I'm really a big fan of Interplay craft sets, and the latest one we've tried has been a massive hit with my 6 year old. The Wood Worx T-Rex will allow any child to make a fabulous looking wooden T-Rex model which has an articulated jaw and a neck, and a really fierce looking roar!


Inside the box is absolutely everything you will need to create your model - including a really nice double-ended paint brush and some good quality quick-drying glue. The model itself is entirely made from 23 wooden pieces.

Despite our whole family love of the plastic brick, and our vast array of LEGO sets, reviewing Aira's Pegasus Sleigh set 41077 is the first time we've played with LEGO Elves. LEGO Elves has larger LEGO Friends style figures, a huge backstory full of magic, and plenty to fire any child's imagination.


Inside the box we have 3 numbered bags, 2 horses, sticker sheet and rods, plus 1 instruction booklet. This is a 319 piece set retailing at £34.99. That's quite pricey per brick and there's no franchise like Simpsons or Star Wars, however you are paying for some really quite tricky design, and lovely rare or unique elements.

Picnics are a great thing. A family or friends coming together to eat and play and talk. The food tastes gorgeous, the surroundings are unfamiliar and usually beautiful, and everyone sits at the same level, eye-to-eye, so talk is easy and everyone is equal - be they adult or child. There's little or no washing up, and the preparation is so much more fun than the usual standing over the oven cooking a meal for an hour or two.


Last week was National Picnic Week. This is Manchester, it rains here. It rains ALL the time. Picnics are a rare and pleasant treat, and as soon as we have a dry day the parks are full of people making the most of being able to enjoy the outdoors. Warburtons sent us a few bits and pieces to celebrate National Picnic Week, and try out their brand new shaped Bread Thins. 

After 21 years of buying gifts for my own children, it can get a bit difficult to find toys that are exciting and new. It's also very difficult to choose gifts for other people's children when you aren't sure of their interests - or what they already have! Wicked Uncle is brilliant for exactly this.


Wicked Uncle calls itself The World's Best E-Toy Shop. I can't be certain of that, but what I can be sure of is that I actually think it's excellent. Not only can it be used as a regular independent toy shop, it can also help you choose what to buy. Fill in the age and gender of the child and it will select you a range of toys that should suit that child.

Last weekend, 14 days after major abdominal surgery and with a lot of help from some brilliant friends, I went to London and I stood in front of a room full of my peers. I read something I'd written and I got a standing ovation and I made them all cry (for which I am sorry). It was the proudest and most bitter-sweet moment of my life.


It was quite a big ask to travel down to Britmums Live in London from Manchester 2 weeks after  surgery, and I make no apologies for the fact that the end of this post will be linktacular. I genuinely could not have gone to Britmums Live 2015 without a heck of a lot of help from a lot of people.

Roberts Bakery asked bloggers if we could come up with a Father's Day Bacon Butty creation. They want to bring out Dad's soft and fluffy side by plying him with a delicious bacon butty on Father's Day morning.

I'm not a meat eater, but my partner is, and bacon is one of his favourites. It's also a regular weekend breakfast here, so I was happy to take on the job for his benefit.

We review DVD's quite often and Transformers is something the young, and older, lads always enjoy. Transformers Beasthunters - Race For Salvation is volume 2 from season 3 and contains episodes 8-13. It continues on from Transformers Beasthunters - Battle For Darkmount which we reviewed earlier this year.


There are 6 episodes on the DVD - Thirst, Evolution, Minus One, Persuasion, Synthesis and Deadlock - with a total running time of 2 hours and 6 minutes.  The characters are obviously familiar to Transformers fans, and the animation is quite bright and not as brooding (dingy) as some older Transformers DVD's.

I'm a little late with my smiles this month. It should have been yesterday, but I had my staples from my operation out yesterday and I was feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself, and we had to watch the finale of Game Of Thrones, so it had to wait.

Game Of Thrones was one of Elspeth's things. It was something she shared with her Dad, and when this series was about to begin I watched as much catch up as I could so that he could watch it with me instead of alone. I'm a poor substitute, I don't get as excited or enthusiastic as Elspeth used to, but I have obviously become immersed enough as I find myself shouting at the TV at all the right bits...I don't think I'll ever actually learn who is related to who else though...

This last month has mainly been eaten up by my being ill. I was very poorly after my 2nd date for the operation was cancelled, and lost several days due to dehydration. When I eventually had my operation it was far more serious than had been suspected, my hernia REALLY was as bad as it looked, so my family are having to rally round and do everything at home while I recover. The hospital wanted to keep me in for a few days, which proved to be incredibly hard on everyone. My family were relieved I was awake and 'fixed' and just wanted me where they could see me. No-one voiced any fears aloud, but they were there to see in the bitten top lips and wide eyes, and so I got permission to recover at home in my own bed instead. I have never had so many visitors peeping at me while I slept, each one of them very welcome, and as comforting to me as it was for them. Recovery is going well so far, and I am still on track for attending Britmums this coming weekend - although I may need to nip off and have a sleep at some point!

It is Britmums Live this weekend, and what has to be the most bittersweet event in my life. I have been asked to read Dear Elspeth during the Bloggers Keynote. I'm incredibly proud that one of my posts has been chosen, but so terribly sad that I ever had to write it. Seeing The Brick Castle logo up there on the big screen, and reading my own words in front of an audience of my peers so huge, is such an amazing achievement and should only fill me with pride. Instead it is equally full of sadness of a depth that I hope very few of you ever know.

When I wrote I wanted to tell Elspeth's story, I wanted people to know she'd been a happy and integral part of our life. Witty and clever and participatory, loving her siblings and rarely showing how weighted down she felt.  I know that many people have read that post and then gone and found the help and support they need, and so I am prepared to share it with as many people as possible. Elspeth was proud of my blogging. She blogged, she read my blog and commented. I will be reading Dear Elspeth for her, and for all of the people I have heard from since I wrote that post.  I will do my very best, and if I falter then Pippa will take over from me. She knew Elspeth, she met her many times, she is an excellent stand-in.

In spite of the Hernia fiasco, we did manage a few smiles this month....especially from our youngest two..




And an achievement of sorts during the school holidays - my two young lads beat the final boss Kaos on Skylanders Trap Team. This is something that's made them semi-legendary at school, and personally I can stop feeling guilty that we had a Kaos trap and no-one else could get hold of one....

I have a giveaway for you today that I really like, and I hope you like it too. How would you like to win the LEGO Superheroes set 76034 The Batboat Harbour Pursuit? Recommended for builders aged 6+, this is a set which I think is great for playing with, and makes a lovely shelf model for the collector.
I'm always more than happy to share my love of LEGO, so being asked by House Of Fraser if I wanted to give away a prize from their Construction Toys And Building Blocks range was an easy thing to accept.

Every now and again, when you are about to go for surgery and your world is crazy enough already, you get an opportunity that you think really must be a dream. Being given the chance to review the AEG Ultramix KM4400 Food Mixer last Thursday really was one of those moments - and I didn't believe it was true until it was here....


One of our children broke the bowl to my previous food mixer 18 months ago. It was 23 years old and had cost me £25 and was very basic and flimsy, but I've missed it. To say this is an upgrade is an under-statement of the highest order.