4 days left until #BloggersBeatingCancer takes place at 10:30 am on Friday.

In the next 4 days

82, 300 (approx) people will lose their lives to cancer.

At the time of typing this post

6,038, 267 people had lost their lives to cancer this year.

In the ten minutes it takes you to read this post

143 people will have died from cancer.

Cancer affects all of us, whether we are a blogger, a teacher or a stay at home mum. It doesn’t care if we are male or female. Cancer doesn’t care if we are a mum or a dad. We need to care and we need to come together and unite against cancer. Join us in #BloggersBeatingCancer. Use the hashtag, join us online and donate. If you are at work then get everyone involved. Have a dress down day, collect donations. We need to come together as a community, together we can make a difference.

Please join us on Friday 30th September at 10:30am. You don’t have to be a blogger to get involved. Just join us, unite against cancer.

#BloggersBeatingCancer – join us on Friday 30th September at 10.30am, for coffee and a social media thunderclap. Use the hashtag, get your friends involved, and get fundraising if you can. Anyone can take part in the virtual coffee morning. Who doesn’t love coffee and a natter? Get hold of your friends, chat online, it could be the friend who now lives abroad or the one who lives in the next town. Thanks to the internet you can chat to them like they are in the same room. Join us have a chat, make a difference.

Please donate to or share our fundraising page, which is open from today – https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bloggersbeatingcancer

During our recent mammoth road trip visiting family and friends we stayed at the DoubleTree, Leeds. Leeds is our old hunting ground so, therefore, we had slight insider knowledge when it came to finding a good hotel. The DoubleTree is one of our favourite chain of hotels as the rooms are always slick with nice little extras. I love the fact that you get a dressing gown and slippers. I know, clearly my rock and roll days are over! However, the Leeds DoubleTree is very close to our heart as we were living near Leeds when it was being built, and we watched as it went up changing the skyline of Leeds. Also, a good friend of Mr C’s worked on the structural engineering of it. This did mean that for the majority of our trip Mr C was either looking up at the ceiling and admiring the engineering in the roof or we would be sat in the bar above and Mr C would suddenly say:

“Very impressive concrete column”

Who said romance was dead, eh? We very nearly didn’t stay in the hotel because when we looked it up on the website it showed them as having no family rooms. However, one phone call later and the manager had very kindly sorted us out interconnecting rooms. He also gave us 50% off the second room due to children staying in one room. Just shows that it does pay to ring up sometimes and not rely on the internet. I believe that many of the DoubleTrees will give you 50% off interconnecting rooms; it’s just something that they don’t really advertise.

The location of the hotel is close to where Mr C and I first shared a flat so we thought we knew the area well but it has changed a lot in 13 years. The hotel is located in Granary Wharf. Back in the day, it only had a couple of bars but now it is crammed full with cool bars and restaurants and it is a really lovely location on the canal.

I would imagine that it is very popular with the office workers who fancy their lunch in a nice spot. This hotel would also be perfect if you are travelling to Leeds by train. The train station is only a short skip and a jump away. Very convenient. There is also secure parking,;we parked our hire car here which meant that we were able to relax knowing that the car was safe and secure. The city centre is only a 5 minute walk away. Perfect!

On arriving at our hotel we were greeted by very welcoming reception staff who all had big smiles on their faces. They made a fuss of the children and ensured that they had their DoubleTree cookie. Their signature warm cookies are amazing and were a big hit with the children! The hotel is decorated in a contemporary and funky style.

The children were very taken by this flower tree. The reception area feels vast and there are plenty of seats for you to make yourself at home in.

I loved the big windows which gave you views of bustling Granary Wharf. The big lights and then the very cool seats. Combined together they work really well to create a designer feel.

We were very impressed with our interconnecting hotel rooms. They were large and bright. The bathroom was well set-up, with a large shower and very clean. However, what we loved the most were the views from the floor to-ceiling window. It offered fantastic views over Leeds.

So many memories are in that one view: where Mr C and I used to live, where I first worked on leaving Uni, where Mr C and I both worked, where we had our first date. Our trip to Leeds was full of nostalgia although, I have to say that the kids were less than impressed with me pointing everything out to them.

