January « 2008 « Little Legends

January, 2008

Kids London — No Comments
29
Jan 08

Family Days Out: Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

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.

10 Great Family Days Out for the Kids This Half-term

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, Tyne and Wear

2. Knowsley Safari Park, Liverpool, Merseyside

3. Eureka!, Halifax, Yorkshire

4. Techniquest, Cardiff, Wales

5. Amazing Hedge Puzzle, Symonds Yat West, Herefordshire

6. Tales of Robin Hood, Nottingham, East Midlands

7. Dinosaur Adventure Park, Norwich, Norfolk

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

9. Deep Sea World, Fife, Scotland

10. Imperial War Museum, Waterloo, London

Kids London — 1 Comment
26
Jan 08

Family Day Out to see the Henry Moore at Kew Gardens

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

Kids London — No Comments
25
Jan 08

Family Days Out: London International Mime Festival for Kids

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.

Kids London — No Comments
24
Jan 08

Family Days Out: Afrika! Afrika! and other Musicals for Kids

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.

Kids London / Kids Manchester — No Comments
23
Jan 08

Family Days Out: Baby Loves Disco!

If you are one of those uk parents who likes 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.

Kids London — No Comments
22
Jan 08

Family Days Out: New Event for Artistic Teens in London

Keeping Teenagers amused on holiday is no mean feat, so I was pleased to read about “New on the Scene” which takes place at the Courtauld Gallery.

It is an all day painting workshop for teenagers (13 to 18yrs) where they explore the world of Manet, Degas and others. They look at the way in which the invention of photography kickstarted artists’ preoccupation with modern life.

The best bit is when they can put their newfound knowledge to use by creating their own artwork.

Nearest Tube: Temple/Charing Cross
Saturdays 10.30am to 4pm
£10 each (booking advisable)
Tel 020 7845 4600 or email familyandlearningbookings@somersethouse.org.uk

Kids London — No Comments
20
Jan 08

Family Days Out: The Great Spitalfields Pancake Race 2008

If you are looking for something different to do with the kids in London then don’t miss this bizarre event. It takes place on 5th February 2008 at 12.30pm. The location is Dray Walk by the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane E1. So what happens? Well, teams of four people, some in fancy dress, race up and down whilst flipping pancakes! All the teams are sponsored and proceeds go to Save the Children.

The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane E1 6QL
Situated close to the junction of Hanbury St and Brick Lane.
By Tube: Liverpool St, Whitechapel or Aldgate East.

LittleLegends Stuff — No Comments
3
Jan 08

Finding out what UK parent bloggers are saying

It hasn’t been particularly easy finding uk parents who blog. Last May, Vicky

“was beginning to wonder where all the UK parent blog activity is.”

And that’s a shame, because reading what others have to say is at least half the fun. [British Parent Bloggers is doing sterling work to rectify this, of course!]

Anyway, I thought one things that could make the process easier is for us to share our subscriptions in a way that others can easily access. And here it is: our OPML file

An OPML file is just a list of blogs and news feeds that you can import into your news reader in one fell swoop rather than having to subscribe to them all individually.

If you want to have a look:

Save the file
Open up your news reader (see here for more)
Import the file
Update your news feed and you should have everyone’s latest posts to read.

Lastly, but definitely not least, thanks to David for sharing the technical tip.

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