Gem's New Blogspot

Book Club began in 2012, we've read quite a few books! Some of them stick out for good reasons, some for not so good and some I have totally forgotten all about!! I think there are 3 missing that I can't recall or find written down but here's an archive so far of most of them!   Travels with Charley (John Steinbeck) The Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger) The Witch of Portabello (Paolo Coelho) Ghost Girl (Tori Hayden) Suite Francaise (Irene Nemirovsky) The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) Before I Go to Sleep (SJ Watson) The Colour of Milk (Nell Leyshon) The Slap (Christos Tsiolkas) The Old Man and The Sea (John Steinbeck) The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) The Colour Purple (Alice Walker) White Teeth (Zadie Smith) Tess of the D'Urbevilles (Thomas Hardy) Me Before You (Jo Jo Moynes) The Plague (Albert Camus) Everything's Cool (Justin Carroll) 11.22.63 (Stephen King) The Woman in Black (Susan Hill) Tiny Sunbirds Far Away (Christie

British Wildlife Centre Eastbourne Road Lingfield RH7 6LF       So when we went to the British Wildlife Centre I know that we did not see it at its best because I foolishly chose to come on a very hot day.  Disappointingly but understandably the animals were all hiding in their burrows or away in shaded areas out of sight, so we did not see many animals.  It was such a shame because each enclosure Oliver would say 'what's this?' and I'd be like 'well...somewhere in there is an... but he's sleeping'.  This aside I can see that this is a good place to go on a normal day probably best in autumn when its nice and cool.  Its full of our local wildlife which I think is a nice change for kids to learn about.  Its fine teaching them about elephants and giraffes but to see and learn about animals from the English countryside is great!   They did have lots of scheduled talks and feedings so this was where we did see a few animals such as foxes, a

Coombe Wood Gardens Coombe Road Croydon  CR0 5RQ     This is somewhere that I have been coming to for years as it's one of my mums favourite local places to visit.  I've also done a few family photo-shoots here for other people! But interestingly I'd not thought to take Oliver here until this summer, when some friends arranged to have lunch in the café.  I took Oliver along and we spent ages in the woods.  He absolutely loved it and I realised how much there is to explore.  We have since been back several times!   The gardens themselves are beautifully maintained and the woods are far enough back from the road to be quiet.  With little windy stone paths, rock pools and the woods, its the perfect place to collect pinecones, stones and find the perfect walking stick! There is also a fish pond at the entrance with big karp, which is a hit with Oliver, although sometimes so much so that we don't actually get into the gardens for ages and we do have issu

Coolings Green & Pleasant Main Road Knockholt Kent TN14 7LJ I saw this place recommended on a local mums and dads Facebook group and I had never heard of it, so decided to give it a go last week, and what a find!! 6 acres of woodland trail with lots of animals; wallaby, pigs, goats, chickens, chinchillas, chipmunks, rabbits and more.  Plus a huge range of falconry birds, I even got to hold an owl which was pretty amazing! They do falconry displays and animal talks at certain times aswell although we didn't manage to catch any of those this time.  There are little dens, houses and wigwams around the woods to explore and play in, and some animals you can feed if you have 20p to put in a dispenser to get food.  We fed some pigs down a big tube into the pigsty, which Oliver hasn't stopped talking about since!  Its those little things that excite him that he remembers.  At £6.99 an adult and under 5s free this is such a reasonable day out.  The garden

Deen City Farm Windsor Avenue Merton SW19 2RR     A free farm in an unexpected place! It's on the edge of an industrial estate next to the river Wandle.  Its small but its surprising how many animals they have.  Lots of birds - chickens, turkeys, ducks etc. then goats, sheep, horses, pigs and cows.  You can buy food for them for 50p.  They also have some rabbits and guinea pigs which you can meet and stroke at certain times for 50p per person.  It has a riding school for horse riding lessons aswell.  Oliver's favourite are chickens at the moment (as you can see the pure joy on his face above) and there are lots of different types here.   There is a small play area, I would suggest taking spare clothes as its dusty wood chip on the ground and Oliver looked like he'd been up a chimney after playing in the play house for 20 minutes...but he does like to get stuck in!     There is a small café and a kiosk that is basic but not expensive, and picnic ta

Priory Farm Sandy Lane South Nutfield Redhill RH1 4EJ I decided to start by sharing my views on this place because I love it here and I had never even heard of it until last year.  I first visited in winter last year and straight away knew it was somewhere I would return to again and again.  For a start there is a large free car park and its only 20 minutes drive from Coulsdon.   The place itself is free and there is lots of open green space for kids to run around with a large pirate ship play area.  There is a big nature trail that only costs £3 per person (kids also £3) and it is excellent - although its quite a long trail and very hilly, so when I have done it I took the buggy and Oliver walked some and sat for some.  There are also parts where I don't trust him not to roll off down the hill so the buggy and backpack with reins come in handy.  There are play areas and things to explore along the way although I'd say most are aimed at older children (than a 2

I started my original blog back in 2011 and it has been abandoned for the last two years! That's what having a baby will do.  But recently someone suggested I do a blog about all the places I have found, especially this summer, to entertain Oliver (my 2 year old) as I have been suggesting places to various people.  One of my friends said I was like a toddler trip advisor!  I have spent many hours of my life the past few years overthinking about where the hell can we go to get out of the house that's not walking to Aldi or walking around the same park everyday.  My son is very active and needs to be entertained, days in a row of being at home is like torture for both of us, so I have learnt that plans need to be made to keep us sane.  I work at a school and when the summer holidays began, part of me felt a bit of anxiety as to how I was going to fill this time with my little one without going crazy.  But I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed this summer due to keeping bus