Mummy & Bean's Weekend in London Town

Bean and I never get to spend time alone, so I decided to take him away to London for the weekend, just him and me, to go on adventures and see stuff.

Building his kre-o transformer.

He packed some toys in a little backpack and adding the new things I had brought; a Kre-o transformer blind pack (fantastic value at just £2 for an interchangeable figurine - a firm favourite with my boys), a new matchbox car, a little notebook, a pack of coloured dot stickers and a teenage mutant ninja turtles colouring-in book. I'd also packed a load of felt pens. He managed to entertain himself for the whole two hour train journey, though the stickers only ended up on me and he was slightly foxed because he didn't have a seat belt.

My leg :/

Watching the world whizz by.

Waiting for our very first tube train.

We got a tube to old street and a big black taxi cab (in which he happily found a seat belt, bless him) to Wellington Row because our first stop had to be the Felt Corner Shop near Bethnal Green, where I shook Miss Lucy Sparrow's hand and told her she was a genius.

She has painstakingly created all the items one would find in a corner shop, just using felt and a fair amount of wadding. It's lots of fun and I had to see it for myself, having come across it online a few weeks ago and actually squealed in delight.

Corner Shop selfie.

We then tried to get a tube into Town but the central line was closed so we had to find a bus.

My incredibly logical husband made himself useful even when we where so far apart. I rang him while Bean had a rest on a park bench to moan about how I couldn't find the right bus stop and he simply suggested going on Google maps as it would show me the bus route and everything. Love him!

While we were there I also took a moment to give Bean his pedometer (I'd forgotten, Daddy had given us a challenge to find out how much walking he did over the weekend) which led to this hilarious video;

Love his dancing!

He was trying to make as many steps as he could. Funny boy!

The pedometer didn't go to plan though. He kept taking it off his trousers to check it so it didn't count even half his steps. It also went mental on the train, so we've no idea how much walking he did. Next time, I might set my iPhone up to track us. It would use up loads of battery power but now I've got this pocket re-charger thingy, I'm not so worried.

Let me just take a moment to tell you about this awesome gadget I bought recently

The incessant map checking, photo taking and the like of a day trip wipes out my iPhone really quickly but this thing means I can recharge it on the go without too much hassle and it seems to be able to do that several times when it's fully charged.   It takes eight hours to fully load and has little lights which go out as the charge is used up, so you always know how much it has left.    I bought it on here eBay after a weekend away when I really struggled to keep my phone alive and I reckon it was really great value. Just so you all know, I'm not paid for anything (like, ever). I've borrowed this image from the eBay seller I bought it from. I'm only sharing this because I personally have tried and tested it and think it's super.

On the way to the bus stop we passed the Museum of Childhood. I've walked past a few times (usually on the way to Spa London) but never gone in. It wasn't on our itinerary because I never thought a five year old would enjoy looking at toys through glass any where near as much as he did. I loved looking at the old school transformers and star wars toys, and was enthralled by the massive train set. 

Twenty pence in the slot activated the trains and he loved watching them go through the tunnels and around the track. 

We were there so long I gave up trying to get to the aquarium, but we still got a big red double-decker bus to St Paul's as previously planned.

Top deck baby! (distracted by unwrapping a sweetie).

We had taken a bus to Bethnal Green tube station from the Corner Shop, but much to Bean's disappointment we couldn't go upstairs because we were only going a few stops to save him walking it. He was super pleased to find the front seats free and the windows are huge on these new buses! It was like a green house up there, but the view was fantastic. 

Water thingy (no idea lol)

Mary Poppins book bench.

 On the way to London, I had told him about the book bench trail I had planned. This one wasn't on our trail but Bean liked it. He especially liked sliding off it repeatedly.

"I'm the King!"

Bean was more interested in the architecture than I gave him credit for. He was always looking around, forming opinions on things. He found this windowsill (I won't tell him if you don't) which he decided was in fact a very grand throne. He loved that it even had a place to put his backpack. 

That's not my...bench.

