Olympic Scrapbook crosses the line

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So, it's all over. All the medals awarded, the final party has been and gone and the athletes and officials are heading home. And that means one thing - our Olympic Scrapbook has been completed. It is a bittersweet moment. We are all proud of what we have achieved with our scrapbook and we have completely loved every minute of the Olympics, from the start of the first women's football match to the very end of the closing ceremony.

I must show you how we have finished it off. First, Saturday's page.

And yes, we have the same picture twice - Mo Farah and Usain Bolt doing each other's celebrations on the podium. Saturday was an amazing night - we watched Mo Farah together in the living room and as a family, we all shouted, "Yes!" when he crossed the line in front. We have also included Ed McKeever, who won the K1 200m canoe sprint, Luke Campbell who won boxing gold, Liam Heath and Jon Schofield who won bronze and on the right, we have Tom Daley winning diving bronze and a picture of them all jumping into the pool at the end, which we thought was great.

Then there was the page for the last day of sporting action and the closing ceremony.

We have some included some shots of the closing ceremony (which we thought was great, incidentally) but also the USA basketball team, Stephen Kiprotich the Ugandan marathon runner and Anthony Joshua, all of whom won gold on the last day. Also, there was Sam Murray who won Team GB's very last medal of the Games, a silver in the modern pentathlon. A truly fabulous ending to the Games.

With all the medals awarded, we were ready to complete our medals table. Flags drawn by the children whilst we were waiting for the closing ceremony to start. Look at that - Great Britain in third!

And then, we chose pictures for the middle page which has space to record more London 2012 memories.

I've managed to chop off Mo Farah in the picture, but we chose him as our favourite memory of the Olympics. Also, we have a picture from the opening ceremony, Chris Hoy crying on the podium after winning the Keirin, Laura Trott after winning the Omnium, Oscar Pistorius competing in the 400m, the heptathletes on a lap of honour, and a group of athletes running past the Olympic flame.

And then, finally, we visited The Times website to download our certificate for completing the scrapbook.

I have since filled it out and it's stuck proudly in the back page of our scrapbook. Because we've done it - it's been a bit of a marathon, but we really have enjoyed it, although my living room will be tidier without newspapers spread across it, and scissors, glue and scraps of paper scattered everywhere. We'd like the real medal, but you know, our achievement pales into insignificance compared to those of all the Olympians over the last 17 days.

You've still got time to get a copy of The Times today to complete recording your memories of the London 2012 games in your Olympic scrapbook. I hope if you started this along with me, you've made it through to the finish line and have enjoyed compiling it as much as we have. I'm off for a lie down.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Olympic Scrapbook hits the home straight

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We're nearly done. We have reached the home straight and struggling for the line. Well, not really struggling - we're powering to the line, a bit like Mo Farah did last Saturday night. Time is passing very quickly it seems and I can't believe that it will all be over tomorrow night.

We'd had a bit of a lull in our last post, but Team GB returned to winning ways on Thursday with a bang! Three gold medals, all won by women, in an eclectic mix of sports - boxing, taekwondo and freestyle dressage. All of them dancing, after a fashion.

Our page reflects that - Nicola Adams, Charlotte Dujardin and Jade Jones all feature on our page. We also included Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir - a Jamaican 1-2-3 in the men's 200m, David Rudisha who broke the world record in the 800m, and the GB rhythmic gymnastics team - just because their participation was so historic. Keri-Ann Payne is also on the right - I was really gutted that she didn't win a medal.

And then, Friday. A day of no golds for Great Britain but medals a-plenty nonetheless. Lutalo Muhammad getting a bronze in taekwondo, Luke Patience, Stuart Bithell, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark all winning silvers in sailing, Anthony Ogogo who lost a boxing bout to gain a bronze, and the women's hockey team. I also included a shot of the BMX riders and Oussama Mellioli who won the open-water swimming. We also had some more challenges to do and I've added all the medals even though we have not quite yet filled in ALL the pages in the scrapbook but we will do very soon.

We're headed to the line. One more day of competition and a closing ceremony to go! Do remember that you too can continue to collect The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Olympics.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Olympic Scrapbook - a slight pause for breath!

