Round The Corner Not Far Away...Mumsnet Hackney meets Bing Creator Ted Dewan

This isn’t the first time that Mumsnet Hackney has had the pleasure of blogging about the light-hearted, charming CBeebies TV series ‘The Adventures of Bing’. Why the repetition of subject matter? Well this weekend we received a very special invite to attend Toddler Time at Hackney Picture House as they were due to be joined by an important guest, none other than writer and creator of Bing, Ted Dewan. 

We’ve often wondered how exactly Bing bunny came about. Quite honestly we’d always thought there was a crack team of child psychologists behind this gentle story following Bing Bunny's endearing escapades with the occasional profound message thrown in for good measure. So to meet the softly spoken Ted who told us how Bing started as a book series, published in 2003, that he wrote for his daughter, who’s now 16, we felt a little embarrassed we hadn’t done our homework.

We then took our seats to hear Ted read one of the books aloud to entranced audience before tackling some tough and pressing questions: first and foremost, what is Flop? The answer is believe it or not, he’s well, a Flop. Nothing more and bearing no resemblance to any particular animal and the only entity Ted likened him to, was an upside down exclamation mark. However, appearance aside who is Bing’s patient petite guardian who never loses his temper and has sage-like knowledge when it comes to solving preschooler conundrums? Despite his parent-like manner he is never referred to as Daddy. Ted explained that Flop is essentially like Bing’s daemon, a conscience personified if you will, a captivating little detail that makes us even fonder of our favourite little bunny.  

The tail lights of a Valient that inspired Bing's ears

We were then given a quick lesson in how to draw Bing. We were delighted to hear how Bing’s ears are based on the tail lights of a Valient, a vintage car once owned by Ted and once you’ve drawn these the rest of his image falls beautifully into place (we should know as we have been robotically practising these on the insistence of our kids ever since). After then watching 4 back-to-back episodes of Bing, with our youngest screaming ‘another Bing, yaaaaaay’ wildly in between each episode, we took a moment to catch up with Ted afterwards as we still had another pressing question. Having noticed one of the original book’s titles is ‘Something for Daddy’ we wanted to know why no parents appear in the TV show. Ted told us how, actually thinking about it, toddlers rule the world, so having parents would have seemed too big and controlling in comparison. So it was agreed that in the TV show, which Ted worked on with Montessori advisors, parents would not be making an appearance.  

Ted also had an incredible selection of homemade Bing characters and on hearing Mumsnet told us about a heartbreaking talk thread about the disgraceful theft of a homemade Bing bunny (here for your reference and some of the language in response is rather colourful, although perfectly justified in our book). Ted assured us that this tale had a happy ending as they managed to  supply one of the new Bing bunny toys to the little boy who tragically had his stolen. 

However, the most important point that we feel must be shared was one particular message imparted by Ted, how that it’s easy to forget when you’re in the midst of parenting preschoolers, perhaps you’ve failed to negotiate the supermarket or perhaps you day started at 4.37am but these things aside - there is only word to describe these early years with your children - golden.

Toddler Time is a brilliant event that takes place at Hackney Picture House every Tuesday and Saturday and is just £3 per child and adults go free (how refreshing)

Mumsnet Hackney received a complimentary ticket to this event in exchange for an honest review.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Engines & Excavators May We Present A Review Of 'Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure'

So what could make writing a review about a 'Thomas & Friends' Film a tough gig? Well for one, this particular invite was one I had to keep top secret from my two sons until the very last moment, like the time we didn't tell eldest it was his birthday until the day arrived. Because of the terrifying impatience & eye-watering excitement that would have consumed both boys, removing any motivation to go to sleep or function on any normal level whatsoever. I considered it my moral duty to avoid any sobs over the fullness of time leading up the event, to keep this trip firmly under wraps.

I was quite successful. It wasn't until leading them into Leicester Square and them hearing a rousing rendition of the 'Thomas & Friends' theme tune that erupted from the mezzanine of the Odeon cinema, courtesy of the Royal Philharmonic orchestra no less, that they suddenly realised we weren't here just to look at a fountain (I know, no originality demonstrated on my part whatsoever)

As we walked into cinema, my children were already quite satisfied just to view the 9ft model of Thomas positioned outside. I tore them away to point out the Fat Controller greeting everyone at the door but then stopped myself. Was he still called the Fat Controller, or had he been re-branded into something more, well PC: the non-specifically shaped Controller perhaps? Either way he was very friendly and after being swiftly armed with balloon model swords, by a friendly pirate, we took our seats for the film.

