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Yes, next week on February 5th it is Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day. I have to admit it is the only time of year I make pancakes, so I usually have to scrabble around my recipe books to remember how to make them. If you need a little motivation and help, check out this funky music video I came across and some simple instructions for making some tasty pancakes.

Ingredients for the batter:
110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
50g/2oz butter (melted)

To serve:
Caster sugar and lemon/Maple Syrup/Jam/Chocolate Sauce

Whisk all the ingredients together, grease a pan with butter (repeat between each pancake), make sure the pan is hot then off you go. It is advisable to do a test pancake first. Cook until brown on one side and then flip over to the other side – this is the fun bit

I was interested to read that Nigella Lawson, not only a wealthy lady in her own right but also married to multi-millionaire Charles Saatchi, plans to leave no money to her children.

Although this story has probably been exaggerated, the subject of inheritance is always a controversial one. Everyone has very strong views on the subject (even though they might not know this until they are in the situation when they write their own Will or benefit/don’t benefit from someone else’s Will).

There seem to be two main camps. Either parents seem to want to leave as much as they possibly can to their children/grandchildren or they decide that children should not inherit and should learn the “real value of money” by earning their own.

In reality, whilst many wealthy people say that they are all for teaching their children the value of hard work and valuing the important things in life, they often struggle to do this in practice. Who do you leave your money to if not your relatives? Charities? Do you really want your children to go without? Maybe you jus want to spend the money?

Often, these sort of arguments are blown out of proportion when you are talking about people as rich as Nigella because Testators (ie the makers of the Will) leave enough money to their children to make a difference, just not enough to mean that they never have to work again.

There are no right or wrong answers – just differences of opinion. However, one thing that is worth thinking about is making sure that you actually make a Will otherwise you won’t have any choice about where your money goes, and it is likely that most of it will end up going to your children anyway!

Source: edwin11_79 at flickr

I am not sure why the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is such a famous spectacle. Maybe it has something to do with the well known poem by A A Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh):

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
A soldier’s life is terrible hard, – Says Alice.

Or maybe people are just curious to see men wearing tall, black, furry hats!

If you want to see the Changing of the Guard for yourself, it takes place daily at 11.30am from April thorugh to July and alternate days at 11am the rest of the year. Be warned though that it is frequently cancelled because of bad weather or other events.

Due to the popularity of the spectacle it is advisable to arrive at least an hour early to bag a good spot to watch from.

Half-term is only a couple of weeks away, so what have you got planned?

Here is a list of some places you might want to consider (just click the link for more details):

1. Centre for Life, Newcastle

2. Knowsley Safari Park, Liverpool

3. Eureka!, Halifax

4. Techniquest, Cardiff

5. Amazing Hedge Puzzle, Symonds Yat West

6. Tales of Robin Hood, Nottingham

7. Dinosaur Adventure Park, Norwich

8. Beatrix Potter – The Tailor Of Gloucester’s House, Gloucester

9. Deep Sea World, Fife

10. Imperial War Museum, Waterloo

This exhibition strikes me as the perfect day out for the family – the kids will have loads of space to charge around and everyone can enjoy a bit of culture at the same time. (I am a bit of an art lover so this event particularly appeals to me.)

Twenty-eight of Henry Moore’s sculptures have been sited around Kew Gardens and it is the first exhibition of its kind in London. All the sculptures are huge and intended to be placed outdoors. It is a great way of bringing art to life for kids:

Moore at Kew provides a unique opportunity to witness how the changing light, weather and surrounding foliage affect sculpture throughout the seasons.

Moore at Kew runs until 30 March 2008. The Gardens are open every day from 9.30am to 4.15pm. Adults – £12.25, Concessions – £10.25, Children under 17 (to be accompanied by an adult) – FREE

The London Mime Festival is running until 27th January, so this weekend is your last chance to catch a couple of the shows. Mime really has moved on a bit since my day as a kid!

