Family Weekly Update This week started with a shopping trip into Manchester so Alice and Leo could spend some money they'd been given by their great-grandparents. We also had an afternoon at the park, my replacement sublimation mugs finally arrived and I went on a little mission to find the new Pokémon Krispy Kreme doughnuts as a surprise for the children. The rest of the week was much quieter, with lots of UNO, Pikmin and, unsurprisingly, plenty more drawing on my iPad. 🛍️ Monday – Spending Their Money in Manchester Lawrence had Monday off work, so after lunch we decided to take Alice and Leo into Manchester on the tram. Their great-grandparents had given them some money to spend, so this was their chance to go shopping and choose what they wanted for themselves. Our first stop was The Entertainer, where both children ended up choosing a Peppa Pig playset. They've both suddenly become obsessed with Peppa Pig again, which is slightly unfortunate because we used to have loads of Peppa Pig toys. The children stopped playing with them for a while and, without me knowing, Lawrence decided to sell them. He sold the whole lot for less than the price of one of the new sets they've just bought! As you can probably imagine, I wasn't particularly happy when I found out. Now, of course, they've decided they love Peppa Pig again and want all their toys back. Typical! Alice also spotted a Rubble and his vehicle set from PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie and decided she wanted to spend some of her money on that too. Leo had something very specific in mind. He wanted UNO No Mercy, but unfortunately The Entertainer didn't have it in stock. We decided to try Argos instead and luckily they had it, so Leo was able to get the game he'd been looking for. After that, we had a look around a few more shops before heading into Primark. We weren't really looking for anything in particular in there, but we had a look at some of the Disney and Halloween things that had started appearing in store. Alice and Leo also found some PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie clothes they really liked. They'd already spent their own money on their toys, so we bought the clothes for them. Once we'd finished shopping, we got back on the tram and headed home. The children were very happy with everything they'd chosen, although I still can't quite get over the fact that we're now buying Peppa Pig toys again after having a huge collection of them in the first place! 🛝 Tuesday – An Afternoon at the Park & My Mugs Finally Arrived Lawrence was off again on Tuesday, so we took Alice and Leo to the park. We met up with my parents and some of their friends, who had brought their grandson along to play with Alice and Leo. The children had lots of fun playing together and, as usual when their grandparents are around, there were treats involved too! They were given some Smarties and a Pokémon PEZ each. Alice got Pikachu and Leo got Eevee, and my parents also bought them a Kinder Surprise each. When we got home, I had a delivery I'd been waiting for – my new sublimation mugs! If you read last week's Family Weekly Update, you might remember that I'd ordered some mugs so I could start experimenting with putting my artwork onto them. Unfortunately, they arrived smashed. I'd ordered those from a different seller and they'd been delivered by Evri, so this time I decided to try another seller that uses Amazon for delivery instead. Thankfully, these ones arrived safely! I've been doing so much drawing on my iPad recently and creating lots of different designs, I can't wait to start experimenting and see what some of them will actually look like printed onto the mugs. 🎨 Wednesday – UNO, Drawing & Jobs Around the House Wednesday was a much quieter day at home. We played some UNO, Alice and Leo did some drawing and I spent more time drawing on my iPad. I also managed to get a few jobs done around the house in between everything else. We've definitely been playing a lot of UNO since Leo bought his new game! 🍟 Thursday – A New Air Fryer Thursday brought another delivery, although this one was slightly bigger than my mugs! We'd ordered a new air fryer from George at ASDA. It had originally been £79 but was reduced to £40, which I thought was a really good price. Our old air fryer had definitely seen better days, so it was time for an upgrade. The new one is so much better than our old one, and for £40 I'm really pleased with it. Not the most exciting event of the week, perhaps, but I do love finding a bargain! 🍩 Friday – Hunting for Pokémon Krispy Kreme Doughnuts On Friday, I went out with my dad and brother because I wanted to see if I could find the new Pokémon doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. I thought they'd make a nice surprise for Alice and Leo. My brother went all in and bought the limited-edition golden box, which was around £21, as well as the Pikachu cup filled with Golden Bites, which was around £10. I was slightly more restrained! I'd originally hoped to use my voucher for 12 doughnuts for £12, but the only Pokémon doughnut included in that offer was the Poké Ball one. In the end, I bought a regular box of 12 as well as a box of four Pokémon doughnuts containing one of each design. Altogether, I think it came to around £21 alltogether. When I got home, Leo chose the Jigglypuff doughnut and Alice chose Charmander. Unfortunately, Alice didn't like the Charmander one, so she gave the rest of it to me. I gave her a Poké Ball doughnut instead... and she didn't like that one either! Luckily, I'd bought the regular doughnuts as well, so in the end she had the chocolate sprinkle one she always has. At least I tried! I had the Pikachu doughnut, which was lemon flavoured, and I thought it was really nice. I also finished Alice's Charmander doughnut, which had a toffee flavour, and I liked that one too. After all the excitement of the Pokémon doughnuts, the children spent the rest of the day playing their Pikmin game, playing UNO and playing with some of the new toys they'd bought earlier in the week. Meanwhile, I got my iPad out and did some more drawing. I don't think anyone will be surprised by that at this point! 🎮 Saturday – UNO, Pikmin & More Drawing Lawrence was working on Saturday, so the children and I had another quiet day at home. We spent some time playing UNO and Pikmin together, and Alice and Leo did some drawing before having a little time on their tablets. I also spent some more time drawing on my iPad and working on my latest designs. I've really been enjoying drawing recently, and whenever we've had a quiet day at home I've found myself automatically reaching for my iPad. 🏠 Sunday – A Quiet Day at Home Lawrence was off work on Sunday, but we decided not to go anywhere. Instead, we spent the day getting some jobs done around the house while Alice and Leo entertained themselves. They played their Pikmin game and spent some time playing with their new Peppa Pig and PAW Patrol toys from our shopping trip earlier in the week. Clearly the new Peppa Pig toys are already getting plenty of use, so at least that's something! I also managed to fit in – you've guessed it – some more drawing on my iPad. 💕 Final Thoughts This week was definitely quieter than some of our recent weeks, but it was still a nice mixture of getting out of the house and having time at home. Alice and Leo really enjoyed being able to go into Manchester and choose how to spend their own money, even if their renewed Peppa Pig obsession has reminded me just how many Peppa toys we used to own! The Pokémon Krispy Kreme doughnuts were fun to try too, although I think we've established that Alice would much rather stick to her usual chocolate sprinkle doughnut. I've also really enjoyed having more time to draw. With my replacement sublimation mugs arriving safely this week, I'm looking forward to trying more of my designs on them and seeing which ones work best as actual products. 📺 Watch This Week's Family Weekly Update Vlog You can see everything we got up to this week in weekly vlog #465 from our Manchester shopping trip, what Alice and Leo chose to buy, our Pokémon Krispy Kreme doughnut taste test and some of the artwork I've been working on.

