Clacton Air Show

Despite the rain Clacton managed to pull off a lovely air show again.

"2013 celebrates 22 years of the annual Clacton Air Show. The event organised by Tendring District Council, is a well established FREE event on theEssex Sunshine Coast.

Our award winning seafronts and greensward are transformed over the two days into a fun filled events site and viewing area.  Impressive aerobatic displays take to the skies whilst a whole host of exhibition, trade stands, food court and on-site entertainment are available at ground level."  (from the event website)

The RAF Red Arrows were splendid - just as I remembered they were as a kid.

  

Fortunately (?) a lot of the war planes couldn't fly at very last minute due to the weather conditions at Duxford, which meant the Air Ambulance got to display after it had been called out on an earlier shout and missed it's slot.

Apologies for not remembering the other performer, you were all excellent and made my boy's day.

The stalls were tightly packed and very busy, and although my boy's and their cousin enjoyed the pokemon adventure stall I may have lost the will to live waiting for them to finish the never ending battles.

  

Cost:
FREE!!!

Would I go again?
definitely.

Toby Carvery - lovely food, great prices........... shame about the service.

This is  a review for Toby Carvery, The Martello Inn (Clacton).  

Eating: 2 x adults, 2 x children (4yrs old and 2yrs old).

Upon entering the Martello we stood looking at the bar before working out that the 'please wait here' sign was past it.  We were, however, welcomed promptly by the server and shown to our seat where he got us a high chair.

We were instantly swooped upon by a member of staff wanting to know what drinks we wanted so (with childrens menu in hand) we asked for 2 adults fizzy drinks and 2 waters for the children (meaning the fruit shoot H2O's on the menu).

Perhaps we were unclear but the waitress eventually returned with 2 glasses full of tap water.  we questioned why they were glasses of tap water and not the bottles on the menu and was told quite abruptly that "you asked for water", we accepted this and asked for a couple of straws, to receive the very rude reply "did you not bring a bottle for the baby?".   I replied I did, but he would be fine with a straw (so she went and got a couple).

I cannot fault the meal, 4 different meats (pork, beef, turkey and gammon) all well cooked.  Yes we had to wait a long time to be served  as he had run out of turkey and yorkies and as no-one else was serving we had to wait while he re-stocked (why they only ever put one person there is beyond me).
vegetables were cooked to perfection and ohhhhhhhh the ice cream was amazing.

They were also more then happy to let my 2 children share a childs portion which was appreciated.

When we asked for our free refills we were informed the servers machine was broken and we would have to take our glasses to the bar for the refills ourselves as they only had diet pepsi.  We replied that was what we wanted for her to take the glasses and reply "but we've no ice".......... is it REALLY that difficult for the server to go to the bar??????

Apart from the total on the receipt paying was pain free :)  next time I'll remember to check the website first as I've just spotted a 2-course for £12.50 voucher on there.

Peacocks

I love Peacocks clothes, don't get me wrong I shop there loads.  But very very disappointed in their belts.

Bought this one today - went to take it off tonight and it snapped.  Less then 24 hours old.

Thing is it'll cost me £4 to return it which on a £6 belt isn't really worth it.

our Holiday A-Z

A - Ardleigh Car Boot Sale, AA
B  - BBQ, Boules
C - clacton, Colchester, Car
D - daddy
E - escalators
F - farm
G - Great Grandma and Grandad, golf, giraffe
H - hamleys
I - Ice Cream
J - jet plane
K - kids
L - lego! London
M - motorways
N - nene valley railway
O - overground (busses)
P - playground, peacocks, Prezzo, pizza hut, punch and judy
Q - Queen
R - RAIN RAIN RAIN!!!
S - sleep (or lack of)
T - Toby Carvery, trains
U - underground (or lack of)
V - vehicles
W - walking, woods, wasps
X - xylophone
Y - yummy
Z - zoo

BBQ, cars and.......owwww headache

ohhhhhhhh what a DAY!!!!

2 hyperactive kids on their holiday at Grandma's + 1 veryyyy big Boot Sale + a family BBQ + a faulty car (YAY) = one mummy with a VERYYY sore headache.


WOW I had forgotten just how AMAZING Ardleigh Car Boot sale is on a Sunday.  If you live nearby and have never been ........... WHY!!!!
we got there about 9.30/ 10am and it was in full swing.  came away with a couple of bargains; some brio bits for the kids and a t-shirt for DS2 and the 3 Lindsey Kelk books I had been trying to get for 50p each (the local charity shop wanted £2 each!!).

