Wannabees spotted that pretend play was missing a special something that could really encourage children to practise more skills and learn to read and write while they play. They created a range of 'I Want To Be...' packs full of printed sheets which support role play for children aged around 5-11.


Currently available in ‘I Want to be a Teacher’, ‘I Want to be a Doctor’ and ‘I Want to be a Café Owner’, each pack is bundled up into a really handy ring binder with around 45 mainly tear-out pages. The pages include forms, stickers and certificates, appointment cards, registers and even eye tests or weather charts, allowing children to act out all of those fun tasks that somehow aren't so fun when you are an adult.


We've been sent two of the packs for my 8 and 9 year old boys to play with. They chose 'I Want to be a Teacher’ and ‘I Want to be a Doctor’. One of them actually does want to be a Doctor (or an entomologist), so he was particularly excited.

Below is a list with loads of fabulous workshops, performances, plays, craft activities, museums, fundays and all of that other stuff which creates Summer holiday memories your children can take with them forever. I'm based in Manchester and so are most of the listings below, but the whole NorthWest UK is covered. Events are suitable for families with children - some for younger audiences and some which even your teenagers won't mind joining in with...


If you have anything suitable you wish me to add, send an email with a short write up including a photo, plus date, time, location, cost and a little about it to thebrickcastle@gmail.com

In as close to date order as is sensible:

Timber is a new festival that instantly sounded right up our street, and excitingly we were invited to review by Wild Rumpus. Set in Derbyshire (in gorgeous woodland in the National Forest) and aiming to be a carbon neutral big sibling to Just So Festival, with plenty to entertain the adults as well as the school aged children. It was brilliant. Everything that we hoped for and more, plus sunshine for once!!!


This is a photo-heavy post because there really was so much to experience at Timber Festival - it was great before we even left the camping field (aside from losing our van keys for 4 hours, but that's another story). Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Our festival began with sunshine, wildlife, cherries, lovely neighbours and a gift of roast chicken... and a space in accessible camping because neither I nor my partner are capable of transporting our tent and belongings. We are working on the boys and they did a superb job of helping to get the tent up and down! Modern tents are really easy to use and can be excellent prices, try somewhere like Globo Surf for advice if you are new to camping.

[Fuse] Chicken are a really innovative company who design products that look good and really last. They make accessories for phone, tablet and computer users, and we've been sent one of their new premium Aluminum, Leather and Bamboo wireless phone chargers - the Gravity Touch.


[Fuse Chicken] care about looks. They are modern and forward thinking, and the Gravity is available in sustainable bamboo or leather with high strength aluminum. I've gone with bamboo and it is a really attractive item to have either on the desk or bedroom table. Subtle and understated, yet classic and very smart. It's pretty much exactly what I want from a phone charger.

The Boy Who Imagined... And Found He Could Draw by Ann and Fred Onymouse is a very quirky book for readers aged around 7+, but older children will take away much more from reading it. I can't decide if this is the most truthful piece of social commentary I've read in years, or a children's book which is just a bit weird? It's impossible to tell.


The book revolves around a young boy called Vapi, or Van Gogh Pablo Picasso Salvador Dali if you want to give him his full name. Clearly his parents are artistic types and have high hopes for Vapi. He doesn't feel he can draw and avoids it as much as he can. Vapi is a sensitive boy and is pulled out of school by his parents to be home-schooled for a while, but that doesn't really go to plan and he returns to school.

Vapi's school is quite bizarre. The teaching staff are harsh and unwilling to stand up to bullies within the school or protect Vapi, who soon learns to keep his comments flattering and his head down.

The people behind popular board game Accentuate have a new game release which brings together English and science and a bit of maths in a quite unique and different way. FReNeTIC is a word game based on the Periodic Table. Two or more players create words using the letters which represent elements and then score depending on the atomic number... and there's a copy for one of my readers too!


In the box are the board itself, pencils and notepads, an egg timer, instructions and the playing tiles, which are stored in a drawstring cloth bag. This is a plastic free box and the only thing to discard is the outer plastic wrapping.

Interplay have an awesome range of children's My Living World sets created in conjunction with Nick Baker, the Really Wild Show presenter and naturalist. The sets help children get up close and personal with nature, supporting science and building STEM skills, as well as teaching about caring for living creatures. We've been given Ant World to review.


There is a backstory as I actually requested this review for my 9 year old. He came home from school one day, incredibly excited about the idea that people can keep ants as pets and see into their usually hidden world. I'd previously been offered this set, so I went back to Interplay and asked if we could still review.

The Girl In The Abbey is the story of 10 year old Violet, sent away from everything she knows to live with strangers in a strange land and help work for her keep. There are no other children where she is sent, and she is left with nothing to do but explore... Then she meets Sarah...


Violet is a refugee in the second world war, which is an unusual time period for a modern book, but it all feels very natural and nothing about the history or setting seems out of place, despite the fact that the author is very young (clearly neither of us were there ourselves). I even learned a couple of new WW2 facts (and I will never cook with paraffin).

Over the next few months the gardens at Ordsall Hall will play host to a unique season of open air performances for theatre-goers of all ages, performed by a host of theatre companies and in conjunction with Salford Community Leisure. The majestic Tudor manor house is a fabulous backdrop for the shows. Bring a chair or a blanket, something to eat and drink, and hope this weather continues!


We'll be attending for our first visit to review and we'll be enjoying a pre-booked picnic and a night off from the children. The performers have already begun dress rehearsals and tickets are available, so here is a little look at what's in store:

I really like Petit Fernand's personalised products for children. Attractive and long-lasting, they have great illustrations and some nice touches. My 8 year old has used one of their lunchboxes for the last year and we are incredibly happy with it, so when I was offered the opportunity to review, my 9 year old especially was very keen I accept...


We were given a budget and chose a personalised lunchbox for my 9 year old and personalised stick-on name labels for both children. It took less than 5 minutes to create my entire order, and even though delivery is from France, we had our products within 5 days.