Family Weekly Update This week's family weekly update covers 10th–16th August 2026, and it was a mixture of family days out and some much quieter days at home. We started the week with a trip to the Trafford Centre for bowling and shopping, then headed to The Lowry on Tuesday to see Dear Zoo Live. The rest of the week was much more relaxed, with lots of drawing, Pikmin and what felt like endless games of UNO! There was also a slightly disastrous delivery involving 12 sublimation mugs that didn't actually make it as far as our front door in one piece. Here's what we got up to this week. 🎳 Monday – Bowling At The Trafford Centre On Monday, we got the bus to the Trafford Centre for a family day out. We started by having a look around Kenji, where we found some really cute cuddly toys for just £5 each. Alice chose a penguin and Leo picked a lobster. After that, we headed to King Pins for a game of bowling. I'd booked in advance because they had an offer on where children could bowl for free, which was really good value during the school holidays. Of course, I also needed a slush because apparently I have my own bowling tradition now! Whenever we go bowling, I always get a blue slush, except they didn't have blue this time. I had to settle for red instead! It was really busy inside King Pins because of the school holidays and the offer, so it was quite loud for Leo. We'd brought his ear defenders with us though, and once he had those on he was absolutely fine. Somehow, I actually won the bowling! Leo and Lawrence came joint second. After bowling, we headed to the food court for lunch. Alice and Leo chose McDonald's Happy Meals, while Lawrence and I had KFC. We'd also saved up enough points on the Krispy Kreme app to get a free Choose Your Own Dozen, so obviously we couldn't leave without collecting those! Before heading home, we had a look around Selfridges, including the Disney section, the Jellycat shop and the toys. It ended up being a really nice family day out. 🦁 Tuesday – Dear Zoo Live At The Lowry Tuesday was a theatre day as we'd been invited to the 11am press performance of Dear Zoo Live at The Lowry. Alice and Leo have both loved Dear Zoo over the years. They're probably a little older than the main preschool audience now, but they were still really excited to see all the animals they knew from Rod Campbell's book brought to life on stage. We caught the tram at around 9.50am and changed at Cornbrook for MediaCity, arriving at around 10.10am. As we were early, we popped into the Lowry Outlet Mall and bought some chocolate from the Cadbury shop before heading across to The Lowry. When we arrived at the Lowry Alice and Leo were given Dear Zoo activity sheets and crayons. We also had a look at the merchandise, where Leo chose an "I've Seen Dear Zoo" badge and Alice picked one featuring the puppy. We were sitting in Stalls Row G, Seats 13–16 in the Quays Theatre and had a really good view. The show itself was lovely. There was lots for the children to join in with, including roaring like lions, jumping like frogs, stretching like giraffes and, of course, shouting "I sent him back!" Leo particularly loved the frog and monkey, while Alice liked the snake and puppy puppets. The performance lasted around 50 minutes with no interval, which I thought was just right for the younger children it is aimed at. Afterwards, we headed over to the Quayside Beefeater for some lunch before going back to The Lowry for another look around the Wild Things exhibition. Dear Zoo is actually one of the children's books featured in the exhibition, so it worked really nicely seeing the story on stage and then finding it again inside Wild Things. 👉 You can read my Dear Zoo Live family review for more about our theatre trip, or head over to All About Theatre for my full theatre-focused review of the production. 🎨 Wednesday – A Quiet Drawing Day At Home After two days out, Wednesday was a much quieter day at home. I spent most of the day drawing on my iPad, while Alice and Leo did some drawing of their own. They then spent the rest of the day playing with their toys and had a few hours on their tablets, so there really wasn't a huge amount to report from Wednesday! Sometimes a quiet day at home is exactly what we need though, especially after a couple of busy days. 🌱 Thursday – Speech Therapy & Inventing Our Own Pikmin Alice had speech therapy at around 11.30am on Thursday. While she was there, Leo went to my parents' house for a little while because he really wanted to go round and play UNO with them. After Alice's speech therapy, we'd originally planned to head to The Lowry for their Relaxed Day, but Alice had worked really hard during her session and was tired afterwards. She didn't want to go back out again, so we decided not to go. Leo was a little upset because he'd really wanted to go, but the Relaxed Day finished at 3pm and by the time we'd travelled over there it would probably have been around 2pm anyway. Instead, I played UNO with him for a while, which soon cheered him up. Then Alice decided that she wanted to invent her own Pikmin. If you've never come across Pikmin before, they're little plant-like creatures from the Nintendo game series. There are different types