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Well, another post after two more days of Olympic action. Recording our memories of the London 2012 Olympics with our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times is proving to be a worthwhile experience. Every day, we turn straight to the scrapbook page to see if we like the pictures, then scan through the rest of the paper to try and ensure we have a picture of all the British medallists and any other significant people (like Usain Bolt - you couldn't miss him out, could you?).

But these last two days have been that little bit quieter. Including a whole day when Team GB didn't win any medals. I mean, really? I have to pinch myself because we keep trying to explain to Monkey how in some Olympics, Team GB only won as many medals across a whole games as we have on some days this time. But yes, a whole day without medals yesterday - probably a nice pause, given the rate we are running out of stickers in our pack.

Missy Woo insisted muscling in on Tuesday's page as she helped me compile the page. We have the Brownlee boys on the left hand side. We also have our 3 medals as we completed our challenges again - the children loved running upstairs to bed in particular, and Monkey did sterling work carrying shopping back from our walk into town. Talking of which, I took this picture yesterday whilst we were in town.

The children with Bradley Wiggins's gold postbox, which is located opposite the Town Hall in Chorley. The children were very excited to see it.

Anyway, on the right of the page is Charlotte du Jardin of the dressage team, Robbie Grabarz who won high jump bronze, Victoria Pendleton after she won silver (still gutted about that), Laura Trott winning another gold, Sir Chris Hoy winning yet another gold, and Rob Dempsey winning a windsurfing silver.

So, Wedneday was a lot quieter day. I mean, for goodness sake, I even have some Aussies winning a gold medal in the sailing! On the right, I put Nick Skelton (who was unlucky not to win a medal), Mo Farah doing his Mobot, and Shanaze Reade doing BMX time trials -  there is even space for a crowd picture and a picture of a random Chinese table tennis player. Yes, really, that quiet. The last day we didn't win any medals was Day 1, which seems like a lifetime ago.

Only four days left now. I can't believe it is nearly over. And there is still more to come for our Olympic Scrapbook. If you're joining in with this, don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Olympic Scrapbook passes the bell

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We're onto the second week of the Olympics - not quite the home straight, but we've certainly heard the bell now. None of us want it to end in this household  - well, maybe Missy Woo is not as excited as the rest of us, but she does loving Team GB winning golds. In terms of our Olympic Scrapbook, in which we are recording our memories of these games with pictures from The Times and The Sunday Times.

It's been two days since my last post and we've encountered a bit of a crisis. We've run out of Team GB gold medal stickers! I'm sure they were trying to be conservative and not over-confident but I guess we couldn't have predicted we'd win so many medals in the list of who won what - which is not a complete list of medallists as some days, there are over 20 medals on offer. We've had to stick on gold medals and stick a  union flag next to it!

This is Sunday's page, which was a bit mad. Andy Murray won men's singles gold incredibly easily so he's on the left, with Ben Ainslie, Andy Murray, Laura Robson, Louis Smith and Christine Ohuruogu all winning silver. And then, of course, Usain Bolt winning the 100m - which of course, I couldn't leave out. And not to be left out, Max Whitlock is at the bottom winning his bronze in the pommel horse. (You might also notice there is a Chinese athlete called Ling Dan who won the badminton men's singles, largely to fill a gap!

And here's Monday's. A somewhat quieter day - since when did a quiet day at the Olympics meaning winning two golds and a bronze? That would never have happened when I was a child the age mine are now! So, we have included Holly Bleasdale coming 6th in the women's pole vault - because she's from round here and went to the school the children will probably go to in a few years. We could only find a small picture of the showjumping team - it was that or a huge picture that wouldn't have fitted in! And then of course, there is Beth Tweddle finally winning a medal in the uneven bars. On the right, we have put Beth again, as well as Jason Kenny blowing the opposition away in the sprint and Laura Trott doing well in the omnium races.

We know already we have more gold medal performances to add to today's page, so I'll show you that in a few days.

Don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games. 

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Our Olympic Scrapbook goes medal crazy!

Yes, this is another sponsored post...

I don't seem to have any time to blog at the moment. I'm permanently glued to the Olympics. I worked out earlier that I've seen all of Team GB's medal performances live (on television, not at the venue!) so far and there has been a lot of jumping up and down and shouting at the box in the corner of our living room.

Well, that and continuing to complete our Olympic Scrapbook from The Times and The Sunday Times. If you've missed this so far, the idea is you collect pictures from the newspapers and you stick them in the scrapbook.

