The Gruffalo with the Royal Northern Sinfonia

Photo credit: Orange Eyes Ltd 2009

 
The Gruffalo (and it's sequel, The Gruffalo's Child) has won a special place in many a child's heart over the last 15 years, and for good reason. It tells the tale of a brave little mouse who, when faced with predators such as an owl, fox and snake, cleverly invents a monster who he will soon be meeting for a meal in order to scare them away. Little does he know that the Gruffalo is, in fact, real...

There have been many stage adaptations of the book in recent years, along with animated films of both books, and I can't wait to take S along to this event at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester in October. Both films will be screened on a big screen, with the music performed live by the Royal Northern Sinfonia. The acoustics are wonderful at the Hall and it looks like a great way to introduce children to live orchestral music.

There will also be free family activities in the foyer from 12pm.

The event takes place on Thursday 30th October and tickets are available now.

CBeebies CD release

If, like mine, your child's face lights up when they hear the theme tune to their favourite CBeebies show, this CD is definitely one to add to the Christmas pile. Full of theme tunes from shows like 64 Zoo Lane, In The Night Garden and Abadas along with familiar songs from within shows like Charlie and Lola, the CBeebies album is perfect for this dancing-on-the-sofa rainy days, long car journeys or even at bedtime. I was thrilled to discover the bedtime song on the CD (The Time Has Come To Say Goodnight) as it has become part if S's bedtime routine and it's nice to not have to turn the TV on. Be warned though. The songs are ever so catchy. All together now... "Numtums, Numtums It's a number-tumber-number day..." CBeebies: The Album is released on November 9th and is available to pre-order from Amazon now.

All Apologies

 'Tyred' at Eureka!

 I have been very lax in updating this blog for the past few weeks for a myriad of reasons - mainly though, I'd started to feel like I'd done everything there was to do on a Friday with S so felt very uninspired to write.

However, I've noticed a change in him over the past week or so; he seems to have suddenly, overnight, become a little boy - no longer a baby. So I'm feeling inspired again and ready to start exploring the world again.

A quick update then. Since I last posted we have attended two Friday birthday parties (both very different in scale and location, both very fun), visited MOSI again a few times for Experitots, been on holiday to a rainy Scarborough and visited Eureka! in Halifax with his Grandparents. All in all we've had a lovely time together.

Tomorrow brings something new for S - a visit to The Bridgewater Hall to see The Casablanca Steps performing a free lunchtime concert. The Casablanca Steps are a 4 piece band who perform music from and influenced by the 1920's and 30's - I'm hoping S will pick up a few Charleston steps!