At the tender age of 35, I have clear memories of Thomas the Tank Engine back in the days of Ringo Starr as the narrator, over gentle stop-frame animation, based on the book series written by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, which he wrote for his son, over 70 years ago. Subsequently I have always been somewhat dubious of it's CGI makeover since it's rebranding to 'Thomas & Friends'. However, on the big screen this did not disappoint and didn't feel fake or 'Hollywood' unlike Postman Pat's escapades with a TV Talent Show, on his trip to the box office last year.  The 60-minute trip to Sodor Island sawThomas and his friends embark on a spectacular adventure scouring Sodor for lost treasure with the 'help' of a devious Pirate and a few catchy musical numbers thrown in for good measure, which were an utter delight.  

The cast included some new characters with voices of Oscar winning actor Eddie Redmayne, Sir John Hurt and Jamie Campbell Bower. Whilst Thomas once again didn't fail to disappoint, the star of the show was easily Olivia Coleman as Marion the Digger with her brilliant catch phrase of 'guess what's in my bucket’. Although the best piece of information that I can share with you were my son’s words, just a few minutes into the beginning of the film, when he leaned in towards me and whispered ‘mummy, it’s just sooooooo good’. There you have it. Trains and pirates, what's not to like. 

'Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure' will air across cinemas in the UK from the 17th July until 1^st August. For full listings visit click HERE. You can also watch the new Thomas & Friends movie, with music from the soundtrack performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall Wed 26^th& Thurs 27^th August. For tickets click HERE. Don't worry if you can't make it to the cinema any time soon as the DVD will be released on 28^th September 2015.  

Mumsnet Hackney received a complimentary ticket to attend this event in exchange for an honest review.

Why Wimbledon is a lesson in Hypnobirthing by local practitioner Katrina Berry

I love Wimbledon. The tradition and etiquette, the green and white, the strawberries and cream - it’s a true sign that summer has arrived. I’m not normally a big watcher of sports but the psychology involved with tennis fascinates me and I’m struck, year after year, by the similarities between Wimbledon and HypnoBirthing... Let me explain:

Choosing a positive approach

As a therapist the CBT approach I trained in is philosophically stoic, it is based around the fact that you cannot always affect what happens to you, but you have freedom in life to choose the attitude you take to the things that happen. An athlete can be supremely physically prepared, but if their mind is not right then they will not perform to the best of their ability. With HypnoBirthing we recognise that we always have a choice as to whether we think positively or negatively. We learn to think, talk and feel positively about birth, this leads to an increased chance of a positive birth experience.

Relaxed body

Alexis Castorri, a sports psychologist who has worked with both Lendl and Murray recently said:

‘The mind and body work together, so we devise a system that progressively relaxes and then sharpens the focus in preparation for competing.”

A relaxed body and focussed mind is exactly what a hypnobirthing mother develops. Whilst a lot of the “HypnoBirths” on youtube look like she’s sleeping, a birthing mother is focussing on her breathing, her visualisations, her affirmations, whatever helps her ride each surge whilst allowing the muscles to work in the way in which they’re designed.

Repetition, repetition, repetition

Sports psychologist Heaney says positive self-talk, either thoughts or spoken out loud, can aid recovery and performance by helping athletes develop a positive attitude towards recovery and rehabilitation; while athletes need to reduce their arousal levels through relaxation strategies and increase them through ‘psyching-up’ strategies. These, Heaney says, can include controlled breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, vigorous activity or listening to upbeat music.

Sound familiar? Of course it does - all of that’s HypnoBirthing!

Focus and minimise distractions

“When my mind’s clear, I can go on the court and play, not worry about anything else,” Andy Murray has said.

Every player talks about focussing only on themselves, not their opponent. They’re able to block out the crowd when serving for the big points.

A birthing mother naturally tunes out the world around her during an undisturbed birth. Hypnobirthing teaches how to focus your attention and block out distractions. Preparing with your birthing partner means they can act as a buffer between a mother and the outside world, dealing with any questions, providing and protecting your safe space.

Anchoring the positive

The most common anchor you’ll see on court is the fist pump. After every point won a point a player will pump their fist, feeling the moment and anchoring the positive into the body. In our Hypnobirthing classes we discuss anchoring feelings of calmness, control and safety into all of

your senses. It might be visual, auditory or kinaesthetic - your partners touch, be that holding your hand, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder or back or stroking you gently. This becomes an unconscious trigger to help a birthing mother focus and let go.

