Queen's Park, Brighton

Before moving to Lewes 2 years ago, I spent the previous 5 years living in houses in the Queen's Park/Hanover area of Brighton.  I've spent many sunny, and not-so-sunny, days in Queen's Park - meeting friends, walking the dog, barbecuing, drinking cider, sledging in the snow.  But it's only since going there with my toddler that I've fully appreciated all it has to offer.  Here's a quick run through:

Table tennis tables.  Obviously for quite a specific target audience.  My husband definitely sits in that bracket and was very excited to discover these.

A very extensive kids' playground with something suitable for pretty much every age.  I'm talking zip wires, sand pits, at least 4 different size slides, big wooden climbing frames, little boat shaped climbing frames, all sorts of swings, trains to sit in and climb on, water and sand games - and spread out over a huge area, which means the little ones don't get trampled on by the big ones.  Much.  Here's Jola running as fast as her little legs would carry her when she clocked the fun to be had:

There's also a little cafe and plenty of picnic tables, but I couldn't tell anything much about the food as we didn't have any.  And likewise with the toilet block, but at least there is one.

There is a large duck pond too.  Just be careful with little ones as it's unfenced.  And not really that many ducks.  A couple of geese and then mainly seagulls.  But my little one doesn't yet know the difference between a duck and a seagull so she's happy!

This is now the third time we've made the journey into Brighton for the specific purpose of going to Queen's Park.  It's ace!  On one previous occasion East Sussex Fire Service were there with one of their engines for the children to explore.  We've also been there for little J to leg it about and then have a nap in the pushchair as we walk into town and hit the shops, without feeling guilty about it not being fun for her.  The Hanover area is largely free parking too (although not the immediate roads around the park), so useful if you're going to be a while and don't mind a short walk and the hill.

A quick word of warning: whilst we were seated on a bench happily munching on sausage rolls a seagull swooped down and grabbed the sausage roll out of my husband's hand!  Beware!

The beach at Seaford

Since Jola was about 12 weeks old I've been a bit of a stickler for the bedtime routine. Last week I was talking to a friend on the phone after I'd put Jola to bed and she said that she was just getting her babies ready and then going to the beach for an icecream. I couldn't believe it - she was going out at 7:45! I was inspired! So a couple of days later after teatime, which always happens at 5:30, instead of getting ready for bathtime, which always happens at 6:15, we got in the car and drove down to the seaside. We only live up the road but I've never been to Seaford beach. We went to the Bishopstone end which has pedestrian walkways, ice cream, a little cafe and fish and chips. It was wonderful and I highly recommend breaking out of that routine!

Granted we probably did pay for it with a terrible night sleep but it was definitely worth it. 

Emergency Icecreams

Knew it was going to be a scorcher but had no appropriate supplies for cool eating. Saw this on Pinterest recently and tried it out today. Brilliant!

Build Your Own Tipi - Teepee - Wigwam!

Last week as the sun started shining I wanted to get my little girl some exciting things for the garden.  I was initially looking into some little pop-up tents when I came across a couple of amazing tipis - so much prettier and lovelier!  They are so fun but I didn't really want to spend too much money so I decided to give one a go myself.

You will need:

- 4 metres of 44" width fabric or 2.5 metres of 60" width fabric for main body of tipi

- 5 x strips of fabric measuring 3" by 60" for the pole casing

- 5 x 6ft bamboo canes (or other similar poles)

- 2 x 44" pieces of bias binding

- 4 x 16" strips of fabric/bias binding for ties

- small piece of fabric and Bondaweb for star patch

I got my star fabric as an emergency purchase from Dunelm Mill - I desperately wanted to start making this and didn't want to spend the normal few days researching!  I had a meeting in Eastbourne and was passing so I popped in.  Saw this immediately and loved it! I also got 10 6ft bamboo canes from B&Q for under £4.

1. Cut 5 triangles to this size:

You'll need to do this in different ways depending on your width of fabric.  If you have 60" width fabric you can zigzag your way across the fabric until you have 5 pieces - they'll be slightly taller than 60" but that's fine (just adjust other measurements accordingly).  If you have 44" width fabric (like I did) it's a bit trickier but you can definitely do it with 4.5 metres. 

