I was meant to review a tablet for under £50 for Travel Supermarket's Inspect-A-Gadget Competition, but it all went a bit wrong at first, so my review is finally here and so is my tablet!


We were given the choice of 5 different travel gadgets under £50 to review and we went for the tablet as we've never had one that the grown ups and little boys could use (previously it's only been a couple of our teenagers who had their own tablets), we thought it'd be an excellent thing. The tablet we chose has the impressively long name "7" inch Touch Screen Allwinner A13 1.0GHz CPU Android 4.0 Tablet PC 4GB HDD 512MB WiFi" which cost £40 including postage.



I ordered from Amazon, choosing purple from a huge range of available colours, delivery was really quick, and all was going swimmingly until after about 12 hours use my tablet screen suddenly turned blue and then it stopped working. Boo hoo. 


The children were gutted as they had already decided it was the best thing ever. We'd linked it to our wireless and my Google account, loaded a couple of Lego Duplo games onto it (plus the infamous Candy Crush) and the little boys had even watched a couple of BBC iPlayer programmes.


I got in touch with the seller and tried factory resets, but the problem seemed to be that the screen had failed and they were happy to replace it, but I would have to post my tablet to them at my cost before they sent a replacement.

So we sent it and we waited for 1 week....my 3  year old repeatedly asked if he could 'play with the tablet' and I'm pretty certain believes we took it off him because he was naughty in some way!

Hurrah! Today the postman brought our new tablet and everyone is delighted. It's taken about 10 minutes to get another screen protector on it, attach it to a Google account, download a Simpsons game and get everyone smiling. This tablet is much more sensitive and speedy than the previous one and the colours are much brighter, so I am happy to assume we were just unlucky and at first had a tablet that wasn't quite right from manufacture. 


We love it. If I had any inkling that I could buy a tablet so cheaply then I would definitely have bought one earlier as it stops my children asking to play games on my phone! It's going to be absolutely fantastic for when we're camping, especially when were trying to set up and pack away, as this is the time when the little ones get 'in the way' or just tend to wander off or be mischevious because they are bored.


Because we have 5 teenagers our 2 little ones have a good understanding of screens and games and want to join in, and I wouldn't be happy to let them play with something that I simply cannot afford to replace, nor is it ideal they use gadgets belonging to their bigger siblings. Although they are supervised accidents will always happen, and frankly if I'd paid £150 or more for a tablet I'd be reluctant to let any of my lot touch it!


It's small enough to fit in my handbag, but has a nice big screen with a really wide angle of vision, so 3 people can sit together watching something and all can see the picture just fine. It has a full touch screen and motion sensors so,  for example, when playing a driving game you can 'steer' by tilting the tablet and it has a headphone socket (thankfully) so that the user doesn't drown out conversations going on around them. The only real downsides are that the battery life is not great, I think around 3 hours play and it's flat, but as long a you expect that then it isn't as issue and the tablet has no means of charging from a USB, in fact the supplied mains charging cable is incredibly cheap and flimsy.


I paid £35.50 plus £4.50 postage, so exactly £40 and for that I feel this is an incredible bargain. It isn't as durable for youngsters as an Innotab, it isn't as quick as an iPad and it doesn't have the memory or battery life of a more expensive tablet, but for £40 it's fantastic.Buying from Amazon gives you a level of protection that is at least as great as from an electrical shop, and we could have even gone through Amazon for our return and not had to pay postage (but I didn't realise that at the time) and we still have a 12 month warranty and support from within the UK.


Here are the specs -

Brand	Generic
Item Weight	599 g
Product Dimensions	23.6 x 15.6 x 7.2 cm
Item model number	A 13
Color	White
Screen Size	7 inches
Processor Brand	ARM
Processor Type	ARM710a
Processor Speed	1 GHz
Processor Count	1
RAM Size	512 MB
Computer Memory Type	DDR3 SDRAM
Hard Drive Size	4 GB
Operating System	Android 4.2.2 Jellybean ~ although we were expecting 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich from the Amazon listing information, so we were pleasantly surprised.
Average Battery Life (in hours)	3 hours
Lithium Battery Weight	40 grams

We've been looking forward to the new SEA LIFE Centre in Manchester's Trafford Centre opening for a long while. We've followed their progress via their Facebook page with anticipation, and on our last two visits to Legoland Discovery Centre we've stopped and looked at the advertising boards excitedly.


It was brilliant to find out that Blogs Up North had managed to secure a visit BEFORE it even opened to the general public, and during half term week too!

Six Children And Me - On Our Way

The impressive full wall of artwork that greets you in the Barton Square Car Park

When we arrived we were a little early, and it was lovely to get together four Izziwizzi Kids Toy Testers in one photo, including two who I have never met - Tami from Mummy Of Two and Zoe from My Mummy's World, plus Pippa from Red Rose Mummy


We were even joined by Alex Winters, the CBeebies presenter and his family, and if you ever get the chance to meet him then please do because he is an incredibly patient and lovely man, and he told me off for suggesting that boy no.3's curls need cutting!


