ENGLISH MUM

Toy Story 1 & 2 on Disney Blu-ray, and a sneaky peak at Toy Story 3!

In my incredibly important position as Disney Blu-ray Ambassador *cough*, I get certain perks.  A rather fab one recently was a nice parcel containing the specially released Toy Story…

…and Toy Story 2, newly released in Disney Blu-ray

The first thing I’ll say that, as always with BluRay, the quality is AMAZING.  We were constantly fascinated by the little details, like the weave on the skipping rope, and the shine on the floor – bits that we didn’t notice before.  As a family, we love Toy Story (I think it’s our favourite Disney movie), and these new BluRays are worth the purchase just to watch the quality in HD.  We also loved the sneaky peak at Toy Story 3!

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are released on Disney Blu-ray on 8th March 2010.  Toy Story 3 is out on general release on 18th June 2010.

Mickey needs you! Twin your Town with Disney

So this is cool.  My lovely friends at Disney have asked me to tell you all about their new campaign to search for the very first UK town to win the honour of being twinned with Walt Disney World in Florida!  This is the very first time that the British public have actually been able to get involved and nominate their town for consideration, before it gets judged by a panel.

But hang on, I hear you ask, what does the winning town get?  Well, obviously they get to bang on endlessly about how their town is twinned with Walt Disney World and bore everyone in the pub senseless about it, but they will also have the honour of receiving an official sign acknowledging the friendship made especially for them by  designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, which will be presented to them at an official ceremony in…wait for it…Walt Disney World next February.

One sign will then be placed on display for guests visiting the park in the UK pavilion at EPCOT, whilst the second can be displayed in their town in the UK.  Even better, the person whose winning nomination is selected will also receive a holiday for 4 in Walt Disney World to attend the ceremony!

Sadly, I can’t enter Cavan as it has to be a UK town (I’m working on them, don’t worry), but if you want to nominate your lovely home town, just log on to www.waltdisneyworldtwinnedtown.co.uk and tell Mickey why your town deserves to win either with a short video, photos, poem or just a sentence!

 So what are you waiting for?  Get gone!

Oh, and I’m loving the speculation on Twitter about the name of the winning town: Cheddar, anyone?  Or maybe ‘Ducksford’… ‘Bournemouse’…?

Flares, dead ducks, coop extensions Disney monsters and aliens

So since we bought the two new pullets at the Mullagh Fair, Hubby’s new project, the Great English Towers Chicken Coop Extension, is going quite well.  There’s been plenty of drilling and hammering (and swearing), but the finished item will double the size of their roosting/nesting space and hopefully stop Minnie, who was once the lowest in the pecking order and has now morphed into some sort of evil chicken bully, from pecking the new babies to death before they grow old enough to actually lay anything.  As soon as Hubby can get ‘this f*cking bit to fit into that b*stard bloody thing there’, then the chooks will have plenty more room to manoevre.

Panini, the new little speckly one, who Mr Lovely thinks might be a Rhode Island Red after all, seems to escape pretty much unpecked, but poor Elvis, the slightly camp-looking Minorcan with the enormous flares (hence the gender dismorphic name) sadly gets the brunt of everyone’s aggression, rushing madly around cheeping and trying to avoid getting brain damage from continually being pecked on the head.

Talking of Mr Lovely, we went up to see their brand new ducks this morning only to find one dead.  Poor Middle Lovely had only just put in a pond for them (he’s the teeniest, but most enthusiastic smallholder – it’s pigs next, apparently) and the one remaining duck was waddling about, quacking despondently.  I know it’s part and parcel of this smallholding business, but I still felt quite sad.  I tried not to cry in front of Mr Lovely though (I’m such a girl), as he and Hubby would never have let me forget it, the gits.

In other news, two more lubly pressies have arrived from the wonderful chaps at Disney (‘good grief’, said Hubby, ‘are you sure you’re not sleeping with anyone at Disney?’).  First up was a new Blu-ray version of Monsters Inc.  This caused muchas excitement as we’re all big fans, and last night a popcorn and Malteser-fest ensued whilst it got its inaugural viewing.  I know I’m scathing about the Hubster’s big ugly monster telly that I’m not allowed to touch – not even to dust – not that I actually ever do dust anything, but still… anyhoo, you really could see every little strand of fur on Sully’s back with the combo of HD TV and Blu-ray disc.  (Ooh, listen to me, I’m all technofabulous!)