The children are joining in but they are a little camera shy today. That is actually code for they are joining in and cutting out but often wander off, leaving me to finish it all off - well, once they have applied all the glue to the pages anyway, that seems to be their favourite thing.

A bit photo heavy but here are our pages from the last few days.

This is Sunday's page, featuring of course, Lizzie Armitstead and Rebecca Adlington after their medal winning performances. We also chose a picture of Ryan Giggs scoring a goal at Wembley.

Here's Monday's page, featuring the divers and the men's gymnastics team - plus Ruta Meilutyte, because she trains in Plymouth! They're slightly out of shot here but we completed all but one of the day's challenges - because it involved doing a length of the pool and Missy is doing dance summer school this week.

Tuesday saw another medal in the team eventing and we also chose a fantastic action shot from the women's football as we were so proud of Team GB beating Brazil.

And of course, Wednesday was the day it turned gold for Team GB. Monkey and I put together a montage in the big picture featuring Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Michael Jamieson, the men's eight, Andy Murray and Kristian Thomas. And we cannot, of course, forget Helen Glover and Heather Stanning who won gold in the women's pair. I've almost impressed myself with that.

Don't forget you can continue to collect the The Times and The Sunday Times to record your memories of the London 2012 Games.

And of course, the cycling starts today and the athletics tomorrow. It can only get more exciting.... if that's possible.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Ready, Steady, Scrapbook!

This is a sponsored post, you know the drill. 

The waiting is over. Almost. Some of us have already had an Olympic experience (we went to a football session at Old Trafford last night) but tonight, finally, the Olympics officially opens. I've explained before how excited we all are but it's taken on a slightly different meaning for us since I agreed to be involved with the Times Olympic Scrapbook, detailing our experiences of cataloguing the events of the next 17 days.

I've just been told that if you've missed out getting a scrapbook before, there is one last chance to get your mitts on one before it all kicks off tonight. What you will need to do is to go here and print the voucher, fill it out and take it to your nearest WH Smith or Waitrose before they close TONIGHT. Yes, that's right. If you really want to join in and get scrapbooking the games with your children, you need to be quick off the mark! That way, you'll be ready and raring to go to start scrapbooking tomorrow.

If you've been away and have no idea what I'm talking about, my original post about this project explains more. The Times and Sunday Times have already given away more than a million of these scrapbooks, so there are a lot of people poised to start collecting their favourite memories, starting of course, with the opening ceremony. Even today's edition has a special games section - I liked the clever world map showing which nations excel at which sports. We're good at "sitting down" sports and the Americans just about everything, of course.

From tomorrow, there will be 15 special souvenir editions of the Times and we'll be cutting out our favourite pictures. For the children, tonight's ceremony is going to be just too late - normally, I'd let them stay up as a special occasion but we did that last night and then they only slept until 7 so both are somewhat lethargic. I have promised to record it all so they can see it in the morning - memories don't have to be watched live, do they?! I have high hopes for the ceremony after seeing the briefest of sneak previews - I love Danny Boyle's style and the way he doesn't take himself too seriously so I suspect that something of him may go into this, along with all the over-the-top events that can only feature in an opening ceremony.

Come back again soon and see how we got on with scrapbooking the opening ceremony, but don't forget to be quick if you want to grab that voucher and get one of the last scrapbooks so your family can join in too!

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.

Olympic Scrapbook - have you got yours yet?

This is a sponsored post (but it's not that bad really).

If you read my post last weekend, you'll know that I'm going to be blogging about our experiences completing the Olympic Scrapbook that appeared in The Sunday Times last week.

If you missed out last weekend, don't fret as you have one last chance to get one. Get yourself down to a WH Smith or Waitrose this Saturday as you'll be able to get one free when you buy a copy of The Times. Then, the next day, The Sunday Times will have an exclusive sticker set which you'll be able to use in your scrapbooks, and I've been allowed to give you a sneaky preview of how those stickers are going to look.

Monkey, in particular, is excited about the stickers so I'm going to have to try and rein him in so that he doesn't stick them all over the scrapbook within half an hour. We've been looking at The Times all through this week but nothing has yet made it into the scrapbook as we're waiting for our Olympic experience to begin (which will be next Thursday as we are going to some of the early games in the football tournament the day before the opening ceremony). We're going to collect front pages, choose the pictures to cut out and stick in, and fill in the statistics - another Monkey job; he'll be there with his statto hat on, and will probably try to write the results in almost as they happen!

