Reviews - NorthHantsMum

Review 2016: The English Charm Company – 3d Casting

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 7th July 2016 in Gifts, Local Mum Businesses, New Parents, Newborn, Reviews of Things to do 1 Comment

The English Charm Company

Foot and Hand Casting for my 20-week old

Situated in beautiful parkland of Worting House, Basingstoke, I was met by Natasha the owner of the company and an Accredited Trainer for the Craft Academy.

I was taken her small but adequate studio where examples of all her work were displayed from Silver Charms to 3d casts. The studio is open every Monday and Tuesday to browse her showcase, to making appointments and to take impressions on the day for orders

Natasha was very friendly, welcoming and reassured me about the whole process (which took about an hour) and explained what she was doing and why.

The experience was enjoyable and only a few hours after my appointment I was notified that the casts had come out well and just needed to dry off, which would take about 2 weeks but ready in time for Fathers Day.

As promised the casts were dry and painted in time for Fathers Day.

My partner was very pleased with his gift.

I would definitely recommend this service if you are thinking of a lifetime keepsake or a special gift for a loved one.

For more information about products, appointment booking or to attend one of the training courses contact Natasha on 07792 503411 or email hello@theenglishcharmco.co.uk

Training classes run Wed, Thurs and Fri please ask for details.

You can find more details about The English Charm Company at their website: http://www.theenglishcharmco.co.uk/

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Review 2016: Beggarwood

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 1st June 2016 in Basingstoke, Outings, Reviews of Days Out, Walks 0 Comment

I’ve been driving past Beggarwood for years and meaning to look in and see what is on offer.

Sue and I went (we met through the “NHM shift parents” group) with our two little ones in November last year and we had a fab time!

Review 2016: Beggarwood

About

I remember when Beggarwood was waste land. It’s not actually that long ago that the area became a housing estate, maybe 10 years ago?

The park itself is HUGE! There’s an awful lot there to see and do, a lot more than I had realised.

It would be a great place to have a picnic in the summer and take a cricket or rounders set to play with the children.

There is a bike and scooter area with ramps to ride on.

The play park is really big and has lots of different equipment which is suitable for children of all ages.

We walked down to the bottom of the park and the children spent AGES in the maze (below).

Sue and I had a lovely chat whilst sat on the bench watching them.

There are also a couple of areas with fitness equipment in, but I forgot to take pictures of those!

Tips

Park in the Co-op car park. We couldn’t work out if there was anywhere else to park!

Also, there is supposed to be an ampitheatre, but we couldn’t find it! lol.

The paths are suitable for bikes and scooters, but be warned that there are some big hills.

Food

We nipped to the Co-op to buy some snacks whilst we were there.

Baby Facilities

The majority of paths are suitable for pushchairs.

Parking

We parked in the free car park for the Co-op and the nursery.

However, if you know of somewhere better to park, please let me know!

Prices

FREE!

Rating out of 5

We had a lovely couple of hours exploring Beggarwood.

Review 2016: Whitchurch Silk Mill

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 26th May 2016 in Reviews of Days Out 0 Comment

The team at Whitchurch Silk Mill very kindly invited me to visit the silk mill to see what was available for families.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I had no idea what the Silk Mill was about.

I went in October last year and would like to apologise to the team for not publishing this post sooner!

About

Whitchurch Silk Mill

Whitchurch Silk Mill is just outside of Whitchurch and about 20 minutes drive from Basingstoke.

It is the oldest silk mill in the UK still in its original building. I had no idea how historic the Silk Mill building was, it’s over 200 years old!

Seeing the silk looms and how they were set up was really good because it gave you a sense of what it must have been like to work with the looms.

I also learnt that silk from the mill has helped to create clothes for some major films, like Back to the Future III and the BBC’s “Tess of the D’Ubervilles!

Carpenters workshop

First I had a look round the Carpenters workshop which was great because there were a couple of exhibits on hand for children to play with, one called “ring my bell engineering” where you had to put the gears and bell together.

If I show that to Miss NHM and Mr NHM (he’s an engineer) I may never get them out of the workshop! lol.