At night-time, the view was even more impressive with the city now lit-up and looking quite beautiful from our birds-eye view. There were loads of nice restaurants nearby but, for ease, we decided to eat in the hotel. The hotel also offered a discount to guests and, therefore, it was fantastic value for money. First of all we decided to have a drink in the hotel bar. The bar staff were lovely and very welcoming. The children loved the surroundings and the occasion and quite happily sat drinking their apple juice. The price of drinks was very reasonable and you were also served nibbles to go with your drink. I love it when they do that! The hotel restaurant was lovely. The staff were very attentive and the food was delicious. The restaurant also had lovely views of the canal, so a very pleasant setting for your evening meal.

The DoubleTree hotel in Leeds is the perfect hotel for couples and families. If you are looking for a hotel in a central location then this is for you. You won’t be disappointed!

#BloggersBeatingCancer – join us on Friday 30th September at 10.30am, for a virtual coffee and a social media thunderclap. Use the hashtag, get your friends involved, get fundraising if you can. Please donate here or share the page.

There I was thinking that Jamie Oliver had been quiet recently. Perhaps, I mused to myself, he has realised the errors of his ways after his very inappropriate and misjudged comments about breastfeeding. A subject in which he presented himself as being an expert, despite the fact that he doesn’t actually own a pair of boobs. This is good, I thought, I can go back to liking Jamie for what he does best, creating yummy and delicious recipes for the whole family. Now, creating recipe books really is his area of expertise and I should know as I nearly have every cookery book of his. I should rename my cookery book shelf the Jamie Oliver shelf as they are predominately his books. Actually, if I don’t stop buying his books I will be opening the Jamie Oliver library. Luckily, Jamie has ensured that this will never happen as he has only gone and opened his considerable mouth again! Now, instead of a library I am thinking of chucking all my Jamie Oliver cookery books onto the fire. Perhaps I could do this on November 5th and have my very own version of bonfire night, a Jamie Oliver bonfire.

Why am I so cross at Oliver? Jamie took it upon himself to chide Teresa May, you know, the lady who runs the country. The Prime Minister. Yes, but that’s not what Jamie is focussing on. No, he is focusing on the fact that Theresa should be acting like a parent. Hmmm. Apparently, Jamie seems to think that Theresa is “letting every child in Britain down”. Every child. Jamie then rounds off his ill-judged outburst with the line

“I wanted her to act not like a politician, but a parent”.

I might be wrong here, but it is not Theresa May’s job to act as a parent to the country. It is her job to run the country. I find myself wondering if Jamie Oliver is perhaps a little sexist. Would he have said the same thing to David Cameron? I doubt it. Why do we continually see women that are in power questioned over their reproductive systems? This has nothing to do with the job as Prime Minister! Also, for the record, Jamie, Theresa doesn’t actually have children. But I understand, she is female and, therefore, you are making the assumption she should be parenting us all. Perhaps, you would like her to pay a visit to you all in Chez Oliver and do a Mary Poppins act. Would you like her to look after your children? Clean up those dirty dishes? Make you a packed lunch? Females are stereotyped in the role of mothering. In recent weeks we have seen Nicola Sturgeon revealing that she had a miscarriage. Something that she felt forced to reveal after the constant intrusive questioning. We never see this level of questioning aimed at male politicians.

Even today there is this constant inference that a woman really shouldn’t be in a high-powered job. No, really we should all be putting our reproductive systems to good use and churning out babies. That’s our role in our society. It baffles society when some women actually choose not to have a baby. Then some women choose to go and land high-powered jobs because they just happen to the best qualified for the job, well that’s really not on. We are told that childless woman are “weird” and that ambitious women are “ruthless” and “cold”. Society just can’t accept it, instead they choose to focus on their reproductive system. There is a general needling of women that they are somehow inferior and shouldn’t have a position of power. When Jamie Oliver thinks it is his place to chide the Prime Minister for not parenting the country, then we know that we have a problem. Yes, we might not agree with her obesity strategy but we don’t tell her off for not parenting the country! Theresa May is here to run the country. It’s not her job to tuck us in at night; it’s not her job to read us nice stories. It’s her job to run the country and sometimes that will involve her making decisions that we don’t like, decisions that we don’t understand. However, I have to trust in her ability to run the country and parenting us has nothing to do with it.

