Review 2017: Tots Play, Social Tots

Thank you very much to today’s NHM Secret Reviewer! Fab job!

“Great value for money, 40 minutes of fun!”

I have attended Michelle groups since my little one was 8 weeks old. We started off attending Baby Development and have graduated to Discovery Tots and finally to Social Tots.

Social Tots does what it says on the tin, it’s a 40 minutes of fun! It’s an interactive social group for for babies from 8 months to tots of 3 years.

This class is a great way for your little ones to meet other Tots, to interact via play and for parents to socialise and to catch up every week.

Every class is full of various activities and we are always met by Michelle and Totsy the class mascot. You can enjoy welcome songs, different hands on themed play each week, involving colour, light, natural objects, fruit and veg, sensory play, massage, yoga and sign language.

With her extensive knowledge, Michelle always explains what we are doing and why we are doing each activity it and how it benefits the little ones. The fun can also continue at home as all the tools and props that are used in the class, including beach balls and sensory fans are all on sale at the end of the class.

Each week brings something different and we are welcomed by Michelle and her smile. We thoroughly enjoy the group and will be booking again for the next session.

Unlike a lots of Toddler groups, Michelle will be running various classes over the summer as well as some Saturday classes.

Check out all Michelle classes on Facebook or totsplay.co.uk

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Review 2017: Relax Kids

Kath from Relax Kids recently invited me to review one of her classes with Miss NHM.

I was one of the first people that Kath “practised” on a few years ago when she started out. I thought she was brilliant then so was very keen to see how she had developed and for Miss NHM to attend a class.

I saw that Kath was doing classes on a Sunday morning as a taster session to come along and find out what it’s all about before committing to a 5 week course, which was perfect for us. It wasn’t too early in the morning too, which was great. I asked my friend S whether she wanted to bring her son K along, and she decided that she wanted to check out the class too.

Kath sent me an email the week before the class detailing what would be happening for the hours class. It included things about what to wear for the session and a child protection policy that needed completing which is brilliant as it shows what a professional Kath is!

Kath follows a 7 step process in helping the children to relax. She was brilliant at explaining to the children what she was doing and the steps that they were taking.

A couple of people turned up late to the class which I always think is a bit rude but then remembered that some children find coming to classes very intimidating. Kath handled their lateness really well and explained things very clearly to everyone.

All of the exercises that Kath used were sooo clever! I love the “Smile to reach your stretch” moment. That was awesome to see Miss NHM stretch and expand.  I loved the “hedgehog” and seeing Miss NHM in this position made me quite emotional! The Angry thoughts exercise was fantastic and just such a lovely concept.

I also REALLY loved the books that Kath used and have purchased two for home already as they have such wonderful concepts in them.

All through the class children are doing breathing exercises but they don’t even know it!! I particularly loved the “breathing in happy thoughts, breathing out sad thoughts”. I also loved the relaxing music that Kath uses and really want to ask her where she got it from as I think we could do with a copy of this for home! lol .

Miss NHM is quite a confident little girl at the best of times and I was very interested to see how she responded to the class.  My favourite bit of the class was when the children were asked to write out what makes them happy. Miss NHM had written about 9 things within 2 minutes and I was uber proud that she knows what makes her happy and could express this.

I also felt quite privileged seeing all the children relax throughout the class, which was fascinating to watch. There was one little boy who really didn’t want to participate, but by the end of the class he was lying on the floor with the other children and you could see that he had got a lot out of the class even if he hadn’t been actively participating for most of it.

Tips

Book quickly because Kath’s classes sell out REALLY fast. They are very popular and she often has a waiting list!

Parents are allowed in the room. This must have been initially intimidating to Kath, having the parents watching, but she wasn’t bothered.

Rating out of 5

All of the little details were excellent, it’s very obvious that Kath is passionate about what she’s doing as such thought had been put into the whole class.

As you can see, I’m a HUGE fan of Kath’s work. Miss NHM got so much out of just that one class and talked about it for weeks later. I’m very keen to enrol her in a class when she starts Y2 next year!

Definitely 5 out of 5!!

