On 27th June Titan Magazines will release a brand new comic - Transformers: Age Of Extinction. We've been lucky enough to have a sneak preview and although the recommended age range is 6-12, my 4 and 5 1/2 year old boys think it's brilliant!

I was a bit stumped for my partner's birthday last month, but I knew what to get him for Father's Day - the LEGO Ghostbusters Ecto-1 set 21108. He's been following the story of this set since it very first appeared on LEGO Cuuso (now LEGO Ideas). We both voted for it - how could you not? It's genius.


Sadly the Fire House wasn't forthcoming - which we guessed as it would make a really huge set! However we do have the Ecto-1 and the 4 Ghostbusters themselves - Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddmore.

Man-Up Your Meals is the latest recipe book I've been sent from Parragon. Very different to anything I've reviewed from them before, it's a book full of big, hearty recipes, hints and tips. It's also, on the face of it, a very light-hearted, jokey book.


The recipes are graded like a Haynes Manual, ranging from Australopithecus to Human, and around half of the book really is incredibly basic sandwich making and 'how to cook a bit of meat without dying from food poisoning'. Our 16 year old girl is infuriated by it, while I take it as a joke and find it funny. The main reason I take it as a joke is BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!

Pumpaloons has been around for a couple of years now, and it's a fantastic game for the Summer because you can take it outside and play! It's also really excellent for getting everyone up and moving - but you can be as active (and competitive) or calm as you want, so anyone over 4 can play.

Plum Baby and Tots 100 set a challenge to Blogger's younger children to design their own healthy superhero. I put the youngest member of our family, our 4 year old, on to the challenge.

He had strong ideas immediately. He's been talking to a Dentist at school and knows sugar is not healthy. He keeps warning us all to stop adding sugar to our food - whatever we're eating! He also knows that fruit is much better for you than sweets, and is keen to get that message across, so fruit features strongly with his Superhero.

FruitBowl make fruit snacks for children that are a bit different from your usual snack. My children would call them sweets, but they're sweets made from fruit.


We were sent a great selection to try out - Fruit Flakes, Fruit Peelers, Yogurt Raisins and Fruit Shapes.

Last year I was asked to review the Foodies Festival at Tatton Park and although I was looking forward to it, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was brilliant! We took 6 of our children and had a full day out. You can read my full review here.


The range of foods on offer is astounding, and the quality excellent. Last year between us we ate Ribs, Gourmet Burger, Jerk Chicken, Spring Rolls, Thai Noodles and Vegetable Curry! Plus ice cream, cheeses, pickles, brownies and various other samplings...


If you don't have 6 children under 16 with you, then there are workshops and displays all day long where you can watch the experts and learn about new techniques and flavors.


There's a Chefs Theatre and a Drinks Theatre and even a daily Cocktail Competition. There is also a Children's Cookery Theatre - something my children will be very interested in.




Entry is by rafflecopter and you gain an additional entry for each task you complete. The giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday 29th June, when no further entries will be accepted. UK entries only please. Additional terms and conditions are shown on the rafflecopter form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The LEGO Ultra Agents are a brand new series which has been released this Spring. We've been sent the Riverside Raid set 70160 to review.


The Riverside Raid set has 88 pieces, which include 2 minifigures of Adam Acid and Agent Max Burns, along with Max's 2-in-1 Quad Bike and Jet Speeder vehicle and 2 crates full of toxic compound.




The speed boat sits on the top of the quad bike, and lifts off really well. Although the speed boat fixes nicely, removal is clean and easy. Nothing comes apart at all, and you are left with 2 robust vehicles that withstand my 4 and 5 year olds playing with them no problem.




Included in the set are 2 crates with toxic compounds inside. They are nicely done with removable lids and handles for the minifigures and the winch. The winch can also be used to tow the jet speeder.


I'm incredibly impressed with this build, not least because it's really sturdy. The way the speed boat comes away is divine. The stud shooters might annoy some parents who find 'ammo' on the floor, but single stud bricks don't even hurt when you stand on them, so that's got to be a bonus!