2.  Cut 6 inches off the top of each triangle.

3.  Fold down (twice) and press the hems at the top and bottom of each triangle.

4.  Stitch your hems.

5.  Measure the finished side length of your triangles.  Your 5 strips for pole casings need to be this length plus a couple of inches for your hems.  Mine measured 56" by 2.75".  Fold down (twice) press and stitch.

6.  Fold strips in half and press.

7.  Take 2 of your large hemmed triangle pieces.  Lay one right side up.  Line the pole casing up against the raw edge (as shown in photo) and lay another triangle piece right side down.  Pin in place.  Using a 3/8 inch seam allowance (approx. 1cm), sew this seam.  Trim seam allowance.

8.  Take another 2 triangles and repeat step 7.  You will now have 2 separate pieces made up of two large triangles with casing stitched in between.  Now repeat this step to join these two parts of your tipi together.  You will now have one single piece of work in the following order: triangle, casing, triangle, casing, triangle, casing, triangle.  Put this to one side for the moment.

9.  You should have one large triangle piece left.  Fold this in half and press.  Cut along the fold line until approx. 9 inches from the top of the piece - the cut will measure approx 44 inches.

10.  Take 2 pieces of bias binding (folded and pressed) and stitch in place along the cut fabric.  To neaten the bottom of opening allow an extra inch of binding and fold it up before sewing.

11.  Iron an 8cm x 8cm piece of Bondaweb to a piece of yellow fabric.  Cut out the shape of a star and then iron it to the top end of the opening, placing it a few millimetres over the top of the binding.  Of course you don't have to have a star - most other shapes will do the same job!

12.  Use a zigzag stitch to sew around the outside of the star patch, securing it in place as well as strengthening the opening.

13.  Use ribbon or binding (pressed and sewn in half) and place and pin somewhere along both sides of the opening using even spacing.  Mine were 14 inches apart.  Sew in place.

14.  Now sew this last triangle piece to the rest of the tipi along the two seams using the same process as in point 7, with the pole casing placed in between the fabrics.

15.  All your sewing should now be done!  Feed the bamboo canes into the pole casings.  Spread out the tipi and use ribbon, binding or a strip of fabric to tie the poles where they cross over (approx. 1ft from the top of the poles) to keep them secure.

16.  All done!  Have yourself a pow-wow!

If I'm honest my pole casings didn't always match the exact length of the side of the triangles - I think partly because I was so desperate to finish it before it stopped being sunny and partly because my triangles were a bit uneven too!  But fortunately little J doesn't seem to care!

Cider and Castles

I always panic when the sun comes out. You know that panic you get when you really feel like you should be outside making the most of the sunshine but can't think of anything to do? And I live in Lewes...castle, river, gardens, parks, duck pond, outdoor swimming pool, rolling countryside. Yet I still panic. So whenever I do something worth doing I'm going to share it here! In case I need a reminder, or for anyone else who gets that feeling too.

Well, Monday was a belter. Plans had already been made with my parents for a picnic and then a visit for a cuddle with a new baby within the extended urban family. Welcome lovely little Leonie! We love you already! Anyway, my mum is the picnic queen and Monday was no exception; cider, asparagus parcels, merguez sausages, carrot salad, eggs mimosa, cheese and fresh bread. And she took us to Bramber Castle.

If you like 1066 and all that, you'll like Bramber Castle. The ruins of the Norman castle sit on top of a hill overlooking the River Adur. On your way up you're greeted by the practically monolithic remains of the gatehouse. The health and safety officer inside me quivered a little, but fortunately the rest of me (the better bit) appreciated the brilliance and history of it. Spread out over a large and lush plateau, there are other ruins to explore and historical information, thanks to English Heritage. We sat and enjoyed the view and our picnic, while Jola ran round and round and round. And round. She had a ball!

Good on a warm sunny day for picnicking and running around, as well as learning and exploring a little Norman history. Not so good if it's not warm and you want to fill a whole day.