The boot sale 'from space'

Just one word of warning ...... when they say they have 'limited toilet facilities' they are about as clean and well kept as a hole in the ground.  Out of 4 (i think it was) toilets in one portacabin - 2 had no physical flush present!!!

They do have a fantastic (bribery?) entertainment for the children - a HUGE bouncy slide, a bouncy house and a merry-go-round for the kids at £1 a go.

     

back home and lunch eaten it was off to Asda...........uh oh....... the car is making a very strange noise........ohh Mr AA man............

Turns out some sensor has gone in the overheating bit (how techie am I can you tell it's not MY car!!)

So although we were ok for a small journey the trip planned for Thomas Land tomorrow would need to be postponed while we find a man to fix it.

So onwards to the BBQ at my grandparents house.  This was a lovely.......but very noisy........very 'trying' time while the boys played with their cousin.

..............................and now my head hurts so I am going to bed.............

However before I do I think I will start the A-Z of our holiday :)

Silly Sunday 18/8/13

todays chuckle.............

"Twenty years ago, we had Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash and Bob Hope. Now we have no jobs, no cash, and no hope. Please, don't let Kevin Bacon die."

Happy Silly Sunday.

read it ........ swap it

14/8/13

yayay my first swap since re-discovering read it swap it. have managed to get a Sophie Hannah book that I've been after to add to my collection in exchange for one I'd read.

LOVE IT!!!

If you haven't signed up then take a look........http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx

holiday in 3 more sleeps.... eeeekkkk.

so excited, am going back to stay with my mum for a few nights with the kids, been very busy planning lots of fun things like Thomas Land, Clacton Air Show and London.

ohhhhhhhhhhhh London........I haven't been back there in years.... I am soooo going to go and see the Choccywoccydoodah shop - I LOVE that programme.  But torn between the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum (DS's are 2 and a half and almost 5).  anyone got a preference???


I'm really pleased that I managed to get page 1 of London Underground cross stitch completed in time for #WIPWednesday.
Am really enjoying this piece.

I am all for security but Barclays Bank today have driven me up the wall...... read why on my rants page.

anyways hubby has brought me up a cup of tea (mmmmmmm) so signing off for now.

Barclays Bank............security my foot!!!

So yesterday I went to the cashpoint and it refused to let me use my card for my central account..... strange.... a glitch maybe?
This morning I tried again (different cashpoint)........... same problem.

After ringing them up, battling automated security then going through exactly the same questions/ answers again with a real person I was told my card had been stopped because they decided to send me a new card (that I hadn't received).   what happened to having to phone up to automatically say you had taken receipt of your new card.
I was then asked if I would like the old card cancelling.........lets see mrs rocket scientist??!!
They then offered to send me out a new one...........after I had answered yet ANOTHER security question.

can anyone see the point of this????  By this point she had confirmed who i was, that it was my card/ account etc so WHY did it take more security questions to press a button to send me a new card???

Eventually I passed and my card is on it's way to me ...........again........ not in time for my holiday but hey barclays don't let a little thing like that get in the way of your overly ridiculous 'security'!!!!

London Underground Cross Stitch updates.

This is the blog post for following the progress of London Underground.
As I take the post off the main page here I will add them to this post so you can see how it has progressed.

Here's my 5th August update, almost finished page 1.

London Underground Cross Stitch - a work in progress 14/8

Progress update - 14/8/13.
Finished page 1 :)

I bought it here.

It's stitched using 1 strand of thread over 18ct aida (lettering in 2 strand) - the smallest I've ever worked with and probably the last.

It's one of those easy to stitch pieces (so long as you are doing the straight lines lol) ..... try doing the diagonals and it's very easy to get confused,

It's a cold.........I'm not dying!!!!

WHY do people feel the need to make you feel even more rubbish then you already do??

I'm not one of these people who have time off work for a broken toenail (you think I'm joking.....!!!) and rarely have more then a couple of days off a year.  So today (despite being full of cold) I dosed myself up on cold and flu tablets and vitamin C and off I went to work.  I don't do anything strenuous, just office work.