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Review 2017: Cookery Doodle Doo North Hants – Pop-up Tot’s Cooking Session

Thank you very much to today’s NHM Secret Reviewer who has done a FAB job!!!

About

Katie’s Facebook page can be found here Cookery Doodle Doo North Hants
Cookery Doodle Doo North Hants is run by Katie from her home in Whitchurch. I can’t really phrase it better than her website, so in her own words:

“In my cooking classes the children can relax and get messy, learn important skills, try new flavours and chat about where ingredients come from. It’s a brilliant way for kids to learn about real, home-cooked food. As a mum myself, I place great importance on the adults being able to enjoy it too, so there’s proper coffee and lots of opportunity to chat at my preschool classes; and my pudding club was designed to give you 2 hours off on a Sunday morning, whilst one course of the family dinner is sorted for you!” (from Katie’s website page, Cookery Doodle Doo website)

She offers Pre-School Classes, Sunday Morning Pudding Club (for 5-10 year olds), private parties, nursery visits, pop-up classes and more.

We joined Katie for one of her Pop-up Tot’s cooking sessions which was based in Overton Coffee Shop rather than at her home in Whitchurch. I’d never been to Overton before and Katie was kind enough to give me the low-down on parking which helped enormously with a toddler in tow.

Overton Coffee Shop is a lovely place, and it is definitely on my list of places to visit again. When we arrived we went through to the back and the tables were set out ready, with aprons on chairs and colourful utensils on the table. It was all beautifully prepared and nicely intriguing for little hands. Katie was great throughout, giving clear and simple instructions and working her way around to help where needed.

We made orange and chocolate bread and butter pudding, which really did impress me, especially as all the toddlers came away with a complete tray ready for baking and made safe for travel. I have to say, after baking it at home, it tasted incredible! Rather handily, we were given a recipe which I am very much looking forward to making use of. My toddler thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and was so proud when I showed him the cooked result. Needless to say, we devoured the lot between us! All in all it was a great and special experience which I would definitely do again.

Tips

Like anything with toddlers, be prepared to get a little messy.

Food and Facilities (Overton Coffee Shop)

Whilst we didn’t stay on, the food on offer looked lovely. It certainly was the sort of place I’d happily frequent.

Toilets, baby change facilities and highchairs available. There was also a very small area of toddler toys (always a bonus in a coffee shop!)

Please note, these would be different to the courses run at Katie’s home which I’ve yet to try.

Parking (Overton)

There are two free car parks in Overton, there is also free on-road parking for up to two hours.

Prices

Please see Katie’s website for details, https://north-hampshire.cookerydoodledoo.com/

Rating out of 5

5/5

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Review 2017: Thrive Massage Therapy

 

A few months ago I noticed a sign on the side of a car about a local massage business and thought, ooh, I really must check that out. About two weeks later Nicola messaged me asking if I would like to review her massage business – Thrive Massage Therapy. Turns out it was her!!  I thought for less than a second before accepting her lovely offer!

Initially Nicola had a Guest post on NorthHanstMum because I wasn’t available for the first month after she contacted me. These days I’m really busy in the evening as well as the day times and Nicola was very accommodating of my schedule. Nicola takes bookings via her website, phone, text or email. We arranged a date and she sent me instructions of how to get to hers.

I found Nicola’s house really easily, she has a Thrive Massage picture in the window and her house number sign is lit up, so it’s obvious which is her house.

My first impressions were, WOW! How TIDY is her downstairs! lol. Nicola welcomed me and led me into her massage room. I was (and still am!) sooo impressed!!! Her massage room is AMAZING! It’s a purpose built room, built just for Nicola’s massage business. It’s the space that would be a garage so it’s quite large and she has lots of lovely storage and a large massage couch with lots of space around it. I’ve had massages at many other places over the years and the rooms are always TINY, many with not enough space for the masseuse to comfortably walk around. Nicola’s massage room has lots of space and such a lovely ambience. She even has the plug sockets built in so that they are under her massage table, so she doesn’t have to walk over cables!