with their own colours and abilities, and Alice is very interested in them at the moment. So we all sat around the table and decided to create our own. Alice invented an orange Pikmin that was resistant to lasers, Leo created a root Pikmin that looked like the root of a plant, and I made a rainbow Pikmin. The children were very proud of their new Pikmin designs and decided that I needed to send their drawings to Nintendo so they could make them for the next Pikmin game! I'm not quite sure Nintendo takes requests for new Pikmin from Alice and Leo, but they were completely convinced that their creations needed to be included. It was such a simple thing to do together, but we had lots of fun coming up with our different ideas. At the moment, our house seems to be divided into two very definite interests: Pikmin for Alice and UNO for Leo! 🎮 Friday – A Very Exciting Surprise On Friday, my parents came round with a surprise for Alice and Leo as a treat for doing really well at school. For Alice, they'd bought Pikmin 4 for the Nintendo Switch. She has wanted Pikmin 4 for ages and had actually asked for it for her birthday, but her birthday isn't until December. She doesn't really understand how far away December is yet, so she's been asking us almost every day whether it's her birthday and whether she's getting Pikmin 4! You can probably imagine how excited she was when my parents gave it to her early. For Leo, they'd bought UNO Flip Extreme and UNO Super Mario, which couldn't really have been more perfect for him at the moment. Unsurprisingly, the rest of Friday involved a lot of Pikmin and a lot of UNO. 📦 Saturday – Pikmin, UNO & The Case Of The Smashed Mugs Saturday was another fairly quiet day at home. Alice and Leo spent lots of time playing Pikmin 4 on the Switch, we played some more UNO and I managed to get some more drawing done on my iPad. I also had an Amazon delivery arrive with some things I'd ordered for sublimation. I'd bought some mug wraps, sublimation pens and frosted tumblers, as I've been experimenting with ideas for things I could potentially make. I'd also ordered a box of 12 sublimation mugs for £12, which I thought was a really good price. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed when I ordered them that they weren't actually being delivered by Amazon. They were coming with Evri. When the delivery driver handed me the parcel, I could immediately hear what sounded like lots of broken pieces moving around inside. I told him, "These are completely smashed. They're supposed to be mugs!" He took the parcel back and told me he'd mark it as undelivered because it was damaged. That sounded simple enough... until I checked Amazon and discovered that the parcel had been marked as delivered. The driver had taken the box away with him, so I didn't even have the broken mugs to photograph as proof that they'd arrived damaged. I then had to go through Amazon's online customer service and work out how to get past the automated responses and actually speak to a person. When I finally managed to speak to someone, they initially asked me to provide photographs of the damaged mugs. Which was slightly difficult considering I didn't have the mugs! I explained what had happened and that the driver had taken the parcel away. Thankfully, because I've been a Prime customer for a long time and order quite a lot through Amazon, they agreed to refund me rather than making me go through the third-party seller. So at least it was eventually sorted. I've now ordered some replacement sublimation mugs and made absolutely sure that this time they're being delivered by Amazon. I've had mugs delivered by Amazon before without any problems, so hopefully the second attempt will arrive with all the mugs still looking like mugs! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Sunday – A Family Day At My Parents' House On Sunday, we spent the day at my parents' house because my grandparents were visiting from North Wales. We didn't really do anything particularly exciting. We just spent the day chatting and catching up while Alice and Leo played, which was lovely. My grandparents also gave the children some money. Lawrence is off on Monday, so I think the plan is to take Alice and Leo to the shops and let them choose what they'd like to spend it on. I'm sure they'll have absolutely no trouble deciding! Final Thoughts That was our week! We had a couple of lovely days out at the beginning of the week with bowling at the Trafford Centre and Dear Zoo Live at The Lowry, followed by a much quieter few days at home. Pikmin and UNO have definitely taken over our house at the moment, and I have a feeling we'll be playing plenty more of both over the next few weeks. I've also been doing lots more drawing on my iPad and slowly collecting some sublimation supplies – although hopefully my next box of mugs will actually arrive in one piece! It was a nice mixture of days out and quieter family days at home, which is pretty much what the summer holidays have looked like for us this year. 🎥 Watch Weekly Vlog #464 You can see everything we got up to in this week's weekly vlog, including our Trafford Centre day out, bowling at King Pins & our trip to see Dear Zoo Live at The Lowry.

