The Summer Holidays in Basingstoke with an 8 year old

I was having a cuppa with a friend this morning and we were talking about what to do in the summer holidays and we realised that I know LOADS of things, so thought I would share ;-).

Each week of the holidays I also put together a printed schedule for each week and pin it to a wall, so Miss NHM can see what’s happening for the rest of the week. It shows what we are doing each morning, lunchtime, afternoon and evening.  I find that it stops the “what are we doing today” questions that I used to get all through the summer holidays!! :-D.

  1. Book at least one pyjama day during the summer holidays! If only to “celebrate” not having to do the school run!!!

2. Our local Hobbycraft have FREE craft sessions on a Saturday for an hour in the morning.

3. Go paddling in a local stream 

4. Take a picnic and explore near to where you live. There is something awesome about eating outside. We are huge fans of breakfast picnics for something a little bit different!

5. If the weather is good, go to a local splash park like Eastrop Park or Chineham Splash Park 

6. Find out all of your local parks and go for a skate or bike ride to each one. This post is really good for finding good play parks and parks local to you: Local Parks and open spaces

7. Go Geo-cashing in your local woods. It’s really easy to do. Just download the app to your phone and off you go. It’s a great way to get children outside. Or Pokemon or Harry Potter hunting if that’s your thing ;-).

8. Book up a FREE session at our local Apple store in Festival Place. There at least two sessions every day and more in the summer holidays and they are a great way to occupy your child/children for an hour or two. You need to book in advance though and you have to stay with your child.

9. Boring as it is, school shoes are a necessity if you’re child is in school. I highly recommend Diane at Shoes2Adore on the way to Tadley. But book soon because she gets VERY booked up in the summer holidays.

10. If you’re child can’t ride their bike yet, make a plan to teacher them over the summer.

11. Go swimming at once of our local swimming pools. Lots of them do special deals and/or events over the summer holidays so check out their websites for more information. QMC Swimming pool does really reasonably priced swimming sessions during the summer holidays.

12. Sign up to the Reading Challenge that our local Libraries run every summer. You can sign children up from ages 4+ I think and they only need to read 6 books over the 6 weeks. If they complete the challenge and are at school they get a medal and a certificate that’s presented to them in school. Miss NHM is very proud of her previous reading challenge certificates and medals and it’s been a great way to get her to read more. Popping into the library for an hour a week during the school holidays is also a great time killer!!

13. Take the children to a local museum, especially the Willis Museum as it’s FREE!!

14. Kids cinema in the mornings during the summer holidays at around 10am. Both Vue and Odeon do reduce tickets for “kids Club” and I think it’s less than £2 per ticket.

15. Cash in your Tesco’s clubcard points or your nectar points to do something fun with your children.

16. Find somewhere to visit where the entrance ticket becomes an annual pass. If you buy a ticket to Milestones Museum, The Living Rainforest or the Army Flying Museum the ticket lasts for a year so you can re-use during other holiday times or after school.

17. Check out the “NHM Reviews” page for ideas of where to go and where to visit. Lots of places reviewed on NHM are FREE, although you may have to pay for parking.

18. Check out the Season Tickets to local attractions in North Hampshire – updated 2017 post which lists out local season tickets.

19. Miss NHM loves listening to audio books, so I splash out for the summer holidays and treat her to a new audio book. I buy mine from “The Book People” as they are very reasonably priced and Miss NHM has easy control over which cd’s she listens too.

20. Try “Bored Jar’s” when you are at your wits end!! These posts are tailored to toddlers but you can easily update them for older children.

21. Visit Hampshire Farmers Market. The nearest one to Basingstoke is in Winchester on a Sunday morning.

22. Check out the Nature Detectives website for some ideas of activities you can do outside.

23. Take a walk to Odiham Castle, along the Basingstoke Canal.

24. If it’s windy, fly a kite at Crabtree.

25. Visit a Pick Your Own farm.

26. Go for a day trip to the beach. There is also a great post by NHM Readers of their Favourite local beaches.

At Home

27. Blackberries are now ready in August so make sure you go blackberry picking at some point.

28. I’m planning on trying to drop some food off at our local food bank with Miss NHM.

29. Play boardgames together or try to create your own boardgame.

30. Put the tent up in the garden and sleep in it over night. If you don’t have a tent see if you can borrow a small one from friends and family.

