ParkLives Manchester: Walking Workout (Week 1)

Now the small boy has gone back to school I have a bit more time on my hands to do things for me. This week I’ve re-started the 5:2 diet, something I did last year which worked for me, but then I was poorly and never got back into it. Another thing I’m trying to do is take more exercise. I’m back swimming again, which makes me happy, and after I’d spotted the “Walking Workout” on the ParkLives website I decided to give that a go too.

The Walking Workout is a free hour long fitness session for the Over 50’s. The keen eyed amongst you will have spotted that I turned 40 on Monday, so I’m still a decade off 50. However, the class is for the Over 50’s, people new to exercise and people like me who have health problems (in my case I have chronic pain, a very bad back and funny numb legs and feet).

The ParkLives website describes the Walking Workout as “An Instructor led Health Walk designed to improve cardiovascular fitness.”

walking workout

I booked my free place and waited by the Visitor’s Centre at Fletcher Moss Gardens in Didsbury, Manchester for the instructor and other participants to arrive. We chatted about what the plan was for the next hour and then made a start.

We began by walking at a steady pace for five minutes, then we stopped to do some stretches and squats. Once we were warmed up we walked for a mile, alternately walking at a fast pace for one minute and a normal pace for 30 seconds. It was a very hot day and by the time we had finished our mile we had all worked up a sweat.

We walked at a moderate pace to the botanical gardens. The gardens have several sets of steep steps which we climbed three times, we then did some exercises to hone our balance and work our core muscles. It was all good, it was pretty hard work, though I’m sure the heat and humidity made it feel harder than it was.

I love walking, especially walking around Fletcher Moss Gardens which is a pretty special place anyway. Although we worked hard, I think exercising outside in a small group made it much more tolerable and interesting. Fresh air and exercise are always good for body and soul.

walking workout

I did the Walking Workout yesterday and I definitely feel like I’ve had a workout. I’m not sore, but I can feel that some long forgotten muscles have been used, and for a few hours afterwards I was full of lovely post-exercise endorphins. I enjoyed it so much that I’m going again next week too!

ParkLives Manchester offers free and fun activity sessions across the city and is now in its second year in Manchester. There are a huge range of activities available, from multi-activity fun camps for families, walk to run sessions, buggy fit and more.

There are hundreds of activities listed on the ParkLives Manchester website and you can quickly and easily book yourself in for an activity session in advance.

For more information on ParkLives Manchester, or to book and activity visit the website.

Just So Festival 2016 – A Magical Family Festival

The Just So Festival has a very special place in our hearts. This year was our third year, but our first year of camping. We’ve never camped before as a family, so we knew we were in for an adventure. Mix that with the magic of Just So and we managed to make a million memories and several hundred smiles, which was just what the doctor ordered.

We arrived on site on Friday afternoon, the festival was just beginning and as we pitched our tent in the Accessible Camping area, the heavens opened and we got our first soaking of the weekend. The folk at Just So aren’t easily put off having a good time, so I was sure rain would not stop play, and it didn’t.

Just So Festival 2016

There is so much to do at Just So. There are fixed areas like the Spellbound Forest (a forest with a campfire, a small hidden theatre and lots of activities and crafts happening all around); The High Seas with it’s travelling barn of merriment, huge pirate ship and sandpit, lantern making and more. As well as areas like the Village Green, Peekaboo (a tent village for babies and little ones), The Social, and brand new for this year, Tales of Animalia – a theatre hidden in the woods. As well as the Jitterbug Tent, Head Over Heels, Footlights and The Observatory.

Just So Festival 2016

Before we arrived we were sent a programme of events and I dutifully highlighted all the things I fancied, knowing that I would probably largely ignore my plans and just go with the flow, which is exactly how things should be.

We explored the site, grabbed a few things to munch on for our tea, waved goodbye to daddy (he had to go home but promised to be back the next day) and we headed into the Spellbound Forest to listen to the Just So legend which is Ian Douglas and then take part in some singing around the campfire with Ian Mackintosh. The Campfire Song sessions soon became a firm favourite of ours, so we took part with gusto all three nights.

Just So Festival 2016

Throughout the weekend the early evening around the campfire sessions also included the exuberant David Gibb, Geoff Bird and terrifying and amazing (in equal measure) scientific experiments from the fantastic Dieter Wadeson.

