Keep Your Hands Inside The Carriage At All Times: Blackpool Pleasure Beach...(Part 1)

  We are not supposed to be holidaying this year.

We are skint.  We are beyond skint.

But when someone gives me the chance to review my all-time favourite place in the whole world so that I can tell everyone how fabulous it is, could I say no?

NO!

Of course not!

We stayed right beside the first hill lift!

We are literally just home from one of my favourite visits ever to The Pleasure Beach in Blackpool.

I have been going since I was a wee toot, but there is just something magical about taking your children somewhere that you love, especially when they are both old enough to appreciate the delights for themselves.

We appeared at the gates on Monday, the first week of the Scottish school holidays, and although it was quite busy due to end-of-term school outings and swathes of Glaswegian holidaymakers, it was relatively quiet compared to what it will be like in a few weeks - we literally walked straight to the front of the queue in the very official and efficient ticket office, where we were issued with our wristbands and vouchers for the day.

Noah's Ark - now no longer a ride, but kept as a beautiful entrance display.  A bit of history!

When I was a wee lassie, you simply wandered around the Pleasure Beach at whim, buying tickets at the booth in either singles or books and they were graded in terms of ride thrill factor (i.e, white knuckle was a couple of A tickets, B for mid-level thrills and C tickets for junior rides).  You can still buy tickets for individual rides, but the park now charges an entry fee of £6 (which includes use of some low-level attractions) and if you are planning on riding at all, you are always much better off buying a wristband, which at £21.99 for adults and £19.00 for juniors is a bargain (when bought online) - especially compared to a lot of other attractions in Blackpool, such as Merlin's recently refurbished Blackpool Tower attractions and The Zoo, both of which charged a fortune!

The Pleasure Beach has certainly moved with the times, and it is simply amazing how many people are involved in just getting everyone through the door.  The huge Ticket Office with multiple queue lines means that you get your tickets quickly and easily, while being given park basics before you set off - a helpful leaflet is available on the 19 rides which children can go on, with or without an adult and you also get a park map, coupons for eateries within the park (of which there are many!) and your park passes, so you can go in and out as many times as you like throughout the day.

Perfect!

At the entrance you also have the option to purchase a very beautiful piece of machinery technology, which Dave has dubbed 'The Tamagotchi Thing', which is in fact a Queue Bot, called The Speedy Pass.
I highly recommend the Speedy Pass if you are visiting with small children.  There are so many fantastic rides and beautiful rollercoasters at the Pleasure Beach, that it would be rude not to at least try to go on them! We used one, and I have to say that we never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to get on some pretty queued out rides!  It was great and really took the stress out of theme parking for us grown ups.

Traditionally, Dave and I ride The Ice Blast first,

Blasted to the top of this tower?  Yes please!

 but now that we have two small children in tow, we head straight for the family-friendly stuff, which as a white-knuckle thrill-seeker should kill me a little inside, but in my old age I'm getting all mellow and romantic about stuff, so we head straight for the famous Sir Hiram Maxim's Flying Machines - one of the oldest (if not in fact the oldest) operational ride on the park, opened in 1904.  Rumour has it that Sir Hiram Maxim himself didn't really admire his 'failed invention' and was disappointed at the fact that it was just a 'glorified merry-go-round', but I'm sure if he could see the longevity and joy it has brought to millions across the generations, he would be more than a bit chuffed.

A beautiful day for some flying!

Arty shot

Boys together

Me and my little thrill seeker

I swear they've never changed these signs!

Ethan - 'I not ascared anymore!'

There's nothing like a bit of flying through the air at speed in a captive flying machine to get your day off to a good start!

Next we headed straight to another of my old favourites, and one that I rode often as a child - The Alice In Wonderland Ride.

No, it's not Disney-esque in any way, but it is a really old and much loved interpretation of Lewis Carroll's famous children's book.  I love it because it's never changed - it is well maintained, and I notice a new section has been added to update it slightly.  And a new photo opp outside!

Fab new photo opp

Gorgeous lettering

Track porn!

Serious stuff

The Alice photo calendar - a family tradition!

Spotted!  Pretty sure this is a new addition?  Correct me if I'm wrong!

After Alice, we headed over to the BEST ride on the park by far.  IS it a rollercoaster? No!

Is it a static ride?  

No!

It's my all time favourite.

The Derby Racer!

Now it's changed a lot in recent years - it was given a gorgeous makeover in 2008, and the original racing mechanism is now sadly locked, but it's still quite easily one of the most underestimated joys of theme park revelry.

Magical sounds from the Verbeeck organ!

A glitterball horse!

 Proper horses which race very fast on a carousel to the tune of a mini wurlitzer type organ, which is really fabulous.  The tune playing when we were on this time was 'Walking On Sunshine'.  Perfect!

Excuse the blur - it's hard to hold a camera and a boy on a horse!