Perhaps I should be more forgiving of Jamie. I mean, he is just a product of our society. He has just been brought up in a society that teaches men that their opinions are the most important and that they are far more knowledgeable than any woman, even the woman who is running the country. He might be a chef but he is also a man and, therefore, we must immediately get down at his food altar and worship every word that comes out of his mouth. He is a man and a man knows best. It just annoys me because Jamie Oliver seems like a man with a good heart. If I were to go down the parent track, I would suggest that as a father to three girls he might want to think about breaking the sexist narrative. The narrative that means a man always knows best. However, I am not going to go down the parenting track and pull that card on him. I might be a parent but that really doesn’t mean that I know best either. We might be parents but that doesn’t mean we know everything. Jamie, as a parent could be accused of using the parent card too. Jamie is a man and a parent and, therefore, knows everything, obviously. Perhaps it is like Monopoly but with children: the more children you collect, the more qualified you think you are to speak on everything and anything relating to children. Except that can’t be the case as I don’t see Jools sharing her opinions on the matter with the press. Hang-on she’s a woman! Explains it.

I don’t want to see Theresa trying to parent us all. I want to see Theresa doing just what she is doing, being assertive, making tough decisions, trying to run what feels like a very broken country. There isn’t time for mopping up tears and putting on plasters. The UK is one big scab at the moment and that might mean that Theresa May has to make some tough decisions, some unpopular decisions but that’s what I want in the Prime Minister. Someone that isn’t afraid to face-up to the terrible mess the UK is in.

Jamie, get off your potato box, leave Theresa May alone and let her get on with the important job of running the country. Jamie, you need to get back to your kitchen 😉

#BloggersBeatingCancer – join us on Friday 30th September at 10.30am, for coffee and a social media thunderclap. Use the hashtag, get your friends involved, and get fundraising if you can. Anyone can take part in the virtual coffee morning. Who doesn’t love coffee and a natter? Get hold of your friends, chat online, it could be the friend who now lives abroad or the one who lives in the next town. Thanks to the internet you can chat to them like they are in the same room. Join us have a chat, make a difference.

Please donate to or share our fundraising page, which is open from today – https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bloggersbeatingcancer

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I might have mentioned it in the past, but my Mum loves it when I include her in posts. So much so that I actually banned her for a while. It got to a point when she was ringing up and telling me that the postman had seen her naked. Apparently, my Mum has to clean naked. That was fine, I am used to my Mum oversharing, I’m not going to lie, I might be an oversharer myself. However, fame (well, hardly fame, just my tiny but lovely readers) had gone to her head. She would start telling me shocking tales, and then casually drop in that I could include that in my blog. So for a while there I had a Mum ban. However, she is back again in all of her glory as this was too brilliant not to include. Yes, Mum, two weeks on the trot but don’t get any ideas. There will be no third week.

Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the people. However, there is no disguising my Mum and Dad.

Transcript of conversation (as far as I can remember)

It was one of my mornings where both girls are at school and, therefore, I am busy beavering away on my blog and putting the washing on, basically being a multi-tasking mum, boss/domestic wife. I am not watching This Morning and catching up on all the gossip about Stephanie Pratt and Joey Essex whilst simultaneously shovelling biscuits into my mouth, shouting/spitting crumbs at the TV.

“It’s a fake! They are not in love. You can’t kid me. You can’t pull the wool over my eyes. Oooh, maybe they are in love. There is such sexual chemistry there. Ooooh, I love it”

Ok, I was watching the TV but I was also typing on my laptop. This is why I need an office. No distractions! Another thing I need to do is switch my phone off because the next thing my phone is ringing. I hate speaking on the phone. HATE IT. I much prefer WhatsApp etc. We are in a modern world, people. Therefore, I knew that it must be my Mum, also it said on my phone screen.

