see the extra chives on top assembled in decorative manner? I saw that on tv once 
Overall I’d happily recommend Annabel’s book but if you’re cooking for adults be sure to add some extra flavour into the dishes with extra seasoning, garlic, chilli, whatever’s included and then you’ve got some very nice dishes.
Englishmum, should I send you an invoice for the cupcakes?
Radisson Blu’s Greatest Holiday in the World: win 365 hotel nights
So after my lovely trip to SeaWorld, and because I’m so generous and thoughtful, I thought I’d give you the chance to pamper yourself a little bit too. Okay, so I can’t guarantee any dolphin kissing or anything, that would be ridiculous. What I can offer, though, is a chance for you to win, quite simply, the greatest holiday in the world.
Radisson Blu are giving one lucky person 365 hotel nights to spend at any of their 200+ hotels worldwide. The winner can use their nights at any time over a 5 year period. All you have to do is tell Radisson why you deserve to win! Visitors to the site vote for their favourite entries and the candidate with the most entries by July 24th wins the prize!
Just log on to http://www.greatestholiday.radissonblu.com/ and complete the sentence ‘I deserve to win 365 hotel nights because…’ You can even upload photos or videos if you want to be really impressive.
There are also special Creativity Awards. Every week the Radisson Blu Team will select up to 10 especially funny, creative or unusual entries. These entries win a special prize and a badge for their candidate page – the more visits your page gets, the more votes you get and the more likely you are to win the competition!
The small print: To enter the competition you must be over 18 and either an EU citizen, or a citizen of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. But anyone can vote.
Off you go, then…
Top Ten Animal Encounters: The ‘SeaWorld 6′ go wild!
From left to right: Laura (AreWeNearlyThereYetMummy.com), Erica (LittleMummy.com), me, Apollo the Sea Lion,Tara (stickyfingers1.blogspot.com), Jo (jobeaufoix.com) and Liz (kidstart.co.uk/livingwithkids/)
So finally, after ash clouds and delays, weeks of waiting, a very pleasant flight on Virgin Atlantic and three slightly less pleasant hours stuck melting in the baggage reclaim at Orlando Airport because it was, apparently, ‘too hot’ to get our suitcases off, and then having to go through security AGAIN (‘do you have any liquids, Ma’am?’ ‘No, I think I just used my very last drop of saliva’), we finally arrived in Florida for our fantastic trip to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, the beautiful Discovery Cove and Aquatica.
I’ve got so much to show you – about a million photos (stop yawning at the back there), tales of enormous hotel beds, gobsmacking rides, cackly laughter, mojitos and fantastic food, but I’m going to start you off with the best bit: my top ten animal encounters. Enjoy!
1. The Dolphin Experience at Discovery Cove
What can I say? Meeting the dolphins was one of those moments that I’ll never ever forget. Bobbing gently in shimmering water, we were treated to the most amazing one-to-one experience – including a rather exhilarating tow, whilst holding onto the dolphin’s dorsal fin:
…and we were even treated to a little kiss which took my breath away. Discovery Cove is an all-inclusive resort, limited to 1000 guests a day, with a mahoosive man-made lagoon where the dolphins live, a wonderful lazy river encircling much of the resort and beautiful white sandy beaches. It really is just paradise.
After this, we were all speechless (a very rare event in itself) – grinning at each other like loons.
2. Feeding the Giraffes on the Serengeti Safari at Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens is just the most beautiful place. One of my favourite areas was the 65 acre Serengeti Plain, where we drove past grazing zebra and antelopes in an open topped truck and fed the serene and rather gorgeous giraffes with lettuce leaves:
3. The Elephant Keeper Experience at Busch Gardens
Imagine the scene: 6 excited bloggers (plus two equally excited PRs) rushing around hiding apples, pears and palm fronts, stuffing leaves into huge balls and tipping out enormous frozen ‘elephant popsicles’, then rushing to hide as the elephants thunder up to find their prizes. Really one of the most exhilarating experiences. There were countless squeaks of ‘I hid that!’ when the elephants picked out a particular piece of well-hidden fruit or veg.
4. ‘Believe’: The Killer Whale Show at SeaWorld
Everyone thinks they know all about SeaWorld’s killer whale show. And although I was initially sceptical, this really is an amazing experience. Although the trainers no longer get in the water with the Orcas (following the death of a trainer earlier this year), I think that actually makes it a more ‘natural’ experience – watching these enormous animals rocket round, splashing their tails and occasionally leaping clear of the water is awe inspiring. I wonder if it was just me that felt a sense of sadness still hanging over the stadium, though.
5. Meeting Apollo the Sea Lion at ‘Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island’
Who’d have thought that Sea Lions are so incredibly intelligent? The Sea Lions stole the show, getting their own laughs by going off-script. Afterwards, we ‘met’ one of the stars, Apollo, who happily drenched me with a flipper as we were lining up for a photo.
6. Manatee Rescue
We were lucky enough to go behind the scenes with Steve Lehr, who has worked at SeaWorld for over 30 years, to see some of the sick animals and hear all about SeaWorld’s work in rescue and conservation. We felt really lucky and just a bit humble too.
7. Feeding the Sea Lions at Pacific Point Preserve
Okay, so lobbing handfuls of slimy, wet fish at hungry Sea Lions isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. And yes, Erica’s gagging did make for a somewhat unusual background noise to this particular adventure, and yes, being unable to get the fish just in front of the blind one and continually whacking it on the head with them instead was a little frustrating (don’t worry, they feed it by hand – if they had to rely on us it would have expired through hunger) but how much fun did we have? Loads, that’s how much.
