The weekend was great – a real family affair of summer holiday fun which has resulted in a new addition to our household. On Saturday Daddy E, Roo and myself were off to see The Gruffalo Live at the Town Hall in Birmingham. We had planned to catch the 9:25 am train from our local station into Birmingham to save on travel costs but as the train was late, and with no warning, didn’t stop at Landywood station as a result we ended up having to rush back home and pile into the car for a mad dash down the M6 into central Birmingham.
With driving that James Bond himself would have been proud of, Daddy E negotiated a busy M6 and found some parking nice and close by in The Mailbox. We made a mad dash up the hill and got inside with 20 minutes to spare. The Town Hall was busy full of families out for the summer holidays. It was nice to see little touches like mini steps at hand basins in the toilets so littlies could reach to wash their hands without having to be hoisted up by mums for a change, but a shame that things like booster seats were being charged for rental at a £1 per seat.
The only thing we purchased was our Gruffalo flag on a stick, at £3 it’s a little pricey but a nice memento of the day and certainly cheaper than the £20 Gruffalo character toy they were peddling into the arms of unsuspecting children as they walked past the merchandise stall.
Our seats were great, up in the balcony off to the right with a great view of the stage. The show began with the three characters, mouse doing the familiar looking for a nut in the deep dark wood. Costumes were simple with mouse just having a pink nose, a headband for ears and a long belt for a tail. Daddy E was confused by fox as he came dressed out as a posh country toff and didn’t remind him at all of fox in the book, sly and sneaky. Owl was brilliant – being an eccentric member of the woodland air brigade and snake had us all in fits of giggles with his bad Mexican accent and comedy moustache.
There was a good degree of audience participation, we particularly liked The Gruffalo song and having to clap along to this, pretty much everyone was on their feet. Roo did get a bit miffed when The Gruffalo went off into the children below us as she wanted to meet him – show producers should take note – putting an imaginary character into the crowd where some kids can’t get to them can lead to toddler meltdown, but we managed to distract her and prevent the onset of World War III.
The show was about an hour in total and all of us had a great time. The tickets cost me £30 and with £5.50 for parking this wasn’t too bad for a day out. It would be good to see slightly cheaper tickets for the children though or family tickets for 2 adults and a child (as it always seems to be 2+2).
This week in terms of summer holiday fun, I am not sure what we’ll be up to as the weather looks mixed. I’ve promised Roo a trip to Twycross Zoo so we will head there maybe Thursday when it looks dry during the day as it’s a great place for her to just run around and burn off some energy.
If I was closer I’d love to whizz off down to Legoland Windsor for the day as they are running one of their mid week playdate voucher events whereby a parent and toddler can get into Legoland for just £23.50, saving over £19 on normal entrance prices. To qualify for this all you need to do is download the Legoland Windsor Mid Week Playdate voucher and take it along with you. There are terms and conditions attached but it’s good to see one of the big parks doing something to save a few pennies for parents during the summer holidays, which ultimately can get expensive.
Not that I am counting or anything but there’s just 4 weeks to go now until Roo heads off to big school, anyone got any plans for keeping their gang amused and compliant this week?
Can we survive the next 4 weeks without reaching for the wine box or gin bottle by 11am?
Gutted we missed Gruffalo live but we did get to do Legoland Windsor. It was a good day although we did have a few issues, but of you have a half price tickets it’s well worth it.
You can read our adventures here http://www.chelseamamma.co.uk/2012/07/trip-to-legoland-windsor.html