Family Weekly Update This week included a very exciting trip to HOME Manchester for a preview screening of PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie, a theatre trip to see Miss Saigon at the Palace Theatre Manchester and plenty of time at home drawing on my iPad. By the weekend, I finally decided to try turning some of my theatre drawings into actual products and made my first mugs and pens! 🐾 Monday – PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie Preview On Monday, we were invited to HOME Manchester for a preview screening of the new PAW Patrol movie, PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie. Our tickets were gifted and, with Lawrence working, my mum came along with me and the children. Alice decided to bring her Marshall plush with her, while Leo brought his Chase plush. We headed to the bus stop at around 12pm and planned to meet my mum on the bus along the way. Unfortunately, our journey didn't quite go to plan! The bus driver was new and wasn't familiar with the route. He went the wrong way and completely missed my mum's stop, so she ended up having to wait for the next bus. The bus then went the wrong way again and didn't go past HOME as it was supposed to. Thankfully, it did go past Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, so the children and I got off there and walked to HOME, which only took about five minutes. We arrived at around 12.40pm. I'd hoped to be there for 12.30pm, but considering our slightly chaotic bus journey, we hadn't done too badly! When we arrived, there was a red carpet area set up with a huge PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie backdrop, where Chase and Skye were waiting to meet everyone. Alice and Leo were extremely excited because Skye is Alice's favourite PAW Patrol pup and Chase is Leo's favourite. They couldn't wait to go over and have their photo taken with them. After meeting Chase and Skye, we headed to the press desk to collect our tickets. The children were also able to choose a PAW Patrol mask each. Alice, chose Marshall, while Leo decided to choose Rex. As we headed inside, they were each given a little PAW Patrol goodie bag too. Inside, there were drinks available including Fruit Shoots, lemonade, Coke, Diet Coke, orange juice, apple juice and water. There was also a big craft table filled with everything the children needed to make their own dog sock puppets. At first, we couldn't find a free table, so a lovely member of staff found some chairs for Alice and Leo. Then a lady sitting at one of the tables spotted us and said there was some space at her table if we wanted to sit down. That was really kind and meant the children could properly get stuck into the activities. There was a PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie colouring and activity sheet on the table with a pot of coloured pens. We went over to the craft table, collected everything we needed for the sock puppets and then sat down to make them. While we were making our puppets, my mum finally arrived after her bus adventure! We also had a look inside the children's goodie bags. They had PAW Patrol bubbles, a dinosaur slap band, a tiny notebook, crayons and PAW Patrol stickers. Not long after Alice and Leo had finished making their puppets, it was time to head upstairs to the cinema. Outside the screen was a table where everyone could pick up some popcorn. There was a choice of sweet or salted, so we picked up some sweet popcorn before finding our seats. We were sitting in the middle of Row F, although I can't remember our exact seat numbers. This was also a dog-friendly screening, which felt very appropriate for PAW Patrol! There were lots of very well-behaved dogs in the cinema watching the movie with us. We all thought PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie was fantastic and really enjoyed it. One of the things I particularly like about the PAW Patrol screenings at HOME is that they are relaxed screenings. Leo doesn't usually enjoy going to the cinema, but at these screenings the lights don't go completely down, the sound isn't as loud and you are free to move around if you need to. Usually, after we've been in the cinema for a while, Leo will start asking if we can go home. This time, he didn't ask once. He happily watched the whole film and really enjoyed his cinema experience, which was lovely. On our way out, Alice and Leo were each given a HOME tote bag containing some sweets and a light-up foam baton, which they absolutely loved. We got the bus home at around 4pm. Once we were back, I made dinner and then settled down on the sofa with my iPad to do some drawing while Alice and Leo had a little time on their tablets before bed. PR/Gifted – Our tickets to the PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie preview screening were kindly gifted. 🛁 Tuesday – A Much-Needed Quiet Day By Tuesday, I was definitely feeling a little run down. We'd been out for three days in a row because we'd spent the weekend at the Little HOME Family Festival, which I talked about in last week's weekly update, and then we'd gone straight into our PAW Patrol trip on Monday. I decided we all needed a quiet day at home. I had a nice relaxing bath and then spent most of the day drawing on my iPad while Alice and Leo happily played with their toys and watched some TV. It wasn't a particularly exciting day, but it was exactly what I needed after such a busy few days. 🎭 Wednesday – Miss Saigon at the Palace Theatre On Wednesday, it was time for another trip into Manchester, this time to see the matinee performance of Miss Saigon at the Palace Theatre Manchester. My parents also had tickets for the same performance, so we decided to meet at The Bishopsgate beforehand and have some lunch together. I arrived before my mum and dad and went inside to get us a table. However, a member of staff told me that their chef had gone home ill and they were waiting for another chef to arrive. As we had a show to get to, we couldn't really risk waiting around to see how long that would take. When my parents arrived, we decided to head over to The Paramount instead. We all ordered burgers and I went for a chicken burger. Once we'd finished eating, we walked up to the Palace Theatre and arrived at around 1.50pm for the 2.30pm performance. On the way in, I had a look at the merchandise stand, but I didn't buy anything this time. I'd already bought a magnet when I saw Miss Saigon last year and I didn't buy a programme because it was the same cast. I then had a quick look at the cast