We woke up on Saturday to a smattering of sunshine. Daddy returned and we headed off to explore. We headed straight for The High Seas to watch a performance of the laugh out loud “Shark Legs” and then for a quick play in the pirate sand pit. We walked through Sailcloth City – an avenue of sailcloth, with sailcloth dens and passageways to explore, and went to look at the lake. It was raining fairly hard by this point, so we watched the rowing boats on the lake for a short while and headed off to find some shelter.

Just So Festival 2016

One of the things I was most looking forward to was Les Enfants Terribles – The Fantastical Flying Exploratory Laboratory. Sadly we missed the first few minutes, struggled to get a decent spot to watch it and the sound wasn’t that great, so we did struggle a bit to keep up. The small boy climbed on my knee and we huddled together in the drizzle and watched the show. The performers bravely continued through the showers and we giggled at the madcap antics of Les Enfants.

After the performance we headed back to the relative shelter of the Spellbound Forest. We watched as willow was woven into beautiful creations and nearby children were toasting marshmallows on the fire.

Just So Festival 2016

Out of the corner of my eye I spied a creature with terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws. Oh help! Oh no! It’s a Gruffalo. A very friendly Gruffalo who was very happy to meet all the children. He is a Just So favourite and it wouldn’t be the same without meeting him in the deep dark woods.

Just So Festival 2016

I managed to persuade the small boy to visit the Theatre for One in the Spellbound Forest. In the middle of the wood, under a canopy were six miniature theatre shows, each for one or two viewers. He settled down and watched a short puppet show about a mouse in a house and then watched an artist who painted his portrait, this is something which he loved. We are only sad that we didn’t managed to see all of the different performances over the weekend, but they were incredibly popular.

I was very keen to make a clay face, throughout the forest the trees are adorned with clay faces people have made. I watched the introduction by Barefoot Ceramics, then I look my lump of clay and made a lion head (with some additional help from the small boy). I had lots of messy fun with this and it’s something I’d like to do at home on one of our trees.

Just So Festival 2016

Another on my must see list were the Baghdaddies. I’ve seen them play live before and I adore them. They toured the festival playing their vibrant, upbeat, infection music, drawing everyone in like musical Pied Pipers. I really do suggest that as soon as you’ve finished reading this you go check them out on YouTube.

Just So Festival 2016

A wander through the woods to the Tales of Animalia area found us watching a very popular performance of Reynard the Fox. The boy was enchanted by it and was very excited to meet the performers afterwards. They were excellent, really chatty with the children and very happy to take photos. Later on that weekend we spotted Cyclops and his naughty flock of sheep making mischief around the festival site. It’s the never quite knowing what weirdness and wonder might be round each corner which makes Just So so special.

Just So Festival 2016

The food and drink at the festival was of an excellent standard. We ate incredibly well and it wasn’t outrageously expensive either. My festival favourites were the steaming cups of amazing hot chocolate (to keep me warm) and the corn on the cob. Things so simple but utterly delicious. We did spend a lot of time carefully choosing what we would eat and then each of us having envy over what the other had. There was lots of different types of food to choose from and lots and lots of choice for veggies and vegans which pleased me greatly. It was good to have a choice and not just an option.

Just So Festival 2016

It rained a lot over the weekend. It could have made us all miserable but in many ways we hardly noticed it. The muddy paths were managed so they didn’t become dangerous. I didn’t slip once. The festival toilets were quite nice (compared to the horror of festival toilets I remember from the 90’s). Just So was relatively small and friendly with a really lovely chilled and happy atmosphere. I think I would live there if I could.

Just So Festival 2016

We had a really magical time at Just So. We’ve had a horrible few months and spending off the grid time together, doing and seeing weird and wondrous things has done us a lot of good. It’s helped build confidence, expand horizons, it’s made us laugh and (me) cry a little, but in a good way. It was without a shadow of a doubt the highlight of our summer, perhaps even the highlight of the year.

If you can only go to the Just So Festival for the day, do it. But if you can go for the weekend, then you really should. It’s magical.

Early bird tickets for Just So Festival 2017 (18 – 20 August, Rode Hall Estate, Cheshire) are on sale from Friday 26 August at www.justsofestival.org.uk at special early bird prices of £120 (adults), £45 (child) for weekend camping, £70 (adult), £25 (child) for 2 day non-camping, £40 (adult), £15 (child) for day tickets. Under 3s free.

