Gem's New Blogspot

Miller's Ark Farm Blackstock's Lane, Hook, RG27 9PH https://www.millersark.co.uk/opendays.aspx I'm not sure how I first found out about Miller's Ark Farm but it is a gem! It's a fair trek from Coulsdon, it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to drive can be longer depending on the traffic, but in my opinion it is worth the travel.  They are only open to the public on certain event days that they advertise online. This half term they are open and we went today! The first time we went was in December for a Christmas special, you just have to keep your eyes peeled for dates. The farm is not fancy and its not huge, they don't have play areas (other than hay bales) but that's part of its charm.  It is a lovely farm with kind staff who are eager to tell you about the animals they work with and are clearly very passionate about.  But the best thing is that you can touch all of the animals.  You can literally go into the pens with the pigs, sheep, goa...

The Horniman Museum 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ https://www.horniman.ac.uk/ Before Oliver came along my friend Jen took me to the Horniman museum and I had never heard of it.  Since then I have been many times and another friend even got married there.  Now its somewhere that Oliver has come to love too! Its in Forest Hill so actually wasn't far from where I used to live in Croydon.  From Coulsdon it can take 45 mins - 1 hour depending on traffic.  There is no car park but I have always managed to get a space on a road nearby called 'Wood Vale', you can then walk through the gardens to the museum.   The grounds around the museum are pretty big with amazing views across London, you can see the Shard on a clear day.  In the gardens there are giant chimes and drums and a pretty bandstand where my friends said I do.  A small animal walk and a good crazy golf course. Our favourite things to do at the Horniman are the bu...

I started a book club about 8 years ago, its always been a very casual meet up, there's no structure or direct questioning and no pressure if you haven't finished the book in time.  We just choose a book, meet up and have a chat in the pub every 5 weeks or so (and we don't just chat about the book). Usually depending on how good the book is or what it is about will depend on how long we spend discussing it.  We started off with a surprisingly high number of regulars sometimes up to 15 eager readers, but over the years people have left us all for very good reasons, they have moved away or their life has changed in a way that it isn't possible to fit in anymore.  We currently have between 3 and 5 regular members, my staples being Charlotte and Neil.   I wanted to throw this out to anyone and everyone to consider.  I am surprised how many people say to me "oh you're reading a book, I don't get time to read", like this is a luxury that only I can aff...

It's been another year for book club, I can't quite believe we have found time to read all these (Nov 2018 - Jan 2020) but there has been a great variety this year.  As always a mix of really interesting stories and a few not so great...you never know what you are going to get.   Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce The Night shift Before Christmas by Adam Kay  Travelling to Infinity by Jane Hawking Elisabeth is Missing by Emma Healey The Binding by Bridget Collins Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty Killing Eve by Luke Jennings The Secret History by Donna Tartt Washington Black by Esi Edugyan The Tattoist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris Little by Edward Carey The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay     I won't go through them all, mainly because I can't remember and never write a review at the time, but i'll talk about a few that stuck in my mind. Starting with the one book on th...

Carshalton Ponds & Park I never realised how close this was to me or actually what was there before.  Id driven past the pond but hadn't thought of it as a place to visit.  We explored it properly yesterday for the first time and it was a great little morning out, being only 15 minutes drive from me in Coulsdon.   We took bread and fed the ducks (controversial I know) and monkey nuts for the squirrels. For such a  small wooded area there are loads of squirrels ready to take them straight from you, which Oliver loves now he is brave enough!     We had a wander by the pond and then headed to the large playground.  It had so much variety of apparatus and it is perfect for Oliver's age (approaching 4).  Including plenty of swings, several climbing frames with different slides, a small zip wire, things to spin on, wobble about, a climbing wall and a sand pit.        I found some toilets clos...