There was also a video which you could choose to play which explained more about the carpenters workshop and had subtitles available if needed.

Outside the Mill

The site on which the Silk Mill rests is absolutely beautiful. The grounds are very well looked after and it’s a wonderful place to wander round.

It’s the perfect place for a picnic, as long as you keep an eye on your toddlers near the edge of the water ;-). (You can avoid the water if you need too, the river is only to one side of the site).

I saw a Heron on the river whilst I was here (It’s at the end of the river in the picture above!)

Outside the Mill there are lovely big wooden tables and chairs that you can use if you don’t want to sit on the ground.

It was very peaceful being next to the river as it’s a very quiet area.

There are lots of duck on the river at the front of the mill and lots of fish in the river.

Silk Mill Process

I had no idea how fascinating the process was. I was given a tour of the mill by Lisa, one of the team at the Silk Mill and she was absolutely lovely and very knowledgeable.

(You don’t need to have a tour as there is enough information throughout the mill which explains the process but it was nice to have special treatment :-D.)

We started on the warping and winding floor which is the start of the process. Lisa showed me how it all worked and I learnt that silk comes from silk worms in China.

The silk has to be swiftly wound onto the bobbins. The picture below shows some of the boxes of bobbins that were available that day.

The oldest hand loom is from the 1830’s.

Reed – someone has to pull through the reeds individually, up too 500!!

Some more things I learnt:

Creel – each bobbin has to go in the order of the pattern.
Warp thread – length ways thread
Warping mill – covered in thread
Beamed off onto a beana in the right orde

Activities for Children

I completely forgot to take a picture of the cute silk moth toys that are set up throughout the mill as a trail that you can follow them around the mill as they explain the process. I thought this was a really cute idea!

We also spent some time in the cafe and I was so impressed to see how much effort the team had made to keep children busy/occupied/out of trouble!

There was a whole area dedicated to children with bean bags, tables, paper, colouring pens and more.

It’s obvious that the team at Whitchurch Silk Mill believe in the importance of children learning about the mill and it’s history in a fun environment.

New “app”

The Mill have an app – you’ll find it in your app store, it is free to download. Just search for Whitchurch Silk Mill.

This was put together by the EDGE Project supported by the Heritage Lottery. You can download it at home or using the Mill’s free wifi.

Tips

No flash photography, for obvious reasons.

They have a lovely shop which is stocked with lots of lovely gifts, so would be perfect to buy that unique gift for a special person.

The shop is open Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays from 10.30am to 5pm.

There are activity packs that you can borrow from the shop, the silk worm packs, which have activities for you to do with your children as you walk through the mill.

Each bag has a board to follow around the mill which have lots of different activities to help keep your children busy!

They have a very active community at the mill and there are all sorts of events taking place with lots of events being suitable for children.

Food

There is a cafe (upstairs) and it’s really large for the size of the site and is big enough for school groups.

They have lovely home made cakes, lots of different types of drinks and even a book library!

I was also really impressed to see that sandwiches are made to order on site and the team make a concerted effort to use local products as much as possible, e.g. Jude’s ice cream…YUM!

Facilities

There is a stair lift for those in wheelchairs which has instructions on how to use.

Group tours are available but need to be booked in advance.

There is also an Exhibition space and demo’s from experts of all types use this space.

There are also workshops available if you would like to learn more about weaving at the Mill.

Baby Facilities

The actual mill isn’t very practical for pushchairs, so take your little one in a sling, or carry them around. However, you can park your pushchair at the entrance to the mill under the main stairs if you need to take your pushchair with you. This is a covered area so your pushchair won’t get wet.

There are baby changing facilities in the toilets in the shop.

High chairs are also available in the cafe.

Parking

There is disabled parking right outside the entrance to the mill.

Regular parking is across the little river in the Library car park and is free.

I need to warn you that it isn’t the “best” of car parks and can very full quite quickly, however, there are free car parks in the town which are just a few minutes walk away.

At busy times staff are on hand to help out with parking.

Prices

Adults: £4.50

Children: £2.50

Family tickets are available, for 2 adults and 3 children: £10

The cafe is free to use and so are the grounds.