In the foyer, where you may have to wait for entry, are a map and a big tank to whet your appetite...

A really impressive tank, and this is only the foyer!

After entering you immediately go through to a long room where a really accessible and fun talk is given about Turtles, their eggs and hatchlings. It's all done with fantastic lighting effects and was very impressive. The children are encouraged to join in and, when we asked him to tell Daddy about it tonight, even my 3 year old could explain how the city lights make the baby turtles go the wrong way looking for the sea!




After the show you enter an amazing round room with a tank running all the way around it. There is a huge shoal of fish which constantly swim through the water. It was stunning.

There are an array of different tanks, windows and tunnels

And even a talking turtle who will answer your questions

Unfortunately the soft play area wasn't quite ready for us but, if the Legoland Discovery Centre next door is anything to go by, it's certain to be a hit!

The walls are full of information and great artwork

There is a huge square tank full of Rays....

And a fabulous Touch Pool where we looked at Hermit Crabs and Shore Crabs

Something to excite my youngest...

....Conger Eels!

 The SEA LIFE Centre was still in the final stages of preparation when we visited, but one of our children spotted something very exciting....

A Green Screen for special effects filming

The Sealife Centre, Manchester entry cost is £16.20 or £12 online per adult or child and combi tickets with the Legoland Discovery Centre are also available. It is open from 10am until 7pm daily, with last entry at 5pm.


Manchester SEA LIFE Centre will also be the first SEA LIFE Centre in Europe where you can experience SEATREK - with the use of a special dive suit with a waterproof helmet actually getting into the tank with all of the sea life!

"The SEA TREK experience will cost £60 per person (including admission to the attraction) and is available
to guests aged 8 and over.  The experience will last for approximately one hour with 10 minutes under the
water.  A maximum of five people can be in the tank at one time and they will be accompanied by support divers at all times.
All wet suit equipment is provided, guests just need their own swimming costume and towel.

I'm not certain it's for me, but I know a few people who'd jump at the chance - how about you?


Before we went back to the van we had to return to Cadwalladers 3 doors away for another ice cream. Today they were selling a child's cone in any flavour for only 50p! You can't ask for more really. The perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

Being a Mum to all my lot does mean that often I miss out on the niceties because there isn't the time or money or I'm too tired! One of the things I do like to spoil myself with is candles. I love to fill my house with the smell of Cinnamon or Vanilla, Toffee or something more exotic. Because we're over-run by young men florals don't go down so well in our house, but I can even get away with them sometimes.

I jumped at the chance to review two candles from Potters Crouch, a company who sell most of their candles online. All candles are handmade in the UK (in Hertfordshire to be exact). Each candle burns for around 50 hours and there are 70 different varieties to choose from in 4 different fragrance ranges - Fruits & Flowers, Fragrances Of Yesteryear, Fragrances Of The World. and Christmas Candles.


They are certainly very beautiful. I chose Sea Breeze and Summer Fruits, avoiding my more obvious favourites and trying something a bit different. The candles are presented in a tin, the lid of which serves as a stand to protect your surfaces. They tins are decorated with gorgeous paintings which are full of colour and fascinated my children, and are all original water colours painted by Jo, the person behind the company.


Inside the tin the candles themselves are also special. They have sparkly treasure and the Sea Breeze candle even has 3 little shells embedded into the wax. I also got to smell them for the first time. Both were very promising.

On the back of each tin were the care instructions, which is always handy, rather than having to remember where you put a small scrap of card.


Potters Crouch hope that you will have different smells for different rooms, you don't just fill your whole house with one anonymous scent. Each smell has moods and connotations and its own place in the house.
 I tried Sea Breeze first and found that in our huge living room the smell was lost. That was never my intention anyway, so I took the candle into the bathroom and let it rest for a while before I went in there to bath the little ones.


The smell was reminiscent of the sea, and perfect for a bathroom, but it did have a soapy clean smell, so it might be that the bathroom would be the only truly appropriate place to keep it. I don't mind, I've booked an hour in the bath at the weekend and it can keep me company!

The second candle we tried was Summer Fruits...


Summer Fruits was already deemed gorgeous before I even lit it. The smell is incredibly fruity and really bold without being sickly sweet or heady. It's fresh and juicy, but thankfully doesn't make you feel hungry! It was an all round hit and all of the children liked it as well as the adults.

The flame even has a slight pink tinge, which is soothing and warming, and the smell filled my living room much better than the Sea Breeze. This candle is gorgeous, we love it and I definitely recommend it for a living room, kitchen or hallway.


