Staveley Carnival 2012

It was our first Staveley Carnival this weekend and we really enjoyed the spectacle. Its amazing what the community can pull together to produce out of recycled material. This is a story best told in pictures.


My daughter in her flying ant outfit ready for the start:

A praying mantis:

The pre-procession warm up from one of the 4 bands in the carnival parade:

We then all started to parade by sections out of the Recreation ground:

Luckily someone has shared the sound of the carnival by posting on YouTube. You may even spot me and my family:








At the end of the village we looped back and passed the other sections with their own colour schemes:

After the parade there was entertainment, stalls and a fun fair on the recreation ground before the grand finale:

The biggest and best costumes paraded and danced around the arena:

Altogether an amazing spectacle and I can't wait for 2 years time for the next one (just hope that next time all 3 of us are in better health so we can fully appreciate it!)

Monday Review: Schleich Smurfs

Sponsored post

My children were pleased to get a bunch of Schleich Smurfs in the post. We somehow managed to miss the film but my children knew what they were.

To get in the spirit of an Olympic year the Smurfs are all doing a different sport:

We had a weight lifter, a beach volley ball player, a swimmer and a relay runner. Each character has its little details to bring it to life. They really appealed to me but my children were happier with other toys.

This maybe because they are more of a looking at model than a playing with one. They also aren't major Smurf fans and so weren't as enthusiastic as me!

Altogether there are 10 sporty smurfs to collect. They are available in box sets of 5 from £16.75. As individual items they are around £4.

I definitely think these are heading for my collection rather than the childrens'!

Hopes for 2012

Looking back on 2011


Before I set these out for this year I guess I ought to see if I managed the ones I wanted for 2011:

I will get into better shape!


Yes I am slimmer, lighter and healthier than a year ago so that's one tick!




I will finish moving into my new home!

Well this is still a work in progress but we have swapped all 3 bedrooms round instead..

I will encourage my kids to be tidier - by leading by example!

Think we have had some progress but we all have lots of years od bad habits to lose...

I will start working out how to get myself off benefits and self-sufficient!

Well I've got a few little businesses ticking over but still not quite enough to be self sufficient. With government rule changes I'll have to see what happens next.

100 Books in 2011

This was the gauntlet I threw down to myself back in December 2010 thanks to Book Chick City. If my records are correct I read 90 books but I didn't log all the ones I read with my children so I may have managed it!

Looking forward in 2012

So what shall I challenge myself to do this year? I did post some resolutions on Twitter on New Year's Eve after a few glasses Prosecco so guess I have to stick to them:

Lose 2 stone

Learn to finish one job before starting another

Learn to knit

Read 100 books in 2012

So let's see how those ones go!