The Mill is open throughout the year and opening times are Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm. They are closed on Mondays (except Bank Holidays)

Rating out of 5

It was fascinating to walk around and understand how the textile industry used to work.

I had no idea that we had such a historic site that was still in use, so close to my home!

I had a very interesting couple of hours looking round and seeing all that was available.

It’s obvious that the silk mill is a hub for the local community as there are so many local events that take place on the site. I know they also have a lot of brownie, scout and guide groups who visit and I can imagine that the home-schooling community would love the place!

I was also impressed with the amount of technology on site, including the TV screens that you could use to investigate more about the different processes.

What really impressed me the most about the Silk Mill was the little details. There has clearly been a LOT of thought that has gone into keeping children and their parents engaged whilst educating them at the same time.

I actually can’t wait to take Mr NHM and Miss NHM along to see the mill as I think they will both really enjoy it.

I know I did! :-D.

Disclaimer: This post is a review of Whitchurch Silk Mill. My tour of the site was supplied free of charge for the purposes of the review. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

Review 2016: Museum of Army Flying

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 18th May 2016 in Reviews of Days Out 0 Comment

I’ve been wanting to go to the Museum of Army Flying for ages so when Karen asked me if she could send me her review of the museum, I jumped at the chance!

I’m definitely adding this to our list of things to do this year after reading Karen’s review! Thank you Karen! 😀

Review 2016: Museum of Army Flying

Museum of Army Flying

If you’re reading this then you are most likely a parent. In which case it’s quite likely that you have put ‘rainy day out in Hampshire’ into a search engine. I did that this Easter holiday, which is how I found out about the Museum of Army Flying.

It’s about 40 mins drive from Basingstoke, just past Andover on the A303. I had no idea what to expect, and didn’t know how long it would entertain my 18 month old and 5 year old.

About

We got there and you could see the army airfield next door. We watched a small aircraft take off and fly quite low around us.

The reception staff were helpful and explained all of the activities that would be suitable for small children. They had a variety of quizzes for different age groups similair to Milestones.

We chose to keep it simple, and look for the 6 pilot teddy bears hidden around the museum.

As it was school holidays, they had some aeroplane themed craft activities on offer in the middle of the day. These were staffed by a very helpful young lady who took lots of time to help my 5 year old make a glider, whilst my 18 month old enjoyed running up and down and colouring in Aeroplane pictures with crayons.

There was a small ball pit and some other connecting tube style toys in a playroom which kept both occupied for quite a while, they had a few books and a box of lego too.

A welcome sight was the padded chairs for grown ups and the room being quite enclosed, which made it easier to relax knowing that the youngest was less likely to be able to do a runner.

As for the actual museum, it was vast. There were two large aeroplane hangers full of examples of helicopters, gliders and aeroplanes from the military throughout their flying history – right up to a bit about Iraq and Afghanistan.

There were examples of uniforms, videos to watch, a mock up of a 1940s house where my 5 year old was interested to hear about food rationing.

In the far corner of the museum was an old helicopter that the children can climb into. There was a rack of dressing up clothes for any aspiring pint sized pilots and some big piece helicopter jigsaws placed on a low hight table with smaller chairs.

There were also a few military themed shooting games dotted around. Aimed at older children and adults, these cost £1 per go.

Food

The Café was upstairs (there is a lift for pushchairs) and is open to the public as it is accessible without entering the museum.

There was a childrens’ menu, but it only had hot food, so my children shared a ham sandwich and a packet of crisps.

I had a bacon and brie pannini, we also ordered two soft drinks. This came to about £9.

There were plenty of high chairs.

The café had big windows overlooking the airfield, but we didn’t see many aircraft. I don’t know if that was due to the rainy day, or just their schedules, but it would have been a great view had the air strip been busy.

The café seemed well used by passers by, and there was a whole table of police and then a group of paramedics came in – which was a talking point with the children over lunch!

The teddy bears were actually quite challenging to find around the museum, but 5 year old was keen to put her year R writing skills to use.

This gave me the opportunity to chat to a few other parents about their location, which broke up the day of just talking to small people.

5 year old handed in the quiz at the end and was allowed to choose a glider or an aeroplane colouring book as her prize.