31. This year I’m going to create a “Summer Holiday box” which will be very similar to the “Christmas Eve Box” that I put together every Christmas. Each Monday I plan to fill it with different things, like an audiobook that Miss NHM hasn’t listened too in a while, some party bag fillers that I’ve kept back, sticker books that Miss NHM hasn’t got round to using, some books she hasn’t read yet that have been in her bookcase for AGES, and little things like that which can keep her occupied for a while.

32. Clean a neighbours car in exchange for some money that will go towards charity.

33. Ask your child if there is anything in their bedroom that they no longer need or want as the summer holidays is a great chance to declutter.

34. Something we are going to do this summer is clean out the kitchen cupboards together!!

35. Have a look at Baker Ross for some cheap craft activities you can do together or use something from the recyling bin as a craft project.

36. Create a summer scrapbook where your child or children can write in what they have done over the summer holidays. It will be a great memory for when they are older.

37. Bake some fairy cakes or buy a baking kit such as the ones you can get from local company BakedIn.

38. Ensure you schedule in some “boring” days where you have nothing planned, so your children can occupy themselves for a while. It’s supposed to help with their resilience, although it may drive you batty listening to the “I’m bored” whining <facepalm>!

LinguaTastic Languages for Babies and Toddlers

Linguatastic Facebook Page

I was absolutely gutted that I didn’t find out about the Baby and Toddler Linguatastic classes until it was too late for Miss NHM.

However, we enrolled her in German with Linguatastic when she started in YR and she thoroughly enjoyed it (Linguatastic do language classes for all ages).

Unfortunately because of her health issues, her energy levels couldn’t cope with it at the time but I still rate the LinguaTastic classes highly! Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitterFacebook ProfileLinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there!

NHM Readers: Places in the area to see bluebells

In April 2018 I asked the Friends of my “Louise nhm Smith” profile on Facebook “It’s “bluebell season” now and I’m putting together a post for places in the area to see bluebells. What are your recommendations? (You can find directions to Micheldever bluebell woods on NorthHantsMum).”

Thank you for your responses, which are listed below in no particular order:

NHM Readers recommend places in the area to see bluebells

Catherine said “Beech Village Bluebell Wood

Helen said “The woods next to The Vyne have lots of beautiful bluebells”

Claire said “The Vyne

Lisa said “Some out in Bulls Bushes, Oakley. Was there yesterday”

Emma said “The Bramley Frith is stunning.”

Sarah said “Bramley woods”

Stephanie said “Micheldever forest is stunning for them”

Lisa said “Michaeldever Woods”

Hayley said “Micheldever”

Alistair said “Micheldever Woods!!

Shirley said “Manydown woods

Liane said “Bowdown woods near Greenham Common is spectacular!”

Alison said “If you don’t mind going further afield then Cliveden (National Trust) has a bluebell trail. We went weekend before last.”

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Drama Tots

Is your little one due to start school in September? That time beforehand is one that you want to savour, making special memories along the way. The perfect chance to create those memories awaits you at Drama Tots.

Classes are designed for 18 months-3yr olds Rising Stars and 3-5yr olds Bright Stars. Younger siblings are always welcome as well.

At Drama Tots our programme harnesses imaginations, we use repetition to encourage listening skills and allow expression and confidence to grow. Our classes are nurturing and offer the chance to build friendships along the way. 

The summer term of Drama Tots commences from Thursday the 25th April and runs until July with a half term break in May. A 3wk trial package costs £12 and allows time to have a good overview of the programme. 

We find that children pick up the actions to the songs really quickly and enjoy the weekly familiarity of the class structure. 

Every week we go on a new adventure and explore these with a variety of traditional nursery rhymes, original music, instruments, props and puppets. 

The programme is designed with the EYFS learning goals in mind so there is an educational thought process behind everything we do, of course delivered in a fun and interactive way. 

My name is Kate and I run the Basingstoke branch of Drama Tots. My background was in professional theatre, graduating with an honours degree in musical theatre from GSA. 

I subsequently worked in children’s theatre as well as walk about character work at various locations around the U.K. both on and off stilts!

I have taught music and drama classes to preschoolers in London before having my own children. Seeing their imaginations in use every day has been amazing and I’m passionate that drama and imaginary play has a huge benefit for children of all ages and is a powerful way of learning to express yourself. 