Me: *Whispers* Hello?

Mum: Why are you whispering? It’s me, your Mum.

Me: I am whispering because if you are ringing then you must have something of extreme importance to tell me. Can I ask, does it include nudity, flashing or any inappropriate behaviour?

Mum: Noooooooooo. What do you take me for? I am ringing to discuss your campaign to raise money for all those very worthwhile charities.

Me: Oh you mean ‘Bloggers Beating Cancer’.

Mum: Yes, still not convinced by the name, just so you know.

Me: Well it’s staying.

Mum: Fine. Anyway, as you know, I like to help a lot in the local community and raise money.

Me: Yes Mum.

Mum: Well, I have mentioned it to all the different people I work with, the WI, the Vicar, my yoga group, Eunice.

Me: Yes.

Mum: They don’t understand it. They don’t think it has any legs on it. As the Vicar pointed out, why would you have a virtual coffee when you can have an actual coffee?

Me: But you are having actual coffee! It’s just a chance to do it with people who don’t live in the same town as you. Mum, you could use it as a chance to skype your friends in Yorkshire.

Mum: Oh I see, you have explained it much better. I should have explained it like that.

Me: I’m not being rude but do these people even know what the internet is? Is their combined age not 545, or something equally very old?

Mum: We might be old, Emma, but we are not past it. I will also have you know that the Vicar is quite savvy with the internet. He even has a website for the church.

Me: Wow.

Mum: No need for your sarcasm. I was talking to Eunice about it and you know that I am always very proud of you.

Me: I hear a but coming.

Mum: It’s just Eunice made a very good point. She asked if you should be doing something that requires dedication, you know, that really inspires people to want to donate.

Me: But this is about bringing a whole community together, showing the power of bloggers and what a difference we can make when we come together.

Mum: How about Everest?

Me: What?!

Mum: Or something of a similar stature. Janet, round the corner, her daughter raised money by doing the ‘Three Peaks’. You could do that?

Me: What?!

Mum: I would be more than happy to offer you support. I could come along too.

Me: You are offering to walk them with me?

Mum: Don’t be silly, I could get one of those support cars, you know like they have in Tour de France. I could shout encouraging words at you.

Me: *Mutters under breath* Doubt they would be encouraging.

Mum: Like, come on, move that lazy bottom of yours.

Me: *Mutters” Yep, like I said, hardly encouraging.

Mum: I can be very encouraging you know.

Me: Hmmmm.

Mum: Also I would love an excuse to get away from your Father.

Me: What has he done now?

Mum: What isn’t he doing! He is driving me round the bend. He is flipping obsessed with those pigeons. He is up at 6am cleaning the pigeon poop of the patio. Then an hour later his feathered friends have covered it again, and he is out there again. He does this all day. All. Day. My life is being controlled by pigeons. I say “Michael, let’s go into Norwich” and he refuses. He is convinced that the pigeons wait for him to leave and then they swoop down and do it all again. He has taken to hiding in the bushes to surprise them with his pistol. The other day I found him on Amazon, he was perusing camouflage gear. I mean, he has always been a bit cuckoo but this is a whole other level.

Me: That is a little worrying, don’t you think?

Mum: No, it’s your Father, he just gets obsessive over things and this is his latest obsession.

Me: Well, it could be worse. At least he is not obsessed with porn, ahahahaha.

Mum: I would prefer it!

Me: Mum!

Mum: Well, at least he can do that behind closed doors. What if the neighbour sees him, hiding in the bushes, waving his pistol around?

Me: Perhaps you should take him to the doctors.

Mum: He has always been like this. Don’t you remember when a policeman leapt out on his car and pointed the speed camera at him? Your father was so incensed that he stopped his car, whipped his camera out of the boot, and started taking photos of the policeman, all the time shouting,

“how do you like it!? Not nice is it”

Me: Yes, I remember it Mum because I came across the scene with my school mates as I was walking home from school.