Olympic legends have been supporting the Olympic Scrapbook this week as the two papers build towards the London 2012 Olympic Games. Here's the lovely Roger Black:

And also, the great Ade Adepitan, pictured at the recent premiere of Chariots of Fire.

Take a look at this (very short) video which shows you how the scrapbook works. 




You can also find this video here.

This time next week, the Games will be upon us. Excitement is reaching fever pitch here. If it is with you, get your scrapbooks and stickers and join us cataloguing this very special occasion.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative.

Preserving London 2012 memories with the Olympic Scrapbook

This is a sponsored post (but you might like it anyway!)

Two weeks to go, after seven years of waiting. I remember sitting, holding Monkey (a nearly 4 month old baby) in my arms watching the announcement of the host city of the 2012 Olympic Games and tearing up with joy and excitement when Jacques Rogge uttered the words "the games of the thirtieth Olympiad are awarded to the city of London." (I just looked those words up on YouTube to make sure I got them right and it set me off again!) I was excited, not just for me, but for the baby that I was holding in my arms, that such a fantastic thing was going to be happening in our country and that it would be something we would be able to share as a family. 

Seven years of waiting, but once it starts, the Games will be here and gone again in the blink of an eye and we will be left with will be some - hopefully fantastic - memories. I've been pondering how best to do this with the children for a while. Monkey, in particular, loves his wall charts - he dutifully filled out his Euro 2012. But I wanted more than that - a keepsake that can go into their memory boxes to remind them of the this once in a lifetime event. Then, I was asked if I'd like to be involved with the project I'm about to tell you about. Being a sports mad family, I jumped at the chance as we will be devouring the Games in all forms when it starts. 

Foreword by Lord Coe

The Times and The Sunday Times today announced the launch of their ultimate Olympic Scrapbook that will offer readers the opportunity to catalogue their memories from this once in a lifetime event. Readers of the newspapers will be able to collect and record every day of London 2012 with their free scrapbook inside every copy of The Sunday Times this weekend.

The scrapbook, supported by London 2012 sponsor P&G, will feature editorial content from The Times and The Sunday Times’ award-winning journalists, including an Olympic timeline along with stats and facts about this summer’s Games and past medal winners. Readers will be able to collect pictures, athlete profiles, medal tables, as well as adding in their own images and memories – plus an exclusive sticker set that will be available inside The Sunday Times on 22nd July.

Stickers? Monkey will be overjoyed! He has that geeky, slightly obsessive quality that little boys often have, collecting stickers and cards wherever he can. I suspect Missy Woo wants to join in as she likes stickers although they will have to be pretty ones.

A sample page from the scrapbook

We have had a sneak preview of the scrapbook as we were sent a copy to get going. The scrapbook is a really nice size (just under A3) with Jess Ennis on the cover, and a foreword by Lord Coe. Every page is in colour, with information for you to cut out and keep from the newspaper or their website (although that is behind a paywall) as well as interesting information about the Olympics, like profiles of high profile athletes and a series about Olympic villains over the years. There's space to write in who won what on each day. 

Monkey is very excited about the prospect of filling out this scrapbook over the coming weeks. Missy Woo is less so, but I know she will enjoy it too. This is going to be a great summer holiday activity, which we are going to need if the weather carries on the way it has been! I think it's nice to be able to do something like this together - choosing the pictures, cutting them out, sticking them in - to make memories the way we see them, not anyone else. 

Over the next month, I'll be blogging about our experiences of putting the Olympic Scrapbook together, and showing you what we're doing with our scrapbook. If you'd like to join in, please do. I'd love to see what other people do with the scrapbook. In my next post, which should be early next week, I'm hoping to share a How to video with some useful tips for completing the scrapbook with your children. 

Get your copy of The Times & The Sunday Times OlympicScrapbook free this weekend with The Sunday Times and you can visit: http://bit.ly/STOlympics for more information. If you have arrived late to this post and missed your chance, all is not lost. You'll have a final chance to get your hands on the Olympic Scrapbook by visiting your local Waitrose or WHSmith on Saturday 21st July and purchasing a copy of The Times. 