Our current timetable of classes is as follows:

Monday’s 

St Mary’s parish room Old Basing

⭐️Rising Stars 

9.40-10.20 18mnth-3yr olds

⭐️Bright Stars

10.30-11.15 3- school age

Thursday’s 

Lychpit village hall 

⭐️Rising Stars 

9.40-10.20 18mnths-3yr olds

⭐️Bright Stars

10.30-11.15 3-school age

The Drama Tots programme is also designed to be delivered in a nursery or preschool setting, the benefits of having an enrichment activity are extensive.

I have received some excellent feedback regarding the sessions and how well engaged the children were. The programme works alongside the EYFS learning goals and can be used for many observations. 

To find out more and to book a trial please see our website- www.dramatots.co.uk 

Find me on 

Facebook- Drama Tots Basingstoke 

Instagram @dramatotsbasingstoke 

Or email me- kate@dramatots.co.uk 

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Baby Mindful – Free Taster Sessions!

Free taster sessions available with spaces on Monday 11th and Monday 18th March, 10.30am in Overton Community Centre

Baby Mindful classes are an amazing opportunity for parent and baby to connect and spend time getting to know each other in a calm supportive environment. It’s so easy to be caught in a whirlwind of being busy, and Baby Mindful is an opportunity to leave the to-do list and worries behind, and focus on your baby, and also your needs too – Time to just “be” rather than “do”.

You will also learn tools to help you manage the emotional rollercoaster of parenthood (and indeed life!), that will remain valuable throughout your journey as a parent – the ability to respond rather than react to situations, and be the calm your baby seeks.

The classes follow a different theme each week and offer a range of activities to support the natural development of your baby, using activities that will gently stimulate and calm them and support their cognitive, communicative, social, emotional and physical development.

Each class has seven sections with different activities in each – Move, Play, Stretch, Feel, Breathe, Believe and Relax – with benefits for both your baby and you.

Weekly classes will be starting in Overton after Easter, with some taster sessions coming soon. I can also visit your home for 1:1 or family sessions, or for a session with your own group of friends, such as a NCT group.

For more info: https://www.facebook.com/babymindfulwithlaura/

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Coeliac Disease: Newly Diagnosed

NB: Before you read this, please note that I am not a medical expert, these are just my notes on what I’ve learnt about Coeliac Disease in the past two years since Miss NHM was diagnosed, which might be helpful to others. 

Miss NHM was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in May 2017 and I went public about this in March 2018 which you can read about in my “Being Authentic” post.

You can also read about the post that I wrote about Coeliac Disease 18 months after Miss NHM’s diagnosis.

It’s nearly two years since her diagnosis and during that time I’ve learnt a LOT about Coeliac Disease and what it means to my daughter and our family.

I’ve had a lot of Mum’s come to me recently saying that their children have been diagnosed with CD and if I have any advice or suggestions, so I thought it would be easier to just put together a post to share what I’ve learnt in the effort that it helps more people (which is what NorthHantsMum is all about!!).

Coeliac Disease: Newly Diagnosed

I cried when Miss NHM was diagnosed.

I’m still not sure whether it was tears of relief or worry.

Probably a combination of both because at least we would know what we were dealing with. Having lived with an un-diagnosed coeliac for 6 years, knowing what it was that was causing Miss NHM so much pain and issues was a BIG step in the right direction!

I knew it was CD when I received a call from our GP a few days after Miss NHM’s initial blood tests.

It can be very overwhelming when you are told that your child has an lifelong auto-immune disease. It can be even more overwhelming when you realise that it affects everything your child eats or drinks.

Everything.

I know what it’s like to feel very lost, confused, worried, guilty and many other emotions.

Wondering how you are going to be able to help your child adjust, cope and live a normal life and still maintain a semblance of your sanity.

But, it does get easier. It’s not easy, but it gets easier.

Coeilac UK

If there is one thing that I feel is the most important thing to do when your child is diagnosed with Coeliac Disease – it’s to join Coeliac UK. They have been absolutely amazing and the gluten free food checker phone app that you can download which you can use to scan bar codes of food to check if it contains gluten, has been priceless and invaluable for us.

If you do nothing else, you MUST join Coeliac UK and use the phone app. I think it’s about £30 a year for a family membership but it’s sooooooooo worth it. Also, make sure that you follow their Facebook Page. That’s also been invaluable for us.