Mum: Ahh yes. Back then I saw these character traits as a little bit loveable and quirky. Now it’s just annoying. So annoying. So shall we do the ‘Three Peaks?’ What do you say? A nice girlie break.

Me: No Mum, let’s stick to Bloggers Beating Cancer for now.

Mum: Hmpf. I suppose so but perhaps afterwards…..

Me: Maybe…

Mum: Great. I will get Eunice to put it in her diary.

Me: What!

Mum: Oh yes, she will want to come too.

Me: Great. I’ve got to go, I have a deadline to meet. Bye.

Mum: Funny, I can hear Phillip Schofield in the background.

Join us

#BloggersBeatingCancer – join us on Friday 30th September at 10.30am, for coffee and a social media thunderclap. Use the hashtag, get your friends involved, and get fundraising if you can. Anyone can take part in the virtual coffee morning. Who doesn’t love coffee and a natter? Get hold of your friends, chat online, it could be the friend who now lives abroad or the one who lives in the next town. Thanks to the internet you can chat to them like they are in the same room. Join us have a chat, make a difference.

Please donate to or share our fundraising page, which is open from today – https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bloggersbeatingcancer

Butterkist had clearly heard of my crushing disappointment at not making it into the Great British Bake Off. Ok, that might be my fault. One year I will actually send my application form in. Although, I fear that I might have left it too late now. I am not happy that GBBO is transferring to Channel 4. However, Butterkist offered me the perfect opportunity to get over my disappointment. They challenged the kids and me to get baking with popcorn.

As my two adore popcorn this was a challenge we were more than happy to accept. Sadly, there would be no Paul Hollywood in my kitchen. Actually, I would have found his sardonic comments a bit off-putting. I like to think that if he quipped something about my soggy bottoms that I would admonish him for being rude. However, I suspect that I would probably end up blubbing into my popcorn. I was still able to recreate the Mel and Sue experience though as I had Youngest and Oldest who love a bit of banter and they are very good at keeping me in check in the kitchen.

First of all we decided that we needed to come up with our own recipe. Now Butterkist sent us a huge box of popcorn and there are so many different flavours to choose from. One of them is a new flavour called ‘Choc Mallow’. There are no words to describe how much we are in love with this flavour. We might have even argued over who got to eat it all. It was that good. I wanted to show off and talked about creating a showstopper. Perhaps the Eiffel Tower made entirely out of popcorn, or how about a 3-d popcorn sculpture of Jersey? The kids were not impressed with my suggestions. In the end we decided that we would go for cakes. We settled on making our very own ‘Cinema Cupcakes’. We thought these would be perfect because they are individual little treats and, therefore, perfect for parties, lunch boxes and cinema nights. They would also be perfect for our #bloggersbeatingcancer virtual coffee morning. We chose a chocolate cupcake with caramel icing and decorated with our new favourite Butterkist popcorn - ‘Choc Mallow’. I can confirm that they were absolutely delicious and, best of all, so easy to make. I have made a step by step film of us making the cakes and you can find the recipe below.

Cinema Cupcakes with Butterkist Popcorn (makes 12)

Ingredients:

For the cupcake

• 140g Light Muscovado Sugar

• 100g Self-Raising flour

• 50g Cocoa powder

• 1 tsp Baking powder

• 50g Chocolate Chips

• 3 tbsp Milk

For the icing

• 80g Butter softened

• 400g Icing Sugar sieved

• 3 tbsp Milk

• 100g - 200g Caramel Sauce (depending on sweet tooth)

• A large bag of Butterkist popcorn. We went for Choc Mallow

Method

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Fan, or 180 on the normal setting. Line a 12 muffin tin with paper cases.

• Tip the sugar, flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a large bowl

• In another bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and milk.

• Add the eggs, oil and milk to the large bowl with your dry ingredients and stir together until well combined.

• Add the chocolate chips and stir together

• Divide the mixture among the paper cases and cook in the middle of your oven for 20 minutes

• Once the cakes have cooked, leave them to cool for a good couple of hours

• For the icing, cream the butter until is really soft and fluffy.