Staying in the moment

A tennis player plays the game point by point, never dwelling on what went before and not thinking too far into the future. Similarly a birthing mother will find it most helpful to focus on one surge at a time. It’s only with hindsight that we’ll know where we are with birth, here’s a great article shared by one of “my” mums recently about taking birth a wave at a time.

Feeding off the crowd / coaches confidence

Players will often look to their team in the players box for encouragement. The energy from the crowd can focus a player to believe in themselves. Similarly the calm confidence emanating from a mindful birthing partner helps a mother focus and believe in herself. One of the most common things I hear is “I couldn’t have done it without him”. HypnoBirthing teaches a partner how best to support a birthing mother and they have an integral role in helping their baby come into the world safely and calmly.

Battling yourself

There can come a point in a match when commentators will talk about a player “battling themselves”. We’ve all done it, got caught up in our self talk (which is more often than not negative and unhelpful), and not performed as well as we’d like. Grounding ourselves in the moment with the breath and using affirmations means we can refocus, bring our nervous system back to balance and make calm, informed decisions if needed.

Primal screams

Yes sometimes the ladies singles matches sound rather rude, and there’s always grunts and groans coming from the men. Similarly a birthing mother can turn to her primal self and the sounds that accompany that. Some are quiet like cats, others roar like tigers. Both are good. The important thing is that a woman feels uninhibited enough to do as she feels.

Defying all the rules

Every year there’s at least one shock in the first week of Wimbledon. An unseeded player will knock out a seed, maybe even one of the top four will be knocked out!

Similarly every Hypnobirthing teacher will have innumerable stories of women whose baby’s birth defies expectations. Two hour labours... a first time mother going from 4 cms to birth in an hour, unassisted births and maybe the most common occurrence I experience and yet is still surprising to a lot of people - first time parents being calm and confident at the birth of their baby; imagine that!!!!

There you go, watch Wimbledon for a lesson in HypnoBirthing... Anyone for strawberries??

Katrina teaches Hypnobirthing in Hackney & across London. Her new book “Why Hypnobirthing Matters”, published by Pinter & Martin is out now.

www.katrinaberry.co.uk

A Night Garden Live Review

Being an anxious person, I tend to worry about most excursion logistics so quite honestly the thought of a trip to the O2 to see 'In the Night Garden Live made me, well, anxious. Immediately I was worried, what about the parking, finding the venue, getting lost, crowds, people pushing? I worry about all of it! Of course there is the child element to worry about too. Will my daughter like it? Will she scream when we have to wait? What if she needs a nappy change, gets hungry.... The list goes on.

Anyway I did not need to worry about any of these things. This experience is expertly designed for families, right from the start it flowed beautifully. 

Here are my reasons for my bold statement above. 

1. The simple parking. 
2. The  excellent signs through the car park and then into the O2. 
3. No lining up to get in. We simply strolled in... No stress!
4. The incredibly happy and polite staff in all areas. 
5. The actual purpose built inflatable show dome is actually awesome! 
6. You can see wherever you sit.
7. The seats are comfy and are not those stupid flippy seats you get in a traditional theatre.
8. You can get out with ease (we did not need to as my daughter loved it!, and no nappy changes required) 
8. Huge buggy parking facilities.
9. Children can get up and dance.
10. Adults can get up and dance! (I didn't) 
11. Great, near nappy changing facilities.


All of the above make for an easy experience but what about the show? Wonderful moving scenery, clever staging, it all happens all around you, as though you really are in the night garden.... Beautiful!

The most wonderful thing is watching your child watching the show. I loved hearing the children calling out to their favourite characters, just magical. There wasn't much of a story, but there never is really, is there. 



I like to think that there was a subplot where Makka Pakka was cleaning Iggle Piggle's face to wash away the sins of his debauchery with Upsy Daisy and the Tombliboos, but that's just me. 

The entire day exceeded all my expectations and I would definitely go again just to see those happy faces. It was truly brilliant! 

To see a trailer for the show at the O2 click HERE 
To book your tickets to see Night Garden Live just click HERE


Mumsnet Hackney received a complimentary family ticket in exchange for an honest review. 

Inspire your children about the world around them and change the lives of children in the slums of Kampala... by growing sunflowers!

This April Awamu, an N16 based social enterprise set up by Hackney born Emma Scullion, have launched an International Sunflower Growing Challenge. Awamu (meaning 'together' in L'uganda) works with women in the slums of Kampala, Uganda, to ensure that orphaned and vulnerable children in their communities are cared for and can go to school.