Mr NHM and I both have the gluten free food checker app on our phones because you can use to scan the bar codes of over 100,000 products to see if they have gluten in and we also have the Venue guide downloaded on our phones so we can see places to eat when we are on the move. The Venue guide isn’t great but it definitely helps.

We also requested the Young Champions pack which Miss NHM took into school to explain about Coeliac Disease to her peers. This really helped her to understand what Coeliac Disease is and how it affects her.

Things I have learnt

As I’ve said above I’ve learnt a lot about Coeliac Disease and even though this post is probably going to be reeeaaalllly long, hopefully it provides you with some insights and suggestions that will be useful when your child is “freshly” diagnosed.

Definitely check out my “Being Authentic” post for suggestions of food to watch out for. It’s the things that you wouldn’t expect like barley squash, chocolate, chips, marshmallows, soy sauce, most ketchups, some fromage frais, and even playdough which is made with gluten. You want to avoid anything with “Malt” or “Barley” in and look for “Spirit Vinegar” instead as Spirit vinegar is GF.

Cross Contamination

Cross Contamination is the bain of Coeliac Disease. As I’ve mentioned before, it takes an awful lot of time explaining to “Muggles” (those people who don’t have CD, which I suppose I’m one of too! lol) what CC is and what it means. It takes 1 crumb of anything with gluten in to poison/gluten Miss NHM and she is sick after for 3 weeks or more.

We are gluten free as much as possible at home. Our kitchen is probably 98% gluten free (I REFUSE to give up marmite if I don’t have too!). When Miss NHM was diagnosed I went through EVERYTHING in our cupboards and freezer and gave away to our neighbours anything with gluten in.

We also replaced all of our chopping boards, that had been used with bread products, all wooden spoons, our oven pans and cleaned our oven thoroughly.

It can be expensive having an exclusively gluten free kitchen but it’s worth the risk for us to ensure that Miss NHM doesn’t get sick.

You don’t have to do this though but it is worth ensuring that you have spaces in your kitchen which are exclusively GF and have no risk of CC.

Easter Eggs (I’ve put this at the top because Easter is coming up!)

Easter Eggs aren’t as bad as you think! The first year after Miss NHM was diagnosed she ended up with 6 dairy and wheat free easter eggs, none of which were particularly nice.

So Mr NHM went and did some research on the Coeliac UK website and discovered that LOTS of “normal” easter eggs are also gluten free and creme eggs are also GF.

Local Restaurants

For those of you who live in Basingstoke and North Hampshire, these are the restaurants that we’ve had the most luck with and where Miss NHM hasn’t been glutened.

ALWAYS, always, always, tell the server who seats you that your child has Coeliac Disease. Don’t be shy about this. You must tell them because then what normally happens is that the Manager will come over to take the order and ensure that your child’s food is handled appropriately.

We try to look out for those restaurants that are Coeliac UK accredited as it means that all of the staff understand about being gluten free and the risk of cross contamination.

Coeliac Accredited local restaurants

Pizza Express – excellent and have a good variety of children’s food (just a pain in the arse that Mr NHM whines about going there cause he doesn’t like the food! <facepalm>).

Presso Winchester – Brilliant and we’ve eaten here a couple of times. They have a GF child specific menu.

Miller and Carter Steakhouse Basingstoke – Brilliant but very expensive and they don’t have a specific GF children’s menu.

Pho Reading – Excellent and we love it here!

Cote Brasserie Basingstoke – we haven’t eaten here yet but definitely plan too!!

Sainsburys cafe at Hatch Warren Basingstoke have chips that are gluten free so Miss NHM has a children’s portion of ham, egg and chips with peas. Just a shame about the recent staffing issues at the Cafe. Hope they get it sorted soon as it’s one of the only reasonably priced places that we can actually eat out as a family!!!

Zizzi’s Basingstoke – we’ve only eaten here once but they were good.

Browns in Reading – we haven’t actually eaten here but they are accredited and it’s on our list to try.

Chiquito in Camberley – we haven’t actually eaten either here yet as it’s quite pricey but they are accredited and it’s on our list try.

Frankie and Benny’s Basingstoke – we haven’t eaten here yet because I’ve always had a mixed experience with this Frankie and Benny’s and I’m not sure I trust them.

I don’t touch Pizza Hut or Dominoes because even though they are Coeliac Accredited the staff are all very young and I just wouldn’t put my daughters health in their hands.