Facilities

There are benches at the edge of the car park if you want to watch the aircraft outside for a while.

The Museum is over two floors and there is a lift.

There was a wheelchair user at the museum at the same time as us, she appeared to access all of the museum without difficulty.

Disabled toilet was big enough to fit 2 children, 1 adult and a buggy at the same time.

Baby Facilities

Ample amount of high chairs in the café.

Acessible toilets include a baby change unit – which had a mat on and some nappy bags to use.

Parking

Parking is free and right outside the museum.

Prices

Tickets were a little more expensive than advertised on their website – £12 adult and £7 for children 5 and over.

I was asked if I could gift aid this, and in return they made my ticket an annual pass.

Rating out of 5

We arrived at about 11am and left shortly before 4.30pm.

The whole place really captured my 5 year olds’ interest – although I wasn’t really prepared for so many questions about WW2, and explaining conflict in Europe.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the whole day was.

The variety of activities, interpsersed with the play area and the opportunity to sit down made the day a very manageable and pleasant one.

Totally worth the entrance fee, and unusually quiet for such a great place in my opinion. We give the museum five out of five!

We will be making the most of our anuual pass and making a further visit this year!

Review 2016: Gousto Recipe Delivery

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 10th May 2016 in Food, Organising, Reviews 2 Comments

This isn’t a paid review (none of the reviews on NHM are!). I spent the money on this service knowing that I would be feeding my family and sharing my views on the service with you.

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take the hit for your blog :-D.

Review 2016: Gousto Recipe Delivery

Gousto Recipe Delivery

I keep seeing details about lots of Recipe Delivery companies and have been meaning to try a few of them out for a couple of years.

Mr NHM is quite fussy with his food so it’s always a challenge to find something healthy that he will eat. Miss NHM has also started being quite fussy, so I’ve been finding it quite frustrating finding something that we will all eat.

I finally got around to getting things sorted over the Easter holidays. We all had a week off work and school and had loads of fun activities planned.

Gousto worked out really well, because it meant I didn’t have to think about what meals we were eating in the evening, so I could really enjoy our time off and days out.

I’d been keeping an eye out for leaflets with discount codes that you can cash in on your first and second shop.

Starting the Service

I logged onto the website and signed up using the gift code that I had. You can choose which day you want your meals delivered to you. We chose ours to be delivered on a Wednesday, so that I didn’t have to worry too much about our meals towards the end of the week.

There are 12 recipes that you can choose from for each box, so I had a look through and it was a tough choice what to pick! I chose three meals for four people. The website also shows you which are the quickest recipes to cook, which has the lowest calories and which is the most popular.

You can choose to have portions for two or four people and can also choose to have a vegetarian box. The website shows you the price for each portion as it’s cheaper if you choose a box for four people.

You can also choose to have your boxes weekly, fortnightly or monthly and you can choose to have either two meals, three meals or four meals in each box. It is cheaper the more meals and the more portions that you have in your box.

On our delivery day a lovely big box arrived on our doorstep! It was SOOO exciting! Just like Christmas :-D.

I took everything out of the box. I cannot tell you how excited I was. I clearly need to get out more! lol.

All of the meat and chilled products were packaged very carefully in an ice bag:

I loved that the condiments came in their own little pots:

The Meals

The first thing I cooked was Tamarind-Glazed cod & coconut noodles. It sounds really fancy but it was actually pretty straightforward. However, it took me a while to work out that all of the ingredients had to be doubled because I was cooking for 4 and the recipe cards are written for two!

272 — The finished product even looked like the pictures on the instruction card! 😀

I wanted to include a fish dish as we don’t eat enough fish in our house and I was a bit concerned that this wouldn’t go down very well. But everyone loved it so that was a huge relief. It’s quite a sweet dish, despite not having any sugar in, which I wasn’t expecting.

The Second Meal I cooked was Herby Cumberland Sausage Cassoulet.

This was hugely popular and really easy to make.

I realised at this point that at the bottom of the recipe card, it includes how long it will take to cook each meal, how many of your 5 a day are included and the calorie, fat and protein per person of each portion. I thought that was pretty cool.