Review: Our visit to SEA LIFE Blackpool

Over the Bank Holiday weekend we decided to have a trip to SEA LIFE Blackpool. The sun was shining, we fancied some sea air and it’s only an hour away; so off we went. The boy was really excited, he loves SEA LIFE Manchester and we’d heard that SEA LIFE Blackpool was well worth visiting, especially if you’re gripped by Finding Dory fever!

SEA LIFE Blackpool

When we got there we were offered the chance to go on a behind the scenes tour, it was an extra £3 each but I was really interested in “going backstage” so we booked our places (more of which later).

We were given a map, an activity trail sheet and pencil and a pair of rather fetching paper goggles to wear.

SEA LIFE Blackpool

SEA LIFE Blackpool is divided into lots of different zones, with different kinds of sea life in each area. We were most excited about the stingrays and the seahorses, but we knew there were lots of other things to explore. The zones at SEA LIFE Blackpool include the Rockpool (you can touch some of the creatures here), Atlantic Depths which has sea life including anemones, starfish, crabs, place, lobster and octopus.

SEA LIFE Blackpool

I was very taken by the various different kinds of anemones, they were all so colourful, beautiful and delicate looking. I could happily spend hours looking at them all.

Our next stop was the Quayside zone which was home to stingrays, rays, pollock, brill and dogfish. Stingrays are our favourite, so we spent quite a while watching them fly through the tank in the Stingray Adventure zone, it’s a mesmerising sight.

SEA LIFE Blackpool

Our next stop was a visit to our other favourites in the Kingdom of the Seahorse, a zone which is home to lion fish, unicorn fish, clown fish, regal tangs and of course, lots of seahorses (fun fact: my first pet was a pair of seahorses, one of which was called Ankle). Did you know that seahorses prefer to swim in pairs with their tails linked together?

Moving on to the next zone – the Submarine Explorer to see creatures who usually live in the darker depths of the sea including jellyfish, puffa fish, eels and tangs. We loved the jellyfish. I’ve never really looked at them very closely before, but they had different coloured lights shining in the tanks so you could pick up the detail. They look like beautiful atomic clouds.

SEA LIFE Blackpool

We passed through the Rainforest Adventure zone quite quickly, it was a busy area with people looking at the turtles, chameleons and frogs and we were starting to worry about missing our slot for the Behind the Scenes Tour.

The next stop was the Shark Mission and Ocean Tunnel. Every SEA LIFE Centre has a tunnel to walk through and this one was full of sharks including black tip sharks, white tip sharks, bowmouth guitar sharks, shovel nose sharks, nurse sharks, stingrays and lots of other fish. We were lucky enough to have a shark come and have a rest next to us as we looked through the tunnel, The small boy was transfixed!

SEA LIFE Blackpool

The final zone is Jurassic Seas which has ancient creatures such as the nautilus and more beautiful anemones, we would like to have spent more time exploring this zone, but we were almost late for our tour.

We met Robbie who gave us the behind the scenes tour. We visited the breeding area, full of baby fish who are still too tiny to be out fending for themselves in the main tanks. We met some fish which had been donated to the centre because they’d grown too big and some jellyfish (which don’t have brains).

Robbie then showed us some “moults” which are the discarded shells of creatures who shed them as they grow, such as lobsters and crabs. He also showed us some sharks teeth. Sharks can grow new teeth within a day of losing one.

SEA LIFE Blackpool

We met lots of creatures who were in quarantine, such as a very pretty blue spotted ribbon tail ray who had been donated to the centre. Apparently lots of people get rays for their aquariums at home, but they often sting their owners who then get rid of them, not always responsibly.

One of the most interesting creatures is the peacock mantis shrimp which has beautiful peacock colouring, but has to live in a special acrylic tank because he is so strong he can punch through glass and escape!

SEA LIFE Blackpool

I found the behind the scenes tour really fascinating and well worth the £3 extra, it’s really worth doing if you’re interested in the inner workings of SEA LIFE Blackpool and how they manage the environment in the tanks, as well as the quarantine and breeding programmes.

Our visit to SEA LIFE Blackpool was incredibly interesting and we really enjoyed exploring the different zones. I am only sorry that we didn’t have longer to explore everywhere more thoroughly, but that is our fault, we should have booked a later tour. We will have to go back again and do it more thoroughly another time.

SEA LIFE Blackpool was fascinating and full of weird, wonderful and often beautiful creatures. I was enchanted by the jellyfish, anemones and all the colourful fish. It’s worth a visit to see those alone.