Non Coeliac Accredited local restaurants that are still good with GF

Wagamamas Winchester – but we don’t go to the Basingstoke one anymore as the staff are rude and dismissive, so we go to the Winchester one as they have always been excellent and very accommodating.

Yo Sushi in Reading are good but only because Miss NHM tends to eat only the fruit salad, the edamame beans and the GF puddings! Not healthy I know but we don’t go very often so it’s worth it!

Bartons Mill – everything here is supposed to be GF but surprisingly they aren’t Coeliac Accredited. It’s definitely on our list of places to try soon.

House28 in Sherfield on Loddon does GF items but they don’t understand about Cross Contamination unfortunately.

Aingels Cafe in Winklebury have Gluten free food and they do understand about cross contamination and have been really good when we’ve been there.

Hayley recommended Brighton Hill Pizza Hut (takeaway by Asda) all the time. Haven’t had any issues at all. Also the fish’n chicken next door are GF on Monday and Tuesday.

A Basing Bakes – not technically a restaurant but Helen sells her GF products at the Winchester Farmers Market.

Shopping for Food

These days it is possible to find gluten free alternatives to most foods.

However, you’ll learn pretty quick that a single supermarket will not cover everything that you need. Every chain of supermarkets stocks something different. We do our main shop at Sainsburys and I ALWAYS use online shopping because GF items are then automatically saved in my favourites, so I don’t have to go hunting on the shelves.

We also do an Ocado shop every quarter because Ocado is by far the best place for gluten free alternatives. They have an AMAZING amount of GF stock so definitely worth investigation. However, it can be quite expensive which is why we don’t do our regular shops at Ocado.

Whenever I’m near a supermarket that I don’t do regular shop in, I pop in to see what different GF products they have. Waitrose, Tesco’s, Morrisons and Asda are all excellent and all have slightly different GF offerings.

FB Groups

These are the FB Groups that I highly recommend and that have been invaluable to me:

Coeliacs in the UK

Children with Coeliac Disease

Coeliacs Eat Out Too

Coeliac UK North Hampshire Local Group

Coeliac UK – Berkshire Support Group

Fleet Coeliac Group

Coeliacs Eat Abroad

I also really, really like glutenandme and a balanced belly facebook pages, specifically for notifications about other new GF food.

NHM FB Groups

I also have a couple of FB Groups that are specifically for NHM Readers. One is for children and parents with a food allergy or Coeliac Disease and the other is Gluten free food – Non Branded which shows you the products that NHM parents have found which aren’t automatically listed as “free from” or gluten free.

If you would like to join both or either, please PM me at “Louise nhm Smith” and ensure you are a friend of mine or drop me an email at NorthHantsMum@gmail.com.

Food Hacks

You will notice that lots of the “Free From” food in the Free From aisle in any supermarket is very expensive. It’s also loaded with sugar so not very healthy.

Which is why it’s fairly important to try to avoid as much of that aisle as possible and identify those products which are automatically gluten free and aren’t specifically labelled as gluten free products as they won’t have an automatic 30%+ price hike attached.

However, in the beginning, when we didn’t know what we were doing, we tended to stick with the “free from” ranges as it was just easier. It takes time to come to terms with things and learn what foods are safe and which ones aren’t, so be gentle with yourself!!!

Prescription Bread and Flour is a battle to get these days. If you have any problems with your GP not giving your child the right units then definitely get in touch with your Dietician. Our GP didn’t want to give Miss NHM her entitlement of prescription bread so we spoke to the Dietician who sorted it all out for us.

“Normal” GF bread is sooooo expensive and absolutely rubbish as lots of them have air holes. We’ve had no issue with the prescription bread apart from that they sometimes send us the wrong amount. Definitely invest in a large freezer if you want to go this route as you can freeze the bread and it will be fine to use when you defrost it. Otherwise you might find yourself with 6 loaves of bread to use within 3 days!!!!

Emotional Implications of Coeliac Disease

This has been a tough one. Because of the way that Miss NHM was treated at her previous school and because she’s now getting older and understanding the limitations of Coeliac Disease on her life, her anxiety levels have been very high. Dealing with this has been really hard, much harder than the physical issues.