The third meal I cooked was Barbecue Pork Steaks with mixed salad.

The sauce for the pork chops was really yummy and I was really impressed that this also looked like the pictures of the cooked meal on the recipe cards.

I was actually surprised at how much of a hit each of these meals were, despite Mr NHM telling me off for including salad with his pork and for putting in the corriander in the cod soup!

Everyone ate everything and they both commented on how similar the finished products were to the recipe card pictures.

Tips

You get to keep the recipe cards so you can recreate the meals again. I’ve already cooked the sausage cassoulet again with vegetarian sausages and it was a huge hit again.

You get to keep all of the packaging so Miss NHM used the box (as it suggested!) to make a house and we kept the ice packaging for use in our ice box.

It’s quite easy to stop and start the service. You just change the options on the website at any time you like.

Final Thoughts

If I was made of money I would ALWAYS use Gousto. It was a fantastic service and I loved that it was all organic and I didn’t have to think about any preparation as all ingredients come in the box and the recipe cards tell you exactly what to do.

It was a huge weight off my mind, especially during the holiday, not having to worry about our meals for a couple of days and I found the recipes really easy to cook.

I’m definitely going to see if my budget stretches to me using the service when I know we have a frantically busy week and my mind will be on other things that won’t include what is for dinner that evening. I also plan to use the service during the next school holidays that we have off but are staying at home as it was such a luxury not having to worry about meal planning or preparation.

If you would like to try out the Gousto recipe delivery and receive a £25 discount, you can enter code “LOUIS118348” in the promotion box at checkout.

If you do use this service, let me know what you think!

Review 2016: Reading Eggs and Mathseeds

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 15th April 2016 in Education, Reviews 0 Comment

http://readingeggs.co.uk/

One of my friends (Hi Abi!) recommended Reading Eggs to me when we discovered at a recent parents evening that Miss NHM has been struggling with her phonics.

I had seen the website before but wasn’t sure what was so great about it. I signed up for the trial period, to see if Miss NHM would use it.

We’ve been using Reading Eggs for a couple of months now and it’s really made a difference to Miss NHM’s reading ability. It very cleverly tailors content to each individual child so they can go at their own pace.

There are lots of different exercise, none of which are too patronising. We also bought MathSeeds at the same time, as it was cheaper if you bought them together.

Miss NHM seems to enjoy MathSeeds more than Reading Eggs. She also enjoys going into the “play” area and listening to the songs and playing some of the other games.

There is also a parent dashboard so you can see the progress that your child is making with learning words and phonics.

I actually think Reading Eggs is making more of a difference to Miss NHM’s learning than school is!

There is a 14 day trial that you can take, to try Reading Eggs out with your children, to see if they enjoy it.

However, if you sign up at the following link, you can get a 4 week free trial: http://www.readingeggs.co.uk/tel275uk.

Once you start the trial period, you get a discount on the annual cost, so I recommend doing the trial first and then signing up.

Review 2016: Studio 1314

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 12th February 2016 in Family Photographers, Reviews, Special Offers for NHM Readers 0 Comment

Recently I saw some pictures that Jaz from Caterpillar Music had of her family that the team at Studio 1314 had taken. They were so gorgeous that it reminded me that I needed to get some more pictures of our family taken.

Lucy and Wayne run Studio 1314 and I met Lucy at one of my NHM Networking lunches. So when I mentioned to her that I’d like to get some pictures taken she very kindly suggested we do a Review for them.

I cannot praise Lucy enough. The whole experience was sooo lovely and relaxing and I am beyond delighted with the final pictures!!!

Lucy and Wayne are also very kindly offering a Special Offer just for NHM Readers, which is listed at the bottom of this post.

Pre Session briefing with Lucy

I had a twenty minute call with Lucy about a week before our shoot and she asked me some questions and told me what to expect. She advised us to bring lots of changes of outfits, especially for Miss NHM, and some items that reflect our personality (You can see one of the final pictures on the banner of “Louise nhm Smith” on Facebook).

Photo Shoot at Studio 1314

The Studio is based just past East Stratton which is about 15 minutes drive from Hatch Warren Sainsburys.