One of the things I was most impressed with is all of the marketing that Nicola has, it’s so professional. It’s obvious that a LOT of thought has gone into Nicola’s business and how she markets her services. Even the towels she uses match her theme colour!!!! These little details are so important and really helped me to feel like I was dealing with someone who really cares about her business.

I also really liked that all of her qualification certificates are up on one wall, behind the door, which gave me a nice warm feeling that she knows what she’s doing!!!

The massage room is very welcoming and exactly what you would want in a massage room.

The Massage

We had a chat before the massage started, so Nicola could check whether I had any health issues that she needed to be aware of. The room was soo relaxing, I nearly fell asleep then! Dimmed lights, candles, lovely smells and music that’s actually soothing during a massage.
The room was the perfect heat too.

I had a massage a few years ago, at a local spa, where the massuese was pregnant so she had a dehumidifier in the room which kept the heat down to 17 degrees ( I knew this because I could see the red screen telling me it was 17 degrees all through my massage). As she was heavily pregnant I didn’t feel I could ask her to turn the heat up but I was FREEZING which ruined the whole experience. Nicola’s room temperature is just perfect.

Nicola’s massage couch can be heated, which was wonderful. The towels were lovely and soft and I could have happily gone to sleep there with or without a massage! lol.

Ok, so I know I’m always positive on reviews but the massage with Nicola was AMAZING!!! Definitely one of the best massages I’ve ever had. I was convinced that she used hot stones, but it’s just her hands and arms that she uses. It never felt like she was going through the motions either. I’ve had massages before where the masseuse clearly doesn’t want to be there and it feels like they are doing the “dot to dot” massage on your back. Nicola’s style wasn’t like this at all. It was very fluid and didn’t feel stilted.

Before the hour long massage started Nicola had asked me if there were any specific areas that I wanted her to focus on. I’ve had persistent shoulder pain for the past 6 months and despite having physio and acupuncture it’s still not properly fixed. I was a little apprehensive that she would “go to town” on my shoulder, like I’ve had other masseuse’s do and has meant that I’ve been in agony for weeks after. Nicola used EXACTLY the right pressure. Sometimes when you come out of a massage you feel a bit bruised and battered but I felt exactly as I wanted to feel when the massage was finished. She even found bits of me that I didn’t know were tense!! I came out of my massage feeling really relaxed and “flexible”.

One of my favourite bits was at the end of the massage. Nicola has an tea caddy filled with lots and lots of herbal teas and she lets you take one home with you. Such a lovely and thoughtful idea. Nicola also reminded me to drink lots of water and take it easy for the rest of the evening. She also gave me an aftercare leaflet with advice about what to do after a massage to make the most of it and a stamped addressed envelope which had a feedback form in, which if I completed and sent back to Nicola, meant that I would be entered in to her draw to win a free massage!!!

Rating out of 5

Definitely 5 out of 5!!

I felt really pampered and it’s definitely one of the best massages I’ve ever had. My skin felt amazing afterwards and my shoulder has felt much better since my massage with Nicola.

I used to get my massages done at my local spa/gym but having had two massages with Nicola (I went back as a paying customer and my massage was just as good!), I won’t be going back to the spa at the gym. The quality of service that you get from Nicola is far above what you get from an impersonal service like a massage at a gym.

I HIGHLY recommend Nicola’s personally tailored massages.  Thrive Massage: www.thrivemassage.co.uk

Disclaimer: This post is a review of Thrive Message therapy. My massage 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.
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Review 2016: The Rattler at The Anvil

Thank you very much to Rebecca, one of the NHM writers, for her Review today.

Review 2016: The Rattler, Saturday 24th September, Haymarket theatre, Basingstoke.

After enjoying my last trip to the theatre a few months back (my first in over 10 years!) I decided to take the brave decision to drag the entire family along to see The Rattler, a family friendly operatic retelling of Rumpelstiltskin by the Mahogany Opera Group. After a few hiccups (namely getting the time and location wrong) we arrived in a rather stressed out state seconds before the performance began.

Normally in this situation one would be embarrassingly squeezing past rows of people uttering a plenitude of apologies, only heightening the already climatic stress level. (Did I mention my 3 children are all 5 and under!) However, our arrival could not have been further from that reality.

