My Personalised Case make phone cases for a huge range of phones, including the new iPhones, and they can be customised to include your own images and text. They also sell other cases and personalised Bluetooth Speakers and Powerbanks, at very reasonable prices. They have sent me a Tough Phone Case and Personalised Bluetooth Speaker for review.


The website is very simple to use and within a couple of minutes I'd uploaded my chosen image. Be careful which image you choose - annoyingly mine didn't work as a full cover photo because the camera obscures my children's faces! Thankfully there are several layouts to choose from.


You can also add text and other effects including stickers and filters. It's easy to undo your last move and very quick.

We love Just So Festival and my 9 and 10 year old boys were delighted when we were asked back again this year to review. We are big supporters of the team behind Just So, Wild Rumpus, who bring together nature and the arts to give families unique experiences they'll remember forever.


Just So Festival's 10th Anniversary took place in the usual Cheshire woodland location of Rode Hall and created a real festival to remember forever, and one for your CV if you work in events management!!


I've been to many, many festivals over the years and for the last 25 I've had children with me. It's really easy for it all to go wrong when the rain hits, and it hit Just So really hard. One month's rain in one day, as 5000 people arrive and attempt to start their festival weekend. It's the stuff of nightmares for any event organiser. They did fantastically.

The staff and volunteers gave everyone just enough leeway, and the festival attendees had enough common sense, to make it work safely for as many people as possible. I'm truly sorry to anyone who didn't make it in the end. For most of us at least, the festival went ahead virtually as planned.

It was a festival of the arts and the outdoors, and nature was determined to reassert the fact she is bigger than all of us.

The ROXI from Electric Jukebox is a small music streaming hub unit which connects to your TV and can be used for 5 different functions, including streaming music from Electric Jukebox. One year's premium pass is included, as is a remote control which doubles as a microphone and can be used for Smart Voice Search and karaoke.


Our house has always been full of music and my older kids have introduced us to a variety of apps and gadgets over the years, they all have subscriptions to various music streaming services too, so reviewing the ROXI is a very natural step for us.


In the box you have the ROXI hub, ROXI controller, USB charge lead, Power adapter, HDMI cable and 12 month Premium Music Pass. It's nicely presented and looks really neat. The hub itself is very small, wall mountable and in a choice of 3 colours - classic charcoal grey, bright blue or coral red.



The controller is USB rechargeable.  A charge takes around 2 hours and lasts 24 hours of constant use, so it'll not need recharging often. It really isn't too big or unwieldy. It's surprisingly light and comfortable in any size of hand and your children shouldn't drop it every 5 minutes.


Set up was ridiculously simple and took about 2 minutes. You don't have to register, add your card details or make an account, you just plug in the HDMI and the power, log into your wifi and use the controller to control the onscreen cursor to say 'yes' to starting your first Annual Premium Pass - which is included.

Summer is nearly here! Yeeeay! Here are loads of events and activities to keep the family amused rain or shine over the Summer holidays in Manchester Central, Wider Manchester, Liverpool or the North West UK. I try to collect as many cheaper ideas as possible, never overlook your local library and museum as they often have special events and a lot of them are free!

Manchester Central

THE LOWRY

I'm sure every parent of school aged children spends far too much of their time saying "turn it down" or having to enjoy DanTDM or Little Mix on repeat for the 45th day in a row. An obvious solution that you may not have thought of is headphones. CozyPhones Children's Headband Headphones have been designed specially to be comfortable and easy to wear.


We've been sent a pair of CozyPhone Headphones and Gary clearly has influence here because my 7 year old surprisingly chose the Cat Headphones (Frog, Emoji, Unicorn and several others are also available). Packaging was completely minimal and effective, saving waste and postage charges.


Unlike earphones, which children find hard to wear and distracting, or regular headphones, which get dropped and broken and are very heavy for children, CozyPhones are speakers housed in a soft fabric headband.

Lucky Voice make home karaoke equipment that gives great results whether for parties or a rainy afternoon singalong with the kids. Using their subscription website, you can also access a library of over 8000 songs - there really is something for anyone and everyone...
 

Our household are big fans of music, and when the children were younger we spent many, many hours belting out tunes on Guitar Hero or Rock Band together. More recently our music has been mainly on CD, radio or music TV, but growing up with song has clearly left an impression on my youngest, who is never quiet and sings half the day. This review is for him really, he loves it....