We followed the signs to East Stratton and the studio is on the other side of the village on the left hand side. If you follow the postcode it’s very easy to find.

The site of the studio is beautiful as you can see below:

I was really surprised at how big the studio is. It’s HUGE and that’s without even seeing the Viewing Room!

It’s a really big space with lots of seating and you can easily fit up to 15 people in the studio, so it’s a perfect place if you wanted to do a big family shoot.

When we arrived Lucy asked us to take our socks off, offered us drinks and then we got started. There was music playing in the background which gave the shoot a real party feel and Miss NHM kept wiggling to the music, on and off camera! lol.

I loved that we could spread out and not have to worry about having out outfits all over the place. We had about 15 different outfits with us!! Thankfully there is a private changing area if you need it.

Lucy was one of the most relaxed photographers that we have ever worked with. I don’t know if it’s because Miss NHM is older not but we barely had to get involved, apart from helping with outfits. I also don’t know if it helps that Lucy has a three year old daughter of her own, so she knows how to interact with children.

Miss NHM really enjoyed asking Lucy questions and following her directions and if you see some of the final pictures, you’d think that Miss NHM was a professional model!!! (not that I’m biased of course! lol).

It was really nice that Lucy wasn’t constantly shouting Miss NHM’s name to get her attention, but was interacting with her and just going with the flow of whatever Miss NHM wanted to do.

It was a 90 minute shoot which really took the time pressure off. Lucy said that if it’s a newborn shoot they allow 2 hours!

We ended up with lots and lots of different pictures that all capture an element of Miss NHM’s personality in all her different outfits.

I even liked the ones that Lucy took of me and Mr NHM and I HATE having my picture taken! :-D.

Miss NHM normally gets fed up after 20 minutes of a photo shoot but we really enjoyed it. Even Mr NHM commented on the way home that he really enjoyed it, and I didn’t even prompt him! :-D.

Reviewing the pictures

A few weeks later (our fault cause we have such busy diaries!) we went back to see how the pictures came out.

We LOVED them!!!!

They are absolutely BRILLIANT photos that were WAY better than I expected.

There is a separate viewing area which even had popcorn, biscuits, Mr Men tissues, colouring books and even a play area for the children to play with whilst we looked through the pictures!

There was a massive screen in the viewing room and we spent about an hour going through them whilst Miss NHM amused herself with the colouring, trying to snaffle all of the popcorn and playing in the play area. She really liked seeing pictures of herself too!

Lucy has a tablet that she uses instead of a mouse which helps her move the images around directly on the screen and both Mr NHM and Miss NHM were really intrigued with this. It also made it really easy to decide which pictures we wanted printed.

Special Offer for NHM Readers

Lucy and Wayne are also very kindly offering a very special offer for NHM Readers. (Thank you very much!!!)

The first 5 people to contact the team at Studio 1314 and book before April 2016 will receive a Free family photoshoot and 2 mounted 7×5 inch prints of their choice.

This would normally have a value of £150.

This offer is ONLY open to the first 5 people who book and ONLY available to NorthHantsMum Readers. Yay! 😀

Facilities on site

Tea and coffee facilities
Toilets in the studio
Changing room area with a baby changing stand (loved this!)
Plenty of free parking
Occasional Groupon Offers
Pets are very welcome for photo shoots too

Final Thoughts

We are absolutely delighted with the final pictures. I can’t stop raving about them!

Lucy and her husband Wayne have thought of everything! It definitely is the little details that count.

It was by far one of the most relaxing photo shoots we have ever had. It was a really lovely experience, a lovely studio and we were really impressed!

You can find out more about Studio 1314 at:

Website: www.studio1314.co.uk

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/studio1314photography

Disclaimer: This post is a review of Studio1314. Our photography shoot was supplied free of charge for the purposes of the review. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

Atmosphere Trampoline Park – First Look!!!!

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 10th February 2016 in Reviews of Things to do 0 Comment

I was very, very, VERY lucky to be invited to be one of the first people to see Jump Factory before it opens to the public!!

Soooo excited!!!! 😀

Atmosphere Trampoline Park

Atmosphere Trampoline Park (originally Jump Factory) is opening on 29th February 2016 and will be the first indoor trampoline park in Basingstoke.