I always do a full blown grin with teeth and everything when I'm flying around on this one.  I always feel like time could stop and I could ride it forever - it's everything to me.  It's like time stops and I'm 5,6,7,8,9,10 again!  Amazing!

Check out my girlish grin *titter*

After this, the kids were antsy to get going towards Nickelodeon Land...so off we went! 

Waving to an old friend - The Grand National twin track racing rollercoasters!

An obligatory visit to the loo!

My favourite woodie - The Rollercoater (or newly named Nick Streak)

Crossing the bridge into small children's heaven!

Best view ever!

The miniature railway was looking fine today!

So early, Valhalla wasn't switched on yet!

 I practically skipped along the path and up over the bridge as I passed all of my old favourites in the bright sunshine!

What a lucky, lucky day!  To be continued...

Part Two can be found HERE

My Kitchen Story

I think I'm supposed to be showing you how awesome my kitchen is, and how it's the heart of the home and all that jazz.

I'm almost completely sure that I am supposed to be telling you how my family and I spend loads of time in here and we love it and I love the view I have while washing my dishes and stuff.

But, I'm not going to do that.

But seeing as you're here; here's the Grand Tour.

First up is my beautiful Stick Bouquet.  It's better than flowers y'see, because, well, they don't wilt.  And you can pose them quite well.




My stick collection is the only thing in my vase!

Some mothers get flowers.  Some get a nice collection of hand-made gifts.  What do I get?  A new stick.  Every time they go out.  It's nice that they think about me while on long walks with their dad, but it's getting to the point where I'm not sure if it would be okay to, er, put them back.  Carefully.  Outside.  So the, er, animals and stuff can enjoy them again...

We rent our house.  It's a lovely house and we love living here, but it is just a small flat and hence, the kitchen, although big enough to suit us just now, is quite small.

We've moved house 4 times in the last 5 years.

We've had some great kitchens.

We've had some truly awful kitchens.

This one sits high on my list - it's clean, it's safe and it doesn't have scary electrical problems or gas leaks, so I'm happy.

It is very very small though - no dining space - and depending on the state of my washing situation, not much room to move in.  Two people can cook alongside each other as long as you claim areas of space first.  And don't get annoyed easily.

I've learned over the years how to make a house your home when it's not really your home.

I love little bits and pieces - like postcards and the boys' art.  We currently have a couple of noticeboards up on the wall (one of the stipulations of renting is that we cannot put pictures up),and they are great for adding personal bits and pieces to - a top tip for those who rent!

It can look quite messy, so the trick is to keep one for 'Things To Do' and the other for rotational art - but as you can see, it doesn't always end up that way!

I also love to stick up personal mementoes.

Medusa

This one looks a bit scary - and it is!  Caravaggio's Medusa on a shield is terrifying in real life.  I was really taken with it when I saw it in The Uffizi in Florence.  Unfortunately, we don't have any space for a full print (plus, I'm pretty sure a large one would scare the kids!), so Medusa sits on my own part of the pinboard - you know, accenting my day-to-day feelings about general housework and stuff.I like to think of her as a kind of 'warning' sign.  A friendly, arty one.  Plus, it reminds me of what holidays were like before children.  You know - relaxing and stuff.

Funny story!

I also love to collect funny newspaper clippings.  Our local paper sometimes comes out with some proper clangers, so it's always amusing to hang onto them.  The one above doesn't look as though it would be funny - but the way it's written is just amazing.  I don't know if this was the author's intention, but 3 years on, it still makes me giggle.

Next up on the grand tour, next to my beautiful collection of woodland detritus, is Tom's 'Pot of Hope'.

Originally gifted to him at school with the idea of raising funds for cancer care, 'The Pot Of Hope' was supposed to be watered every so often until such time as it would produce a flower which would dance joyously in the wind.

We're still hoping that 'The Pot of Hope' will yield some results, but to be honest, it's not looking likely.

Sad spider, disapproves...

I don't have many collections (contrary to popular belief), but I do collect something very useful - cups!

I love a good novelty cup!

I'm kind of running out of space to put them all, so I'm currently looking into thinning them out a bit, but it is tough!  I like to keep them clean with Fairy Platinum - keeps them lovely and fresh while protecting the motifs too.  Very important - especially for my older two cups (I've had them since I was 3!)

My two oldest cups!



Aren't they cool?

What's not so cool is the amount of times we all trip over the dog's water dish in a day.  I'm surprised the dog ever has any water to drink!

The kitchen is also the place where broken things come to die before being thrown unceremoniously in the bin at random intervals.  An example of such a candidate is this gorgeous Pirate Bankie which Ethan got for Xmas.

Sad face.

I told him to be careful.

Also, I have become acutely aware how stuffed with rubbish my kitchen is after being asked to give you all a wee tour.

