Goodness I feel old…
I arrived a little late to the whole Harry Potter thing. In fact, I think my grandparents owned the first couple of books before we did!
I am a true fan though because I was there at midnight at the release of the final book (21st July 2007! wow, nearly 10 years ago!)
I waited at the not-so-glamorous-compared-to-Diagon-Alley Meadows complex near my home (Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire border).
Midnight struck and the casement of books opened. I sat on a bench and waited for the crowd to dissipate then grabbed my copy. People were reading it in the queue, some heading straight for the last chapter but others starting at the beginning.
I spoke to no one that day. I sat in my bedroom and read. And read. And read. Over 600 pages, stopping only to eat. I finished it that evening and passed on my copy to my parents to consume as eagerly as I had.
I always felt an affinity with the films as the first scenes were filmed in Bracknell, very close to where I live.
I had always wanted to go to boarding school and had love the Worst Witch series of books as a child. The Harry Potter book fed into this 🙂
Now there is the train element! Dad has the Hornby Hogwarts Express and you may know by now we are huge steam train enthusiasts!
My own children are still a little young for the books and films but Matthew is getting very close to reaching the age when he will be ok with them. Shockingly, Chris has read a couple but lost interest (I wonder if now he has kids and the wonder of childhood to sustain him, he would enjoy them more!) and not really watched them either! Sacrilege! (but I forgive him, because I love him 🙂 )
The quote I love most from Rowling’s work occurs in the Chamber of Secrets:
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Doing the right thing, choosing the difficult path and making a conscious decision to see something through shows what a person is really like.
So, 20 years has passed since the original book was published. So much joy and happiness, so much pain and suffering. Me and the world 🙁 What have I taken from the books…?
Believe in magic. The magic that lives inside each of us, waiting to be found.
A single mum, writing in a cafe, can create a character that fascinated every age group, brought families together and enthralled millions. She proved the accuracy of this quote from the Goblet of Fire :
“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”
A perfect message for our children.
Wheat Sucks!
That’s not just my opinion but also that of Adam from Adam Cooks Everything! Check out his website and – even more tantalisingly – his YouTube channel!
I have written previously about my own struggle with a wheat free diet since my diagnosis of a wheat allergy in 2001. Adam’s wife and son have coeliac disease so as well as wheat, they also have to avoid rye, barley and some varieties of oats. Adam became committed to finding recipes that the whole family can enjoy and set up the Wheat Sucks element to his website and YouTube channel. Every month he will be adding a new recipe to the playlist so keep a look out!
Take a look at his brownie sundae with balsamic figs.
I have a confession, I have never had a fig before but put with a brownie and I’m sold on the idea! (I love the bit of the video where Adam sends viewers off to get one 🙂 ). Figs will definitely be on our next shopping list!
The video makes this look super easy to bake:
Actually, Adam’s website and channel are so much more than just specialising in gluten free.
There are recipes to suit all tastes and one that I’d like to try as soon as possible is the fried eggs with a twist. There is also a Frozen inspired cocktail for parents who have spent too long watching the film 🙂 Plus loads more!
There are also vegetarian delights! You may know by now I’m a veggie, so combined with the wheat allergy, eating can be tricky! There are recipes on the website for a sweet potato casserole and a red lentil sweet potato souffle which sound amazing: both are wheat free and vegetarian, yay!
Head over and check out what you’ll be making first!
*I reviewed Adam’s YouTube channel via Bloggers Required but have received no payment for this post. All opinions are my own.
No?
Well, your children may have. Every primary school in the country was gifted a set!
So who are the Clever Tykes? They are three children who use their personal skills and interests to be successful.
The books are predominantly aimed at 6-9 year olds, with the language and format better suited to the older end of the age range in my opinion. Younger children will enjoy having the stories read to them and the concepts can be readily understood by children as young as 4 (my daughter Anya!).
My own favourite from the set is Code-It Cody. I really want my children to be confident with using technology and computers. In developing my blog, I have used coding for the first time ever and it was daunting! Computer and digital technology is going to continue to play a major role in the future and I want my children to have all the skills needed to be able to adapt to whatever job they find.
As you can see, even Zach wanted to join in with the reading! Matthew was more than capable of reading the books by himself. As I mentioned above, Anya needed to be read to and the pictures dotted throughout the text helped to keep her focused on the story. They enjoyed the plot and liked the main characters.
The books use a good range of language so plenty of interesting verbs, adverbs and adjectives, perfect for supporting the school curriculum. Code-It Cody had little descriptive content but the other books had more. I personally did not like the style of the illustrations but they were distinctive and cartoon-y to engage children. The plot gave opportunity to discuss potential solutions with the children and this helps to confirm their comprehension of the text, another key feature of reading assessment.
The Clever Tykes stories aim is to help parents and teachers inspire and empower children to be creative and proactive, ready for the work life ahead of them. The books are sponsored by Lloyds Bank, with a view to inspiring children to create businesses of the future for themselves, their community and potentially their country.
*I was sent these books for the purpose of this review. All words, pictures and opinions are my own.
It’s World Milk Day! I love milk and drink several glasses of it everyday. My kids love it too and would happily eat milk-drenched cereal for every meal if let them!
So to celebrate the day, I decided to make a treat from my childhood, instant milky dessert! At university I would eat a whole one to myself but now have to share with the 3 kids! How unfair. 🙁
I decided to make 2 today so we all had plenty. I hoped to do colourful layers but didn’t have a chocolate one in the cupboard only the raspberry and strawberry.
I hid chocolate chips between the layers to surprise the kids and dished it up with squirty cream (if only I’d had 100s and 1000s to sprinkle on top!)