For more information about visiting SEA LIFE Blackpool visit their website.

We are SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Ambassadors and we used our Merlin passes to gain entry.

40 – My 40th Birthday

Today is my 40th birthday and I feel weird. Lots of my friends have turned 40 this year, most have been dragged kicking and screaming into their fourth decade. I feel like it’s just crept up on me. I’ve been too busy dealing with everything which has happened to us this year that my 40th birthday has been the very furthest thing from my mind.

I woke up this morning and I was 40. In all honesty I feel no different to how I did yesterday. It’s just a number. I’ve got bigger things to worry about than numbers.

Right now I feel like I am overflowing with emotions. I miss my dad more than I have words to say, my boy is starting school today and I’m all emotional about that, he’s having an operation soon, I’m emotional about that too. I’m touched that I have great friends who spent some of their weekend with me partying the last days of my 30’s away.

I am conflicted and anxious about a million different things. But in the weeks since my dad’s death and through the summer holidays, I have been reminded of the two most important people in my life, Matthew and Ben. This weekend has shown me all the people who care about me, friends old and new, from near and far. I am very lucky.

I guess (and I know I’m rambling) that I’m struggling to give a meh about anything. I feel numb inside, I’m overwhelmed by life and the only way I can keep putting one foot in front of the other is to focus on Ben. I feel like in some situations I’m faking emotions and joyous reactions to pretend to the world that everything is fine and normal. I am faking it until I make it. I wonder how many people do that just to get through?

I’m fine and I will be fine. I’m just going through two things almost everyone in the world faces at some point or another, turning 40 and losing a parent. I would turn 40 a thousand times just to have an hour with my dad.

Today I’m going to try and be in the here and now. I’m going to focus on Ben and Matthew and the special people in my life who love me and care for me. I’m going to smile for the camera, take a walk in the park, blow out the candles on my birthday cake and raise a glass to my dad, and to my Grandma who would have been 103 today.

I don’t fear 40, it’s just a number. I fear life and what it will challenge me with next.

40th Birthday

Review: Wagamama Spinningfields

Over the Bank Holiday weekend I hopped on the tram into Manchester in search of a good time and some noodles. The Metrolink had just that very weekend re-opened the St Peter’s Square tram stop, meaning visitors from the southside no longer had to schlep across town on foot, hallelujah. I met up with some friends and headed straight to Wagamama Spinningfields (via a cocktail bar) for a fix of noodles.

We thought we would try a couple of healthy juices before our evening began in earnest. I opted for the “positive juice” containing pineapple, lime, spinach, cucumber and apple and my friend opted for the “repair juice” containing kale, apple, lime and pear. Both were delicious and even though they contained spinach and kale they were both sweet and vibrant. We very much enjoyed them.

Wagamama Spinningfields

At Wagamama you order and it all comes out of the kitchen when it is ready, so you may be given your meal before your companion gets theirs, which is fine. We’d asked for our side dishes to be brought out first as starters and they arrived consecutively. This meant we could enjoy each dish separately as we were sharing them.

wagamama spinningfields

Greedily we ordered three sides to share – Mushroom onigiri, which were balls of sticky rice with mushroom, deep-fried in panko breadcrumbs and served with a spicy chilli and garlic sauce. They were similar to the Italian arancini, but smaller and tastier. They were soft and moist on the inside, slightly crunchy on the outside and bursting with flavour. These were a real winner.

The yasai steamed gyoza were five steamed yasai dumplings, served grilled and with a dipping sauce. I have these almost every time I go to Wagamama and these did not disappoint. Our final side was the crispy fried squid dusted with shichimi and served with a chilli coriander dipping sauce. The squid was soft and well cooked with a fiery hit of chilli, but not enough to make your Gran cry.

Wagamama Spinningfields

Onto the main courses and my friend was keen to try one of the new dishes on the Wagamama Spinningfields menu, the duck donburi. A donburi is a bit like the Korean bibimbap. It’s a big bowl of steamed rice stir-fried with shredded duck and mixed vegetables. Served with a runny fried egg on the top and side of kimchi. It looked absolutely delicious and once the egg had been mixed in it had a beautiful texture. My companion loved it and tried very, very hard to finish it all.

Wagamama Spinningfields

I opted for the yasai itame, a big fragrant bowl of rice noodles in a spicy green coconut and lemongrass soup with tofu and vegetables, stir-fried beansprouts, red and spring onions, bok choi, peppers, mushrooms and chillies, garnished with coriander and lime.