My other pressie was a new Wii game called Toy Story Mania.  Now me and the other Disney 7 girlies had a bloody ball on this ride at Walt Disney World.  It changed even the mildest-mannered Dulwich Divorcee into a sharp-shooting, evil killer (‘die, m*therf*ckers, die!’).  Happily, shoot ‘em up games are my lot’s absolute fave, and this one’s eye candy into the bargain (I love those little alien thingies – they’re soooo cute!).   By the way, my #1 son just looked at this picture and said ‘Mum!  You can’t put that on the blog, it says ‘great knob’!!’  Er no, that’s a J, darling.

Oh, and while Hubby’s been building and the kids have been happily killing aliens, I’ve been doing a bit of experimentation in the kitchen.  Watch this space for a nice fruity teabread, coming soon!

The Friday wedding spesh: the gory details

Okay, so obviously as usual I have to maintain the mystique which means you don’t get to see ALL the shots (email me if you want any more), but I’ve picked out the best moments of our day for you to see.  From the top, then:

Mable the Merc gets a pink moustache (thanks Moon!):

Moon and Ali being very silly, part 1.  It took me about 14 increasingly cross texts to get them out of the pub, too:

The boogie down the aisle (thanks to my adorable niece Lu for these pics).  For some reason I seem to have ‘the claw’ with me again.  And corr I could seriously ‘out’ some anonymous bloggers with these photos… you know who you are!!!:

The beautiful cake, forever to be known as the ‘6am cake’, as that’s the time she finished making it on the day.  ‘One day, the full story of that bloody cake will come out’, said Jen’s other half.  Oh, do tell!  But seriously, how gorgeous is it?  God job, Jen, good job (and there’s that claw again):

Our first dance:

Mad Uncle Ali whirling me around the dance floor (you know it’ll end in tears):

…’erm Alg, you’re going a bit fast…’:

The moment it all went horribly wrong (look at his face, he’s going ‘Sis, what are you doing down there?!’):

Two really ugly gatecrashers.  Oh no, hang on, it’s Moon and Mad Uncle Alg being very silly, part deux.  Moon later decided that to ensure his lift home didn’t leave without him he would steal Mrs Lovely’s shoes.  Every time I saw him after that he was guarding the shoes zealously.  It worked, though, they got him home, where me Ma was exasperated with the giggly silly buggering about.  Kids, eh?: 

And here I am wearing my wedding present from Disney.  I couldn’t persuade Hubby to wear his top hat mickey ears, sadly:

Well, it wouldn’t have been the perfect day without a little Disney magic, now would it:

The Friday scoop! Disney’s Newest Baby: Alice

So the lovely chaps at Disney have released information about their newest film and I have to say it looks amazing.  I asked if I was allowed to post about it because you’re my lovely readers and you deserve a scoop, and got an answer in the affirmative, so have a look at this: Disney’s Alice (thank you muchly to the wonderful Sarah (I love you, Mary Poppins) and the techy guys at Disney for the code – I am living proof that a blogging nerd can still have absolutely NO clue about HTML):

Jay over at The Depp Effect will be delighted that The Mad Hatter is none other than Johnny himself:

And my boys were whooping when they saw the fantabulous Matt Lucas:

Alice also stars Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover, with Mia Wasikowska as Alice (not heard that name before).  There’s also some fab people voicing animated characters, including my fave Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Paul Whitehouse and the wonderful Barbara Windsor. 

I can’t wait for this – it’s directed by Tim Burton and I LOVED Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate factory – that slightly creepy ‘unreal’ feeling he gives his movies is just so unique.

Anyhoo, plenty of time as it’s not out until March 5 2010, in glorious Disney Digital 3D™.  Oh, and can I also point out I’m writing this ‘cos I’m excited, not ‘cos Disney have given me any free stuff, ‘cos they haven’t, not this time anyway.  So there.

Wall.E on Disney Blu-Ray DVD – a review by the Mad Professor

So as you know Disney very unwisely made us Blu-Ray Ambassadors, and revelling in his title a bit too much, #1 has decided to take over today’s blog post with a little review.  Jonathan Ross eat your heart out:

WALL.E is a funny and exciting film for people of all shapes and sizes. The story begins when a small, garbage cube-making robot called WALL.E, who, after hundreds of years making cubes of garbage, runs into a hi-tech and sophisticated search robot called EVE. The two of them set off on a brilliant and thrilling adventure across the universe.                                                                                                                      

I found the environmental element to the film a very well put warning to the world at the rate we are going, and it puts it in a way that children can understand. In the movie, the WALL.E robots have the task of cleaning up the mess that all of the people made. They all disappear from earth on a space ship hoping to leave behind the mess they’ve made, only becoming fat and stupid in the process.

I would say that it was a really enjoyable film all in all.

