City Cruises Poole

Saturday is Caption Day – 31st December 2016 #satcap

Hello and welcome to Saturday is Caption Day #satcap.

If you have not taken part before please come and join in. Simply find a funny / cheeky / captionable photo and upload it to your blog or instagram with a sentence or three about it. Then link it up with me below and visit the other people who link up and have a giggle as you come up with some humourous captions!

Last week we enjoyed a Santa Cruise around Poole Harbour with City Cruises Poole and Isaac, ever the showman, decided he would do his best to upstage Dr Balloonman.

Can you caption this?

City Cruises Poole

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Chelseamamma

 


Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Bournemouth Wheel

A Panoramic View over Bournemouth

2016 was the year I promised myself we would go on the Bournemouth balloon, however, it wasn’t meant to be as it disappeared back in June, never to return.

Thankfully, over the Christmas period, we got to take in panoramic views of Bournemouth from a big wheel standing more than 100 feet tall at Pier Approach.

Isaac and I first rode the wheel after his 100 years of Cubs parade which saw us marching through Bournemouth Gardens covered in glowsticks, before making the cub symbol out of glowsticks in the sand.

100 Years of Cubs

Once we had finished we headed back to the Pier to ride the wheel, which was really quiet. I had expected fantastic views over Bournemouth, however, our town is not as well-lit as I thought and we were left a little disappointed that we couldn’t see much and resolved to come back and ride it in the daytime.

Bournemouth Wheel

Yesterday was a beautiful clear day and after being cooped up a home over the festive period I managed to get the kids out of the house for some fresh air, with a walk along the beach, which was surprisingly warm for the time of year.

Bournemouth Beach

The wheel was much busier than our last visit, however we only waited around 10 minutes to board it as they had efficiently set up two queues which were moving quickly. Sebby was nervous at first and Isaac held his hand until he was more confident.

Bournemouth Wheel

You get three full rotations of the wheel and this time we had longer onboard as all the gondolas were full, therefore we got to enjoy the views over Bournemouth Gardens and Pier as they were unloaded and re-loaded.

Bournemouth Big Wheel

My only frustration is that the Gondolas are surrounded by perspex for safety and being by the sea they are covered in salt so taking photo’s is tricky, but I managed to get a couple through the gaps.

Sebby didn’t want to get off, but I managed to persuade him with a promise of going to see the birds in the Aviary in the Gardens.

Bournemouth Gardens

Isaac and Eliza wanted to do the ice rink, but as I was on my own with them I decided we will wait for a time when I have another pair of hands, so we headed back to the pier where there was a spiral Christmas tree-lined walkway leading to a letter box to the North Pole to explore.

Bournemouth

It was a lovely day out with the kids and although the big wheel doesn’t raise you to the dizzy heights of the balloon, at least I can say that I have seen Bournemouth from above now.

The Bournemouth Wheel costs £5 per adult, £4 per child and £16 for a family and is open from 10am-10pm until 7th January 2017. Don’t forget to take ID with you as BH residents get 50p off too.

Country Kids

Omaha beach

Days Out in Review – January to June 2016

For some 2016 has been shocking and they have been very vocal about it and how they are looking forward to 2017.

For us however, 2016 has been one of our best years yet, full of fun and adventures and here are some of our favourites.

January 2016

We love to get out and about and bad weather never stops us from having fun. In January we journeyed to Hampshire where we climbed the Spinakker Tower, explored the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth and then headed to Rock Up in Whiteley for some climbing fun.

Staying a little closer to home we enjoyed playing in the sand dunes at Sandbanks beach, explored a new beach for us, Ringstead Bay near Weymouth and took part in the Stickman Trail at Moors Valley.

I also attended my first ever Toy Fair at Olympia, London where I was introduced to some of the fantastic toys that arrived into the shops in late 2016.

Spinnaker Tower

February 2016

For her birthday in January, Eliza got her first bike so we headed out to Potterne Park to get some riding practice and headed out to Farmer Palmers for some animal fun.

The highlight of the month had to be our holiday to France where we stayed at Eco Gites of Lenault and visited all the historic D-Day beaches, Pegasus Bridge and Le Mont St Michel, saw the Bayeux Tapestry and even had some snow.

We also had an unexpected stop in Jersey after a rather traumatic ferry crossing and a disappointing stay in Guernsey where we learned that EVERYTHING closes in winter.

Snowman

March 2016

March was a busy month for us with a visit to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor, a fabulous preview day at Thorpe Park where we barely queued for any rides and still on the adrenalin theme we tried out some new flumes at Splashdown Poole and released our inner apes, swinging through the trees at Go Ape, Moors Valley.

We did do some calmer activities as well, with strolls around Christchurch Harbour, Whitecliff Park and Lulworth Castle.

Lulworth Castle

April 2016

April saw us heading back to Farmer Palmers to feed the deer, get down and dirty with some Owl Forensic investigations at Avon Heath Country Park

We headed to Lighthouse Poole to watch Gruffalo’s Child Live and Genting Arena in Birmingham for some WWE action.

Owl Forensics

May 2016

May is one of my favourite months in Dorset as there is a plethora of activities for families to enjoy. This year was no different and we visited the Dorset Knob Throwing Festival, Lyme Regis Fossil Festival and Donkey Derby in Kinson. We also headed across to Weymouth to see its new exhibit in the Sea Life Centre and enjoy a spin on the Jurassic Tower.

We are frequent visitors to Paultons Park and could not wait to go to the opening of its new Lost Kingdom section of the park.

Lost Kingdom

June 2016

It was back to the Sea Life Centre in June for a very special occasion – we got to have a personal tour of the centre, meet some of its famous residents and feed the Seals.