Does everyone have lots of random stuff in their kitchen, or is it just me?

I'm not sure when I'll ever get around to using my champagne flutes in a vase....

Or even why I am holding onto wine bottles for nearly 10 years...

My recipe book collection

As I said, it's nothing much.

Nothing to see here...move along...!

*shoves you all out of the tight doorspace*


This post is an entry for the “My Kitchen Story” Linky Challenge, sponsored by Fairy Platinum  Facebook.com/fairydish

Facebook.com/fairydish

My Magic Tricks!

Childhood is a magical time, isn't it?

Full of imagination, laughter and high spirits.

Which is why you have to be a magician to keep up with them!

There are a few tricks I keep up my sleeve in my parenting bag.

I have no idea how some of them work.

But that's real magic, isn't it?

1. The Magical Countdown

'Thomas, can you put your shoes on please?'
'Yeah...'
'Tom, please put your shoes on'
'Uh huh'
'Thomas.  Come on, we have to go!.  Now!'
'In a minute'
'Five'
'I'm going, I'm going!'
'Four'
'Okay, okay!  Stop counting!'
'Three...'
'Done!  Shoes are on!'



I can't explain that one.  It even works with my youngest, who won't do anything when asked first time.  But as soon as I start counting?  Done before I hit 4.

People always ask me, what happens when you get to one?

I've never had to.

2.Quiet Playtime

Ethan didn't start sleeping through the night until he was three years old.  You can imagine the amount of tricks and stuff we tried to get some sleep.  Three years is a LONG time!  He suffered from the worst night terrors, and as a result it wasn't just sleeping through the night that was an issue - just going to bed was too.

We'd never had any problems with Thomas - he was such an easy sleeper.  His bedtime routine was perfect - bath, books, bed.

Ethan went through phases where it took hours to get him to sleep.  Then still get up in the middle of the night.  It was soul-destroying!

Eventually, his night terrors stopped and we are now getting some good sleep - thankfully - but the fear of actually going to sleep accompanied by all the things he has to do to go to sleep have become habitual.  Thus we have introduced a magic thing that stops the hours of storytelling, song singing, multiple cups of milk and endless shouting from us of 'go to sleep!'

Now the boys get to go through to their room and play for as long as they like.  Sounds crazy, right?  Surely they'll stay up all night and never go to bed?

But no - that's the magic part.  Somehow they take themselves to bed.  Sometimes earlier than planned.  Without general faffery.    Now that IS a true magic trick.  There are rules - if they fight, shout, are noisy or come out of their room, it's bed time.  And it works.  It works beautifully!

3. Stickers

I love stickers.  Stickers have the power to convince children of anything.

They convince kids that they can use the toilet.

They keep them quiet on long plane/train journeys.

They Commend good behaviour and can convince a child to get into a buggy.

It's crazy.

The inventor of stickers was a wizard.

4. Money Magic

I have to be pretty magic with my finances.  Two boys are constantly hungry and eat me out of house and home.  And don't get me started on the little bits and pieces that add up; school meals, school disco tickets, school trips, days out with family, trips to the shops.  No doubt about it, kids are expensive.

That's when I need more than a bit of magic!

Online banking with NatWest helps me to keep my head above water.

And an extra magic trick they have added to their repertoire of banking tools is their Mobile App.

With the use of my smartphone I can instantly check my balance while out and about, helping me to keep on top of my daily spending, at the touch of a button.  And, it sends me text alerts too!

The Near Me service is also great for finding a cash machine while we are out and about too - we use this a lot!  In this digital age we never carry cash (well, not the way we used to), so finding a cash machine when we are heading out to a fayre or farmer's market is of ultimate importance!

Setting up the mobile app was quick and easy, and once I had, I was able to add accounts to it so that if I found myself out and about without cash, I could even pay my friends back for helping me out (which was handy when I was at a fete the other day with my buddy and she spotted me £10)

I also had the option of sending the money to her mobile number (if she was a Natwest customer too!)

The most amazing trick that this mobile app can do though is to get cash from a cash machine without having my card to hand!  NatWest is an account I use for savings purposes, so I tend to tap into it when we are on a day out instead of hitting the main fund.  The problem is - I'm not always organised enough to have my card with me.

Which was a problem - we were at the local Medieval Fair and the kids really wanted a go on the chair swings...

No problem at all!

I simply went into my mobile app, typed in the amount I would like to withdraw and was sent a code that was valid for 3 hours.

I could the use it at any RBS, NatWest or Tesco cash machine - which was perfect for our day out - right next to a Tesco store!  (I suppose that's one of the plus points of a Tesco on every high street).

It really is the little magic things that make a big difference!

*Disclaimer: I was asked to review the NatWest Mobile Banking App in conjunction with Britmums and Natwest for their promotion #mumsmagictricks  All opinions (and  magic tricks) are my own and are used all the time in our house!