She recently had blood tests for her second Coeliac Clinic (Coeliacs have to have annual blood tests to ensure that their TTG, B12, Vitamin D and Calcium levels are all within the “normal” range). Unfortunately, as this was her 4th set of bloods, even with the Emla cream, she was very, very worried and unhappy about it all. The hospital staff are always so brilliant with her but I also find the whole experience very draining.

Children’s birthdays at school have been very hard on Miss NHM. Many times people hand out home made cakes or biscuits and I never get any warning as to when this will be. I try to have a small packet of haribo (which is GF) in my pocket when I’m picking up at the school run, to ensure that Miss NHM doesn’t feel like she’s missing out too much.

Travelling with Coeilac Disease

I was absolutely terrified about taking Miss NHM to another country and her getting sick. But if you do your research it’s actually not that bad. We went abroad for the first time since diagnosis in August last year and went to America where it was soooo much better, even than here! I didn’t sleep for the 3 days before we left as I was so stressed and anxious about it but where we stayed in Florida were really on the ball and she wasn’t glutened/poisoned once.

Spain and the Canary Islands are supposed to be really good. You can read up on the best places to go on the Coeilac UK website or the FB groups. We wanted to go to Vietnam and Cambodia but we’re going to wait for a few more years until Miss NHM is a little older before we brave that one.

In this country we always go self catering. I also highly recommend looking at Youth Hostels. They aren’t like they used to be, you can get family rooms at a very reasonable rate now. The bit that is most important for us is the self catering kitchen. So we can prepare food for Miss NHM (I take my own pans and chopping boards) and we can get dinner for us in the hostel restaurant so I don’t have to cook. There are freezers and fridges that you can use in the self catering kitchens and you can access them whenever you like. We’ve done this several times in the past two years and the hostels have always been absolutely brilliant and several also provide GF food now, although they can’t guarantee the risk of cross contamination.

Other things to look out for 

Food Aversion:  This is very, very frustrating but Miss NHM is very apprehensive about eating “new” foods because of her experiences. It’s not surprising really but it is a total pain in the arse for anyone doing the cooking and trying to keep your child’s diet healthy and varied.

School dinners: We’ve been VERY lucky that the school Miss NHM is at now take Coeliac Disease as seriously as it needs to be taken. Her previous school, The Prison, were bloody awful.

I’m very, very, very thankful that the school Miss NHM have never glutened her and that they take the necessary precautions to keep her safe. I ensure that Miss NHM has a school dinner because I trust the school and it’s one less thing for me to worry about but if I didn’t trust the school she would be having packed lunches. No question.

Birthday Parties: I’ve mentioned before about how lovely most of our friends have been about gluten free food and birthday cakes but I generally speak to the Mum who is organising the party and provide similar GF food for Miss NHM because it’s easier for them because I know exactly what to buy and it means I know that Miss NHM won’t get glutened. Look out for Party bags though. I always provide haribo or suggest haribo as that’s GF.

Your child’s teeth: Calcium isn’t absorbed in the same way for Coeliacs so definitely keep an eye on your children’s teeth and ensure they are brushing them properly twice a day. You can read up more about the impact of Coeliac Disease on your child’s teeth on the “Children with Coeliac Disease” fb group mentioned above.

Coeliac UK Events: Sign up to as many of these as you can! We went to our first one last year in Reading at Green Park and it was fantastic. Miss NHM spent the whole time wondering round and saying “all these people are just like MEEEE!!!!” and eating all of the samples that were available! We also bought loads of food because everything had at least 30% off. You have to register for tickets but the tickets are free and EVERYTHING is gluten free including the food trucks outside. Next time we will get there as soon as it opens so we can get some good bargains. I fell in love with some Warburtons Artisan bread that is normally £4 a loaf but was only £2 on the day. A great day to stock up and we hope to get to a few more GF Fairs later this year.

Extended Family testing: All direct family members (parents, siblings and children) of the person diagnosed should go to the GP and request to be tested too due to the increased risk of them potentially having it. Ensure that those being tested complete the “Gluten Challenge” before having any blood tests as they need to be eating gluten twice a day for at least 6 weeks for the results to be conclusive.

Final Thoughts

I’m sure there is stuff that I’ve missed so I’ll have a think over the next few weeks and see what else I can add to this post, so please check back in a month or so to see if anything else has been added.

Just know, you and your child aren’t alone. There is a lot of support available if you know where to look and there are lots of us dealing with this, in the NHM Community alone!