Lack of food means that many of the children they work with go to school hungry, but you can you help them breakdown the barriers that stand in the way children getting the education that is vital to their future by growing sunflowers.

Inspire your children about the world around them

Awamu have created a free Sunflower activity pack that you can download and share with your children to support their learning and inspire them about the world around them. This is a global sunflower challenge with families and children of all ages, from all around the world joining in including the children you'll be helping in Kampala. You take part by claiming your awamu sunflower seeds when you make a contribution to their ‘Vegetable garden project’.

All the money they raise will buy soil, seeds, tools and training so the women Awamu work with can build gardens and learn how to grow healthy, nutritious food for the children in their care.

But hold on a minute (I hear you say), I thought awamu was about education for children... why are vegetable gardens so vital? 

The simple fact is, hungry children can't learn. Sadly, many of the families Awamu work with live on less than 50p a day, most of the children are lucky if they get one meal a day. Typically that meal will be a bowl of maize porridge, which contains little nutritional value.

Lack of food means most of the children they work with go to school hungry, so they're trying to break down the barriers that stand in the way of children getting an education.

As the kids live in an urban slum area there is little very little space available for growing food, no good topsoil and a lot of contamination from open drains. They've already piloted the first phase of gardening project in November 2014. They built 60 raised-bed vegetable gardens with mum's like Grace and it's having a huge impact on their health, education and income.

They were so impressed at the impact the gardens have had that we want to roll them out to other families in desperate need and also create a few extra gardens that we can use to help children like Jamila and Butambala (pictured below) in emergency situations.

Emma took this photo when she went to visit them at their home after hearing that their father had been hospitalised again and they were living alone. Their father has HIV and spends long periods of time in hospital, and with no other relatives to help, the children are left to fend for themselves.

The women Awamu work with are their only safety net in the community, they visit the children regularly to make sure they are well, are going to school - extra gardens would mean that we had food to help children like Jamila and her brother.

By taking part you're helping to ensure they don't go to school hungry which means they can concentrate in class... so sunflowers really change children’s lives! So get your green fingers into action, claim your sunflower seeds to start growing now.

The rules

Once you have your seeds planted please keep Awamu updated on the progress of your flowers by posting your photos and updates on their facebook page or using the hash tag #awamugrowoff on instagram and twitter – they'll reweet and share your progress with everyone else taking part.

The final measuring day will be September 11th. Two winners will be announced: tallest sunflower and widest face sunflower. Please send a final full-length photo clearly showing the height or width of the sunflower against a measuring tape. The winner will be announced on September 25th!

Good Luck.

To visit Awamu's website click HERE

Awamu is a registered cic no. 7818944.

This is why Microscooters are marvellous!

It's no secret that having young children requires quite sizeable apparatus. I don't mean the actual birthing process thankfully, unless you count a hospital, I mean those specialist and , sometimes cumbersome, items such as cots, high chairs, buggies and car seats. The option to travel light with a baby or a toddler is a rare commodity. In the last 4.5 years I have rarely left the house without at least one of these aforementioned items. Of course this isn't a complaint, I have relished every adventure but I cannot deny that sometimes living in London with no step free access train station nearby, can feel a little claustrophobic. 

This didn't quite prepare me for the feeling of sheer freedom that would come from my children becoming scooter owners. Am I naive to realise that a Microscooter isn't just a toy to accompany you to the park along with all the other apparatus but a new, lighter mode of transport for your children?. 

It was with some anxiety that I allowed my eldest son to scoot along ahead of me on the pavement for the first time and it was not without some rather militant road safety 'training' in the back garden first. However, as a result he has developed beautifully honed road safety skills which he takes great pride in demonstrating at every pelican crossing. My youngest who still requires a little extra towing on my part, hoots with delight and of course I can never pull him fast enough. 

I could witter on about what a novel invention they are but actually, forget their brilliant range of colours and models, for us the Microscooter is the tin opener to our previously sealed can of London. Not having to weigh up the possibilities of either having to lug a buggy down flights of stairs versus the inevitable ending up carrying your tired child because you've left the buggy has, in every sense, been a weight off. As a dedicated country bumpkin I rarely relish the thought of a summer in the city, but now I have two independently mobile children, I think I can safely say we cannot wait. 

To redeem your exclusive MicroScooter Discount code click HERE.

Mumsnet Hackney & Waltham Forest received a complimentary Microscooter to conduct this review. 

