Posts by Jay-marie
Indoor play centres: Love them or hate them?
Groggy and hung over from lack of sleep I trundled into the local indoor play centre this morning to meet a friend and let the kids be wild for a few hours. Plonking down on the nearest table that hadn’t been taken over by handbags, I took our shoes off and in HORROR looked at my feet.
I could not believe that in my ‘brainless’ state getting ready this morning I hurriedly put on the nearest socks I could find, and, forgetting where I was going I chose the worst, mismatched, delicate choice of art for my feet that I could ever put on show and now they were about to be displayed for two hours. Revealing my odd, quite ugly pair of socks I made a mental note to promptly go to Marks and Spencers and buy several, cool, on-trend, ‘I-don’t-care-as-long-as-they’re-all-pairs’ socks I could find. I was embarrassed.
But, Pickles thought they were great “funny socks Mummy” she said as she ran off to climb the tallest thing she could find. Now that my bravery had kicked in I meekly slithered to get a cup of tea and ran back to hide my feet back under the table. Then the crowd arrived.
Within 20 minutes there were kids everywhere, jumping, throwing, yelling…YELLING! Oh poor me I thought sitting there sipping the dark, muddy Earl Grey in my hand. Get me out of here! Then I was rescued. My girlfriend turned up, unleasehed her two climbers and promptly sat, almost as exhausted as me, at the table.
Suddenly the volume seemed to go up and the noise inside the centre was getting louder. There were kids running around with green dripping from their nose’s and coughing and I all I wanted to do was get up and run home. But, in reality, Pickles loves it here…
And, I will be honest…
Indoor play centres, you either love them or hate hate them but at the end of the day, when Pickles is safe and happy playing and I can sit and drink several cups of tea and gassbag, I don’t care where I am!!
Jay
Read MoreBritains best cuppa tea?
The big review to find Britains Best Cuppa tea has started and by george I am off to a flying start.
You must excuse the length of this review but I can assure you every last word is important. No empty tea cups here! However, you may want to put the kettle on an grab a brew before going on.
Picture this:
You’re sitting in your chair, tense, your jaw tightens with yet another stressful thought. Noise floats everywhere around you hustling and bustling and busying your ears. You purse your eyebrows begging for the noise to disappear and leave you in the tranquility of your own peace. What’s on your mind? Too much. You dream of relaxation and take in a deep breath in an attempt to find just a little piece of it.
Read MoreSuddenly,
I’m a true blue blogger!
I can’t believe I have now blogged for a year! Although it got off on a slow start, amongst mothering, working, and all those milestones we have climbed over the last 12 months, we got there! I so want more readers, more parents to come to my ‘well oiled hub’ of a blog and enjoy as much reading as I do with theirs.
So who am I?
Read MoreThe search for Britains best cuppa tea
Ooodles and oodles of tea, that’s what I drink.
I am addicted to, passionate about and eagerly look forward to oodles of tea everyday. But rarely do I drink the same kind of tea twice in one day.
And why is this important? You might ask. Well, as a parent my time-out is the only independent time I get to regain some sense of self, some part of me that just sits and goes “ahhhhhh”. Since becoming a Mummy I have doubled my love of tea and now appreciate each and every last little drop I manage to get. Some get beautifully made and end up sitting on the sidelines and go cold due to unforeseen toddler interruption but when I manage to drink a cup, it is my short ‘chill out’ in a cup. Drinking tea has become my vice. It is my one grace that I allow myself and sometimes force myself, in the quiet of the day (occasionally around 11.30pm) to have. As a Mummy, it calms, it soothes, it pauses, it warms, it nourishes and it can take me on a ten minute adventure with my eyes closed or with them open, flicking through the latest Marie Claire and dreaming about all the fashion.
Tea can represent the comforts of solitude as well as the pleasure of company.
And this, is why I chose to begin my voyage of discovery and find Britains Best Cuppa Tea!
I have shoped around the world for tea and currently tucked away in my tea chest, tea boxes and tea drawer (I know, I know…its a lot, but trust me, I get through it all), I have tea from France, Germany, Australia and the UK. But my Great British Twinings cup is the least favourite of the lot. I HAVE to find a wonderful tea, here, at home in the Great British Isles. I can not go on paying ridiculous amounts of postage and quite frankly my Dad’s generosity in sending me my gorgeous Aussie Nerada Chai tea is starting to wear thin.
I got curious. Where is the new Great British Tea Brand. Now I don’t mean Twinings, or Whitards. I am talking about more bespoke teas, better quality teas, ones that come in the daintiest tea bags, like little pillows that puff up in your cup. So I went on a search.
I want to find a tea that delivers flavour, comfort. One that nourishes my every second of drinking time. I want a tea that turns the small moments of peace that Mothering gives me into pleasures, not just sighs of relief! I want time to stop as I suckle the edge of the cup, sniffing in the aromas of pure ingredients. I want a tea that won’t be forgotten by toddler interruption because of its powerful taste that draws me back to it. I want Great Britain to give me this tea!!! I am fed up with infusions, flavourings and wanna-be leaves thrown in a bleached bag.
…and I think I have found it.
Ladies and gentleman I am about to review what could potentially be the new Great British Tea brand. The one to rival Twinings and Whitards. The one that cares about what goes in our mouths. A tea that says “I’ll pick you up”. I found it by accident through a gift from my Cousin and approached the company. Their black tea is superlative to any I have ever drunk. I can not drink ‘Builders Tea’. It is bitter and just does not lift me in any way. But theirs…oh boy! I was desperate for tea one day and was expecting it to simply put it in the ‘hydrate me please’ category of rubbish teas. Instead, I was blown away by it’s subtle flavour, its demure touch on my soul as I drank it. And as they so aptly put it on the box: Far from ordinary, it’s a skillful balancing act between three glorious teas. Mmmmm, I so desperately wanted more so here I am.
Join me next time as I reveal the company and start sipping away their tea and writing my flavourful reviews. Have I found it? We will see.
If you love tea, grab a cup, settle in and enjoy the ride.
Read MorePickles stops me in my tracks with her first ‘love you Mummy’.
Today Pickles gave me a gift. The biggest gift she has given yet. She called for me, gave me her gleeful smile, that blue glint in her eye flicking up on my face and followed it with “lub Mummy”. I oozed in happiness for hours after she said it.
Read More