You would have thought I'd gone in with the plague!!!   All I heard everywhere was "don't sneeze near me", "you'd better disinfect that first", "i'm not coming near you", "I don't want your germs", "I'm sure you shouldn't be here spreading your sickness around!"...... I swear I was ready for hitting the next one to try it.

Just so you don't feel left out ..........aaacchhoooooooo.....have some of my germs...................  :)

memory monday (12/8)

This will be my new Monday Theme  - Memory Mondays  - use it to remember anything you like, someone loved and lost, that song that reminds you of a special occasion, TV programmes from time forgot..... just post to Twitter with the hashtag #memorymonday.

Today's blast from the past...........
"Heaven" by Bryan Adams.

Heard it on Absolute80's radio on Friday and was instantly transported back to my wedding night as it was my 'first dance' song.
A word of warning, as lovely as it is for a song....it goes on and on and on (4 minutes and 2 seconds to be exact)- when you are slow dancing with everyone watching it seems like years lol.

Sorry - I've no pictures on computer of the evening as we got disposable cameras for the tables (couldn't afford an official photographer) but some teenage brats decided to spoil them all - GRR.

thought Sundays were a day of rest.......... not in this house.

blurggggg - I KNEW I was coming down with something (I always get a sore throat).... today I have started with a full on streaming cold.  YAY back to bed for a duvet day.... no such luck!!  Hubby works sundays so it was me, DS1 (4 going on 16) and DS2 (2 going on 20) with a whole day to fill (stupid cold + not being able to breathe properly = up before the kids at 6.45am!!).

a couple of pain killers later (becuase the ghost in the house had used the last of the cold n flu tablets and not told me) I was up and raring to go (well ok I could move off the sofa).
By 8am the kids were up and the chicken was cooking nicely in the oven so we could go out for the day knowing all I had to do when I got in was actually MAKE a pie.

Question time.......... do you use the roasting bags for your chickens??  have you ever managed to empty the fat out without covering the kitchen??  It's all well and good "snip the corner and empty it out".......... except my bags crumble the minute I touch them!!! Or is it just because I am using cheap ones (I get the ones linked to but at less then £1 for 10 from home bargains).

by 11am the chicken was resting, the kids were dressed and the picnic ready..... kids sent upstairs to brush teeth..... cue lots of laughing and shouts of "can I come and join in the fun too"..... fun..... teeth ...... something wasn't right.
DS2 had filled the bath with water and was stood in it (fully clothed) having a paddle!!!!!!!!  GRRRRRRRRRR.

A change of clothes later and we were eventually ready to go get the bus (urggggg busses and kids + buggy).  This was surprisingly easier then i expected (after we ran for the bus as I mistimed it and wasn't waiting 20 minutes for another)

The destination - Lowedges Festival in Greenhill Park.

This park is HUGE and was covered in 100 stalls from the local creative kids business (Creation Station) to local sweet sellers (sweet sensation), to the NHS (apparently their budget is spent producing canvas bags to alert people to cancer) to old fashioned cars to dog agility to funfair rides.

It was a good day out, the kids loved sitting in the fire engine (honestly DS1 was just mardy) and watching the chip-pan fire demonstration.  There was also a free fire engine bouncy castle for them to play on.

the weather couldn't quite deccide if it wanted to be hot and sunny or cold and overcast, so we decided the best picnic place would be near the trees.... I was freezing lol.

DS1 became obsessed with the land train that kept coming and driving around near us, so picnic over we went on a hunt to fnd it's stop..... kids bundled into a 'plane' I parted with £2 each for a ride EEEEEKKKK.

We also had some ice creams - now don't get me wrong and ice cream is an ice cream...... except when it is a Granelli's ice cream..... £4.50 for 2 lollies and a knickerboker glory (so not a bad price)

They had clearly had some sort of freezer malfunction (which they failed to admit to customers).

Both my boys had fiveices which are large long multicoloured ice lollies.  DS2's broke in half the second I took the wrapper off.  DS1's broke after about 2 minutes.  needless to say there was tears.

My knickerboker glory, apart from looking nothing like the picture, was re-frozen.  it was like rock and really unappetising (in fact it is the first time ever i have thrown away ice cream).

I'll be stearing clear as much as possible in the future - Unfortunaly they seem to have the monopoly in Sheffield and are pretty hard to bypass and go elsewhere in the summer months.