June is a big birthday month for us and we had a great time at Hollywood Bowl to celebrate but the highlight of the month had to be meeting Ashley Banjo and learning to dance with the Diversity crew on a Diversity break at Butlins.

Diversity

It was also the month that Kian finished his GCSE exams so we celebrated with a rather damp Forest Segway experience with Go Ape.

Segway

So that is the first half of the year, second half coming soon………..

Professor Severus Snape

Have more famous people died in 2016?

It has become a running joke in our family that when the news app sounds on the phone I always ask “Who has died now?”

The question is, has 2016 taken more celebrities than normal, or is it just my age and the rise of social media that immediate reporting that has made it seem so much worse.

I read a really interesting news article from the BBC Obituaries Editor on whether more famous people have died in 2016 which stated that whilst there was a jump in the first 4 months of the year, the figures have remained average for the rest of the year.

The truth is we are now half a century on from the flourishing of both TV and pop culture which happened in the 1960s. This, in itself, massively expanded the overall pool of public figures and therefore it stands to reason that we are going to start losing them as they age.

Hubby and I were both born in the 70’s and large junks of our childhood have been wiped out this year and most of the celebrities that we have lost have died far too young, which is probably why it is all the more shocking and makes us look at our own mortality.

However, that is life. I am sure we all know family and friends that have been taken far too soon. I lost my sister to a heart attack at the age of 37 and I never met my uncle who died aged just 19.

So, whilst I am very sad that some of my childhood heroes are no longer here, I am thankful that their films, music and talent will live on forever and we can celebrate their lives by listening and watching again and again!

And remember:

“Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.” -Yoda.

Star Wars

Marvel Universe LIVE – Super Heroes Assemble

Marvel families unite!

For the first time ever, iconic Marvel Super Heroes and villains has been brought to life in a spectacular live action family arena show and we were invited to watch it at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham.

We went from singing and dancing along to Disney On Ice Frozen the day before to whooping and cheering for our favourite superheroes the next day at Marvel Superheroes Live.

It was really like they had stepped out of the silver screen onto the stage. Our favourite Marvel Super Heroes were all there, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and more, as they battle Loki and Marvel’s most sinister villains in a live, action-packed arena performance for the whole family.

The story begins with bang and Thor arriving in style with pyrotechnics and smoke before we are introduced to his evil brother Loki who plans to take over the world. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is bored and phoning all his superhero friends to find out what they are doing.

Marvel Universe Live

The superheroes get wind of Loki’s plans to rule the world with a Cosmic Cube after he kidnaps X-Men Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine,  followed by Nick Fury and they come together to rescue them, piece together their own Cosmic Cube that had been destroyed by Thor and scattered all over the world and defeat him.

Marvel Universe Live

Of course, things don’t always go to plan and some of our favourite baddies had got hold of pieces of the Cosmic Cube, including Green Goblin, Madam Hydra, the Sinister Six, Lizard, Rhino, Red Skull, Electro, Dr Octopus and more.

Marvel Universe Live

It has been hailed as the most technically advanced live show ever, and I can see why with cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial stunts, martial arts, motorcycles and more.

Marvel Universe Live The set includes innovative lighting design, transformative 3D projection, 21 projectors, the largest flying system ever used for a live arena tour which saw characters flying, swinging and appearing from nowhere and the debut of a new Spotlight Tracking System which keeps your focused on the action at all times.

Marvel Universe Live

It was a rip-roaring ride which the kids (and Hubby) adored. If you have a Marvel loving family, or kids that love live action, then this is the show for you.

The tour is heading off to Europe soon, but still has dates in the UK in December and January at Birmingham, Belfast, Manchester and Glasgow, see www.marveluniverselive.com/uk/tours-tickets for tickets.

 

 

 

 

 

Disney On Ice

Disney On Ice Presents Frozen

Last year we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Disney On Ice Worlds of Enchantment at Christmas.

This year we were invited back to the O2 to see the new instalment – Disney On Ice Frozen and it did not disappoint.

The heartwarming Academy Award®-winning tale you love is now a full length production live on ice. It started with the stars of the show coming out in their sports gear to teach us how to do the Olaf dance, before welcoming Mickey and Minnie on stage, who then introduced some of their favourite Disney characters from Nemo to Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel and more.

Disney On Ice

We were then magically whisked away to wintry Arendelle, where we met a young Sven and Kristoff finding ice before meeting the young Anna and Elsa who introduced us to the story with “Do you want to build a Snowman”.

The story followed Frozen perfectly, with dazzling special effects and astonishing skating as we all sang and danced along to our favourite songs including “Let It Go”, “In Summer” and “Fixer Upper”.

Disney On Ice Frozen

I did wonder how Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and Anna would do the abdominal Snowman scene but a huge, imposing inflatable character came out puffing smoke and following them around the ice.

Disney On Ice Frozen

Now, I love Olaf and his “In Summer” performance but the show stealers for me were the Trolls who helped us discover that true love is the most magical power of all!

Disney On Ice Frozen

This show is an unforgettable celebration of love and friendship left us singing and smiling all the way home.

Disney on Ice Frozen

If you are planning a visit to see Disney On Ice at the O2, there are some things worth noting. We were not allowed to take food and drink inside and had to throw it away at the gates. You are also not permitted to take bags larger than 35cm x 40cm x 19cm so if you have a baby and a changing bag, it would be wise to only take wipes and a couple of nappies.

The merchandise is also very pricey – we paid £22 for Eliza’s wand and there are merchandise stands everywhere you look, so be prepared for the “I want’s”.

That said, we had a wonderful time and cannot wait for the 100 Years of magic show in the Spring.

Disclaimer: We were invited along to see the show for the purpose of a review. All opinions are our own.

 

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