LEGO have released a free interactive Ultra Agents story app. for Android and IOS where you take the part of the secret agent, creating your own ultra Agent avatar, searching for clues to solve crimes and complete missions and save Astor city from the super villains. 

With every mission you complete you get nearer to discovering the evil puppet master behind the super villains, and you can unlock alternative building instructions for existing models that can be downloaded as a PDF and saved.


The LEGO Ultra Agents Riverside Raid set retails at £9.99 and is available from the LEGO shop online or in store. For less than £10 I think this set offers excellent play value, as do all of the Ultra Agents sets. I just have to save up now to buy the Ultra Agents Mission HQ 70164!

Unlike Snakes and Ladders, each of the 2-4 players has their own board, and there are spaces at the end from where you can make an attempt at goal. When you reach the goal mouth, you 'shoot' by using a spinner. If the goalie is behind the ball, they save - if not, you score! 


During the game if you land on a Whistle Square then the whistle spinner comes into play. A yellow card sees you miss a turn, and a red card means back to the start. Landing on a free kick gives you another throw of the dice.


This is a game recommended for players aged 5+. My 5 year old is ill and sat this one out, so I decided to play with my 4 year old. As soon as his 16 year old brother saw the game, he offered to play instead.


Each game only takes around 5-10 minutes and it's really very fast-paced, especially with only 2 players. I think that's why the recommended age is so high. You can also feel quite demoralised if you get sent right back to the beginning, but my 4 year old was in a great mood, and in fact he won - shouting "Goal" and celebrating in true footballer style....



My 20 year old joined in at this point and they played about a bazillion more games over the next half hour, before realising that they could adapt the game really easily. I think this is one of the best things about Orchard Toys games, they're almost always ready and waiting to have new rules and adaptation depending on who plays.


By turning the boards end to end, the boys realised they have a large pitch with a goal at each end, and could expand the game and make it longer and harder to win. They decided to 'score' rather than have a winner after one goal, and their game became more and more complex. It ended up far beyond what my 4 year old could keep up with, but by this time he was enjoying the paper packaging that came in the box!


Orchard Toys Football Game is fantastically simple to grasp and great fun to play. It's quick and for the most part rewarding. It reinforces number skills and counting, but most of all it encourages the players to join in together with the excitement and pace of the game, and have a great time laughing and playing together.

Football Game entertained 3 of my boys for a good couple of hours and I'm sure it'll get plenty of play over the next few years. It's a perfect game for when you have 20 minutes and want something light and fun.

The new Summer 2014 LEGO ranges are out - Mixels Series 2, the Arctic LEGO City range and the Ultra Agents. LEGO have sent me a selection to try out and show you, and we're starting with the new LEGO Mixels Series 2.


We've been sent 41510 Lunk and 41513 Gobba. Mixels are available in sets of three, each set can be joined together to make a new larger Mixel - or just rebuilt however you fancy using all the great elements in the builds. There are 9 Mixels in each series, and in some of the bags you will find a bonus Nixel enemy! All Mixels are recommended for age 6+.







Gobba is one of the three Fang Gang Mixels. The Fang Gang are hungry Mixels who will plant anything to see if it will grow into food - and they'll eat just about anything, so I guess for the most part it usually will.






The Mixels were easy to build and my 5 1/2 year old was able to build them both by himself except for one fiddly bit with Lunk's belly. There are a lot of small elements that tiny hands can't put together or pull apart yet, so for that reason it's not possible for my 4 year old to build them yet - although he can sure play with them and rebuild to his own design!

I like these Mixels more than Series 1, they have more interesting movement.and loads of expression - but that could just be because I think Gobba is brilliant.

At £2.99 each I feel the LEGO Mixels offer excellent value for money. They're a brilliant toy for children and great for a collector or builder as they have so many interesting and rarer elements.

LEGO Mixels Series 2 are available from the LEGO shop online or in store and cost £2.99 each. You can catch the LEGO Mixels animated series on Cartoon Network. You can also join in the fun online and find loads of building instructions and designs at LEGO.com/Mixels