If you want some more ideas for Olympic related activities to do with your children, you can visit the Olympic Fever section of Netmums throughout the summer.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity. On this occasion, I have been asked to share some key information about this promotion, which I have done because it is relevant to the project and informative. 

Where was your best family holiday? Answer this and you could win a prize!

V60 - image courtesy of Volvo Cars UK

This is a sponsored post (but stick around, it's not that bad!)

Well, where was it? Our best was probably last year to Devon (which I blogged about several times) when  we stayed in a lodge, visited the Eden Project and my sister, and ate cream teas until we were fit to burst. We loved it so much that we're going back there soon - it was a good location for day trips as well as easy for us to get to, there was plenty for all of us to do and the lodges are of a really nice standard. We're all excited about our trip back there soon.

If you can answer this question - and others - you could win a prize this coming Sunday. Volvo Cars will be giving away a range of prizes - such as a Kindle or a family adventure weekend - in their V60 getaway competition on Twitter. Oh damn, that means I need to have fitted that answer into 140 characters. Brevity was never my strong suit. Maybe you can do better?

I do a lot of online competitions as a hobby and I dislike most Twitter competitions - they usually require you to follow an account and then to retweet stuff into your followers' timelines, effectively spamming everyone. So, I was pleased to see this was not like that.

First, you need to be following Volvo Cars on Twitter. On Sunday 27th May, they will ask a series of questions. Tweet them your answer using the hashtag V60getaway and they will give away prizes every hour during the duration of the promotion. No spam! A Twitter competition I can join in.

Personally, I was hoping they were going to give away an actual V60 which you can learn more about here, but sadly not. I could do with something a little more stylish but practical to drive and the V60 would definitely fit the bill, although sadly, my budget definitely doesn't stretch to it at the moment.

So don't forget - if you want to try and win a prize, follow Volvo Cars UK and keep an eye out for the #V60getaway questions starting on Sunday. Good luck, I hope you win a prize!

I am a member of the Netmums Parent Bloggers Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team from our database to review products and brands on their behalf. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I can ‘opt in’ to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Giving credit where it's due - how to make things right the right way

Back: Danny Ward, Alex Smithies & Alan Lee.
Front: Jordan Rhodes & two new signings

A while back, I experienced what it was like when the reaction to a blog post goes almost viral. Everyone reads it, it gets talked about,  passed around and causes a bit of a stir. That post was my review of the family facilities at Huddersfield Town. The home fans very quickly picked up on it and soon, thanks to Twitter, it had come to the attention of their commercial director Sean Jarvis, who promptly invited me to a meeting to discuss my experiences. In the meantime, the local paper even published a story about it!

In which Netmums send me behind enemy lines

I've been to hundreds of football matches. I reckon the tally is into the two hundreds, but could be more. I had a season ticket at football for 6 years, right until Monkey was born. I have been to away matches too and as I started going to matches in the 90s, I've been to some right holes. Things have changed considerably over the last 10 - 15 years.

Since having the children, my attendance at matches has been a lot more sporadic, mainly due to finances. One of my first posts on this blog was about taking Monkey to his first ever live match. His second was to Wembley! Last year, he had a season ticket for Blackpool, which amazingly, was free for him as he's under 8. He's even been to the Nou Camp in Barcelona and we've taken both children to an England U21 match at Deepdale. We're not afraid to take children to football and have generally had good experiences.

When I heard that Netmums were looking for bloggers to review events in the Family Football Festival, I was interested but sadly, Preston weren't on the list. However, we then discovered that one of the matches was Huddersfield Town v Preston and as the children had been pestering me to go to a match again, I volunteered to go and review, even if it meant I had to sit in the home end. I warned the children we would have to keep quiet if Preston scored.

Having read fellow bloggers' reviews and hearing about their experiences, I was quite looking forward to it. Keen to make a good impression, clubs have been welcoming them with open arms and showing them the best they have to offer. It was certainly a great day for going to a football match - dry, clear and neither too warm or too cold. Perfect.

Terry the Terrier

I went to the Galpharm once or twice in the years BC. The stadium announcer said it was ten years since we last played each other, so the ground was still the McAlpine then. As an away fan, I thought it was quite a nice ground but I didn't have children then, which can alter your perception.

