We're big fans of Super Heroes here, so the new Marvel sets are something our young lads will get a lot of play value from. The SHIELD Helicarrier might be a bit beyond us, but at £11.99 the Carnage's SHIELD Sky Attack is within most budgets.


A few of the bigger Marvel Superheroes sets have a recommended age 7 or 8, but the smaller sets are age 6 and this is a nice easy one which my 5 year old can build alone quite quickly. With 97 pieces it's actually quite a complex and sturdy model, and great little play set. Inside the box we have 2 bags of bricks, instruction booklet and a small sheet of stickers.

Monday 21st September is International Peace Day, declared by the General Assembly as "a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples".

In light of the current refugee crisis throughout Europe and beyond we are all painfully aware that the world is not at peace, and far too many people have their lives affected and ruined by conflict and war. There is not peace among all nations and peoples.

It's impossible for me to look at those people and not think of their personal peace. Their children or parents lost, the life they used to know has gone. And on top of that they are having to run, and give up everything else they have. I can't understand where they find the strength to carry on. There is not peace within these people. 

In the last couple of years focus of inner wellbeing in the UK has begun to swing, and meditation and mindfulness are being taken as seriously as tablets and potions.

I'm no spring chicken any more, I'm a post 40 blogger. As I have got older my skin has become drier and more patchy, with rosy red areas. I'm not a big wearer of make up, but that doesn't mean I've given up on my appearance and I am always happy to try something that says it will 'help fight visible signs of fatigue' and 'intensely hydrate skin'. Sounds good to me.


Liz Earle Superskin Face Serum is for use after you wash/tone and before you moisturise. Ideal for morning use to iron out those overnight wrinkles, it is probably more useful to women over 30.

Pictopia Disney Edition from Wonderforge is a picture trivia game recommended for age 7+. A board game that works very differently from most we have played, this isn't one for younger children as it has more complicated rules, but it's easy once you start to play and the variation in questions really adds to the gameplay.


A Disney game would not be something I'd have thought to buy before, but we love this. My partner and I have even played it when the kids aren't there. It turns out there really is plenty of Disney to suit everyone.

The LEGO Awesome Ideas Book by Daniel Lipkowitz was released by Dorling Kindersley at the beginning of this month, and it's my favourite LEGO ideas book yet. Like other books released by LEGO it doesn't just give instructions about how to build exact models, it is full of techniques, hints and tips and should really spark your LEGO creativity.


With a 3D cover packed with some of the amazing things you can create using plans found in the book. it impresses before you even open it (although it does make it hard to photograph!). Inside the book is split into 5 distinct sections - Outer Space, Modern Metropolis, The Wild West, Fantasy Land and The Real World.

The most important thing to say about the LEGO Ninjago Temple Of Airjitzu is that it's stunningly beautiful. Truly a gorgeous model that I've spent the last few days really enjoying. It was a lovely build and uses some amazing build techniques as well as ingenious use of existing LEGO elements. It's not a simple build and the 14+ suggested age guide is right.

In most parts of the world suicide is still a crime. It's not important to me on what grounds unaffected people around the world decide suicide is a crime, but I do think personally it counts as theft. It takes so much more than your friend, relation or acquaintance. So much more than they could ever see. It takes your stability, your comfort, your confidence, your time, your sanity. It takes your innocence. It takes away your trust and belief in everything. Things that don't happen do happen, nothing is unexpected. We live in a world where children really die. We live in a world where there is no clarity and everything is confusing and stressful. You wonder if anything will ever be normal again. You look at other people having fun and you remember when you were like them. You smile and you think back to when you were allowed a little naivety.

It's been 13 months since we lost our oldest girl and I had intended to stop my monthly updates and just post about the smiles, but this last month has been one which really does show how fragile we still are individually and as a family unit.

We're big Transformers fans here and Predacons Rising is the latest installment of the Beast Hunters series. Featuring computer generated animation the Transformers series of movies are bursting with excitement, action and colour, and Predacons Rising is no exception.


Transformers Prime Season 3 Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising is a full length movie with a runtime of 1 hour 3 minutes and is rated PG because obviously it contains some peril and fantasy violence.

Today sees the start of Gas Safety Week. This is the time of year when we all start to get a bit chilly and the central heating gets switched back on for the first time in months - but has yours been checked? Build up of carbon deposits and dust inside the flue for the boiler can mean Carbon Monoxide is released into your home.

Carbon Monoxide is a silent danger. Colourless, tasteless and odourless it can make you very ill, or even in extreme cases suffocate you, often while you sleep. Each year in the UK around 200 people go to hospital with Carbon Monoxide poisoning and 40 of those will die.

Here is my personal experience of how to spot Meningitis in an adult, young person or older child. No two cases of Meningitis are the same, just as no two cases of a cold are the same. There will be similarities because the way they attack will be the same, but it is how your body copes and reacts that determines what happens next. Some people will never realise they had Meningitis and some will die.
Fortunately my partner is still here.

More adults get Meningitis than children (although children under 5 are most at risk - know the signs).

Young people are the second most likely age group to develop Meningitis, with year 1 University students the most at risk group.