• Add a small amount of icing sugar and combine

• Keep adding the icing sugar slowly, adding milk in between your additions

• If you are worried that the mixture is too hard then add some more milk. On the other hand if you think it is too sloppy then add more icing sugar

• Now add the caramel sauce. I would start with 100g, taste and then add more if you think it is needed. Make sure you mix the caramel sauce through

• Pipe the icing onto your cakes. You don’t need to worry if it looks untidy as the kids will be decorating it with the Butterkist popcorn.

• Pass the cakes onto your kids and get them make it with as much as popcorn as possible!

• Then get 2 tbsp of caramel sauce and drizzle over the top. This will help stick the popcorn to the cake

Voila, enjoy! We loved these cakes. Mr C even took some into work with him! Let us know what you think of them in the comments below.

Disclosure - please note that this is a collaborative post but all words are my own

#BloggersBeatingCancer – join us on Friday 30th September at 10.30am, for coffee and a social media thunderclap. Use the hashtag, get your friends involved, and get fundraising if you can. Anyone can take part in the virtual coffee morning. Who doesn’t love coffee and a natter? Get hold of your friends, chat online, it could be the friend who now lives abroad or the one who lives in the next town. Thanks to the internet you can chat to them like they are in the same room. Join us have a chat, make a difference.

Please donate to or share our fundraising page, which is open from today – https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bloggersbeatingcancer

When the lovely people at Bare Biology contacted me asking if I would like to try some of their range, I jumped at the chance! They are a fantastic company that was founded by Melanie Lawson. She is a woman with real drive and passion; in 2012 she woke up one morning and decided that she was going to start a fish oil business. I can’t imagine that this would be an easy business to start but, this is Melanie and I get the impression that when she puts her mind to it she can achieve anything! The reason that Melanie decided to start a fish oil business is that as a busy mum of three young children she realised the importance of Omega 3. However, she became tired of trying to hunt down good Omega 3 supplements that were strong enough to work and also didn’t taste really fishy. Not easy. Therefore, Melanie decided that there was only one thing for it, to make her own.

After a year of research she managed to source the finest, purest and most effective fish oils in the world. Now, that is one very bold claim to make so I was excited to try their supplements and to get the kids in on the action too.

Bare Biology supplements have:

• Highest concentration of EPA and DHA on the market. This means that you will feel results fast!

• Sustainably and responsibly sourced and fished wild sardine, anchovy and mackerel. This means that we can take our supplements guilt free

• Certified lowest oxidation levels. In simple speak, that means no yucky fish burps or trans fats!

• They have a natural triglyceride form. This means that your body absorbs all of it

• The capsules are made from fish gelatin. So, no pork or beef that you usually find used

• They are transparent as a company. Fully published certificates of analysis for every batch

Why should we all be taking Omega 3?

I am going to hold my hands-up and admit that while I realise Omega 3 is an essential oil that we all need, I haven’t been too good at getting it into my diet although I know I really should be taking Omega 3. Firstly, if you are pregnant then it is essential for healthy, growing babies. Omega 3 is important for your eyes, for keeping your brain sharp, for helping with your joints. It is good for healthy skin and, finally, helps with a healthy heart. I knew all of this so why have I been so bad at taking Omega 3 supplements? Years ago, I used to take capsules but after a short time I gave up. The reason? I found them too difficult to swallow and I hated the fishy taste. However, Bump and Glory don’t believe in the fishy taste either, so I was keen to give their supplements a go.

Bump & Glory DHA Omega 3 Fish Oil Pregnancy

No, Mum, don’t get excited, I am not pregnant. However, this is what I was sent and I am more than happy to try them and I also really need to get Omega 3 in my diet. Bare Biology do supplements for ladies that aren’t pregnant too. A daily capsule contains the equivalent of more than a tin of sardines, with zero heavy metals or nasties. That is amazing! You might also want to include these in your diet if you are trying to conceive (hint, hint Mr C 😉 ) . They are also fine to take during pregnancy.