It was a bit like a Thai green ramen, spicy but with a tolerable level of heat for me. It didn’t skimp on the tofu and it was packed with vegetables. The broth was delicious, just thinking about it has my mouth watering now. If anything it was a perhaps a little heavy on the noodles for me, but I would definitely order it again next time.

Wagamama Spinningfields

For dessert we decided to share a piece of white chocolate ginger cheesecake. I rarely eat cheesecake, I think I’m still scarred from eating terrible frozen cheesecakes in the 80’s, covered in sickly sweet sauce and soggy defrosted strawberries, this was very different.

The base was gingery and crunchy, the cheese smooth and fluffy and it was served with a kick ass chilli toffee ginger sauce (pro tip, don’t dip your finger in the mysterious powder on the plate and lick your finger, it’s powdered ginger and will blow your socks off).

The restaurant was refurbished less than a year ago and is really fresh looking, there’s a large area where you can eat outside if you want. I like that it’s the kind of place I could happily go for a bite to eat by myself, with the small boy and his dad, or with a large group of friends.

We had a very, very good meal, the staff were excellent; attentive and knowledgeable, recommending we try certain dishes and suggesting great beers to go with our meal. We’ve been Wagamama fans since the first time we visited one over ten years ago, Wagamama Spinningfields does not disappoint.

Wagamama Spinningfields, 1 Spinningfields Square, Manchester, M3 3AP

We were invited guests of the restaurant, but all images and opinions are our own.

Review: Miles Kelly Read and Play Dinosaur Set

Dinosaurs are still top of the most favourite things in the whole wide world list according to the small boy. He’s 5 and certainly knows his triceratops from his troodons and I’m keen to encourage this interest as much as I can. I may well have a future paleontologist on my hands here! We were sent the Read and Play Dinosaur Set from Miles Kelly to review and put to the paleontological test.

The Read and Play sets are designed for children aged 5+. There are two themed play sets currently available – Princess and Dinosaur. Each box contains a story book, an activity book, board games and a jigsaw puzzle. The dinosaur set also contained some paper 3D dinosaur models you can easily put together to role play a dino scene in the illustrated box.

Read and Play Dinosaur

The box opens like a pizza box and everything can be packed back inside neatly. There are two side flaps which fold out with Ludo and Draught boards printed on with instructions on how to play.

The small boy was first most interested in folding out the box to create the play scene and then together we made up the 3D models of the dinosaurs and he spent quite a long time playing with them like that – there was a lot of roaring going on! We loved the play scene, there was so much going on and lots for us to talk about, from the dinosaurs having a swim to the volcano erupting in the background.

Read and Play Dinosaur

Over the next few days we got the Read and Play Dinosaur box out and did something different with it each time. One day we’d read the story – Rex Gets a Scare, an engaging story about dinosaur friendship and how everyone is frightened of something. I know this will be a regular bedtime story for a while.

On another day we spent some time doing some of the activities in the Dinosaur Puzzle and Colour book. There are lots of dinosaur themed activities, including a how to draw dinosaurs guide and counting games. It’s aimed at children aged 5+ so it’s all age appropriate and engaging.

Read and Play Dinosaur

It’s so well thought out and beautifully illustrated. If I had to find a fault it is that I’d like the dinosaurs and puzzle counters printed on slightly thicker, more robust card. I know that after a few weeks of playing with the dino models that they will start looking tatty and falling apart, which is a shame.

There are so many different aspects to this set that it would be the perfect thing to pack for a holiday or weekend break. It’s priced at £10 (reduced from £14.99) at the moment on the Miles Kelly website, and I think you get such a lot for your money with this Read and Play Dinosaur set. It’s RoarSome!

For more information about the Miles Kelly Read and Play Dinosaur Set visit the Miles Kelly website.

Note: We were sent the Miles Kelly Read and Play Dinosaur Set for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Recipe: Spanish Style Bravas Sausage Casserole

When I go out for tapas I always order patatas bravas. I love the crispy pieces of potato smothered in the garlicky, tomatoey bravas sauce. I’ve had it in my head to make a big Spanish style bravas sausage casserole in my slow cooker for a while. This summer has not been up to much and the rainy days have had me guiltily rustling up comfort food dishes, instead of summery salads and such like.

I confess I made my sausage casserole with Quorn sausages, but you could very easily make them with your favourite meaty sausages if you’d prefer. Making the sauce in the slow cooker and letting it bubble away gently to itself for a few hours makes it extra delicious.

