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Mike the Knight at Warwick Castle

Posted on by Abi

Last Saturday my family and I travelled to Warwick Castle to meet Mike the Knight as part of a weekend organized to celebrate series two launching. The castle in conjunction with Hit Entertainment had arranged a selection of Mike themed activities. If you fancy crying ‘Be a Knight, do it Right’ Mike will be back at the castle again this coming weekend (6-7 July).

To say my children were excited would be an understatement, however my heart sank when I saw a queue at the castle ticket office (I imagined hours of waiting in line for each attraction).Thankfully this was not the case as everything was very well organized and only the Face Painting had a long queue.

The Mike the Knight area was set in little Medieval style tents and children were given booklets listing all the activities. As each activity was completed they were given a sticker and if they finished them all they received a prize (it’s a flag). The adults in charge of each event stayed in character throughout and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the kids having fun!

My little knights started by taking a Wizard Workshop with Mike’s sister Evie. They watched as she pulled things out of a bag and helped her to cast magic spells and create something out of thin air.

Next they took to their (hobby) horses and galloped to victory in a race. The Knight in charge of this event had all the parents in stitches as he organised our kids; he had endless patience as they ran in the wrong direction, set off in twos or just generally caused chaos!

A little castle building, target shooting and face painting later we made an orderly queue and waited to meet Mike himself. He stood happily as each child came to meet him in front of the beautiful castle backdrop!

Everywhere we walked the Mike the Knight theme tune played through speakers concealed in bushes and trees 🙂 We finished by joining Sparke and Squirt’s Dragon Egg Hunt. This went all over the grounds and certainly gave the children some exercise (and the parents a chance to admire the views). We all had a fabulous time and if you have any Mike fans at home I thoroughly recommend going to meet him.

That wasn’t the end of our day though, we had the whole of Warwick Castle to explore! I have many childhood memories of visiting the castle and after reading some reviews online I wondered if I would still enjoy it. I did 🙂 The castle sometimes receives criticism for being part of the Merlin group and people accuse it of being more like a theme park than a historical monument. However I feel this couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes it is owned by Merlin, yes there are photos you can buy and gift shops to visit but the Castle is very much aware of it’s past and importance in British history.

There are little rooms all around the walls with wax figures dreaming on the eve of battle, or ghosts squealing down staircases. I suppose this might not be to everyones taste, but for a child this really brings the castle to life! There’s no standing around looking bored while Mum and Dad read a plaque on the wall, here they can watch the story unfold and get involved with the action.

We visited the Princess Tower, where my daughter was picked to test a stack of 7 mattresses to see if she could feel the pea (she could, she’s a princess! 🙂 ). We went through the Merlin Tower where my son was spoken to by a dragon and somehow they knew my daughter’s name and warned her to use her powers for good (she was astounded and promised faithfully that she would).

We saw bald eagles and owls flying between the battlements and knights teaching us why metal shields would never have worked before chopping apples held in someones hand! It was thoroughly educational and more importantly… it was alive!

For more information on Warwick Castle and the Mike the Knight event click here.

To find out more about Mike the Knight visit his website here.

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Co-Operative Meal Deal

Posted on by Abi

I rarely buy ready meals as I prefer to make my own but we all like to have a night off once in a while and this is what I did last Saturday.

I was kindly given a £10 voucher to test out one of the Co-operative Meal Deals which promised a two course meal for two and a drink. It sounds like a fabulous deal, but was it?

My local Co-op had four choices for meal, side dish and sweet, plus wine or non alcoholic drinks. Not the biggest selection ever, but reasonable enough.

The wine was an easy choice as I prefer red, I chose their South African variety. I am no expert but found this a very pleasant wine and lighter than our usual, I would happily drink it again.

For the main course there were two fish dishes: salmon in pastry or paella. Or two meat: turkey breast or chicken chestnut and mushroom pies. I chose the pies as my husband is not keen on seafood.

For the side I decided on chorizo potatoes. Incidentally I could have chosen some fresh vegetables but I already had some at home.

When it came to cooking the potatoes and pies they both needed different temperatures (slightly disappointing for a ready meal) so I started by putting the potatoes in the oven at 200c for ten minutes and then turned the oven down to 180c for twenty minutes for the pies, both cooked well. It was difficult to get the pie onto a plate. It came in a foil container and only had a crust on the top, hence the slightly untidy look. However the taste more than made up for it’s lack of presentation, it was delicious. You can see from my picture that I added some cauliflower and carrots.

For dessert there was a choice of four but I particularly liked the sound of salted caramel cheesecake. This was very tasty on an oat biscuit base, with a slight hint of saltiness.

Would I buy these again.

Yes I would, as I say its not often that I buy ready meals but I would definitely try another of these for a treat and a night off from cooking.

Could it be improved in anyway?

The only thing I would say is I did feel the need to add something more to the main meal (extra veg). However I did feel that it was value for money.

It was also be more convienient if cooking temperatures matched up for sheer ease.

 

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Hot Wheels Wall Track Power Tower Review

Posted on by Abi

My boys have been fans of the Hot Wheels Wall Track range for quite sometime now, so when we were offered the opportunity of reviewing the latest addition we were more than happy to agree. The new track is called the Power Tower and promises new thrills to add to an existing wall track or if you’re just starting your collection.

Previously we had found the wall track easy to assemble and this time was no different. The only issue we had was trying to keep the boys away as my husband stuck the pieces to the wall! The Power Tower does require batteries which we didn’t have in the house (worth noting if you’re thinking of this as a Christmas gift) so a quick trip to the shops and we were good to go.

To say the boys (and my daughter too) love this track would be an understatement, it can keep them occupied (and blissfully quiet) for a long time. Cars whirl around in the lift(elevator) style toy before zooming down the track, hoping not to get caught in the chomping head further down.

Would I recommend this product?

Definitely, it’s as much as the previous versions of wall track and can of course be connected up to other packs, making it a versatile and fun filled toy.

Could it be improved in anyway?

I always prefer toys that come with batteries included in case I don’t have any in stock. I’m also not a huge fan of the background posters if you are planning on connecting up several tracks.

Details

The Power Tower RRP is £39.99

Available at all good toy retails online and instore.

Further details available at Hot Wheels website

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