I was impressed with the packaging: a bright and bold funky box. Inside the box is your bottle of 60 capsules, which is enough for two months. Now, I was nervous about taking the capsule as I struggle to swallow the smallest headache tablets. I know, total wuss. Can you imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when I managed to swallow the capsule; it went down really easily. Best of all, there was no taste of fish! This is fantastic news and I now have no excuse for not taking these Omega 3 supplements. Obviously, it is too early to say whether it has made a difference but I will update you in a month and let you know. Fingers crossed, you will find me feeling more alert with zingy, sparkling skin.

Super Hero for kids DHA Omega 3 Fish Oil

I was really excited to see what the kids would make of this supplement. I have a 3 year old and a 7 year old, otherwise known as Youngest and Oldest to you lovely readers. I am always trying to get extra vitamins into their diet. For a while we tried the chewy ones, but they hated them. I have been concerned about their diet as they really don’t like fish, unless you count those fingers in breadcrumbs. Therefore, I was hoping that they would like this product.

I discussed with them why it is important that they have Omega 3 Fish Oil in their diet. Also, with Youngest just starting pre-school I felt that she really needed a little extra boost for her immune system and Omega 3 is perfect for that. They too loved the packaging and thought that it was really funky. They were bowled over by the name ‘Super Hero’; this was genius thinking on Bare Biology’s part. What kid doesn’t want to be a superhero! Youngest really bought into it because of the name. It is recommended that children take it with their meal as in that way it will be absorbed better.

As it is for children it comes with a syringe. This makes it easier to give to the children. You also get two syringes in the box. I was worried about how they would react to taking it but they were completely fine. Win! Therefore, it was a success all round. If you have children that are funny with taking supplements then it can be stirred into cold food such as: yoghurts, smoothies and salad dressings. Best of all, you can give this to your child from 6 months old. Brilliant! Omega 3 is really critical for our children’s diet so finding a supplement that meets this requirement and that they are happy to take is just perfect.

We have been really impressed with the Bare Biology DHA Omega 3 Fish Oils. You can find them stocked in Liberty, Space NK, and Whole Foods to name a few. You can also order them direct from Bare Biology.

Disclaimer - this was a collaborative post but all words are my own

#BloggersBeatingCancer – join us on Friday 30th September at 10.30am, for coffee and a social media thunderclap. Use the hashtag, get your friends involved, and get fundraising if you can. Anyone can take part in the virtual coffee morning. Who doesn’t love coffee and a natter? Get hold of your friends, chat online, it could be the friend who now lives abroad or the one who lives in the next town. Thanks to the internet you can chat to them like they are in the same room. Join us have a chat, make a difference.

Please donate to or share our fundraising page, which is open from today – https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bloggersbeatingcancer

Mr C and I had decided that our tenth wedding anniversary warranted a weekend away. However, this was no ordinary weekend, this was a weekend without children. My parents had very kindly agreed to spoil the girls for the weekend. Mr C and I had decided to stay just up the road in the Ickworth House Hotel. Our weekend away reflected the weather of our wedding weekend 10 years ago. The day before our wedding day, the heavens had opened. I am talking monsoon rain. I was convinced that Noah was going to rock up with his boat. People kept reassuring me,

“Oh it’s good luck to have rain on your wedding day”

I wasn’t convinced. Luckily, on the morning of our wedding the rain finally ceased and the sun came out to play. It was only fitting that the first day of our weekend away should be a very rainy and miserable day. Therefore, we decided to explore Bury St Edmunds.

Bury St Edmunds is a quaint market town with a great array of shops. We spent the whole day exploring the town, sampling some cake and admiring the beautiful Georgian squares. The town also has a stunning Cathedral and Abbey gardens.

During our mooch round Bury St Edmunds I suddenly remembered something terrible: I had forgotten to buy Mr C an anniversary card! I managed to divert us into Waterstones and I quickly nipped behind some book shelves to find and purchase a card. Crisis diverted! We really liked Bury St Edmunds as it had a great choice of independent shops. It is also a very pretty town to while away a couple of hours. There are lots of quirky medieval streets that beg to be explored. We were also very lucky to see a wedding taking place at the Cathedral. The bride looked beautiful and it certainly made us nostalgic for our wedding day! I was tempted to shout,

“Don’t do it. This will be you in ten years’ time.”