On St. Peter's Hill there is a small play installation. Bean watched for a while before joining in with the other kids. He looked so morose as he sat there but I knew he was just working stuff out in his head.

Watching the other kids and waiting for his turn on the roundabout.

Selfie on the millennium bridge.

 As we reached the end of the bridge, there was a bigger boy sliding down one of the support beams, so Bean just had to have a go too. I was a tad terrified because it doesn't just slope downwards, but sideways too, so if he went too high he would've slid off the top. He was happy to listen to my worries and thankfully never left my arms reach. He invented a game where he had to slide down a land on a 'darlek eye' (a bolt to you and I). He couldn't come off until he'd got the high score, apparently.

While we made our way a tube station, Bean discovered he could make the lights on the floor go out by covering them up with mud. Then he did a lovely big H for Henry in one of them.

outside the Tate Modern.

We stayed at a good friend's house, you know, the kind who've been in the family for so long, they are actually family now. It's actually my Mum's best friend of twenty five years, they've watched me grow up and now they're watching my babies grow up. 

They have a hot tub in the garden and after all that walking, a few warm bubbles with some familiar faces is exactly what we needed. Bean happily fell straight to sleep in the spare bed with no arguments.

Big Ben selfie.

The next day, as we headed off to the aquarium, we got the tube to Westminster so he could see Big Ben since he'd mentioned it on the train. He was so impressed by how tall it was, his little face dropped as we came up the steps onto Westminster bridge. He's obviously seen it on TV and it is much bigger than he thought. He wasn't happy with just seeing it from the bridge as we crossed the river, and insisted we walk over to the bottom and then see it from all sides-which of course isn't possible what with all that fencing and all. So he climbed along the fencing for a bit until he realised the aquarium was in the opposite direction.

Big Ben.

Big Ben selfie from the other side of the river.

We finally made it to the London Aquarium. Because we hadn't bought our tickets in advance as I had previously planned to (thank goodness we didn't though, as we didn't make it for the time slot I was going to book them for), we had to queue for about forty minutes. Thankfully Bean was ok, he's not normally great at any kind of queue, but I had a little stash of sweeties to keep him going.

It cost the two of us £38 and it took less than two hours to get round (I'd read online it should take three). It was great and Bean will remember it always I'm sure, but I think maybe there are better value aquariums around. I wouldn't bother going again.

The penguins were super fun!

Shark face/photo bomb.

Bean had been given some spending money so he bought himself this cute little shark. Talk about over loved! It is now a tad on the black side after spending the rest of the day travelling around grubby London and will be lovingly hand washed later today.

Behind the London Eye.

Yummy sausage.

We found a real food market behind the Royal Festival Hall to grab some lunch from. One of the fabulous things about Bean is he'll eat almost anything, so when we go out, I know I can always find him something. His brother isn't anywhere near as easy to please. He grabbed a hot dog from one of the first stalls we passed, a lovely sausage from a farmer who was obviously passionate about his pigs. I chose the most delicious gallette from a crepe stand, full of goats cheese, caramelised onion and rocket. This is Bean tucking into his while we waited for mine to be cooked, it was so busy he had to stay by my feet but he happily sat on the floor and chomped away. Ate the whole thing too.

Then we got the tube from Waterloo to North Greenwich so we could go on the Air Emirates Line cable car across the river. We didn't really know where we were going, which made Bean's tired legs even worse. But we worked it out and he was fine.

He might be a bit tired :(

He found a sign he liked and decided to pose for a photo for the only time in the whole trip (aside from the selfies which I only get a second to catch).

We queued forever for the cable car. We had to queue to get a ticket for Bean (I used my oyster card).
Note to all; buy online before you go! 
Then we had to queue again to get on. Thankfully there were loads of benches I could plonk my tired Bean on. And it was totally worth it! Considering how little it costs (£2.30 for a child, I think £3.30 off my oyster), it's short but very very sweet. It goes so high! Definitely doing that again!

A view over the Thames.

Air Emirates selfie.

Bean was very impressed by the O2.