board before heading upstairs to the Circle. I was sitting in Row R, Seat 14 and my ticket had only cost £15. For that price, I thought the view was excellent. The view from my parents seats My parents were sitting in Row P, Seats 3 and 4 and had also paid £15 each. They thought their view was really good for the price too. The show was fantastic. We had the understudy playing The Engineer at the matinee and he was very good. I'd already seen and reviewed this production of Miss Saigon when it was at the Palace Theatre last November, so if you'd like to know more about the production and what I thought of it, you can read my full review over on All About Theatre As soon as the show finished, I had to rush off to get the tram home because Lawrence was going to the evening performance. I didn't even get a chance to properly say goodbye to my mum and dad! Rather amusingly, Lawrence was sitting in exactly the same seat that I'd been sitting in for the matinee – Row R, Seat 14. He had Seann Miley Moore playing The Engineer at his performance, so between us we got to see two different performers in the role on the same day. Once I got home, I made some dinner and then the children and I watched Monsters, Inc. before it was time for bed. 🎨 Thursday – Another Drawing Day Thursday was Lawrence's day off work, so he took Alice and Leo to the park for a while. While they were out, I worked on my Reel from our trip to see PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie. I was still feeling a little run down, so I didn't really feel like doing very much else. I find drawing really relaxing, so once I'd finished working on the Reel, I spent the rest of the day drawing on my iPad. I've been really enjoying drawing recently and I'm slowly building up quite a collection of little designs and theatre-inspired icons. 🎲 Friday – Games, Movies & Family Time Lawrence was off again on Friday, but none of us really felt like going anywhere, so we decided to have another day at home. We spent some time playing games with Alice and Leo, including Matching Pairs, UNO, Hungry Hungry Hippos and Operation. We also ended up having a bit of a Monsters, Inc. movie day and watched both films. The children had a little time playing on their tablets too while I, unsurprisingly, got my iPad back out and did some more drawing. It was another simple day at home, but after how busy the previous weekend and beginning of the week had been, I was quite happy with that. 🛍️ Saturday – A Little Shopping & Turning My Drawings Into Mugs! On Saturday, the children and I decided to go for a little walk to the local shops. While we were there, I ended up in Home Bargains and finally bought some Disney stationery that I'd been eyeing up for a while. I'd recently had some birthday money, so I decided to treat myself. It was a really cute pastel-coloured Disney Sidekicks range featuring characters including Sebastian, Pascal, Gus and Chip. I bought an A4 notebook, an A5 notebook, a set of sticky notes and a set of three pens. I also picked up a stationery pack containing an A4 notepad and A5 notepad, along with a ruler, pen, pencil, pencil sharpener and rubber. It was all pretty cheap too, and I think everything came to less than £10. Did I need more stationery? No. Do I already have drawers full of unopened stationery sets? Yes. But it was so cute and I'm a stationery addict, so obviously I had to have it! Once we were back home, I decided it was finally time to see what some of my drawings would look like on actual products. I'd drawn quite a few theatre-themed icons, so I used Procreate to arrange some of them into a seamless repeating pattern. I then transferred all of my drawing files onto my computer and created a template to fit the sublimation mugs I already had. Once I was happy with the design, I printed it onto sublimation paper using my sublimation printer. I cut the pattern out, wrapped it around the mug and secured it in place with heat-resistant tape. I then put the mug inside a shrink-wrap pouch and used my heat gun to shrink the plastic tightly around it. After that, the mug went into the air fryer so the heat could transfer my design onto it. It was really exciting taking it out and seeing my own drawings actually printed onto a mug! I also tried the same process with one of my pen blanks and made a matching pen. I'd planned to make a notebook too and had designed a cover for it, but I realised I'd missed out the laminating stage. Rather than potentially ruining it, I decided to leave the notebook for another day and try again properly. There is definitely still plenty for me to learn, but I really enjoyed seeing my drawings go from something I'd created on my iPad to an actual physical product. ✨ Sunday – Improving My Mug Design Lawrence was off again on Sunday and took Alice and Leo to the park for a little while. While they were out, I decided to have another go at my mug design. After looking at the first version, I decided I wanted the individual drawings to be a little bigger and the background colour to be lighter. I went back into the design, made the changes and then transferred the new version onto another mug. I loved this version! It's amazing how making a couple of fairly small changes can make such a big difference to the finished design, and I was much happier with how everything looked on the second mug. I spent the rest of Sunday doing some housework and, of course, doing some more drawing. I've now got lots more ideas for drawings that I'd like to turn into mug designs, so I think there will be plenty more experimenting to come. 💕 Final Thoughts This week was a real mixture of busy days out and much quieter days at home. The PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie preview was definitely a highlight. Alice and Leo loved meeting Chase and Skye, but I was particularly pleased that Leo enjoyed the whole relaxed cinema screening without asking to leave. It was also lovely seeing Miss Saigon again and having lunch with my parents beforehand, even if I did have to rush off at the end! I've really enjoyed having so much time to draw this week too. Seeing my own artwork printed onto a mug and pen for the first time was really exciting, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with more of my designs. 📺 Watch This Week's Family Weekly Update Vlog You can see everything we got up to this week in weekly vlog #463 , including our trip to the PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie preview at HOME Manchester, my trip to see Miss Saigon.