8. Meeting ‘Midas’, the King Penguin
We were so lucky to be able to go behind the scenes in a lot of the places, but understandably, SeaWorld didn’t really want us to take pictures. All bets were off, though, when we encountered this beautiful chap, the adorable Midas (they’re all named after some kind of king, if you hadn’t guessed), and adorable Cole, the fluffy chick, who sang a mean (and incredibly loud) song. He did however, cover me in fishy dribble when he gave his head a good shake. Apart from that, though, I quite liked him.
9. Hand feeding the kangaroos and wallabies at Busch Gardens
There’s a really cute part of Busch Gardens called Walkabout Way where you can get really close to some fab Australian animals. We had a quick laugh with a Kookaburra and tried (but mostly failed) to feed the kangaroos and wallabies. This porker ate everyone’s food as none of the others could be bothered to get up from their sunbathing.
10. The Leafy Sea Dragons at the Manta Aquariums
As you’re queuing up to be terrified out of your wits on Manta, the most evil, face-down roller coaster known to man, you get to wander through 10 amazing aquariums. I know this wouldn’t be everyone’s choice for an animal to be included in their top ten, but look at this dude (or dudette, it’s not immediately apparent) – isn’t s/he amazing? He checked us out, while little helicopter blades hovered away either side of his head. I want one.
SeaWorld and NCOD’s Kitty Yoga
So I’m off to SeaWorld today (yeeee-ha!). While I and my five amigos are there, we will be meeting rescued manatee, screaming on roller coasters and getting drenched by Shamu at SeaWorld, swimming with dolphins at Discovery Cove, trying out our skills as elephant keepers at Busch Gardens and whizzing down water slides at Aquatica! But just so you don’t feel left out, I thought while I’m away I’d pamper you a little – calm the senses and treat you to a little soothing gentle exercise.
Without further ado, then, I’d like to hand you over to Ninja Cat of Death, who’s going to take you through a few gentle stretches. Ready?
Okay then, lying on your side, arms down, feet facing forwards… gently roll your head and look at the ceiling…
Now bend your back so that the top of your head is facing your feet. Point those toes up! Keeping up?
Now simply flip over to the other side in one fluid movement, keeping your head still whilst twisting your whole body…
Now touch those toes, keeping your arms forward and nose touching your forearms. Really stretch those abs. No falling asleep now!
Aaaaaand…relax.
Good job everyone. Next time we’re really going to be working on those toes…
Same time next week then?
‘No naughty words on mugs – promise?’ A trip to Emma Bridgewater
So the Tuesday of half term saw us take a rather wonderful trip. Now the Brethren are 12 and 15 it’s getting more and more unusual that everyone wants to go out together. A shopping trip mostly ends up with one ‘ohhhh okay then’ and one ‘nope, I’m playing Xbox, seeya later’, so to take a trip ‘en famille’ was rather a pleasant change.
We were whooshed to Stoke on Trent in less than an hour from Milton Keynes on the rather swish Virgin ‘leany train’ (yes, I’m sure it has a proper name too), and met up with fellow bloggers Jen, Rachael and Josie, plus Dan and Kate from Kitchen Critic.
During the journey, we established ground rules for the trip. These included:
- No smutty jokes – there will be small children present
- No wrestling amongst the crockery
- No naughty words on mugs. Yes, a drawing of a willy is considered naughty.
Here’s our fabulous day in pictures:
I am pleased to report that not only did we have a lovely family day out, but there was no smut, no wrestling, and I think no willies, but when our mugs arrived from Emma Bridgewater I’ll have to check.
If you’re ever in Stoke I’d thoroughly recommend a free factory tour (book in advance!) and a trip to the Potteries Museum where you’ll find a fascinating retrospective of Emma Bridgewater products stretching back the full 25 years (on now until 26th September, entry is free).
And now the thank yous:
Thanks to the lovely Jamie, and all the staff at Emma Bridgewater for a fabulous day out (sorry about all the sniggering – it’s Josie’s fault). Thanks to the lovely Eb for organising the day, lovely chats and listening to me panicking about train times.
And finally, special thanks to the Death Wish Child and his new camera for all the wonderful pictures (I rent him out y’know…weddings, christenings…).
The Gallery: Motherhood
They’re messy. And often smelly. They’re noisy, they argue, they snigger, they stay up too late, have last minute shouty homework panics, fill the house with mates and when they’re hungry my kitchen looks like it’s been attacked by a plague of locusts..
But that day? That day they danced down the aisle because that’s what they thought would make the day really perfect.
They even wore suits. Okay, so they insisted on red Converse to complete the outfit, but suits all the same.
They welcomed our friends and family, chatted and laughed, decorated cars, held the ring, sang hymns, didn’t giggle, shook hands, directed traffic. They behaved like proper gentlemen…
Look at my lovely boys.
God, I am proud.
This post is an entry for Tara Cain’s Gallery: Week 15.
I’m so proud…
Yes, okay, so one was laid on the lawn.
And yes, yes, they’ve both been pecked and have holes in… (I bet there was a ‘WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!’ moment, don’t you?)
And yes, they’re a bit misshapen and rather dodgy in overall appearance…
But my babies laid an egg – each! – and on the same day!
I’m so proud.