They also met with my other bugbear.......... NO PRICES!!! I think it's disgusting when rides (the land train mentioned earlier included) do not display prices for their services/ goods.

DS1 then spotted the miniture train (can you sense a theme here?) and wanted to go on it, at 50p for 2 rides (ok so it was only down a track and back twice)  he really enjoyed this.  and YAY 5-star for them - they actually had their prices clearly displayed.

A quick stop off at the playground and we headed home...... via the local retail park as I needed some new trainers (and somehow got suckkered into buying DS1 some new shoes and pants too (£22 and £6)!!!

A trip to the local zoo - aka Pets at Home - and we were on the bus home............

...............except silly me got the bus that took the long way and about half hour longer then the other one.

Pie n mash went down well for tea tho........ 4 clean plates - you couldn't ask for more.

Evening

this evening I joined the other Parent Bloggers at the Sunday night Twitter party #pbloggers.  was great to discuss days out with other mums and dads and share ideas and experiences.

Yes ok.......I said it would never happen but.............. I am a twitter convert!!!!!!!!

Silent Sunday 11/8/13

saturday, 10th August

Well all good intentions of writing this last night filtered away as went to bed early.  Was it just me or was it freezing last night??

Had quite a productive morning listing on ebay - free listing weekend.  Am loving the fact you can now upload as many pics as you want (up to 12) for free..... but disliking the new fees rule they are bringing in.  I was saying the other day how it's going to stop people listing anything for 99p because it's just not worth it for a take home of about 50p (especially if you have paypal fees to contend with too)!!   Trouble is they really have the monopoly on customers, I have tried preloved, sheffield forum, fridayads, gumtree, netmums - you name it but I sell so little through them and it takes sooo long to list and deal with the timewasters.

Where and how do you list yours??   Is there a trick I am missing??

Perhaps it's because I refuse to give away something for pennies when I know if I hang on and keep re-listing then someone will pay the asking price.  Why does everyone want something for nothing??   And if I hear "money is tight" or "must be free or cheap" one more time.........I am well aware of the "economic climate" I am living in it to, I also have to work to buy clothes for my children (that's why I sell their old ones for a sensible price), I also need to buy them the toys they desire (that's why I am selling their old ones),I need to put food on the table.....

I managed to really annoy someone recently on a forum I used to regularly post on when I dared to voice my opinions on another members 'business'....... going to carboot sales, buying the cheap toys then selling them for a profit on ebay.  That makes me SOO mad.  Yes the person selling is probably happy because they have got rid of stuff and made the money they were after but what about the people who have gone to buy themselves/ children a bargain but can't.   It'll never be stopped, it can't be policed and I guess if they are registered as a business then there's not alot anyone can do about it.
The same thing happens a lot on freecycle -  people request the items to sell on to make themselves money, it's one of the reasons I've stopped using it.

I even stumble across adverts on Sheffield Forum (our local buying/ selling/ chat site) where people clearly state in their listings "WANTED: car boot stuff.    I'm wanting as much as possible as I want to do a car boot sale to raise some money for (insert choice here: kids holiday, new kitchen, new clothes etc).
Must be free or cheap."   what makes me laugh even more is when they add "must also deliver for free".


Don't even get me started on manners ...... the you have people on the selling/ buying/ freecycle sites that list wanted ads but can't even be bothered to say "thanks but no thanks" when you reply to them.
The ones who reply to your ads but can't write "please" or "thank you".
Or the one I had on ebay the other day who messed me around for a week over collecting an item then sent me a message 24 hours before the actual collection time stating "my husband is on his way now".

new potato salad

is there anything better then a fresh salad and new potatoes?
Little tip I picked up - no fresh mint...... use mint sauce - I LOVE this and reallly adds to the flavour.

#Spend20K challange

Well that's an easy one.......... a house deposit!!!

The #Spend20K challange is a gauntlet thrown down by The National Lottery to celebrate the launch of their new Lotto game, in association with BritMums.
They want to know what you would spend 20K on if you won it....... and the winners (10) get £100 love to shop vouchers.

Around this area houses tend to sell for about £90,000 - £100, 000 - the liklyihood of us ever owning one on just above minimum wage with 2 children...... well actually, co-incidently,  about the same as the chance of us winning the lottery.

I hate the fact we scrimp every month to get through and spend £550 a month on rent - a mortgage would actually be lower!!!!  The chance of us ever having £10,000+ deposit for a house, then money for solicitors etc - impossible.