Our Trip To See High School Musical At The Lowry 🏀 On Thursday 27th August, Lawrence, Alice and I headed to The Lowry for the opening night and press night of High School Musical. I was really looking forward to this one. I was 23 when the original High School Musical film was released, so it wasn't part of my childhood like it was for a lot of fans, but I still really enjoyed the movie and actually still have my original DVD. Alice, who is eight, hadn't seen High School Musical at all. While I already knew Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and all the familiar songs, she was going into East High knowing absolutely nothing about it. My dad dropped us off opposite the Imperial War Museum North and from there we walked across the bridge to The Lowry, arriving just after 6pm for the 7pm performance. For press night, we entered through the old Pier 8 restaurant entrance and collected our tickets, wristbands and programme from the press desk. Alice was also given some pom-poms, which she absolutely loved and immediately started waving around. Pom-Poms, Photos & High School Musical Karaoke 🎤 There was plenty happening around the bar area for the opening night. A High School Musical backdrop had been set up with basketballs and Wildcats signs to use as props, so naturally we stopped to take some photos of Alice with her new pom-poms. Afterwards, Alice headed straight for the little toy kitchen at the back of the bar area. Lawrence stayed with her while I went to investigate whether there was any High School Musical merchandise available. When I came back, the press and guest area had become quite busy. It was starting to feel a little too crowded for Alice and me, so we decided to head out and have a walk around instead. I'm really glad we did because just as we left the bar area, we discovered a High School Musical karaoke booth. Of course, we had to give it a go! Our singing was absolutely terrible, but Alice had so much fun singing along to some of the High School Musical songs that I don't think that mattered in the slightest. After leaving the karaoke booth, we discovered another brilliant photo opportunity on the other side of the bar – a recreation of Sharpay's dressing table. Alice sat on the stool in front of the mirror, waving her pom-poms around while we took some photos. There was so much for her to do before we'd even entered the auditorium that the evening already felt like much more than simply arriving and waiting for the show to start. High School Musical Merchandise 🛍️ While Lawrence was watching Alice in the toy kitchen, I headed out of the bar area to see what merchandise was available. The merchandise stand was located a little past the main box office on the opposite side. There wasn't a huge selection, but there were a few High School Musical souvenirs to choose from. A tote bag was £15, the T-shirt was £30, a mug was £12 and the programme was also £12. We had already been given a programme when we collected our press-night tickets, so I didn't buy anything from the merchandise stand this time. Our Seats At The Lowry 🎟️ By around 6:30pm the auditorium had opened, so we decided to head inside and find our seats. We were seated in the Circle, Row C, Seats 20-23 and entered the auditorium through Door K. The view was fantastic. One of the things I particularly like about the Circle at The Lowry is how well raked the seating is. It means your view is much less likely to be blocked by the person sitting in front of you, and on this occasion I actually think the Circle worked particularly well for Alice. Had we been sitting in the Stalls with an adult directly in front of her, I'm not sure she would have had such a clear view, even with a booster seat. From Row C she could see everything happening across the stage. The stage itself looked really impressive. With the basketball court in front of us and audience members seated at either side, it already felt as though we had arrived at East High to watch a basketball game. Pre-Show Entertainment 🏀 Even before the show officially began, there was plenty happening on stage. A man appeared on the basketball court carrying a brush as though he was cleaning the floor. He had wired headphones in and what looked like an iPod in his pocket, occasionally taking it out as he danced around the stage with his brush. Announcements also came through the sound system asking different sections of the audience to wave, before showing them on the large screens around the auditorium. Then some of the East High cheerleaders came out and taught the audience a Wildcats cheer. Everyone joined in and the atmosphere was fantastic. It really did feel as though we were spectators waiting for an East High basketball game, and by the time the musical was ready to begin, everyone seemed excited for the show to start. The performance was scheduled to begin at 7pm but began a little later at around 7:10pm. Welcome To East High 🎭 For anyone who hasn't seen the film, High School Musical follows Troy Bolton, the star of East High's basketball team, and Gabriella Montez, a talented student who excels academically. They first meet during the holidays when they unexpectedly end up singing karaoke together. They are reunited when Gabriella transfers to East High and decide to audition together for the school musical. The problem is that everyone around them already seems to have decided exactly where they belong. Troy should be concentrating on basketball, Gabriella belongs with the brainiacs and Sharpay and Ryan Evans consider the school theatre to be very much their territory. It is a simple story about friendship, first love and having the confidence to try something different rather than allowing other people to decide who you should be. What I found particularly interesting this time was watching the story with Alice. I already knew what was going to happen and recognised the songs as soon as they began. Alice didn't have any of that connection to the original movie. For her, this was simply a completely new musical – and she loved it. The Staging, Music & Dancing 🎶 I thought the whole production was fantastic, but the staging and choreography were particular highlights for me. The East High basketball court forms the centre of the design, but the set is constantly adapted and transformed as the story moves around the school. Large screens and projections are incorporated into the production, along with live footage at different points, and everything works together really well. One of my favourite visual moments was Troy and Gabriella sitting together on a crescent moon suspended high above the stage, surrounded by glowing stars. It was such a beautiful image and completely different from the busy basketball court scenes. But it was the big group numbers that really brought the production to life for me. The choreography was fantastic, especially during Get'cha Head in the Game, where the basketballs become part of the routine as the cast bounce and pass them in time with the music. It was incredibly impressive watching so many basketballs moving around the stage in time with the choreography. I also loved