On top of my job, family and computing interests I’m also an assistant Cub Scout leader and a member of the District Executive Committee (Charity Trustee of the Scout District). During the current Coronovirus / Covid-19 pandemic we are unable to meet face-to-face but scouting is still happening through virtual conference sessions I am running […]

As a parent I understand how important it is to keep children entertained. This is now even harder with the country in lockdown over a sunny Easter holiday. Here are some links to useful activities. Scouts – The Great Indoors Scouts is normally considered an outdoor organisation. In fact during leader training Scout leaders are […]

This Christmas we visited the Gloucestershare and Warwickshire Railway for the Santa Special steam train. The train was from Cheltenham Racecourse railway station. The train was fully booked, but there were enough tables for everyone to find a comfortable seat. We started with a train journey to the “North Pole” station. The carriage was decorated […]

Video and photos from our visit to the Birmingham Christmas Market in 2016.

The First Aid Manual is the official guide from the UK leading first aid organisations: St John Ambulance, St Andrew’s First Aid and the British Red Cross and is widely considered as the definitive guide to first aid in the UK. The 10th edition released in 2014, which replaces the 9th edition which was first […]

The Harry Potter films were all made in the UK, most of which was filmed in the Warner Bros studios just outside of London. After they completed the last film they’ve now converted two of the studios into a tourist attraction. Advance booking is mandatory for all visitors to the studios with a timed slot. […]

We’ve had several holidays at Center Parcs over the past few years, but they have been mostly at Christmas time when the weather isn’t particularly good. This year we decided to go to Center Parcs Sherwood forest during spring bank holiday. Whilst generally better than Christmas time it is not normally associated with particularly hot […]

I have seen the houses of parliament from the outside many times, but never really thought about visiting inside as a day out. During our last family trip to London we were actually looking to visit inside the Jewel Tower which is an English Heritage property. As we went down the steps to the Jewel […]

Camping with children can be challenging, especially when there is only one adult to put the tent up (in my case due to my wife’s work patterns and summer holiday cover). I quickly decided that I would not be able to put up our family tent (Easy camp Go Taranto 600) on my own. Last […]

We went on holiday to Center Parcs, Sherwood Forest during the last week before Christmas 2012. We have visited Center Parcs several times before, when our children have been babies or toddlers, but had not been for a few years and our children are now both school children. This holiday was also longer than our […]