We then got the DLR and tube to Embankment, where we walked over to Trafalgar Square to check out the giant lion statues.

There were loads of people climbing on them, and Bean so wanted to get up there but he misjudged just how big they were and once he'd got up he was freaked out so we checked out the water fountains instead.

"Too high Mummy"

It was time to go find our train, which was messed up by line closures. We had to run from London Euston to St Pancras, then through St Pancras twice trying to find the right platform. Poor Bean's legs! He was so tired! But we made it, with five minutes to spare. And we'd managed to get some dinner (Marks & Sparks sandwiches) on the way.

Our train left at 6:00pm, so obviously he was shattered and that involved a fair amount of messing about. We had to get four different trains to get home, but he was brilliant and it wasn't so bad. When we got off the train, he insisted on hiding the things that we had bought his big brother (a little toy stingray from the aquarium and a Big Ben keyring) behind his back so he could surprise him in the car park where Daddy and Ed were waiting for us.

We had an amazing time. It was so good spending time with my little guy, doing what interested him and going at his (very slow, very observant) pace.

We never did do the book trail or the quiz, but we did other stuff instead, so at least we were never bored or short of choice, though how anyone can be bored in London with a loaded Oyster card is beyond me.

Ed had spent the weekend with Daddy. Apparently they were practising fishing in the living room...I'm not commenting haha.

I'm looking forward to Ed's weekend which is coming up very soon - watch this space.

'Fate (Burdens)' Review & Interview with Ben Murray (Writer/Director)

This review is simply my humble opinion. I don't claim to be anything other than some regular Joe who enjoys stories and is interested in other human beings.  I only chose to write this interview because I personally am interested in what makes a person tick, and how someone as young as Ben managed to pull together such an enjoyable story and tell it so beautifully.  Though I will be honest, I certainly don't want to intentionally offend anyone, so I am sorry if I do.

About Me and How I Met Mr. Murray.

I was born in London and when we moved away, the Londoner in my Mother's soul ensured that even as children, we were no stranger to the stage, the ballet and concerts. 

But I'm these days I'm not as cultured as I'd like to be. 
There's a pile of unread books by my bed. 
I haven't seen a ballet in over a decade.
I don't even watch movies until they come out on DVD. 

Such is life.

There is nothing quite like live theatre. 
Nothing quite like someone telling you a story from a few yards away, able to look directly into your eyes. It's level of intimacy that can never be achieved by TV or cinema, no matter how hot Brad Pitt is.

Being a creative kind of person, I often find myself drawn to other creative minded people, whatever kind of business they're in. I quite recently made new friends with a particularly lovely couple, who I originally met through the local home-educating network.
They are the kind of people I immediately clicked with. 
The kind of people who you visit to pick something up and two hours later your husband is texting you wondering why on earth you haven't come home yet. I could talk with them for hours. 
My favourite bit about them both is that, like me, they have a giant list of projects. 
I get that. 
Totally. 

So, when I discovered my new friends were part of a theatre company, I got tickets. I went to see the first play with my family, but when it came to the second and third, I just fancied going alone so I didn't push for anyone to join me.

Fate (Burdens); Review.

The only thing I knew about the play was it's name.

I had no idea what I was in for.

It was exciting to sit down, alone, awaiting a story, some one's story, with only the general hope I'd enjoy it.

The play began with a plunge into absolute darkness, which I found unnerving. Not because I fear the dark, because I don't, I just don't like not being able to see. I also worry about what I will see when the lights come back on. 
Throughout the play, between each scene, the lights went off again. I don't mean to be over dramatic, but it was a bit like being plunged into a pool of black water, not knowing how long I'd be held under, listening to tables being moved across the floor, waiting for the noise to stop because that's when the lights will come back. I'd emerge, squinty eyed, my senses completely overloaded. Truth be told, I am very light sensitive, so this may not have been the desired effect, and although it may have only been so the stage crew could move stuff, it actually added to the plot for me. It added a darkness, and insecurity, and loneliness that made me relate to the main characters more.