hearing songs including Breaking Free, Stick to the Status Quo and We're All in This Together performed live by such a large company. These were the moments Alice seemed to love most. She sat watching the big dance numbers in awe, completely absorbed in everything happening across the stage. I also particularly enjoyed Sharpay's costumes. There was plenty of pink, sparkle and glamour, and I found myself looking forward to seeing what she would appear in next. The Cast 🌟 I thought the entire cast were fantastic and everyone felt really well suited to their roles. Tobias Turley makes a very likeable Troy Bolton and Leonor Correia brings a lovely warmth to Gabriella. The pair work naturally together and their voices blend beautifully during their duets. Caitlin Tipping was one of my standouts as Sharpay. She has the confidence, comedy and larger-than-life personality you want from the character while also allowing some of Sharpay's insecurity to come through underneath it all. Luke Bayer is great fun as Ryan and works brilliantly alongside her. Another standout for me was KayCee Stroh as Ms Darbus. Fans of the original High School Musical films may recognise KayCee as Martha Cox, so there is something particularly lovely about seeing her return to East High 20 years later, this time as the drama teacher. She is wonderfully over-the-top and very funny, earning some of the biggest laughs of the evening. Jason Donovan plays Troy's dad, Coach Bolton, for the Lowry run and has a strong presence as the basketball coach who is so focused on Troy's sporting future that he initially struggles to understand why his son suddenly wants to sing as well. The ensemble also deserve a special mention. Between the huge dance numbers and all of the basketball choreography, this is an incredibly physical production and the whole company make the routines look effortless. Ice Cream, Slushies & High School Musical Cookies 🍦 The first act lasted around 55 minutes, with the interval beginning at approximately 8:05pm. During the 20-minute interval, we headed to the concession stand and bought some ice cream for £3.75 a tub. Alice chose vanilla while I went for mint choc chip. We then headed back towards the press and guest area, where glasses of red and white wine had been poured out along the bar alongside cups of red slushies and High School Musical-branded cookies. We each picked up a slushie and a cookie. The press area was quite crowded again, so rather than staying inside, we found a table just outside the bar where we could sit together and enjoy our snacks before heading back into the auditorium. The second act started at around 8:30pm and the show finished at approximately 9:40pm. That gave the performance a total running time of around 2 hours 30 minutes including the interval, with Act One lasting approximately 55 minutes and Act Two around 70 minutes. Final Thoughts 💭 I went into High School Musical expecting to enjoy it. What I wasn't expecting was to come away thinking I had enjoyed this stage production even more than the movie. Seeing the story performed live adds so much to it. The huge company numbers have an incredible energy, the staging is clever, the choreography is fantastic and the whole cast are so well suited to their roles. But I think one of my favourite things about the evening was watching Alice discover High School Musical for the first time. She didn't know the story or the characters and didn't have any nostalgia attached to the songs. She simply sat there watching the dancing in awe and enjoying everything happening in front of her. Afterwards, I told her there was a High School Musical movie and now she can't wait to watch it. For me, that shows why this production works so well as a family musical. There is plenty of nostalgia for those who already love High School Musical, but you certainly don't need to know the film to have a brilliant time. The whole press-night experience made our visit even more fun too. From Alice receiving her pom-poms and posing with the basketball props to our terrible karaoke, Sharpay's dressing table, ice creams, slushies and cookies, there was something exciting happening throughout the evening. Twenty years after the original film, High School Musical has clearly still got its head in the game. And it seems to have found a brand-new fan in Alice. More Information About High School Musical 📍 High School Musical is playing at The Lowry in Salford until Saturday 19th September 2026. Tickets are available through the Lowry website. The production will then head to Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in London from 12th October 2026 until 3rd January 2027. For more information about the production and its London run, visit the official High School Musical website. If you'd like to read my more theatre-focused review of the production, you can also read my High School Musical review on All About Theatre. 🎥 Watch Our High School Musical Theatre Trip Our trip to see High School Musical at The Lowry will also feature in my weekly vlog, including some of our pre-show experience and our thoughts on the production. I'll add the weekly vlog link here once the video is live. At A Glance 📍 Venue: The Lowry, Salford, Greater Manchester 📅 Lowry Run: 22nd August – 19th September 2026 ⏱️ Runtime: Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes including interval ☕ Interval: Approx. 20 minutes 👤 Age Guidance: 6+ 🎟️ Tickets From: £26 available through the Lowry website 🎭 Genre: Family Musical 🎶 Features Songs Including: Breaking Free, Get'cha Head in the Game, Stick to the Status Quo and We're All in This Together 💺 Our Seats: Circle, Row C, Seats 20-23 👀 Seat View: Fantastic, with a clear view of the whole stage. The Circle is well raked, which can make it a particularly good option for children who may struggle to see over adults in the Stalls 📖 Programme Available: Yes – £12 🛍️ Merchandise Available: Yes – during our visit this included a T-shirt (£30), tote bag (£15) and mug (£12) 🍦 Ice Cream: Available from the concession stands – £3.75 per tub during our visit 🚋 Getting There: The Lowry is easily accessible by tram, bus and car 🚊 Closest Tram Stops: MediaCityUK and Imperial War Museum 🚌 Bus Access: Bus services operate around MediaCity and Salford Quays 🚗 Parking: Quayside MediaCity car park is next to The Lowry ♿ Accessibility: Step-free access and accessible seating are available. Check The Lowry website for specific access information and accessible performances 🌍 London Run: Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London from 12th October 2026 until 3rd January 2027 🎟️ Official Website: Visit the official High School Musical website for production information and London tickets Our tickets for this performance were kindly gifted for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Watch The Trailer