Inside the Lucky Voice box is everything you need to connect together your own TV, computer and sound equipment:

1 × light and chic microphone mixer
1 × metal-bodied dynamic microphone
1 × 5m microphone cable
1 × headphone to phono cable
2 × headphone to headphone cables
1 × instruction sheet
Plus a voucher code for a month of free singing with the Lucky Voice website.

I am delighted to announce that this year we really should be going to the Geronimo Festival as Festival Ambassadors! Yeeay! Set at 2 locations in the North of the country - Tatton Park in Cheshire (May 29/30) and Harewood House near Leeds (May 1/2), Geronimo is a no-camping day festival designed especially for children aged from 2-12. We will be bringing you all of the action from the Harewood House festival.

Big Fish Little Fish are, in their own words, "a music and events crew that put on family raves with all the freedom and excitement of a mini-festival, right in the heart of cities and towns".

I was asked if I'd be interested in coming along to review a Big Fish Little Fish Family Rave being held in Manchester. I had absolutely no idea what that was going to entail, but it sounded a laugh, and incredibly intriguing, so it wasn't an opportunity to be missed.

I've been tagged by Eileen from ET Speaks From Home to give you my Desert Island Disc selection. It's a fantastic meme and I'm delighted to take part. Anything that has me looking up my favourite songs is a win. Eileen is a not-so-secret party animal - you can check out her selection here....

I have to choose 10 songs (very hard), one book and one luxury.

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony. It'd be perfect. You wouldn't need money, and you'd have all the time in the world to relax and sit around enjoying the sun and the sand and the sea, and you'd just want to leave. Definitely bitter-sweet.

Bjork - Hyperballad. Because it's beautiful. It's about those things we do that no-one knows about, that keep us going, keep us sane. And it'd remind me to tidy up a bit.


The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? Because it is, in my opinion, THE best song ever, with that amazing riff and the lyrics. When I was an angst-ridden teen I'd sing/sob my heart out to this song.

"There's a club if you'd like to go, you could meet somebody who really loves you.
So you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own,
And you go home, and you cry and you want to die".

And then, when I was 33, I was in a VW Campervan club, and I met someone who really loves me. So ha!

The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations. Because it's entirely The Beach Boys and it'd be a perfect soundtrack to an evening sat alone watching the waves. And for when he sings that first note - it sends a shiver down my spine.
Placebo - Pure Morning. I love this song so much. It'd be my waking up and getting going music. And probably because of the sex - or serious lack of it on your own on an island.


Cud - I've Had It With Blondes. A record I love and which takes me back to my student days. It has the fantastic couplet:

I was a teenage stamp collector,
I'd lay on my back and you'd stamp on my face

The use of the word 'expectorate' and the immortal line "Things get worse when you get older". And it's great.

The Pixies - Where Is My Mind. You'd go crazy on your own on that island. At least this way you would be okay about it....


James - Laid. It was really hard to choose a track from James, because I have so many favourites. I went with this one because I'd be singing the last 2 lines in my head all the time...

"You're driving me crazy,
When are you coming home?"

Echo And The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain. I was besotted by The Bunnymen when I was a teenager. At 15 I saved up all my money for 6 months to go and see them and buy every t-shirt. Ocean Rain is a gorgeous song, it would be so apt, and so soothing.


Snow Patrol featuring Martha wainwright - Set The Fire To The Third Bar. I am after all, a girl. And before I moved to Manchester I spent 18 months living 80 miles away from my partner. The lyrics say everything.


There's a theory that you set your musical taste quite young, and when all those psychological and physiological changes are going on in your head and body, something about music generally gets stuck. Although I love a good modern tune, as soon as I started doing this I became transfixed with a ten year period and had to force myself to move, so I guess in my case at least, it's true.

My book would be something to write in. I have a good memory and I've read a lot of books, I'd be able to entertain myself better with a notebook. I'd be able to keep track of time and I think I really would go insane if I couldn't take note of everything that happened.

My luxury would be a satellite phone - I'm not staying!


Thank you to Eileen for tagging me, it was fantastic fun listening to hundreds of songs and trying to choose only 10!