Bravas Sausage Casserole

I browned the sausages separately and popped them into the sauce for the last hour or so. The great thing about Quorn sausages is that they take on some of the flavour of the sauce.

To serve I roasted some new potatoes in some oil and once they were cooked I spooned over some sausages and bravas sauce and added a dollop of incredibly garlicky aioli.

Spanish Style Bravas Sausage Casserole

Serves 4
A super simple, delicious and fairly frugal family meal.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 500g cartons of passata
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
1 tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
8 sausages (two per person) I used Quorn sausages

Instructions
In a frying pan gently fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it’s soft but not brown. Add in the garlic towards the end of cooking and cook through.

Tip the fried onion and garlic into your slow cooker, add the passata, tomato purée, smoked paprika, sweet chilli sauce, sugar and oregano and cook on medium for about 3 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning if you feel it needs it.

In the frying pan, fry your sausages until they’re brown, drain and add to the sauce and leave to cook through for an hour. Before serving stir through 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley.

Serve the Bravas Sausage Casserole with crispy roasted potatoes and aioli. Scatter with the remaining chopped fresh parsley.

Notes
I sometimes finely dice some peppers, cook them off and add them to the sauce to bump up the veg content. This sauce is perfect for hiding secret veg from your children!
This does make lots of sauce. If you have lots left over, it’s delicious warmed up the next day with crusty bread.

The Bravas Sausage Casserole was delicious and something I will be making over and over again. What’s more it’s very simple, pretty quick to throw together and fairly frugal. What’s not to love?

Recipe: Spanish Style Bravas Sausage Casserole

Review: Papa John’s new lighter pizza

Pizza night is always popular, but I am conscious that it is a slightly less healthy choice than a green salad. As a result I do try and order lighter versions whenever I can. Papa John’s has recently launched a lighter option for their pizzas, specifically for people who are conscious of what they eat, but still enjoy the occasional treat.

Papa John’s is now offering a lower fat cheese as an option on all of their pizzas. The lower fat light cheese contains one third less fat than regular cheese and I think it will be popular with a lot of people. There is always the worry that a slight change in the recipe will dramatically change the flavour of the pizza, so we put the new lighter cheese pizzas to the test.

Papa John's Lighter

We sampled two medium original crust pizzas with Papa John’s lighter cheese. I had the Mediterranean Garden Party – a pizza heaving with lots of lovely veg so at least you feel that you’re getting one of your five a day. Hubs had an “All The Meats” which suited him down to the ground. They were both made with the lower fat cheese instead of the standard cheese Papa John’s use on their regular pizzas.

Papa John's Lighter

It was Friday night at the start of a Bank Holiday weekend and we were all tired and needed pizza. We ordered Papa John’s and decided to picnic eat it in the garden to make the most of the sunshine.

The pizzas arrived and I opened them up to check they didn’t look any different from how they usually do. There was no difference. The cheese looked good, melted nicely all over and we couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Papa John's Lighter

We all devoured our pizzas, the small boy shared ours and enjoyed them as much as he would normally. To me there was no noticeable difference in the taste or quality of the pizza (and I’ve been a cheese judge at the International Cheese Awards). If there’s no real taste or texture difference, and there is 1/3 less fat in the lighter cheese then that’s a bit of a no-brainer for me.

Papa John's Lighter

In future when we order pizza we will be ordering Papa John’s Lighter pizzas. We might even take another healthy step and go from original crust to thin crust. That one might take a bit more getting used to though.

For more information about Papa John’s Lighter options visit www.papajohns.co.uk

ParkLives Manchester – Stay and Play at the park

Last week we visited our local park – Fletcher Moss in Didsbury and took part in one of the ParkLives Manchester activities “Roaming Rangers“. We’d had a lot of fun and as soon as we got home we booked ourselves in for another activity, this time “Park Fun Stay & Play”.

We arrived in good time and we met the Stay and Play leaders down at the Bug Hotel. There is a little area which has been set aside to encourage wildlife and birds. There was a craft gazebo and some games and other activities to do, so we explored our options.

Parklives Manchester

First to fascinate the small boy and I was the giant jenga which we quickly managed to knock down, but not before the boy had shown off his excellent jenga-ing skills. After a little gentle persuasion I managed to get him to tackle the hurdles, something which he loved and wanted to do over and over and got me to do it too.