#1

Ah, my cherub eh?  He sure tells it like it is.  Next up: Bolt and Beverley Hills Chihuahua (derrr de de de da chihuahua! derrr de de de da chuhuahua!).  Oh you know the one (especially for Towny, this bit):

Click to Play!

Disney parks part deux: Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney Pictures’ Bedtime Stories reviewed by #2 (the Death Wish Child)

So we’re all feeling a bit celeb here at English Towers since we got appointed as Disney Blu-ray Ambassadors and *gasp* the new Blu-ray player arrived (poor Bernard the postie hasn’t been the same since - being mobbed at the doorstep by an over-enthusiastic gang of Englishers must be very disturbing).

We’ve had a movie-watching frenzy and, in the interests of research (all for you, dearest reader), watched some rather fab movies.  Here’s the Death Wish One to tell you all about Bedtime Stories:
 

Bedtime stories By #2 (The the Death Wish Child) aged 11 and 1 month.

Bedtime Stories is about Skeeter [Adam Sandler].  Skeeter was born into a family who owned a motel.  Skeeter’s Dad was forced to sell the motel to Mr Nottingham [Richard Griffiths] because otherwise he’d go bankrupt.  Mr Nottingham promised that if Skeeter showed any talent he would be the manager of the new hotel.

Years later, Skeeter is the hotel handyman.  He has to look after his niece and nephew and discovers that when he makes up a bedtime story, what they say happens in real life.

This was an amazing film with twists like how when Skeeter said something in the story it wouldn’t happen, but when the kids said something it would happen.  My favourite part was when it rained gum balls (at least it didn’t rain the other sort).  My favourite thing was easily Bugsy the hamster with the huge eyeballs (I know again with the balls) and my favourite person was Russell Brand (Mr Coconut Bra).  I highly recommend this film for all ages.  It was the best film I’ve seen in absolutely ages. 

Hope to be writing more reviews soon,

#2

xx

This review is brought to you by English Towers (always up for a freebie) and the ‘Think Parents’ network:

Disney parks part 1: Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney

So diverting my attention from the food for a moment, I thought I’d give you a little taster of what we, the intrepid Disney 7, put ourselves through just so we could report back to you about what it’s like to experience Walt Disney World at close quarters.  See, the things we do for you?

Typhoon Lagoon

First up, then, was the colossal watery infinity that is Typhoon  Lagoon.  Stepping, bleary eyed and jet-lagged out of the inferno-bus, we were met by our guide – whose name, very rudely, escapes me, but who was undoubtedly one of the most Disneyfied people we met on our trip.  She was ridiculously, madly, rabidly in love with her job and I have to say, her enthusiasm was pretty infectious.  First we had a good look (from a dry, fully-clothed perspective) at the Crush ‘n’ Gusher, the water roller coaster.  Second up was Humunga Cowabunga.  This is for you if you wish to be hurled at speeds of up to 40mph down a triple set of slides whilst achieving the biggest swimsuit-wedgie known to civilisation.  The more sedate amongst us can grab an inflatable ring and spend a happy hour bobbing mindlessly around Castaway Creek (‘many a parent lost there, I can tell you’, said our guide), a lovely river which bimbles gently around the perimeter of the park, and which looked so relaxing we all nearly made a run for it and threw ourselves in.  And there was still time to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ and the 2.75 million gallon wave pool, complete with huge, explosive wave every 90 seconds for the daredevils amongst us (full learn-to-surf programme available – blonde, shaggy hair optional).  There’s an amazing opportunity to snorkel with some real, live sharks on the shark-reef – a sunken tanker complete with its own wildlife and for the smalls, there’s even a little tiddler area, Ketchakiddee Creek, with little slides, rafts and bubbling jets and Gangplank Falls – a family raft slide.  Oh, and those buckets of ice cream?  The ones with the free spade?  They’re $10.  Mine’s a large one.

Downtown Disney

I’m not sure if Downtown Disney is actually a resort/park in its own right, but it really is a lovely place and not to be missed.  Sadly, our Characters in Flight ride (the new Disney hot air balloon) was cancelled due to strong winds, but we headed off to gawp at the little princesses in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and make silly noises at teeny little baby clothes in the countless Disney shops (obviously, we spent a considerable time in the Disney kitchen shop, Mickey’s Pantry.  While you’re there, don’t forget to visit Disney Design-A-Tee where you can customise your very own Disney t-shirt (I made an Englishmum.com one, obviously).  There are loads of restaurants here (and Raglan Road Irish Pub too, I noticed), and we had a fabulous cob salad in the Earl of  Sandwich, but hey, if you fancy a Macs, you’ll find that here too.  My oldest nerd would have killed to get to DisneyQuest: five floors of interactive rides and games, and a lot of us would definitely have loved La Nouba, an amazing live act by Cirque du Soleil.  Sadly, time beat us and we were off again, this time to Hollywood Studios: the Rock’n'Rollercoaster, the Towerrrrr of Terrorrrrr and Craig, the rubbish cocktail waiter.  Tune in, if you’re still awake, for my next riveting instalment!