And also be gentle with yourself. A diagnosis of Coeliac Disease is a pretty steep learning curve and the first few months can be quite intense. As I said above though, it does get easier and when your child starts to feel well again it’s all worth it.

If you have any questions about Coeliac Diseaase that you think I can help with (remember, I am NOT a medical expert so the only advice I can give you is based on my experience) then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at NorthHantsMum@gmail.co.uk.

Good luck!!! 

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter,Facebook ProfileLinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

Local Dad is a record breaking beatboxer and is bringing his family theatre show to Basingstoke

Local dad Simon Shlomo Kahn, professionally known as SK Shlomo, grew up in Buckinghamshire and now lives in Hook with his wife and two young children.

His breathtaking vocal skills gained him early recognition as a world record breaking beatboxer and world looping champion, and he has worked with superstar fans like Ed Sheeran, Lily Allen, Rudimental and Bjork.

“Beatboxing is the art of creating unbelievably rich music using nothing but your voice” says Shlomo. “Beatboxers can create the sound of a full orchestra or electronic track – the drums, the keyboards, the basslines, all performed using nothing but a mouth and a mic.

“It’s an amazingly empowering way for people from all walks of life to express themselves and I love teaching people how simple it is to make vocal rhythms”

SK Shlomo is bringing his family theatre show “Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for Kids” to Basingstoke Anvil this Easter on April 16th, where everyone young and old can become one of his superstar sidekicks in a world of funny sounds, brilliant noises and cool music.

“Hook is a great place for families. We’ve made lots of lovely friends here on the school and nursery run who keep asking me to bring my kids show to a local theatre so we are finally doing it! The Anvil is a great venue and I’m really excited to share my love of music with the next generation of music makers. My own boys are excited they can finally come to a show too but I know the parents will have just as much fun!”

Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure For Kids is currently on tour and is at Basingstoke Anvil on April 16th 2019
Find out more: skshlomo.com/kids
Book tickets now: anvilarts.org.uk or Box Office: 01256 844244

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Help Spotlight UK!!

Spotlight UK Basingstoke

Hello, we are in need of help. As a charity Spotlight has been running from the old Chineham Park Primary for 9 years but sadly for us Hampshire need the building back to be able to use it to turn it into a Special Needs School which is so needed in our area.

We are very grateful to Hampshire for all of the support they have given us over 9 years however this means in April this year we need to move and find another venue for our charity work.

We currently run a food bank, clothes bank, charity shop, 1-2-1 youth mentoring, performing arts classes, holiday clubs, youth club, family support service.

We work with families on child protection or children in plans, children affected by domestic abuse, or neglect/emotional abuse, young carers, children in care, young people with mental health issues, young people who have experienced loss or separation, young people caught up with anti social behaviour and children who need help with confidence and self esteem or friendships and those who want to have fun.

We receive referrals from schools, social workers, the Early Help and Family Support Service, Health Visitors and other professionals. Currently we provide 355 spaces in performing arts a week, over 200 spaces in our after school club, 60 cases of youth mentoring and family support work and provide around 15-25 food parcels a week.

We are now needing to raise funds to be able to relocate our services so we can keep supporting those we work with. We have a potential venue to relocate to but need to secure a deposit and need to raise around £10000.

If anyone can help with fundraising or knows of premises then please contact us on 01256 325420 or admin@spotlightuk.org. Any help would be gratefully received.

The Spotlight Team

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Review 2018: Basingstoke Canal Santa Cruise

Thank you very much to W for today’s NHM Secret Review!! She’s done a brilliant job! 

If you would like to be a NHM Secret Reviewer, please get in touch. Thanks! 

Review 2018: BasingstokeCanal Santa Cruise

Helping out with NHM articles that past couple of years I have gained quite a lot of knowledge about local Santa and Christmas experiences and this year I finally got to experience the stuff of local Christmas legend, the Basingstoke Canal Santa Cruise.

About

Each year, in late September/early October the Basingstoke Canal visitor centre opens up early to take bookings for their Santa Cruises. 

Tickets go fast and bookings can only be made in person or by phone so be prepared to spend a lot of time pressing redial. 

One friend did decide to drive there one year to guarantee her spot by booking it in person, but I persevered with the phone and finally got through at around 11am on the first day of booking. 

Their advice is to have a few dates in mind, especially if you want an evening or weekend, and also have the names and ages of children attending ready. 