We were greeted by the cast themselves, and invited to join in to what soon became apparent was a parade of children, complete with musical instruments and decorated sticks that had been made in a craft workshop before the show started. They immediately put us at ease, and the energy and enthusiasm of the cast captivated my three boys from the start. It was this energy, along with the clear passion that the cast had in the story, that kept their attention throughout the majority of the Opera.

Even my 5-year-old, who is notoriously hyperactive (he rarely sits still for longer than 10 minutes at a time) managed to stay engaged. In fact, towards the end he was transfixed. It was an easy to follow storyline for the younger audience with interactive singing, an amazingly talented cast and overall a great introduction to Opera.

And it wasn’t just the children who were captivated. I literally could not take my eyes off the puppet ‘The Rattler’. I am in total awe of not only the design of such a puppet that actually gave me nightmares that night!

But I was also blown away by the way that the incredibly talented cast moved him, such that I had to keep reminding myself that he wasn’t real. For me he really did steal the show and hats off to all who were involved in his creation and movement. In the words of my 4-year-old ‘I loved the dinosaur!’

AS I’ve said in previous reviews, live theatre, opera especially is not for everybody. Their aim is not to be universally appealing to the masses. They take risks and sometimes this means alienating some.

I am in no doubt that the risk they took by making the Rattler so eerie will put a few people off. (Although I should mention at this point that the recommended age is 7 and above.)

However, it is when we take risks that remarkable things are achieved and I can wholeheartedly say that The Rattler is nothing short of remarkable. I can’t wait to see what they do next!

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Review 2016: Cornish Yurts

Cornish Yurts

I’ve blogged about Our Yurt before on NorthHantsMum but I thought it was time I did a Review about it. Although I’m only publishing this review because Polly, who runs the place, has agreed that we can have “our” Yurt for every May half term for the next 10 years :-D.

About

We have been visiting Cornish Yurts for the past 4 years. I always said I wouldn’t be one of those people who went back to the same place every year, but when you find your little piece of heaven, it’s hard not to keep going back!

The sense of excitement of our impending Yurt holiday starts about three weeks before in our house. I’m excited about relaxing, Mr NHM is excited about cooking over an open fire and Miss NHM is excited about the beaches!

It takes about 5 hours to drive from Basingstoke to Cornwall and we always try to go early to avoid the traffic. We used to stop at Exeter Services on the way down but we’ve found a new place to stop now which is almost half way.

When you arrive at the Yurt you can drive your car up to unload but then the rest of the holiday your car needs to remain in the car park. You also get a lovely welcome from the farm dogs. Sprocket is definitely our favourite.

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When you arrive you get a “welcome pack” which includes local scones (normally still warm!!), Cornish fairings, a pot of locally made jam, the local paper (perfect for making fires with! Lol) and a pot of Cornish cream in your fridge.

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Outside

There are two yurts in an acre of land.

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As you can see there is LOADS of space to run around and play

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Each yurt has a picnic table and chairs outside the yurt and has a place for a fire

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Mr NHM with “Derek” his Dutch Oven

The kitchen hut is a shared space with the other yurt but each yurt has its own fridge. There is also a washing machine, kettle, toaster and every piece of kitchen equipment you would need whilst camping including a sieve and two huge hugs that would be great for squash or cocktails.

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There are platters in the kitchens so you can prepare your food in the kitchen and easily carry it back to the yurt.

Each yurt also has it’s own private bathroom with sink, toilet and shower.

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The yurts are on a working dairy farm and if you are very lucky one of Polly’s girls will give you a tour of the farm. We STILL haven’t had one BUT Miss NHM (5 years old) did get to go out hay bailing with AJ, the farmer, and is still going on and on about it. If you ask her what she wants to be when she gets older, she says “be a farmer on the cornwall farm”!!

Inside

Each yurt sleeps six people and has two double sofa beds and two single sofa beds.

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Each yurt also has a wood burner that is made out of an old oil drum and tyre and has a fire guard

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The Yurts have a wooden floor throughout and a wooden porch. There is a covered porch at the entrance where we store wood.

