A review of Peppa Pig Live 2016. Peppa is touring The U.K. and Ireland in 2016. She is going up West too! To the opulent Duke of York Theatre, no less. Being the mother of a Peppa Pig Child, I decided that going to see Peppa Pig’s Surprise as a pre-Christmas treat, was in order. Continue Reading

Well, we’re off skiing. Whoopee!! I love skiing and have skied all my life. My parents went skiing on their honeymoon so I think it’s in the blood. I started at five and given that Alexander has now reached the ripe of old age of two and nearly a half I thought that it was about time to get him used to the white stuff – they say; the earlier the better. Continue Reading

Well, I never thought the time would come that the only ‘gig’ I would be going to in the first two years of Toddler PCG’s life would be this. There was Depeche Mode that I was determined to see (twice), we were invited to Bruce Springsteen (too expensive – read ‘broke and too tired anyway!’) and not forgetting the festivals that I was definitely going to attend; the ones that I missed out on in my youth when I hadn’t had any interest and anyway, they hadn’t been so ‘cool’ or ‘trendy’ the either!
So, needless to say, we don’t get out much. Saturday morning arrives. Bright and early for the first performance at 10am (yes, we had slept the night before, this time), doors opening at 9.30 (it’s not full when we arrive late,for me at 9.45, given that the audience members were all unreliable and uncontrollable so, never on time and of course they brought their parents too). Continue Reading

It’s been a while since I updated on this and another term, another season has gone by.Toddler PCG has been attending religiously every Monday with our au pair and yesterday the day came that she attended her last Monkey Music. She was quite upset! She’s leaving us at the end of the week. She wants her independence, who can blame her; she’s 25 and wants to put down roots here in London, where she wants to stay.
Luckily, she’s found a flat 5 minutes down the road so she’s not going far but she will be sorely missed.
She is our second au pair and arrived with little experience; much less than our previous one who was qualified with very young children but who left us just the same a couple of months after arriving, having decided that she wanted to travel and that being an au pair made her feel ‘trapped’ ( thanks for that!). Cyrielle on the other hand has blossomed into a brilliant child minder, sometimes, I feel, more responsible than I am! I  don’t even need to mention sunscreen when they are off to the park and its sunny – once was enough.
So this is a lament from her to Monkey Music with Alexander and a lament from me to our lovely au pair.
In the meantime, I’m going to spend some quality time with Alexander and go with him to Monkey Music. I was always secretly a little jealous of not being the one there with him. Joining in, holding his hand as we danced around or him sitting with me to play the instruments. It’s a real ‘hands-on’ class. Magical and imaginative and musical. A combination that has yet to be rivalled anywhere by any other classes. The good thing is that there are different levels for the different age groups which develop the baby through to the child each in a relevant and fun way. So , we are losing a member of live-in family and I’m gaining some fun me – time with my little boy. I’d better make the most of it because our new au pair starts soon and she’ll get to do the monkeying around! I have high hopes. Keep you posted. Continue Reading