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this play quite so much.
I love that it was written by a 17 year old, and if nothing else, I hope it teaches us to never underestimate our teenagers.

There are a few things I can pin point which made it so enjoyable.
Firstly, Charlotte Pedley (Elita) and Curtis Ledsham (Ruben) are delightfully awkward. They have a very natural insecurity to the way they hold themselves which expresses the ineptitude of teenage love marvellously. I'm sure we all remember living in a body which was changing too fast for us to get used to, being so unsure of who we were and whether or not we were even like-able.

There is a background story left untold; Lex (played by Sean Goss) knows Ruben because he was his big brother's guardian, and that he is just as cut up about Luke's death as Ruben is. I wonder if Reuben should have known, if it would have made him feel less alone...?

The death scene was done perfectly, both unexpected and not over played. I'm not going to ruin it for anyone by telling you who died. Amateur dramatics obviously has a horrible habit of over acting and I always find myself annoyed by it. Over acting has its place in slapstick comedy moments but not in the death of a loved one.

And lastly, I loved the ongoing joke about sex being gross and disgusting to angels, as I imagine any androgynous being would.

Now, I don't know much about these things, but I'd say it was a brilliantly written play, with perfect timing and wit. 
There were two moments I thought I'd sob; during the death scene and during Ruben's very moving monologue when his face was cracking. I felt it too. 
And if I gasp out loud, in a room full of strangers, the way I did during the death scene, you know you've got my attention.

Introducing Mr Ben Murray.
I first saw Ben when he played Benedict in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. My family and I were really struck by his obvious talent. Maybe I need to be more familiar with the Shakespearean language, but sometimes he got a bit overexcited and spoke his lines so fast I couldn't keep up. Regardless, it was noticeable how comfortable he is on the stage.

Ben is a sprightly little thing, with a cheeky grin and bundles of talent, both as an actor and a writer. His stage presence is natural and he doesn't come across like he's over thinking it all, yet you won't see him slip out of his role for a second when he's anywhere near the stage. The simplest of gestures finishes each line with such finesse. He is simply, a joy to watch and obviously has a bright future ahead of him.

I asked him to sign my programme, not just because Laura, the producer, egged me on, but because I think Ben is special and he'll go far if he chooses to.

Taken by Terasa Newton

My Chat With Mr. Murray.

Ben is the kind of person, who if he was stuck on a desert island, would miss his guitar much more than his phone. He loves his tattered black converse pumps, which may disintegrate before he lets them go. In his spare time, he writes. He write music, plays, stories, everything. Just writes. If he wasn’t allowed a pen and paper on that island, he’d be writing songs in the sand with a twig.

His family are originally from Manchester, but moved to Tattenhall when his Mum got a new job in Chester. Nothing happens there apparently, but it's very green. Sounds idyllic to me.

I was very surprised to hear that Ben has just finished his first year of A levels in very academic, rather than creative subjects; Maths, Chemistry and Biology. He’s studying what he’s good at rather than what he enjoys, which is a story we are probably all familiar with. Young people so often have no idea what they want to do so when it comes to subject choice, they often chose what they’re most likely to succeed at rather than what really stirs their hearts. Seventeen year old Ben’s been part of the Boaty Theatre Company since he was about thirteen and playing guitar since he was fourteen. He's been writing music since he starting playing, writing plays for two years and he really wants to carve himself a career from these creative pursuits, but felt like he was encouraged to have an academic ‘back up plan’. At his show, his Step-Dad was on the front row, taking photos all the way through. He looked like the proudest Dad in the land, and he was certainly gave the loudest cheer at the end. His Mum is his biggest fan, he reckons if he suggested setting up a world class trapeze act and tour the world with the circus, she'd be there cheering him on.

Until a few years ago, the Boaty Theatre Company, now called Chalice Productions, used to be quite different. Someone once described it to me as more like a youth club, meeting for just an hour a week. When Laura began helping out, things started moving for the young members there. She turned around to them one day and said “Let's do a steam-punk version of the Tempest!” and they were like “OK!”  For the first time, no one was being brought in the play the main roles, they were carrying the whole play.
Now they all meet every week, for at least two hours, and now Chalice have their own official space, the opportunities are endless.