But I decided that scaring the bride probably isn’t the right thing to do.

The next day was our wedding anniversary and we woke to glorious sunshine! Now when we booked this trip away we had decided that we wanted somewhere we could really explore and get outdoors, Ickworth was perfect for this. After a very lazy breakfast, we strapped on our trainers and we got outdoors. First of all we decided to explore the ancient woodland. The girls would have loved it. There were hidden dens and a trim trail. Perfect for the family that wants to keep fit. We kept an eye out for deer but sadly we didn’t see any. We spent the whole morning exploring the wonderful woods; it was just us and the birds. It felt very strange not to hear Oldest’s constant nattering.

After a morning of walking we decided to head back to the house and find some food. The main house is open to visitors and is perfect for families and older people alike. There is a great selection of food that is served in the main house and also in the hotel.

The grounds of Ickworth House are stunning and are well worth exploring. The house has a walled garden which is lovely for a stroll around. You can also find Italianate gardens that encircle the house. They are beautifully manicured and very befitting of the grand house that they surround. I quite fancied myself as a lady of the manor. I think I would make a great lady. I would happily wander those gardens, reciting poetry 😉

After lunch, we decided to go on a bike ride. This was despite it being very windy and the sky looking slightly grey again. We were not going to let this deter us though. I was determined that we were going to explore the acres of parkland from our saddles. We strapped our helmets on, did a few wheelies on our bikes (I am joking), and ventured out into the parkland. We were a bit wobbly to start with as neither of us had ridden a bike in a few years. However, we were soon flying. Well I was, Mr C kept breaking the chain on his bike.

We whizzed down the gravel driveways and out into the countryside. I may have got a little bit carried away, I may have yelled

“I’m free!”

 

We whizzed past families picnicking, sheep grazing and couples walking. We kept cycling until our lungs felt that they would surely burst.

The parkland offered stunning views. There were rolling fields and pretty cottages. The undulating landscape carried us on our way. We weaved between potholes and glided over grass. That was until Mr C’s chain came loose again. Then the peace and quiet was broken by some rather coarse words.

However, Mr C is not one to be beaten and he was soon back in the saddle. I was now remembering that riding a bike can be a little bit painful. I did not want to admit this though as I had been the one that insisted that we get out and get exploring on bikes. We veered off the path and cut across a field. The field making it even harder for me to pedal.

Mr C took this as his opportunity to put some distance between us and burst ahead. I, meanwhile, puffed away, cursing my short legs and my inability to work out the gears. We finally went through another gate and there I saw something truly horrific, a hill. Not a small hill, a massive, this will make you cry, hill.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the tortuous climb ahead. Midway up the hill, was a couple who were holding hands and having a lovely WALK. A walk, now that’s how you should celebrate your wedding anniversary. I made a mental note to get past the couple and then I could stop. I didn’t want to stop before them. I needed to pretend that I knew what I was doing. I powered up the hill, my legs pedalling ten to the dozen, but the only problem was I didn’t seem to be moving very fast. I couldn’t understand it as the rate I was pedalling at I should have taken off. Finally, I made it to the couple, Mr C was just ahead of me,but just as I got past them I wailed:

“I can’t carry on. I need to stop”

I heard sniggers from the couple just behind me. Then disaster struck, Mr C’s chain broke and he fell off his bike. I then fell off my bike because I was too busy pointing at him and laughing. Behind us I heard the man say to his girlfriend,

“And that is why I said no to the bike ride”

That man is a very wise man. After fixing our bikes we leapt back on and cycled past a family flying a kite. Yes, it was now that windy. I was peddling frantically as I was being buffeted side to side by the wind. We eventually made it to the house and made it into the warmth of the hotel. I informed Mr C that after a morning and afternoon of extreme exercise we needed to carb load. He looked dubious until I explained that in this case I meant BEER!

We had a fantastic time exploring the grounds of Ickworth House and it is perfect for families. There is acres of land to run around (or try to cycle in) lots of organised events for little ones and a really good park.

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