So yes, if I won £20K, I would put £12,000 (ish) as my 10% house deposit, use some for the soliciters etc and everything else on making my house into the perfect home.

for starters - the kids room.
I would make them the most perfect bedrooms and playroom - they are both superhero obsessed (which doesn't come cheap).

How coool would this look on the kids bedroom wall with lights in Iron Man's hands??

Or they would LOVE this one.

I love this style bed for when they have friends to come and stay.

and as for the playroom...... well they REALLY need some decent storage for their Lego (I'm sure they have more then the Lego shop itself does lol)

I like these boxes

And of course they would need a proper lego table.  I love this idea - and would solve the storage issue too.

Then I would make a start on my room...............the kitchen...........the bathroom...................on second thoughts I might need more then £20K ...................................................

So join in, what would you spend the £20K on??  A holiday?  Paying off the credit cards??

Britmums Spend £20K challenge in association with The National Lottery.

“This post is an entry for BritMums #Spend20K Challenge sponsored by The National Lottery, with more ways to win more money on the new Lotto game. Find out more about new Lotto, which starts in October, here – www.national-lottery.co.uk”

Recommended to me today by tesco.  Sounds a 'strange' combination to me........ anyone tried it?

Alyn Williams's cheesy egg with Marmite soldiers

• Rating: 4 stars
• Takes: 10 mins to prepare and 35 mins to cook
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 8 slices brown bread, thin
• 30g butter, softened
• 8tsp Marmite
• For the cheesy egg
• 20g unsalted butter
• 20g plain flour
• 350ml skimmed milk
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 110g half fat medium cheese, grated
• 4 eggs, medium
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch black pepper

Each serving contains 444 calories, 8.5g sugar, 19.3g fat, 10g saturates and 2.2g salt.

Method

Like a bigger, cheesy version of boiled egg and soldiers, this is a fun weekend breakfast that the kids will either love…or hate!

Cover all the slices of bread with a thin layer of Marmite.

Sandwich the slices together to make 4 Marmite sandwiches. 

Butter the outside of each sandwich before removing the crusts and cutting into 2cm soldiers. Put on a plate and keep in the fridge.

Heat the butter in a pan. Once the butter starts to foam add the flour and stir for 3 minutes.

Slowly add the milk, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. 

When the sauce begins to thicken slightly add a pinch of nutmeg and leave to simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Stir in the grated cheese - reserving a small handful for later - before seasoning with salt and pepper. 

Take 4 ramekins and spoon in enough cheese sauce to cover the bottom of each. Break the eggs and add one to each ramekin. Top with a couple more spoonfuls of sauce followed by a sprinkling of grated cheese. Let the children do all the spooning of the sauce.

Cook in an oven set to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. Carefully remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Place a frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add the Marmite soldiers to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. 

Place the ramekins onto saucers, arrange the Marmite soldiers alongside and dip away!  

Thursday........ the weekend starts here........

YAY it's thursday, for me that means Friday as I only work Mon-Thursday.  Need to think of something to do with the boys over the weekend as I hate being stuck in the house.

Unfortunately the tram company are digging up the tracks again all weekend so, as we don't drive, we are pretty stuffed for going anywhere unless we want to faff with busses (yuck).... unless I dare venture out buggyless (double yuck).

OHHHH it's the Lowedges festival on Sunday, wonder how easy it is to get there from mine?  Looks a really fantastic busy day if the sun comes out.

oppps forgot to get the mince out..............done.  Promised the kids spaghetti bolognaise for tea tomorrow and I'd be in trouble if the mince was still frozen lol.  Check out my foodie page for more info on what we will be cooking/eating this week.

Really please to have finished my little Pole dancer cross-stitch , brilliant for tying in my 2 favourite hobbies.

Have been a tad addicted to Twitter the last couple of days, found Liz @dragonflylotusd who has a great idea for #WIPWednesday  a chance to twitter your cross-stitch update pic every wednesday with the # on the end so the stitching community can follow your progress.... hopefully it'll give me a swift kick up the rear to get my WIPs completed.

I'm feeling really Christmassy, have got a real urge to get some shopping done, but I must restrain myself another couple of weeks, nothing wrong with window-shopping tho right?

Just off to update the spending diary and then picking up London Underground stitch for an hour, night night.