Each yurt also comes with its own wood. There is extra cost for this and Polly requests that you don’t waste the wood by leaving the fire going indoors or outside unnecessarily.

There is also an outdoor cooking area and each yurt has its own BBQ.

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There is an outside chess set, swing ball, a set of swings and a fairy table.

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Tips

Love that there is a washing machine in the kitchen hut.

Love that if it rains it makes absolutely no difference as you are still camping but there’s no risk of everything getting wet.

Love having private shower and toilet, so we can leave our stuff there.

Love that there’s only two yurts and so much space that Miss NHM becomes feral!!!

Food

We use “Derek” Mr NHM’s Dutch Oven, my small slow cooker and occasionally the BBQ on site.

Facilities

Fire extinguisher in the yurt

Private bathroom – toilet, sink and shower

Chest with a file with suggestions if things to do in the area

Games set with lots of different types of games like chess and backgammon in each yurt.

There is also a large chest of drawers for storing items with a couple of rugs in, just in case it gets cold, a small table and a large rug on the floor so you don’t get cold feet.

Each yurt has electric and our yurt has a lamp in it.

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Each yurt has its own rotary line.

The kitchen area also has tea lights, books of relevance like “Cornwall with kids”, a Dutch oven cooking book (Mr NHM is now in love with his Dutch oven after he got one for Father’s Day last year. The yurts used to have one but it wasn’t looked after properly by people staying here :-()

A 4 slice toaster and kettle in the kitchen

Washing baskets

Outdoor games like jeronimo

Baby Facilities

Very amenable to babies however you do need to be careful with toddlers near the fire. We took Miss NHM for the first time when she was 2.5 years old and it was fine because she learnt pretty quickly that the fire was hot and she needed to stay away from it.

You also need someone who can build a fire to be there, otherwise it will get cold pretty quickly in the evening times.

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Places we love to visit whilst here

Rosskillys. Fantastic ice cream and grounds you can visit for free. They also have farm animals you can buy food for. The pigs are very vocal!! Also do wood fire pizzas on Wed evening.

Poldhu beach – a short drive from the yurts. On Friday night they do wood fire pizza’s from 5pm to 7.30pm.

Kynance cove –  check the tides though as we had to wait for the tide to go out for two hours last year. Had a fab time playing on the rocks though. Also, not a great place for pushchairs as it’s a 15 minute walk if you don’t walk down the cliff face and then you have to carry your pushchair over some of the rocks. People do it though!

Kennack sands – this can become filled with chav’s as its very close to a caravan site.

We always ask Polly for her recommendations on places to go. She’s a font of local knowledge.

Parking

When you first arrive you can drive up to the yurt to unload but your car must remain in the car park until it’s time to pack up.

Prices

Extremely reasonable.

Rating out of 5

10 out of 5!!!

We absolutely LOVE staying here. It’s all the little details that make it so awesome, from the moment we arrive and Sprocket comes to greet us at the door and then Polly comes out to give us massive hugs. It really is our home from home!

Although, this time we didn’t get any scones because Polly was off to china for her birthday, and knew that it was “us” and we wouldn’t mind. I did mind as I was looking forward to those scones for weeks before!! Sorry Polly, I lied!!! lol.

You may think I’m crazy for sharing this with you, as there’s a risk it might become so busy that we can’t get in, but don’t worry, I’ve done a deal with Polly that we can always have “our” yurt during May half term. Whoop!!!!

If you do decide to book, make sure you tell Polly that you are booking via NorthHantsMum.

Hope you have an awesome time as much as we do!!!

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Review 2016: The English Charm Company – 3d Casting

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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.

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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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Atmosphere Trampoline Park – First Look!!!!

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!!!