We got to the ground after navigating some odd diversions around the town. The nearest car park was permit only but the staff allowed me in to get to the ticket office to collect my tickets because there appeared to be no other way to access the ticket office. Alarm bells started ringing when I noticed that we were in row YY of the stand. Never mind... I took the children back to a local pub to get them lunch, whereupon we became stymied by the service which took 15 minutes to produce 2 iced lollies for the children's treat. I had been intending to park there (and note, I do this at Preston and am happy to pay if necessary) but I was warned it was not allowed. Even though the car park looked nowhere near full and there were no clamping signs up, so I decided not to risk it because of being with the children.

So, we get back in the car, and I try to locate parking. Well, let me tell you, parking was a nightmare. Other bloggers visiting other clubs were offered parking spaces and it would have been lovely to have been offered it here. I fully accept that real families visiting wouldn't get offered this normally so we got to experience what any family would, and it wasn't pretty or enjoyable. I drove down a road signposted for stadium parking but every car park was either permits only or was full. A retail park was nearly empty but big threatening signs bode badly for clamping and after driving around for another 5 or 10 minutes, we finally found a space of sorts at the bottom of an industrial estate which was 10 minutes away.

By the time we were back at the ground, it was twenty minutes before match time. I looked for the family festival activities but saw none, which is odd as I approached the ground on the side of the family stand and you'd think they would be there, but no. We saw the club mascot, Terry the Terrier, and a lady offered the children "Let's kick racism out of football" stickers, leading to an interesting conversation with the children about what racism was. As we walked in, Monkey said to me in a low voice, "Mummy, stand up if Huddersfield score." Bless.

Those steps

We had to go up a number of flights of stairs to get to the family stand. There was a lift, but it said it was not for public use. Nice. But that was nothing compared to what greeted us when we walked in to find our seats. Really quite steep stairs, with no handrails. Family friendly? Hmm, not sure about that. It really struck me as odd, given there are stands which are less steep around the ground. And I've been closer to the pitch at the Nou Camp!

I began to doubt that we had been put in the family section, so much so that I asked the family in front if it was. The look on their faces suggested they agreed with me in a kind of resigned way. I mentioned the football festival to them and they said they had seen a penalty shootout competition if you approached the ground from the other side. This couple had very small children with them and I noticed they left early which meant they had time to walk their children down the very steep steps slowly without being knocked over. The fear of falling is very real - Missy told me she nearly slipped as we descended the steps for half time, but luckily by then, we had reached the small section that had handrails and she was able to grab it to stop herself falling.

Some football! Yes, we did see some, played by Huddersfield mostly.

Onto the match. Oh dear. I don't think I can look at the highlights, PNE were that awful, but it was a pretty good game, which I would have enjoyed more had I been a neutral. And for the record, I never did stand once when Huddersfield scored. Three times. And I had to keep quiet when we did get a consolation, then nearly score a second. Monkey got right into it and clapped and cheered like he was a home fan. That child doesn't care who he supports. Turncoat!

Missy enjoyed the football.

The stand didn't seem family orientated at all, although I believe they may have given away a lot of tickets to schools for this match. There were a lot of adult only groups around us. The group at the back were constantly told to sit down and I was constantly on watch in case any swears came our way. They didn't; at least I don't think they did. Missy still doesn't totally get football - she spent some time during the first half doing her sticker book!

At half time, we went to get a drink. At £5.60 for a bottle of Diet Coke, 2 Capri Suns and a packet of crisps, I found it extremely expensive and certainly not something families would indulge in regularly, especially as none of it is particularly extravagant.

When we returned, I managed to find some spare seats a bit lower down so we didn't have to climb those steps again. The benefit of being higher up was we were shaded longer from the sun but as the sun descended, it got in all our eyes, even with sunglasses on. The second half was better for me because of the goals and it did look for a while like we were getting right back into it, but when we didn't, I made sure we left early so we didn't have to deal with the stairs in the post-match scrum. I noticed that most of the families with small children did the same. Monkey and Missy Woo did behave really well and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

As a parent, however, I didn't. I really wanted to have a great time and I think the Family Football Festival is a great idea. I praise the Lord that I didn't tell the children there would be lots to do, because if there was, it was well hidden. The family stand is not really family friendly at all, given there are other parts of the ground that could better serve families with younger children than that stand, which must have some of the steepest steps I've had to climb in an English football stadium. I cannot understand it - it's almost like whoever designated that for families has either never had small children, or has forgotten what it was like to have them. What also seems strange is allocating someone who is coming to do a review centred around your family friendliness tickets right at the top, like it was some kind of afterthought. That said, if that is how they treat paying families, then I guess we got the full experience. I have tried looking on the club website to see if there is any information that I might have missed but there is precious little there directed specifically about families.