Once we’d spent some time hurdling we were given a Nature Scavenger Hunt to do, this was lots of fun, especially in the nature reserve bit of the park. We quickly managed to find a clover, a stick, some flowers and some birds. After some hunting I found some paw prints in the mud and he found a couple of feathers. It was lots of fun wandering around, trying to find the things on the list and talking about nature.

Parklives Manchester

There was den building and lots of crafts going on, but the boy (who had hurt his leg and been to A&E that morning) was tired and not really in the mood for doing too much, so we watched the den building and decided to take inspiration from the nature crafts and maybe do some of our own at home later.

There are hundreds of activities listed on the ParkLives Manchester website and you can quickly and easily book yourself in for an activity session in advance. I wonder what session I’ll book us onto next week?

For more information on ParkLives Manchester, or to book and activity visit the website.

Recipe: Super Speedy Cheese and Onion Pinwheels

Back in July I spent a day judging at the International Cheese Awards. During the day I sampled hundreds of cheeses, learned a fair amount about cheese making and met celebrity chef Joe Hurd for a chat about Parmesan. As you do.

The International Cheese Awards is a great opportunity to try lots of new cheeses and to see what I like and what I probably wouldn’t try again. I spent quite a lot of time visiting the trade stands. I made a bee-line for the Lactalis stand which featured familiar household names such as Galbani, President and Seriously Strong Cheddar.

Joe Hurd was on hand to give cooking demonstrations throughout the day and to talk about his love of Anglo-Italian cookery. We chatted about Galbani Parmesan which is an iconic brand in Italy. It’s matured for 9 months and is sweet and dense and used predominantly as a seasoning in Italy.

I asked Joe how he likes to serve Parmesan and his answer quite surprised me. Joe said that Parmesan barbecues really well with garlic and Italian sausage. Apparently it grills really well and doesn’t melt like a cheddar style cheese might. Sounds delicious! In Cyprus I’ve had Parmesan with honey as a dessert, so it really is a surprisingly versatile cheese.

Recipe: Super Speedy Cheese and Onion Pinwheels

I came home from the International Cheese Awards with bags bursting with cheese from all over the world, but my goodies from Lactalis were especially lovely. After my chat with Joe I was keen to see what I could make with them.

Being a simple soul, and it being summer and the season of picnics I decided to make some Cheese and Onion Pinwheels. I’ve never made pinwheels before, but they seemed the sort of easy thing a busy person could throw together in very little time and have something impressively homemade for a picnic in the park with friends.

Recipe: Super Speedy Cheese and Onion Pinwheels

As it happened, they were delicious. They required very few ingredients and took no time at all to knock together.

Cheese and Onion Pinwheels

Makes 15
Super simple and really speedy cheesy snacks for picnics and parties.

Ingredients
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of butter
A pinch of salt, pepper and sugar
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
A pack of ready made puff pastry
1 tub of Seriously Strong spreadable – Caramelised Onion flavour
1 tablespoon of Galbani Parmesan, finely grated

Instructions
In a frying pan melt the butter and gently fry the onion until soft but not brown. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and balsamic vinegar and stir. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

On a large board unroll the sheet of puff pastry, leave it on the paper it comes wrapped in. Spread the Seriously Strong Caramelised onion cheese all over the pastry, be fairly generous but spread it evenly if you can. Cover with the cooled fried onion.

Roll the pastry up along its long side, wrap in the paper and put in the fridge for 10 minutes or so. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and carefully cut into rounds approximately 1.5cm thick. You should get around 15 pinwheels from this.

Place each round on a greased baking tray and top with a little of the finely grated Galbani Parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for 15 minutes or so.

Serve on their own or with your favourite chutney.

Recipe: Super Speedy Cheese and Onion Pinwheels

It really is a very simple process, my cheese and onion pinwheels hardly took any time at all and now I know what I’m doing I can go wild with the fillings and flavours if I want to.

You can easily put these together in no time at all and once they’re cooked they look like you’ve spent hours slaving away in the kitchen. They’re so easy you could even get the kids involved.

Recipe: Super Speedy Cheese and Onion Pinwheels

The Seriously Strong spreadable cheese is ideal for these cheese and onion pinwheels. It cooks really well and with it being a caramelised onion flavour it packs a lovely punch which works beautifully.

What flavour combinations would you try in your pinwheels?

Recipe: Super Speedy Cheese and Onion Pinwheels