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

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

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Review 2015: Pots2Paint Basingstoke

Pots2Paint

I first met Stef, who runs Pots2Paint, when Miss NHM was about 6 weeks old. It was coming up to Father’s Day and I wanted to get Mr NHM something special as it was his first Father’s Day. I chose a mug and Stef very delicately took handprints and footprints from a tiny Miss NHM. Mr NHM was overwhelmed when he got his mug and it remains in pride of place on display.
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Since that first time of visiting Pots2Paint I think we’ve been back every year since!  We’ve decorated a special 60th birthday tea pot for Gran, Christmas decorations for our close friends with Miss NHM’s handprints, more gifts for treasured friends and this time we visited to make gifts for Miss NHM’s nursery ladies. We’ve even been to a birthday party for one of Miss NHM’s peers at Pots2Paint and it was absolutely brilliant!!
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Stef and her team are always incredibly welcoming and have the BEST creative ideas that are always inspirational.

Pots 2 Paint 2

I emailed Stef to ask to book in about a week before we wanted a slot. Stef came back to me very quickly and confirmed the time.

We turned up on the day and as we were the first ones in we could choose whichever table we wanted to sit at. You pay a studio fee for each person who is painting, to cover the costs of the paint, which is reasonable given the overhead costs of running the studio.

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The colour scheme and paints you can choose.

Miss NHM was very sure about the colours she wanted to use so Stef showed her how to paint them and helped her with her colours.

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I chose which products we were going to paint. There are literally 100’s, a lot more choice than there used to be. I have my eye on the gnome already :-D.

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Miss NHM’s creation. She was very determined about which colours she was using!

Miss NHM then decorated all of the gifts for her nursery ladies. Once she had finished Stef asked her to wash her hands and we handed over our goods. Stef then advised that the finished products would be available five days later.

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Completed orders ready to be picked up!

I’m so pleased with the final pieces and hope that Miss NHM’s nursery ladies are too!

Tips

Book early if you want to make gifts for Christmas. The studio gets very busy in the run up to Christmas so it’s best to book in sooner rather than later.
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If it’s not easy to get to the studio, I have seen via Dear Mummy, that Pots2Paint also offer a Hamper Service which you can book in advance.

Facilities

Although Pots2Paint is small unit of two rooms, it’s part of the Viables Craft centre community, so you can still use the toilets and baby changing facilities. There is a code to get into them though, so you may need to ask Stef for the code.

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Are available, but as I’ve mentioned above, you may need the code to get in.

Pots2Paint also welcome Mum’s who are breastfeeding.

Parking

Is free. It can get a bit tight in the car park but if the field is open then this means that parking is very easy.

Prices

You pay a studio fee to cover the cost of your paints and then pay for whichever items you choose to decorate.

Rating out of 5

I LOVE Pots2Paint so I’m giving them 5 out of 5.

I’ve always had brilliant service from the team and they have always been very helpful and have the best ideas when it comes to creating gifts for people.
You can also find out more about Pots 2 Paint via their facebook page.

Review 2014: Airkix in Basingstoke

Warning: These are the only photo’s that you will ever see of me on NHM :-D. 

I committed to myself at the beginning of the year, that this would be MY year. (and it REALLY has been. 2014 has been an amazing year for me!!)

As part of this I made a decision early on this year, that I would do a Sky Dive for charity in 2015. (A few people have been very critical of this as I’m a parent, but life’s too short not to take the odd risk now and then, whether you are a parent or not!!)

Next year is a “big” birthday for me (21 again!!!) and I would love it if my family and friends donated money for me to Sky Dive to raise funds for Sebastian’s Action Trust, instead of buying me a birthday present.

I wanted to try Airkix first, to see if I could *hack* a Sky Dive.

So, Mr NHM bought me an awesome birthday present, which I cashed in on Sunday.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and was a little terrified.

But…it was SOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so amazing that I have booked my Sky Dive, two days after Airkix! lol.

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Play

Once you have brought your Airkix ticket you need to book your slot online. During school holidays and weekends it can get very busy, so I booked at least a month in advance and then promptly forgot about it. DON’T DO THIS! Make sure you read the paperwork that gets sent to you at least a few days in advance.

When you arrive, you will need to complete a “Statement of Risk” disclaimer on the computer terminals. You are supposed to complete this at home, in advance, but I completely missed this bit. (Sorry Airkix!!!) It takes a bit longer than you would think because the keyboard has clearly been used many times before.

If you’ve had shoulder problems, you also need to confirm that you are ok to jump.