There will be 60 trampoline spaces within the trampoline park and the site can accommodate up to 100 people an hour.

As you can see from the pictures, the site is very much a “work in progress” but these pictures give you an idea of what to expect.

There are several different areas within the trampoline park:

Main Park
Airbag
Basketball
Dodgeball
Halfpipe
Walk the Wall

and you can find more details about each of these at the website listed at the bottom of this post.

You can just see in the pictures that there will be a large walking area all the way around and there will also be seating available next to the trampolines for parents of children aged six and under.

Downstairs the reception area is nice and airy and there are two safety briefing areas which will have TV’s advising you of things to pay attention too.

Obviously safety is paramount to the team so I was really pleased to see that they have dedicated so much space to this.

Cafe

The Cafe is upstairs and is a gallery style, so you can have a coffee whilst keeping an eye on your children.

It’s a really large area and will have 60 seating places. Several of these seats will be soft seating, so you can relax whilst having your cuppa!

It will be possible to use the site for the cafe facilities, even if you aren’t jumping.

340 — This is just one half of the cafe.

The team were very keen to say that they are investing a lot of money into the Cafe, including having a proper barrista coffee machine and are using local suppliers for cakes, pastries and sandwiches.

346 — This will be the Cafe serving area

Hot food will be available once the site is open and will include soup and pastries.

Ages

The trampoline park will be open for children aged 5 and upwards but 5-6 year olds will need to be supervised by their parents.

Babies will not be allowed on the trampolines, for obvious reasons, and parents will not be allowed on the trampolines if they are carrying their babies in slings. This is for health and safety reasons.

There will also be a Tots session for the “walking under 5’s” which will be on every week day between 10am and 11am.

The team are also looking at doing inter company Dodgeball tournaments, so if you are interested in getting your company involved, drop the team at Jump Factory a message.

Fitness classes will also be available, but more details will be provided near the launch date.

Facilities

There are two party rooms upstairs, one which is orange and one which is green. Party Packages are available and you can find more details about these at the Jump Factory website (below).

Downstairs there will be a locker area with 100 lockers and a “cubby hole” area for you to leave your shoes.

There is also a First Aid room available if needed.

Baby Facilities

The baby changing facilities will be available in the Disabled toilets which will be downstairs.

There will also be highchairs available in the cafe area.

Parking

There is LOADS of parking and it’s all free.

They have over 60 parking spaces in the Jump Factory car park and lots of off road parking, especially on the weekend as it’s quiet in the area that the site is located in.

Summary

Although Jump Factory opens on the 29th February, booking is available NOW via the website below!

I can’t wait to take Miss NHM for a jump once she turns 5 and I can’t wait to take Mr NHM for Date Night (it’s open until 10pm on weekdays, 11pm on Saturdays and 9pm on Sundays!)

It looks AWESOME and I can’t wait to get jumping!!!

Website: https://activenation.org.uk/venues/atmosphere/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atmospheretrampolinepark/

NHM Interview: Gino D’Acampo

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 15th December 2015 in NHM: Readers Experiences, Reviews 0 Comment

I’m very excited to feature our first interview on NorthHantsMum. I was invited to meet with Gina D’Acampo but unfortunately couldn’t make it due to work commitments (boo hiss!) so I asked my NHM Writers if any of them would like to meet Gino and ask him some questions.

Thank you very much to Karen for her lovely review below (can’t BELIEVE she also got a snog from Gino! lol) and also to everyone who put forward questions for Gino via “Louise nhm Smith“.

NHM Interview: Gino D’Acampo

Small J and I were very excited when NorthHantsMum asked us to visit Waterstones and interview chef Gino D’Acampo (although I expect Smalls excitement had more to do with the singing train in Festival Place!)