All in all, it led me to conclude that Huddersfield Town pay lip service to being family friendly rather than actually going all out to be properly attractive to families. That is a damned shame - the younger you get fans involved, the more likely it is that they will keep coming. And with people being short of money these days, clubs are going to have to offer wonderful, value for money experiences if families are going to spend their cash on a football match. I'm really sad that I've had to write a negative review because I love football and I want families who haven't experienced a live match to give it a try because, when it's good, it's thrilling, captivating and fun. I really hope that someone from Huddersfield Town reads this review and takes on board what I have to say - I am happy to talk to them further if they wish. And I am not writing this because my team lost. The die was cast before a ball was kicked and this review would have been no better had PNE won, even though I would have enjoyed the game more. I'd take my children back to the Galpharm, but I'd stick to the away end this time. I went behind enemy lines - and I felt sorry for the enemy.

Finally, if you do think about taking children to a football match, I have some tips for you.

• Take a small rucksack, filled with small (silent) toys or books and perhaps an iPod or portable radio as younger children will get bored, even if it's a great match. 
• Taking your own food and drink would not be a bad idea either. Most clubs allow it to be taken in.
• Wear layers, lots of them. There is nothing worse than being cold at a match.
• During winter, always take hats and gloves. It will be dark before the end of a 3pm kick off, even if it is a nice day.
• Check your seat is fully under cover or you could get wet. In most stands, the front few rows can be exposed to wet weather. 
• Whilst front row seats sound fantastic, small children often can't see much from ground level. 7 to 8 rows back allows children a better view of the game as a whole. (Edited to add - seats right next to an aisle are also a good idea, so check where the seats are going to be before you buy!)
• Try and give yourself as much time as you can to get there. 
• Toilets get busy at half time so pop down early if you can, especially if you have recently toilet trained. 

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.

Netmums Review: Lego Ramses Return

After Missy Woo was sent Littlest Pet Shop Hamster Playground a few weeks back, I was asked if I'd like to review a Lego game with Monkey. As he loves Lego, it wasn't a difficult decision to say yes! I was pestered almost daily by him until it turned up. He has tons of Lego and is always after more. And, if he can't do it, he expects us to help!


The game is quite small - on a board that is no more than a few inches square - and the first task, is to put the game together. It's Lego so it comes with full instructions that Monkey could mostly follow but because he's a tiny bit young for the game (it's suitable from 7), he needed a bit of help with following those. Even the dice for the game is made of Lego and he liked putting that together.

And then you have to play the game! The game involves collecting pieces of treasure from the corners of the board whilst trying to avoid getting cursed by the Mummy. Part of it is also a memory game as there are crystals hidden away under the temples and you have to remember which colour crystal is where if the dice lands on a colour. We found that the rules weren't particularly extensive. The children seemed happy enough to sit down and play it by themselves - one of Monkey's friends came round for tea one day, so they played it and no arguments ensued. Always a bonus! I guess if they are happy enough playing it, then should we worry if they are following the rules exactly? I guess not. The instructions offer some alternative rules so it does allow some flexibility, and well, I'm not going to complain if they are not doing it exactly right.

The game only takes about 10 minutes to play, which I think is perfect for that age group. It would take longer if played by all four players it's designed for. Everything packs neatly back into the box and because the board is still quite small, it can be put away made up, which is a bonus. Because of the number of small pieces, I'd hate to play it in a car - we have enough minute pieces of Lego secreted around our house in the hope they'll get found one day as it is; putting them in the car would be just asking for trouble!

All in all, we enjoyed this game. It's made well and it has a lot of versatility to it. And with an RRP of £9.99, I think it's good value. Even if it doesn't keep them occupied for hours, it fits in with their attention span and so, I'm guessing it's a game that will actually get played to a finish instead of abandoned halfway through.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.