A Hampton Court review.

Here I am working at a school as a teaching assistant a world a away for what I am qualified for. You may indeed wonder what I am qualified for? NASA space scientist =No, Nobel peace prize winner= No, or maybe an angst poet= sadly No.

Well its heritage Conservation , "Whats that" I hear you cry? Well its the care of old buildings and artefact's . I have a qualification from Nottingham University it called an ordinary Certificate which equates to the first year of a degree.  I have further qualification from Derby University in American Studies which would add further to the completion of a full degree.

Why don't I go for it , I don't now really., I suppose its cost , it would cost be a fortune to pursue my dreams of being an archaeologist or museum curator.

So I am instilling my love of history and archaeology into my son who is loving it. We were all really impressed when we went to Hampton Court for the day a few weeks ago , J totally loved it. I love the way children from a young age are immersed into the history of Hampton court. Children and even adults can dress up as people from Tudor times. And it was great fun to see Henry the 8th wandering into the chapel, there was musicians playing,it was a joy there was something every corner you turn. The palace is larger than you think so you need a whole day there. However, we were there over 6 hours and didn't get to see all the palace, and not all of the the gardens as well. You can see the gardens from the palace and there are descriptions of them through the audio commentary when you walk around.

J enjoying looking at the highly intricate ceilings at Hampton Court.

Hampton Court Palace

The wine flows from this fountain on a Bank holiday!.

J loving the interactive features in abundance at Hampton Court Palace.

Tudor kitchen hands spit roasting chickens.

Hampton Court gardens.

A plethora of History here long may it reign!

New! Royal Beasts at the Tower of London
For 600 years animals were held in the Royal Menagerie.  And now they're back!  
See how the Tower would have looked, smelt and sounded before the animals left, 
with stunning life-size sculptures of lions, baboons, a polar bear and more.  To 
book visit http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon




Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that looks after the Tower of 
London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew 
Palace. Although the palaces are owned by The Queen on behalf of the nation, we 
receive no funding from the Government or the Crown, so we depend on the support 
of our visitors, members, donors, volunteers and sponsors.  Our aim is to help 
everyone explore the story of how monarchs and people have shaped society, in 
some of the greatest palaces ever built.

Nando's crisps, cashews and mixed nuts the review ... its hot

Nandi Peri-Peri Cashews

I never knew that Nando's did crisps and nuts, following on the wave of the Lee Evans jokes about Nando ( they were positive of course and the joke was that Nando's are everywhere). I discovered that there was more to this brand that just their restaurants. So I was sent some of there hot snacks for review.

There is a hotness gauge on the back so if you can't handle it , you really only have yourself to blame. the gauge ranges from "I like brown paper packages tied up with string" to " I like the taste of napalm in the morning"

PERi-PERi Chicken Crisps

PERi-PERi Chicken is what we do best at Nando’s, and so it would be criminal to launch our chips without including PERi-PERi Chicken as a variety.

With a medium heat, these chips are packed with flavour, combined with a healthy kick of PERi-PERi. Incredibly moreish and great for sharing, available in 150g and now 40g bags.

For me personally the medium had just the right level of spiciness without me having to permanently suck the cold water tap dry.

The first crisp we tried were the Peri- peri chicken groove cut these are very good as well if you are coeliac as they are gluten free, and I know it is hard to fin great tasting snacks if you are coeliac.


On the other hand I couldn't handle the hotness of the Hot peri- peri groove cut though my husband who can eat anything loved them and even my son who doesn't ever like spicy food enjoyed them.  I am hoping this will broaden his horizons into other foods as well.

The other products myself and I husband were unsure on were the Peri -Peri cashews and the mixed nus but that's just our personal taste.

Dishwasher Magic and Washer Magic review

LEAN ON THE INSIDE!
Give your dishwasher a thorough clean with Dishwasher Magic, £3.99 - it sits in your cutlery tray and will remove any build-up of food, grease or scum.

I had never used a product like this before and I was really pleased with the results. I have gone from a smelly dishwasher to a sparkling clean one .  I shall use this as often as my dishwasher tells me to my the way it smells and looks.

Dishwasher Magic disinfects which is a relief especially as you set your machine to clean your dishes while you are at work and they can often be left sitting in dishwasher for hours on end.

Its very simple to use, you just take the cap off leave the wax seal on, this melts in the hot water and pop upside down in the cutlery basket.

You just switch it on a wait for the cycle to run.

After running this through my dishwasher it was if I had bought a new machine it was all shiny and clean. This has increased my confidance in using my dishwasher as I know that using this product regularly will keep the nastiness away.

Now all I need is a magic husband at my beck and call...

Washer Magic, £3.99, can be poured into your washing machine dispenser drawer to remove bacteria and odour-causing residue that builds up. Both available at unifit.co.uk.

Designed to remove odour-causing residue from your washing machine.

Very easy to use just pour a little onto a cloth and wipe round the rubber seal and then rinse off with a damp cloth, that's the hard bit out of the way. Next pour 1/3 of the bottle where you'd normally put the powder. Then do a normal wash cycle with the hot water setting and that's all there was to it.

There was no residue left after using it and it defiantly freshened up my machine and shall be repeating the process again in a few months.

Washer Magic removes soap scum, iron and mineral stains which improves your washing
machine's ability to wash clothes. It will improve the lifespan of your washing machine and clothes! It is safe to use in any washing machine as it is non-corrosive.