In 2018 the evening experiences cost £15.50 per person, weekend day times were £15 and weekday day time were £12.  In December 2018 they ran six cruises a day and all but two cruises were sold out. 

Fast forward to a very cold night in mid-December when I arrived at the centre in Mychett, with my four year old and almost eight year old and waited outside for our boat. 

The area outside the centre had been dressed with Christmas lights and we were greeted by a giant inflatable Santa.  

Facilities whilst waiting were basic, access to toilets and a bench to sit on inside an area normally used for changing, so dress for the weather and don’t leave your car too early. 

We boarded the last boat of the day at 7pm.  There are twelve people per cruise, including adults, our cruise had five children on board.  After boarding the boat our guide asked the children to look out for Christmas lights and let her know when they saw them. 

We cruised up the canal for about 10 mins, when we arrived at our jetty and got off the boat everyone was given a torch. 

The guide then asked the children to look out for the red tinsel which would guide them to Santa, we followed the red tinsel through the dark woods until we found Santa’s grotto. 

Santa’s grotto was a yurt, beautifully decorated for Christmas. 

Inside we all sat on hay bales as we waited for Santa to wake up, once he did he chatted with us all as a group first before looking up names in his book and chatting individually to each child for a few minutes. 

He adjusted his chat accordingly to the age and personality of the child and afterwards we sang a few songs, he then gave out gifts to each child, which already had their names on. 

We were in the yurt for about 20 minutes.  After we said goodbye to Santa we used our torches to find the silver tinsel that would guide us back out of the woods and back on to our boat where we opened our gifts, good quality, age appropriate books. 

We then cruised back to the centre where we did some colouring whilst enjoying mince pies or chocolate bars and hot drinks, all included in the price.  We left the centre at around 8.20pm.

Rating out of 5

We do a few Santa and Christmas experiences each year and this was a really lovely event, unlike anything we had done before and perfect for restoring the magic for my doubting older son. 

The boat and the canal centre are practical rather than luxury but the uniqueness of the occasion and the enthusiasm of the guides and Santa, really made this feel special.  None of the children became bored, with each activity taking the right amount of time. 

All the food was branded with allergy information easily available but it would be fine to take your own if you needed to. 

The experience was really good value for money and suitable for all ages, although I think older children would really prefer the after dark cruises. 

Highly recommended. 

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Tea Shops and Coffee Shops in North Hampshire

Thank you to Shona for putting together this post!!!!

Tea Shops and Coffee Shops in North Hampshire

Tea Bar

9 – 13 London Street, Basingstoke, RG21 7NT

The Tea Bar

Dome Cafe Project

Brighton Hill Parade, Basingstoke, RG22 4EH

The Cafe Project

Little Roses – Tadley Garden Centre

Elm Park Garden Centre, Aldermaston Road, Pamber End, Tadley, RG26 5QW

Little Roses

Wyevale

Wildmoor Lane, Basingstoke, RG27 0HL

Wyevale

More of the Good Stuff

1 Dummer Down Lane, Dummer, Basingstoke, RG25 2AR

More of the Good Stuff

Redfields Garden Centre

Redfields Lane, Church Crookham, Fleet, GU52 0AB

Redfields Garden Centre

Wellington Farm Shop Cafe

Welsh Lane, Heckfield, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 0LT

Wellington Farm Shop Cafe

Jolly Olly’s – Oakley

32 Oakley Lane, Oakley, Basingstoke, RG23 7JY

Jolly Olly’s

The Departure Lounge

Basingstoke Road, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 4BH

The Departure Lounge

Milestones Museum Cafe

Leisure Park, Churchill Way West, Basingstoke, RG22 6PG

Milestones Cafe

Marks and Spencers Cafe

Chineham Shopping Centre, Great Binfields Road, Chineham, Basingstoke, RG24 8BG

M&S Cafe

Newlyns Farm Cafe

Lodge Farm, North Warnborough, Hook, RG29 1HA

Newlyns Farm Cafe

The Parlour Tearoom

Unit 14, Viables Craft Centre, Basingstoke, RG22 4BJ

The Parlour Tearoom

Morrisons

Worting Road, Basingstoke, RG21 8BJ

Morrisons Cafe

Sainsbury’s

3 Wallop Drive, Basingstoke, RG22 4TW

Sainsbury’s Cafe

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