Once everyone arrives (I was dying of embarrassment that we were late), you then get taken upstairs to a room with a video and asked to watch the 5 minute video which explains everything you need to know and remember.

I was very pleased to see that I wasn’t the oldest person in the room. However, it was a little misleading as a few parents were sitting with their children and the parents didn’t actually jump. Sneaky!!!

The video covers quite a bit and I’m sure if you are younger and not so stressed about being late, you would take in a lot more. I tried to concentrate on the hand movements that you need to watch for, as you can’t hear or talk in the wind tunnel.

Luckily, I didn’t really have any time to become nervous. Once the video has finished, you then suit up.

You are given a lovely jump suit and helmet, goggles and then you can also have ear plugs. I wore these as I’m partially deaf anyway, so really couldn’t hear anything! lol.

Then, it’s time to go. You are taken into the ar-locked area of the wind tunnel and you sit on the bench. The other side of the wind tunnel are the spectators. I think this was the worst bit! Knowing that people were watching you!?!?!?!

I was 5th in the queue. It was fab watching everyone else, but this was the point where I started to get nervous.

When it was my turn, I could literally feel all of the spectator’s eyes on me. I was by far the oldest “girl” and I think they were expecting me to freak out of flake out. (I didn’t, I loved it and am REALLY proud of that fact! lol.)

Then, before you know it, it’s your turn….

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I didn’t realise how much you needed to concentrate. I think I just expected it to “happen”. It did happen but you need to make sure you were paying attention to the hand signals. It actually takes a lot of control.

I had two jumps of two minutes each. About 1.40 seconds into the first jump I had to get out. My back was KILLING ME! It’s not used to being arched in such a direction, so the instructor did two, one minute sessions next for me, rather than two minutes in one hit. This was much better.

I managed to do a 360 degree turn in both directions, went sideways and up and down. It was amazing how little movement was needed to move around.

In my last “jump” I was taken up and down the wind tunnel by the instructor. This was AMAZING and, despite grinning like an idiot and trying not too dribble everywhere, it was a real highlight. This is the bit that secured the Sky Dive booking for me :-D.

After everyone has done their jump and the photo’s have been taken, you then take off your gear and are given your certificates. I’m very proud of my certificate and it’s displayed next to the award I won for NHM earlier in the year.

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The instructor said I was a natural, which I’m sure is what helped my enjoyment, plus not having the time to get nervous in advance.

When you have finished you check out downstairs and have the option to buy repeat jumps at a reduced price.

Guess who knows what she’s getting for Christmas :-D.

Tips

Check your paperwork BEFORE the day of your jump. DO NOT do what I did and check it the morning of your jump, only to realise that you have to be there AT LEAST an hour before your scheduled time. We left the house in 7 minutes. This was the fastest time we have EVER left the house! lol.

(Thankfully, I was only 20 minutes late and the staff were lovely about it. We were THAT family though! I think if we had been 25 mins late, I would have lost my slot.)

Breath. I didn’t realise until after my first jump that I had been holding my breath. Nearly two minutes of holding ones breath is a long time. Make sure you breath!!!!

You will dribble. Not just at the “easy on the eye” Instructors ;-).

You will also ache the following day. Three days on and my stomach muscles haven’t quite forgiven me. So worth it though!!!!!

Leave your jewellery at home. It’s not recommended to wear it in the wind tunnel.

Non-participating children cannot be left alone, so make sure you bring someone along with you to watch them.

If you have long hair, tie your hair back as you don’t want it whipping around you in the wind tunnel.

Food

n/a

Facilities

Are excellent as it’s a very new facility. To be fair though, we didn’t do much exploring. Did I mention we were late? <blush>.

Baby Facilities

Not really sure, I was too excited to check these out.

Parking

Is free in Basingstoke Leisure Park

Prices

Are actually very reasonable for what you get.

There are also a few special offers that you can book on the day, for your next Airkix flight, which I may or may not have booked on the day because I loved it so much :-D.

Rating out of 5

10 out of 5. If only to prove to yourself that you aren’t JUST a Mum. 😉

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