Walt Disney World: Day three – pancake mountains and speechless bloggers

Okly dokly then.  Back to Disney, where day 3 dawned bright and sparkly and found us tootling off to the Disney Boardwalk to have al-fresco breakfast at Spoodles.  Rather lush Mediterranean fare can be found at this friendly establishment (hearing me chortling about hidden Mickeys, the staff very kindly presented me with my very own blue Mickey pin – I was choked, I can tell you).  We were presented with loads of free taster plates, such as the lovely flatbreads (think thin pizza with lovely fresh toppings), and fruit platters, but eventually discounting the French toast and the full cooked breakfast, I gamely forced down a veritable MOUNTAIN of pancakes, with crispy bacon and maple syrup:

Off in the bloggerbus, then, to the amazingly beautiful Disney Grand Floridian.    Modelled on the famous Chateau Marmont (Marilyn Monroe’s fave hangout, doncherknow).  Driving up to this absolutely amazing resort, we were stunned into uncharacteristic silence (I wrote simply ‘wow’ in my notebook):

The Floridian is surrounded by a beautiful man-made lake, nestling across from the eye-watering white sand beach (guests can take out one of the resort speedboats if they feel the need for some privacy – no, really):

The spa is not only jaw-droppingly beautiful, but has a wide range of wondrous treatments as well as a gym if you absolutely insist on getting sweaty when you should be relaxing:

…where, having regaled (and slightly nauseated) each other with various motley spa stories (I shared the deeply in-depth double-boob-massage I experienced in Goa), and collapsed into snorty giggles again after a totally ridiculous ten minutes of complementary flip-flop swapping, we were swept away to various different treatment rooms where we oohed and ahhhed a happy hour away being pummeled into submission (or, in my case, being the only one that chose a facial, having my ‘congestion extracted’ – not pretty, I can tell you, but I glowed afterwards).

Stumbling blinking, and slightly greasily,  into the dazzling sunshine once again, we stopped to cop a quick cheeky look at the wedding chapel (RANDOM DISNEY FACT: more than 2,600 couples get married at Walt Disney World every year) where Cinderella’s glass coach and powdery wigged footmen were in attendance:

And to have a good cackle when Laura pointed out that one of them had a rather-unDisney, porn-star bushy black moustache (sadly he was facing away from me).  Oh, and we just had to grab a quick photo-op underneath the shady palms of the luscious white sandy beach:

Rather than ‘blogger down!’, this one was ‘blogger is running away and hiding so she never has to leave’.  Tell you what, if I ever win the lottery, you’ll find me ensconced, counting my money, at the Grand Floridian and no mishtake.  Off to the Grand Floridian Café for lunch, then, I was tempted by the pan-roasted Tilapia (sp?), just because I’d never heard of it, but settled in that ’stomach thinks your throat’s been cut’ way that having something virtuous like a facial always makes me feel, for this little beauty:

…herb marinated chicken breast with cold smoked vine ripened tomatoes, cheddar, pesto mayonnaise and rocket, served on warm ciabatta.  Oh and I had chips but Linda pinched them all.

The afternoon brought our first glimpse of The Magic Kingdom (more later!) where we caught our first jaw-dropping sight of Cinderella’s Castle, and sizzled, in a particularly white-skinned, European fashion, in the roasting sun :

(MORE RANDOM DISNEY FACTS: did you know that the Cinderella Castle is a whopping 189ft high and held together by 600 tons of steel?  And did you also know that there are mice carved down the side of the castle?  Thought not.)   Oh and that’s Walt (brain not cryogenically frozen) Disney there in front of the castle.

Anyhoo, I defy even the most stone-hearted not to catch their breath.  The thing is enormous.  We amble past little shops, ice cream parlours and little bibbidi bobbidied princesses to whiz round some rides (nope – I’m not spilling – this is a food post – you’ll have to wait for the rides) and settled eventually at Tony’s at Toon Town Square (remember the little Italian restaurant from Lady and the Tramp?).  Our waiter, the lovely Casey, makes us all feel like stars by taking the details of all our blogs (or alternatively, perhaps he was worried about what we’d write).  Of course, I just had to order the spaghetti and meatballs, but Erica and Lulu completely spoiled it by refusing to do the spaghetti sharing thing with me.  Party poopers.