A Thoroughly Modern Tale of Two Parentpreneurs

Nicola and Louise, the co-founders of Thoroughly Modern Baby

This week we are catching up with the founders of Thoroughly Modern Baby, an online baby boutique, to tell us how two lifelong friends became business partners. 

Louise lives in Hackney with her husband and daughter, Skye Daisy and Nicola lives in their home town of Perth and has a grown-up son, Cain, who is now studying Art in Glasgow. 

How does this make for an online baby business you might ask?

Well, it started with an obsessional love for Cuddledry's Apron towel. Lou has purchased dozens of these as newborn gifts and as Skye started to grow, she found herself looking for more of these innovative products that were popping up to help modern mums and babies - from the genius ideas to the super-practical everyday items, the just-for-fun to the down right beautiful. Lou soon realised that although there was plenty of fantastic ‘stuff’, she couldn't find anywhere that you could buy all of these wonderful products together. One basket, one click, one easy lunch hour transaction... or 10 minutes on the sofa with a cuppa.

So she started researching and pulled in the help of one of her oldest pals who, as luck would have it, just so happens to be a digital-marketing professional… Enter Nic to the mix!  The pair started planning and within one lunch date they had a name, after a couple of dozen emails to T’Go Creative Design they had a brand and following hundreds of hours of chat between themselves and Anna at Atholl Road Design, they were ecstatic with the launch of their prototype website.

All of this happened in time for their first trip to Harrogate in March 2014.“We were so wet behind the ears. We had this idea that suppliers would pay an admin fee to be part of our fabulous site. That lasted about ten minutes! We were changing strategy as we walked – it was hilarious. Thankfully, Nic and I are both used to working in industries that change constantly and neither of us shy away from making quick decisions so we just rolled with it!

We were focused on what we were looking to sell though and we didn’t really deviate from this. We had a vision of a beautiful website filled with innovative products that would make parents’ lives easier and baby's life happier.  So it had to be clever or beautiful or both!”. The weeks that followed were immense; Nic headed to Hackney for a full-on week of copywriting, photo resizing and website uploading.

“We barely touched the sides of what needed done. It was so labour intensive. Nic went back home to Scotland and we worked until midnight every night for about a month. I include Anna the web developer in that statement - she was amazing”

 

Louise with baby daughter Skye Daisy.

The site launched on 1^st June 2014, with Nicki sitting watching patiently from Scotland and Lou trying to connect to the internet from her family holiday in France. They clocked up 1000 unique visitors in week one and they’ve never looked back.

“We’re both really pleased with everything we have on the site now; not just the products. We wanted to create an interesting platform for parents whether they’re buying products or not; it’s one of the reasons we decided to invest so much effort in our blogging section. 

We’ve been thrilled at the experts who’ve agreed to chat for us – Jo Swinson MP has talked about Shared Parental Leave; Andrea Grace, the sleep expert, provided her top sleep tips for babies.  We also invited our friend, Mrs M, to document her pregnancy - a beautiful read!

When we realised how much parents enjoyed the ‘real life’ stories from Lou, her husband Iain and our friends Muireann and Louisa, we launched ‘Parent Reviews’ and that’s been another huge hit. We’re just so delighted that everyone seems to love the site as much as we do!”

They have just completed their second Harrogate Nursery Fair; with almost a year under their belts they know what works and what doesn’t. It was two confident and knowledgeable women that strode into Hall H this year. “We were on fire! We had a list of items we knew we wanted, an idea of gaps in our range and a real commitment to the quality and integrity of the brand we’ve been building.  You need to be so sure with online because people can’t see or touch before they buy; so when it hits their doorstep, they need to open the box and be WOWed".

We know our customers trust us to have checked every product for quality and feel-good factor - it’s important we get it right. Thankfully we’re both super-fussy” The increase in web traffic, social engagement, sales and blog readers isn’t the only thing to have put a smile on the faces of these old friends this year. Lou and her husband Iain are expecting their second baby at the start of June meaning ‘Dad-D and Skye’s Adventures’ are about to include a brand new little character.

“People wonder how we do all this, hundreds of miles apart and with families and other jobs to worry about. But the truth is, regardless of where you live, what you do and how your family works, if you believe in something you’ll find a way to do it. The feedback we’ve had on Thoroughly Modern Baby and our product range is wonderful.  Sometimes when you’re a bit knackered and uploading pics or sorting the VAT return, an email will ping in with a photograph of a lovely baby using our products it makes it all worthwhile.  We both love our website and can’t wait to see what year two is going to bring.”

To receive your Thoroughly Modern Baby discount please click HERE

To browse through the gorgeous range click HERE