There are two very impressive family-friendly shows at the Southbank Centre this weekend:

Pep Bou from Spain
Sun 27 Jan 6pm – one performance only – runs approx 75 mins with no interval
Seats £12, £15, £18 (limited concs)
This master of mime creates beautiful, hand-blown bubbles in all sorts of shapes and sizes. These shimmering creations then dance to a variety of music (as shown in the above video)

Collectif Petit Travers from France
Sat 7.45pm, Sun 4pm – Runs approx 65 mins with no interval
All seats £13 (limited concs)

These three circus artists from France will keep you entertained with a variety of dance and acrobatics.

Apparently,

“White noise is an amazing sleep inducer. Not only does it mask unwanted outside noises, creaking doors and barking dogs, but it also mimics the sound of the rushing fluids and shifting body weight that your baby heard in the womb. In one study, young babies were three times as likely to fall asleep while listening to white noise as those not exposed.”

And if you go to beprepared.net you can download some white noise to put on a CD and play to your sleepless child. Maybe worth a try?

If, like me, you are beginning to think about what to do for half-term and are thinking of taking the kids to a show in London, here are 6 ideas:

Afrika! Afrika! at the O2 Arena (17th January to 19th April)
Billed as The Magical Circus Adventure from the Amazing Continent, this show has over 100 performers from 17 african nations. There is everything from dancers and contortionists to acrobats and jugglers. Check the official website for further details.

The Lion King at http://www.littlelegends.biz/items/62069(Ongiong)
A spectacular visual feast, this adaptation of Disney’s much-loved film transports audiences to a dazzling world that explodes with glorious colours, stunning effects and enchanting music. At its heart is the powerful and moving story of Simba – the epic adventure of his journey from wide-eyed cub to his destined role as King of the Pridelands.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre (Ongoing)
This colourful retelling of the biblical story about dreamboat Joseph, his uncanny abilities and his designer coat sings out to young and old alike with a score which is wall to wall hits – including Close Every Door and Any Dream Will Do

The Sound of Music at the London Palladium (Ongoing)
Hit follows hit in the THE SOUND OF MUSIC score which touches the hearts of all ages and brims over with some of the most memorable songs ever performed on the musical stage including My Favorite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Edelweiss, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, The Lonely Goatherd and of course the glorious title song The Sound of Music.

Grease at the Picadilly Theatre (Ongoing)
Sandy and Danny spend a summer in love, but think they will never meet again.That is until Sandy unexpectedly joins Danny’s high school to find that he is not exactly how she remembers him. Most famous for the 1979 film version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Grease has become a firm family favourite, not least for its songs which include Summer Lovin’, Hopelessly Devoted To You and, of course, Greased Lightning.

Stomp at the Ambassadors Theatre(Ongoing)
A very noisy show with 12 performers stamping, smacking and making all sorts of sounds with dustbin lids and other everyday objects. An unusual hit with slick choreography.

Recommended Reading

A while ago I was muttering on about kids and reading. I was blathering that a great story was probably a better and easier way to enthuse children about reading than a designer bookshop.

But how to choose a book? This looks like a pretty good list … and certainly a useful jump off point.

If you like clubbing and you feel that your dancing days have taken a bit of a nosedive since you had kids then this is the event for you. Baby Loves Disco has events in London or Manchester where parents can groove along with their young kids and just have a bit of fun.

Baby Loves Disco is an afternoon dance party for little kids (6 months-7 years) and (especially) their parents: featuring Heart 106.2 DJs playing feelgood tracks guaranteed to get those little booties moving and grooving.

This latest and most unlikely dance craze was started in the States and pulled over the pond to debut in London and Manchester …

The fun spills out from all corners of the coolest clubs in town: bubble machines, baskets of instruments, a chill-out room (with tents, books and puzzles), diaper changing stations, a full spread of healthy snacks and dancing, LOTS of dancing (and yes, the cash bar will be open for mommy and daddy!).

Now that sounds fun – see you there

-all parties from 2-5 pm
-admission is £8 for all walking humans. (non-walkers free!)
-if the party is not sold out in advance, there will be a limited number of tickets available at the door and they are cash only.

London
The Clapham Grand
21-25 St John’s Hill
Clapham Junction
SW11 1TT

Manchester
Pure
The Printworks
27 Withy Grove
Manchester
M4 2BS

Visit the Baby Loves Disco website to buy your tickets now – booking advised.