We arrived to find a rather large queue of very excited people all clutching a copy of Gino’s new book ‘Gino’s Islands in the Sun,’ waiting patiently to catch a glimpse of the author. We hurried to get a copy and waited inside the store in anticipation. Soon word went round that he was here, but lost in the backstage area behind the shops. Thankfully Gino found his way through the maze and we were lucky enough to have the first opportunity to speak to him and ask him some of your questions

We asked Gino how Italian’s foster a healthy attitude to food in their children. Gino answered that it was easy as that’s how they are born. Italian food is healthy and delicious so it is not difficult to get children to love it. In his book he mentions rules that are taught to Sardinian children including taking a walk and going out and enjoying fresh air whatever the weather which might go some way to explaining why Sardinians have such a long lifespan.

One reader wanted to know who Gino’s food inspiration was. He told us that it was his Grandfather who used to cook him anything and everything Italian. He used fresh simple ingredients to make wonderful Italian dishes. I could understand how that would cause him to fall in love with food.

It’s easy to see where Gino gets some of his rules for life, ‘Celebrate your elders’ and ‘use fresh ingredients where possible.’ I also like the one regarding drinking a glass of red wine daily and the bonus is that he suggests Cannonau, from Sardinia, which contains more antioxidants than any other wine in the world.

Gino’s suggestion for a simple fun Italian recipe to cook with your children was pizza. In his new book there are 2 pizza ideas, one with courgette ribbons and flowers and one with anchovy, olive and capers.

Gino was kind enough to sign my copy of his new book and I am planning to try out his suggestion of courgette pizza out on Small J soon. Of course he’s going to have to help to cook it.

After being kissed on the cheek (blush) by Gino in front of the whole store he was nice enough to pose for a photo with us. We left him to continue to meet the rest of his fans (and went to visit the singing train….again).

Karen and Small J Johnson

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Review 2015: Elderly Primagravida

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on 1st December 2015 in NHM: Readers Experiences, Pregnancy, Reviews 0 Comment

Thank you very much to Kathryn for her Review of Elderly Primagravida in 2015!

Elderly Primagravida and 29 weeks

….a woman who becomes pregnant for the first time after the age of 34/35 (age depends on what website you look at!)

The fact that I actually became pregnant at the age of 38 and is classed as “elderly,” left me a bit miffed to say the least!

However despite this and whether this has been down to my “status”, my pre existing medical conditionals or good luck, I cannot fault the care I have received so far from both my Community Midwife, the Antenatal clinic and the Day Assessment Unit.

I guess I’ve more visits to both the Community Midwife and Antenatal clinic than I the average pregnant lady and each time, I’ve never felt that I’ve been a time waster or a neurotic pregnant lady, quite the opposite and I was reassured that it is ok to worry and best to get things seen to rather than leave them and at any time I have the need to have my worries ironed just call and I will be seen at the Day Assessment Unit at the maternity unit.

I am also under a Consultants Obstetrician, I think because of my “elderly” age and pre existing conditions and again I can’t fault the care I have been given. The last appointment I attended my Blood Pressure was a little high to say the least, this of course was duly noted and after waiting what seems an age.

I finally saw the Consultant (not the original one as previously but still well informed and very professional), she covered all the normal stuff but was concerned about my BP which was measured a couple more times, it was still high and whilst she was writing up her notes she said she was debating with herself what she should do about this BP. She came to the decision that I should be admitted, much to me and my partners disappointed. I didn’t have to wait long too be escorted up to the ward where a bed was waiting for me.

Feeling a little unnerved I kind of settled on the bed, while waiting for a Nurse to let me know what was happening.

My Blood pressure was taking a couple of times before I was given a little orange tablet. I was monitored for another hour or so before I was provided with food (a nice surprise seeing as I hadn’t had lunch as I was due to go back to work and it wasnt half bad)

Whilst eating my tea, the Doctor came round and prodded and poke me, asked a few questions and said that my BP had come down a significant amount and she was happy for me to go home….yay! Feeling relieved we left the Ward….until next and last time ( when we finally get to meet our little man)

I’ve been very fortunate to have had such a good experience with all the Healthcare professionals who have dealt with me and my pregnancy, even if i haven’t/ am not enjoying the whole experience yet/so far but i am sure all the mood swings, tears and tantrums will all be worth it….

Before I sign off I leave you with this… if you are worried at all, no matter how big all small

Keep Calm

And

Call a midwife! 😀

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