If only it could do the ironing ....................

Shoe Zone Back to School savings.

In these harsh economic  times when your finances are being stretched by the ever increasing cost of day to day living, it is nice to find a company who offers good quality and good value.  Shoe Zone is the "No 1 Value Footwear Retailer" with over 550 shops across UK and Ireland.  They sell approximately 30 million pairs of footwear per annum...which is about 57 pairs every minute!!  Prices are kept keen with an average price of 40% of the national average.
They sell a great range of shoes for Men, Women, Boys and Girls at really competitive prices.  Their range includes footwear for fashion, work, school, sport and fun. I has sent lots of pairs to review my son has adult size feet. So there was no way he could road test girls and boys size 10 shoes impossible. So I am sending some of the shoes out to be road tested by some bloggers, well not the bloggers but their children. Also road testing are some people who aren't bloggers so who knows after this they might.  Prices start from just £1.99 so take a look and see how much you could save.


So I will be able to report back to you in a week or so exactly what they and their parent s thought of the  shoes from Show Zone and we all know how fickle children can be.

Shoe Zone offer an online click and collect in store service, free delivery on online sales, free return to any store and next day and Saturday delivery (chargeable).  

Check out this season's new arrivals online at www.shoezone.com or instore now.

Here is what one of the ladies thought about the shoes I sent her.

"I received a pair of Shoe Zone girls lace up Brogues to review. They are black, slightly pointed toe brogues with thin laces and my first reaction was would my daughter like these as they are quite different from the normal style of shoes she would wear. I showed them to her and she was very excited – new shoes (what girl wouldn't be?!!).

She tried them on immediately and they were a good fit and seemed really comfortable. Being a budget style shoe they are synthetic rather than leather but the upper seemed quite soft and supple. The laces were thin and round, so were easy to put a double bow in to stop coming undone during the day. My daughter hasn't yet mastered the art of tying a shoe lace but hopefully she'll get a lot of practice with these!

Overall we were happy with the shoes, they are a very fashionable style, with brogues being seen in all the shops at the moment and look great with skinny jeans/leggings for the perfect little daytime outfit."




Another blogger gave his reaction or rather his four year old did!!!


"The shoes look really lovely. Yusuf has another pair of school shoes from a very popular shoe shop especially for kids.  We prefered these, they looked nicer and felt a lot lighter which is good when your thinking of an energitic almost 4 year old on the go all day!!  Yusufs' take on the shoes was:  "Daddy am I wearing the top quality shoes today?!"   I promise that these words were on his own behalf (top quality is a popular thing with him at the moment!!)  We think coming from a 4 year old that says quite a lot."
 

Grandsreads Ginger wine and traditional lemonade.

I was sent all four flavours of Gran Stead's, I can tell you that the Traditional Still Lemonade is a trip back in time and the Ginger  wine will have you sending Dug the dog to farm warn warn them that little Timmy has fallen down the well. Refreshing and tangy it hits the spot.

And then there the wild one....
We call this “lemonade with attitude!”

Our newest drink combines the refreshingly zesty flavour of Sicilian lemons with just enough ginger to give it a gentle hum of spice. It’s a fusion of our two other drinks, Gran Stead’s Ginger Wine and Gran Stead’s Traditional Still Lemonade. We spent a lot of time trying out various combinations, consulting our customers all the way. We believe our new drink is unique and we hope you love it as much as we do.


Naturally, it’s absolutely free of artificial colourings or flavourings.

What’s in it?
Simply water, Sicilian lemon juice*, sugar and ginger
(* contains a trace of sulphur dioxide – this is added in Sicily to help it keep its fresh, lemony colour)


It’s gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Once opened, it will keep in the fridge for four days.

 Gran Stead's Non-Alcoholic Ginger Winehowever,  Fiery and sweet the perfect drink to match Mr T's personality ( I am joking rfeally . Mr T is a pussy cat reallly) !!

Gran Stead's say its an invigorating, alcohol-free drink made in Sussex from natural ingredients. The historic recipe is over 150 years old.
This hearty concoction, prepared with exotic spices and years of know-how, is simply brimming with character. 
Rich, smooth and vibrant, Gran Stead’s Ginger has broad appeal and won’t leave you gasping for water. 
That’s because the heat is expertly balanced with a welcome hint of sweetness. 

Christiana Stead was born in 1898 in a small country village called Middleton-in-Teesdale in the North of England. Her ginger wine recipe - now over 150 years old - uses all natural ingredients and the result is a mellow, versatile drink for all seasons.

We liked it so much we bought the business”

In 1994, Len and Dot Knox bought the recipe for their favourite drink. They began preparing Gran Stead’s Ginger Wine from home and selling it at craft fairs. As word spread and demand grew, they moved on to farmers markets and began to build a list of stockists.

The business was given a marvellous start by the hard work of Len and Dot and we’re delighted to say that fifteen years later it continues to grow. Today it’s  their son Chris and daughter-in-law Rosemary, who take care of the day to day running of the business and production has moved to a local farm. Sadly Dot passed away in 2008 but Len is still an important member of the family team and you may well know him, as he is often out and about offering tastings as he continues to spread the word about his beloved Gran Stead’s Ginger Wine.

http://gransteadsginger.co.uk/stockists.html

There are some wonderful recipes on their website , so please do take a look there drinks are a very pleasant alternative to wine.