This has been half term week and we’ve enjoyed a lovely family break to Butlins in Bognor Regis.  I will write a post soon on our stay as I love Butlins, but as soon as we arrived I felt a sense of contentment and excitement that stayed with me throughout our week.  There have been many loves this week but here are a few favourites….

READ

Caitlin Moran’s column in the Saturday Times was a brilliant article on nurturing and supporting teenage girls.  It was stunning and is a must read.  It is the second article of hers I have torn from the magazine and kept for Little Miss in her teenage years, she so eloquently puts into words the things teenage girls need to understand and embrace.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/caitlin-moran-compliments-are-good-for-you-vk95lbjg9

As its been holiday week I’ve also found the time to read two books (does a little reading dance!!)  The first was a fun, unputdownable read, Jane Fallon’s Strictly Between Us.  As the producer of two of my favourite programmes, This Life and Teachers, her pedigree is top class and the book didn’t disappoint. As you can guess from the picture I read this in the garden and at the park whilst the children played. I thought photographing the books mainly where I read them might be fun and quite revealing of my habits. The second photo is taken on a bench by the soft play area at Butlins which was a favourite haunt this week. Whilst The Last Act of Love doesn’t have the frivolity of my first read it is an incredible story about a family’s love of their son and brother who is in a permanent vegetative state following a hit and run accident. Whilst this might not sound the most appealing storyline, it is a very powerful true story of love which leads the reader to develop such respect and care for the family and despite its theme it is a life affirming and uplifting read.

WATCHED

Butlins does fantastic shows and this week we have watched a variety.  The children love the Skyline Gang, Butlins gang of characters so we watched their shows, full of songs, dances and laughter.  We also saw a few shows with well known children’s characters although I noticed that the children are growing out of some of their childhood heroes now, the passing of time can be a little sad. In the Discovery Animals show, Little Miss got to go on stage and stroke a skunk, she loved it and the show with its 4 d effects was great too.  However, my favourite was Dick and Dom, a live show full of mad cap games, dancing, mayhem and foam pies, what’s not to love?  I have a terrific photo of Little Miss covered in foam at the finale with such a huge grin, priceless.

MADE

As we have been away, there are no culinary makes.  However we have been getting creative with @jenniemaizels Half Term list, a great quiet activity to put some calm and peace into the day.  We have been making a collage of tickets, postcards etc.. and have also drawn the view from our hotel room which was a beautiful array of trees.

WORE

 

I am quite small and for years have been searching for a maxi skirt to fit, this year I have found two, a dress from Next and a skirt from Fat Face.  I love them, the material in both is so comfy and I have been able to dress them up and down this week and also layer them in the mixed weather.  Its really nice to be wearing something different from my usual ‘uniform’ of leggings with tunics and mini skirts.

HEARD

As detailed in this post from last year,

https://seasidesparkles.net/2015/05/19/mix-tape/

I do love a play list, so this week we’ve been singing and dancing to our Butlins playlist including Fight Song, Love Yourself, I Really Like You, Born this Way, Can we Dance, Shake it Off etc..  There is something special leaving in the car and putting your chosen music on, it all helps build up the excitement and then playing the music in the evenings as you dress up just adds to the occasion. Music is a big part of my life and I like to create the soundtrack of my life.

AND LASTLY

So the half term holiday is nearly finished but we have so much to look forward to this summer.  I’m really excited by our plans for the next few months and all the fun and surprises to spring on the children. To ensure all goes smoothly there is a lot of organising to do this week, but I like planning and list making so will be in my element.

I’m linking up with Morgana at http://coffeeworksleeprepeat.com and all the other fantastic bloggers for this week’s #LittleLoves.