Dad of Crazy Twins

VEEMCDEE   A couple of weeks ago I responded to a PR request from "Veemcdee" to do a review on some craft packs. I won't lie - I had no idea what "Veemcdee" was or what they did so I did a quick research on my phone (during a game of mini-golf) and figured "why not?"   The response from "Veemcdee" was instant and very friendly and just a few days later I received a package through the post. Inside were two craft packs.     As soon as I opened them the twins got their eyes on them and were instantly intrigued. I am guessing this is because of the colours and the shapes and the fact that they look interesting and inviting. I let them have a look but explained we would be looking at them in more detail at a later date.   So - what is "Veemcdee"? This is a company that is a bit like those subscription boxes that you see plastered all over social media except they deal in craft supplies. You can get a rolling subscri...

BLACKPOOL ZOO   We have visited Blackpool several times over the past few years with the twins. We mainly visit as Kate's Aunty and her wife live there and it is nice to visit them and for them to see the twins (and us, I guess). Usually we do the "typical Blackpool stuff" like going along the prom, taking in a couple of fairground rides, a donkey ride, some ice cream etc... and we have been up Blackpool Tower. This summer when we visited we decided to visit the zoo for two reasons:   1) We have never been 2) The twins love a zoo   So that is what we did. We drove to Blackpool and met up with one of Kate's Aunties (the other was at work...we had dinner with her later on) and we hit the zoo...here is what we thought...     Blackpool Zoo is way bigger than we anticipated...there is loads to do and there are loads of animals to see. Like most zoos it is broken down in to sections: Waders...

For our latest review we took the twins to see "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie". I say "we"...I let Kate take them with their Aunty Spot while I sat in Costa and read my book with a latte. Here is their review:   Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie       WARNING: COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS     Describe "Captain Underpants" in a nut shell:   Ruby:  It is about a man who is a teacher and a boy who finds a ring and turns him in to Captain Underpants.    Poppy:   Two little boys who love making comics and there was a nasty teacher and they turned him into Captain Underpants.    Kate/Spot:  Comic books come to life.      What was your favourite bit of "Captain Underpants?"   Ruby:  Every time the boy said "Freeze" and talked to the camera (broke the 4th wall).     Poppy: When he was changing to Captain Underpants and the...

PRESTON PARK: MUSEUM AND GROUNDS   About 40 miles away from Newcastle in Stocksfield is what I would consider to be one of the best attractions in the North East...Preston Park.       We have been coming here for years with the twins and we visit at least 3 or 4 times a year. Situated on Yarm Road in the middle of a residential area is the entrance to Preston Park which, once you have entered the grounds, is much bigger than you would anticipate. There is a decent sized car park with a good sized overflow car park so parking is never really an issue although if you arrive in the afternoon you could struggle. Preston Park is one of those places that you can accidentally spend the entire day at as there is so much to do. This includes:   Adventure Playground Parklands River Walks Skate Park Preston Hall Museum Victorian Street Walled Garden Café       The first thing you will see is the giant ad...

STAND MAGAZINE   A little while ago I was followed on Twitter by a magazine called "STAND". I will admit I had never heard of it but as it was a "Man Mag" I followed back. After a bit of snooping on their Twitter page and their website it became apparent they were a fairly new magazine with only a few issues released. Clicking on the subscription services I was able to see that they are a quarterly magazine with a new issue released every 12/13 weeks. It also became apparent that they were aimed at the " modern man " and at " fathers " which is strengthened by their tagline:   "For Men Who Give A Damn"   I read a few of their articles online and found them interesting so when I saw that they were looking for bloggers to do reviews I expressed my interest. I was asked to contact the Editor, Dwayne Hayes, which I did and we exchanged details. A week or so later I received a print copy of "Issue 06" through the post ...

GULLIVER'S WORLD WARRINGTON For over a year now the twins have been telling me that they want to ride a rollercoaster. I am a big fan of rollercoasters myself so, naturally, I wanted to make this happen. However, at just 6 years old I knew that they would be too young and too small to ride some of the great roller coasters we have in the UK at various theme parks. Because of that I ruled out trips to Alton Towers and Lightwater Valley and Chessington World of Adventures as, to be frank, I am not paying a shed load of money for the twins to NOT be able to go on the majority of rides. We then saw adverts for "Gulliver's World" one day and the twins said they would like to go. I have heard of them before but totally forgot that they existed. I did a little research and a visit to the one in Warrington wasn't too far from where we were staying on our summer holiday and the prices weren't extortionate. We decided that we'd go on Tuesday 15th August and spe...

DISCOVERY MUSEUM     One of the things I love about living in Newcastle is that there is so much to do within a pretty small area. From my house I can travel 4 miles in one direction and be in the middle of a city and 6 miles in the other direction and I am at the beach. We spend a fair amount of time in the city centre as there is so much more to it than shopping, eating and drinking. There is a plethora of cultural places that can be visited and there are a boat load of educational places too. One place that I feel falls in to both the category of "Cultural" and "Educational" is the "Discovery Museum".   The "Discovery Museum" is located in Blandford Square which is not in the heart of the city but it is only a five minute walk away from the main shopping area. The museum is operated by Newcastle City Council and is one of many FREE activities that you can do in the city centre. If you follow my blog you will know that I am a huge ...