Each candle costs £8.50 and I think this is very fair for a 50 hour candle with a great range of different scents and such beautiful presentation. They make an excellent gift to give to other people (and not only to yourself because you've been so very, very good). Potters Crouch will also supply bespoke candles and candles for special occasions. Postage is very reasonable and starts at £3.50 for up to 4 candles. ...

I get to do some great things being part of Blogs Up North, and last weekend we went to Tatton Park Foodies Festival.


The show itself was fantastic.It had a genuine festival feel and everyone was chilled and relaxed. There was live music all day and a huge array of stalls with all kinds of fantastic, quality foods. It would have been impossible to go home without a bag of treasure, especially as so many of the producers and vendors were giving out tempting samples.

Some of the specialist food producers

There was a massive choice for lunch!

We loved being out for the day in that atmosphere and not being limited to soggy chips or greasy burgers for lunch. I let our lot have a good look round and find what they wanted to eat and their choices ranged from Ribs, Gourmet Burger and Jerk Chicken to Spring Rolls and Thai Noodles. I had a meal with my VIP ticket and chose vegetable curry, which I have to say was the only disappointment of the day. It was nice and I ate it all, but it was made using frozen diced mixed veg, which I wouldn't use myself, and I wouldn't have expected to find it at a foodies event.


It was nice and busy, but definitely not overly full, so we could relax about not losing any of our 6 children we had with us. The weather was warm enough for t-shirts, but not warm enough to burn, so absolutely perfect for my pasty family.

We caught a snippet of  Steampunk baker Emilly Ladybird giving a demonstration

We even got to play in the Children's Theatre, with soup and roll making and a few science experiments too!

I was given a VIP ticket and a standard ticket, which cost £38 and £12 respectively. The VIP ticket gave me access to the VIP tent, a glass of champagne, a meal in one of the 3 main 'restaurant' stalls and a goodie bag which had a recipe book,a litre of juice and samples of California Prunes from some of the sponsors. I have to say I think the VIP ticket was overpriced, although the weather was very kind to us and had it been raining and I could stay in the comfort of the VIP tent then I might think differently.

Because feeding my lot costs a fortune I took a pack up for teatime, but I think I did us proud - they all seemed delighted once they'd filled their chosen cobs (I'm from Derby, that's what we say) with salad and cheeses and.....erm.....crisps....


There really was something for everyone, and including playing on the park after leaving the festival, we stayed all day until gone 5.30pm. We all had a really great day.

Watching the deer

Enjoying the drive home

As soon as the gorgeous Tami from Mummy Of Two invited me to take part in this meme I knew it was a challenge worth facing as music is a real passion of mine. I don't pay attention as much as I used to, but we always have music in the house and most of the children can bash out a tune on one instrument or another.


It's really simple - answer a set of questions using song titles from a band or artist. Tami chose Pulp and had some terrific answers, including describing her partner as 'Master Of The Universe'. The only tricky bit is choosing the artist(s)....

Initially I chose The Cure because with a back catalogue of 28 albums there was an awful lot of choice, but it's kind of cheating. It also occurred to me that if I chose The Stone Roses it would be hilarious to have 'I am the resurrection' or 'I want to be adored' for  question 2 or 3, but I'll just leave that one to chuckle to myself about. I also considered umpteen others, but in the end I've settled for Bjork/The Sugarcubes....

As with all Orchard Toys games and puzzles this is designed and manufactured in the UK from strong 100% recycled board. It has really bright colours, modern pictures and chunky pieces that don't bend or come apart during even quite boisterous play. It is built to be played with, and built to last.


Baa Baa retails at £9.50. It is suitable for 2-4 players and the suggested age range is 3-12. It is brilliant for nursery or pre-school aged children who are learning colours as it introduces several less obvious colours. It teaches turn-taking and basic game play, and the concepts of winning and losing


The game is really simple. You have a card with 6 differently coloured spots, a spinner and a whole flock of sheep wearing various clothes. Spin the spinner and if one of your colours is shown then you take a sheep wearing an item of clothing in that colour. Stand a sheep on all six spots first and you are the winner!


My 3 year old thinks it's really excellent and he has instantly picked up on grey and purple, which are both colours that he wasn't confident with before. My 4 year old definitely struggles with this game at times because he is colour-blind, so for him at least a game such as Orchard Toys Pirate Shapes is better, as it's not only about colour, but each part also has other visual clues as to where it should locate.


I think the age range is a little out, I can't really imagine older children playing this game without younger siblings as it is very simplistic, and I also think that the lower recommended age is purely because of small parts, in my opinion most 2 year olds would also be able to play this game very competently and get a lot of enjoyment from it - you'd just have to watch they didn't eat it instead!

We really like it, especially my 3 year old. We give it a 4/5