Mrs Birks Blogs

Looking back over this blog, I find it VERY difficult to believe that I have never written about Harry Potter before.  In fact, I did start writing a post last year but looking back it only contained one sentence, so no wonder I didn't post it! Anyway, the daughter and I are HUGE fans of Harry Potter.  I couldn't wait until she was old enough to 'get into' Potter and now she is like a walking encyclopedia.  We have loads of the books - original, illustrated and Kindle in Motion version, plus house colours (Ravenclaw) and an American Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I have a Hogwarts and Slytherin 'goblet' from the original WB store and we were given the original Lego Hogwarts and Hagrid's Hut.  As I write this, I'm in my Hogwarts hoodie and I'm being to see how obsessed we seem... But before this turns into a list of stuff, this post is all about indulging in your Potter addiction by visiting some of the best Potter attractions.  Now h...

And so Ouse Fest has finished for this year but not before we went two more local events: Mepal Outdoor Centre Family Fun Day and Denver Sluice Fun Day. Mepal Fun Day With oddly hot/cold weather the family fun day started for us with a picnic whilst looking at some crazy kids doing the high ropes.  Our oldest was too young to have a go at this but did instead sign up for the Trust Trail which involved a hard hat, a blind fold and a trail of obstacles.  Two dirty knees later and a trek through the woods, she had a sense of satisfaction having crawled through tiny spaces following a rope wire around the assault course. For our youngest, who was too young for almost everything, the bouncy castle was his favourite activity and because it wasn't hugely busy when we got to it, he was able to spend a good while bouncing about.  He did listen to some of the storytelling and watched the Morris Dancing but as an active young man he found it hard to keep still which meant he ke...

You will notice that some of these posts will have a water based theme over the next few weeks, this is because it's Ouse Fest.  What?  You don't know what Ouse Fest is?  Well let me inform you - it's a celebration of the 'Ouse Washes landscapes and communities'  Ok, I'll admit I had to look that up but  you can find out more about it here So as part of the Ouse River Festival Fortnight, Welney Wetlands Centre (about 15 minutes drive from our house) had a kids go free day.  A great opportunity to discover some local wildlife and make the most of the good weather (not sunny but dry at least!).  It cost £8.99 for me to take the kids and would normally be £3.90 for children (under 4s are free) which includes gift aid, so you feel like you're doing some good for the environment. The first thing that strikes you at WWT is the peace and quiet - well apart from the tractors going by but then that's another attraction for the kids.  The pathway to...