Ben originally wrote the script for ‘Fate’, his first attempt at a play, as part of a GCSE exam piece, which he of course received full marks for. It was supposed to be just five or six minutes long, but when he and his friends played it out, it was more like twenty. However, because all the people who had parts each had a five minute monologue, they got much better grades than if they’d worked with a smaller script.

When Chalice Media got some funding, Ben asked Laura (the founder) if he could write a full length version so they could show it and although she was really supportive, he presumed there was a part of her that suspected he wouldn’t manage to do it.

Knowing Laura, I doubt this myself. She remembers him as this shy little emo kid, and she has enjoyed watching grow into the young man he is now. He knows her better now, and knows how enthusiastic she is about everyone who wants to have a bash at anything.

Because he’d known the group for so long, as he wrote it, he pretty much knew who’d play what. The only parts which could have been played by any of them were the two baddie angels, but he chose Alice and Charlotte because they are great friends and have a very natural chemistry between them.

Laura read one of the later drafts, provided a location and a techie to do the lights, then left him to his own devices. Ben did the sound, wrote some of the music and played a part, pushing himself to see just how much he could do.

“Can I do all this? Let’s try! So I did.”

Laura purposefully never watched any of the rehearsals, she wanted to give him the space to discover what he’s capable of.

During the play, he’d have to throw on a barista shirt over the top of a shirt & tie, run up to the stage, perform lines, and then run back to the sound desk. And he did it, without fault.

Ben’s role in the play was left rather open ended. When I asked him if he was God or just some fallen angel playing tricks, he simply asked me what I thought. He wanted to leave it open to the viewers to decide for themselves.

There was one scene on the first night it showed, that went a little flat and at the end I overheard the actors say they had improvised. Apparently one of them had forgotten their lines, but Ben was pleased with how they dealt with it. They just got on with it and no one seemed to notice. “It happens” Ben said simply. 

Since he wrote a play about God, I had to ask if he believes in some higher power watching over us, but no, he doesn’t and he was worried there would people coming up to him afterwards complaining of blasphemous intentions, but he never meant to offend anyone.

“Religion just doesn’t appeal to me, but I find it interesting the way people attach ‘fate’ and ‘God’ to the same things. That’s why I wanted to write about it.”

Ben feels really fortunate that he knew people who could help him achieve what he’d set out to do. The lesson to be learnt here, is that if you keep meeting people, letting them know what you can do, what you’d like to do, eventually someone will to come to you with a great idea.

Just keep putting yourself out there.

“I only got ‘Fate’ shown because I asked.”

If you want to write, keep writing. Just get it down on paper! Show it to your friends, and then redraft it. Keep doing that until you're happy with it.

And lastly, if Mr. Ben Murray was forced to sing one song on X factor, it would be This Modern Love by Bloc Party.

A bit about Chalice Media.

Chalice was set up by Laura Harris (author of Splintered) as she worked alongside the Boaty Theatre Company who are based at the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port, so that local talent could be supported in their creative pursuits. Having an official company means that funding could be sourced and Ben's play, along with another, was aided by the Arts Council.

Chalice are able to help people in so many ways, from acting classes to getting books published. The future is very bright for them, Laura is infectiously positive and proactive, and if you're local to the Ellesmere Port/North West area, get in touch with them if you're interested in any of the things they do.

You can follow Chalice on Facebook here and you can check out their website chalicemediagroup.com.

Terasa Newton, who took that fabulous photo of Ben is also on Facebook here and linkedin here.

Finding Happiness in Being Grateful

If I was to be very, very honest with you, I would tell you that for me, the last few weeks have been shrouded by a dark cloud. It’s not that there has been anything in particular ‘wrong’ per say, I’ve just been very fed up. It has seemed like the simplest of things have been difficult to cope with. I’ve found my temper with the boys become shorter (much shorter) and I’ve been spending most evenings sobbing. Simply sobbing. My poor husband has tried his best to be loving and supportive, which must be hard given that he has only got soggy cuddles in return and not much else.

I’m trying to cheer up.

In my heart of hearts I know I’ve simply got a case of the blues and I just need to look after myself better, relax a little more, get more sleep and try to be a little bit more positive about things.

I’ll be right as rain soon, so don’t worry peeps.

In the meantime, I’ve noticed that lately, while listening to people around me talking about their lives and general events, I keep hearing versions of what seem to be pretty much the same thing, like some kind of theme is coming through;

Being grateful.

One of my friends recently spoke of how when she found a moment to ‘thank the universe’ for something good in her life, something else fabulous immediately happened. Then when she thanked the universe for that, two more happy events occurred.

Last week my Mum even had a book published (her first finished piece) on Kindle and paperback, which you can purchase here, all about being grateful.

I haven’t read it, it being a ‘religious text’ and all, but from the blurb I’d say if one was that way inclined, it’s a very inspiring read. It's all about prayer and trying not to come to God with a list but rather to be thankful for what he has already provided.

It seems to me that whoever you are, however you see the world, whomever you feel is ‘in charge of things’, as it were, if we take a moment to be grateful and to dwell on the good things, the happier and more successful (however you might measure that) we become.

There’s a great Ted Talk about being grateful.

And there is some excellent advice here about learning to be more grateful.

It makes perfect sense to me that the more time we spend thinking about the great things in our lives, the happier we would be.

Of course, in doing so we have less time to dwell on the crappier side of things, so we naturally become less miserable.

Even cynical old me has watched miserable people grow sick and weary under the pressure of their bitterness. Like their own bodies couldn’t cope with the negativity and literally gave out under the weight.

If only they could’ve just cheered the hell up!

Being angry and miserable will never do us any good, but happiness, smiling, laughter and hugs are all things that have proven healing powers (Google it if your not sure there's scientific proof).

oh dear, I've quoted Oprah :/

Also, I feel I should add, that I spend a lot of time looking to the future. It drives me to distraction and I so wish I could live in the moment more. I know I'll never be happy while most of my efforts are spent thinking things will be vastly improved in a few months, when the house is done, when the garden is finished, when we've saved up for that, when we've paid that debt off, etc, etc. The moments I feel actual happiness are the moments when I stop. When I stop thinking and just be in the moment, usually with my boys, just playing or simply watching them play. I feel like if I carried on like this, moping about the things that aren't good enough yet and waiting for certain things to improve, I'd look back to find grown men. I'd miss it. Children really do grow too fast. My littlest guy was five last week. Ridiculous! How did that happen? I definitely need to spend less time sulking and more time just enjoying the day to day stuff.

I love this idea.

So this is what I’m grateful for;

My two little boys, their enquiring minds and ceaseless zest for life.

That my children, my husband and I, are all healthy.

My loving & supportive husband.

That we can afford to pay the bills.

Family.

Great friends.

A small breeze on a warm day.

Birdsong.

Warm sunshine on my skin.

My driving license.

That little sign my dog makes when she’s comfy.

The sound of rain.

Silence.

My body.

My mind.

My creative fingers.

Clean water and electricity in our home.

Music.

Books.

Other people’s stories.

This was surprisingly difficult to write, so I ended up just trying to write a list of everyday things which make me happy. I didn’t want to get all sentimental on you, but it appears that it’s impossible to avoid when it comes to things like this.

So let’s be soppy together!

What makes you happy?

What are you grateful for?

Write in the comments below x 

If you need some inspiration for writing your own list, this might be of use;

If you fancy it, maybe join in with a #thankfulthursday or follow thankful thursday on facebook. Or maybe make a photo diary, a little like the #100happydays (which I got through almost 70 days of before I got annoyed with it - oops. I just kept having days that ended in such personal darkness that I couldn't see any light), but weekly might be more do-able.
Wishing you all the happiness in the world my lovelies xxx