Dear Zoo Live 🦁 On Tuesday 11th August, we headed to The Lowry to see the 11am performance of Dear Zoo Live. Alice and Leo have both loved Dear Zoo over the years and, although they're probably a little older than the main preschool audience now, they were still really excited to see all the familiar animals from Rod Campbell's book brought to life on stage. We were invited along to the press performance, which also included some activities for the children before the show, so we needed to be at The Lowry a little earlier than we would for a normal 11am performance. Getting to The Lowry from home involves catching two trams, so we caught our first tram at around 9.50am before changing at Cornbrook for the tram to MediaCity. We arrived at around 10.10am, which gave us plenty of time before the performance started. As we were a little early, we headed into the Lowry Outlet Mall opposite the theatre and made a quick stop at the Cadbury shop to pick up some chocolate before the show. With chocolate sorted, we headed across to The Lowry at around 10.30am and made our way around to the Quays Theatre. Pre-Show Activities & Dear Zoo Merchandise 🖍️🛍️ When we arrived at the press desk, Alice and Leo were each given Dear Zoo activity sheets and crayons. We stopped to take a photo in front of the Dear Zoo sign before finding a table in the Quays Bar, where the children settled down with their activity sheets while we waited for the auditorium to open. It was a really nice way to start the morning and meant they had something to keep them occupied before the show. Of course, it wasn't long before Leo and I went to investigate the merchandise stand! There was quite a big selection of Dear Zoo books available: 📖 Dear Zoo Pop-Up Book – £10 📕 Dear Zoo Board Book – £8 🐾 Dear Zoo Touch & Feel Book – £9 👶 Dear Zoo Buggy Book – £7 📚 Dear Zoo Little Library – £7 🖍️ Dear Zoo Activity Book – £8 📛 Dear Zoo Badges – £2 each The badges featured different animals from the story, including the elephant, lion, monkey and puppy. There was also an "I've Seen Dear Zoo" badge featuring the familiar image of the lion inside its crate. Leo chose the "I've Seen Dear Zoo" badge and immediately went back to the table to show Alice. As soon as she saw his, she decided she wanted one too! So I headed back over to the merchandise stand with Alice and she chose the puppy badge. With both children now happy with their new badges, we went back to our table where they carried on with their activity sheets and had a snack until it was announced that the auditorium was open. Our Seats & View in the Quays Theatre 🎭 Once the auditorium opened, we headed inside to find our seats. We were sitting in Stalls Row G, Seats 13–16, and had an excellent clear view of the stage. On the way into the auditorium, we picked up a booster seat for Leo. The booster seats can be found near the Stalls doors before you enter, so they're really easy to grab if younger children need a little extra height. The Quays Theatre is one of the smaller theatre spaces at The Lowry, so Row G felt close enough to see everything clearly without being too near the stage. Before the performance had even started, Leo had already spotted something very exciting. Sitting in the middle of the stage was a giant version of the Dear Zoo book. "Look, it's a giant book!" It was such a simple idea, but immediately got the children interested in what was going to happen when the show started. The Show 🦒🐘🦁 Based on Rod Campbell's much-loved lift-the-flap book, Dear Zoo Live follows Ben, who writes to the zoo asking them to send him a pet. Unfortunately, the zoo doesn't quite get it right! One by one, different animals are delivered, but each one has a reason why it isn't quite suitable. Eventually, after sending all the others back, Ben finally receives the perfect pet. The stage production keeps the familiar repetitive structure of the book but expands the story with Ben's friend Sally and Sam the Zookeeper, as well as music, puppetry and lots of opportunities for the children in the audience to join in. This was probably one of Alice and Leo's favourite parts of the show. Rather than expecting younger children to sit quietly for the whole performance, there are lots of moments where they're actively encouraged to get involved. They counted flowers, sang along, stretched up tall, pretended to munch leaves like a giraffe, roared like a lion and jumped up and down like a frog. Leo absolutely loved jumping along with the frog, while Alice enthusiastically joined in with the lion's roar. And, of course, there were lots of excited little voices shouting "I sent him back!" whenever another unsuitable animal needed to return to the zoo. Even though Alice and Leo already knew which animals were coming, it didn't spoil the fun at all. If anything, knowing the story seemed to make them even more excited as they waited to see how each familiar animal would appear. Visually, the production is really colourful and does a lovely job of recreating the illustrations from the book. The different crates are a big part of this. The giraffe arrives in an incredibly tall green crate marked "FRAGILE", the lion's bright red crate says "DANGER!", while the elephant appears from an enormous yellow crate labelled "VERY HEAVY!" It really does feel a little like watching the flaps of the book open up in front of you. I also liked that the animals weren't all brought to life in exactly the same way. Some keep the flat illustrated appearance of the book, while others use puppetry or full costumes. The snake and the puppy were puppets, while the frog and mischievous monkey could move around the stage as full characters. Alice particularly loved the snake and puppy puppets, while Leo's favourites were the frog and monkey. There are also songs throughout the show. I wouldn't say any particularly stayed in my head afterwards, but they are easy for younger children to follow and give them even more opportunities to join in. Marcus Jones and Jennifer Peters play Ben and Sally, with Tom Lloyd-Kendall as Sam the Zookeeper. Although Ben and Sally are played by adults, I thought they were really believable as young children and brought lots of energy and excitement to the story. The whole cast were also really good at interacting with such a young audience and making it clear when the children could join in. Our performance lasted around 50 minutes with no interval, which felt just right for the age group it is aimed at. Lunch & Another Visit to Wild Things 🐾 After the show, our family day out wasn't quite finished. We walked over to the Quayside Beefeater for some lunch before heading back to The Lowry. While we were there, we decided to have another look around the Wild Things exhibition. This tied in really nicely with our morning because Dear Zoo is one of the children's books featured in the exhibition, so we'd gone from seeing the story brought to life on stage to spotting it again inside Wild Things. We had already visited the exhibition when it first opened and had a brilliant time exploring all the colourful displays, original children's book illustrations and activities. If you're thinking of visiting too, you can read our full Wild Things at Lowry review to see more of what's inside. It worked really well as an extra activity after the show and helped turn our relatively short theatre visit into a much bigger family day out. After a busy morning of animals, theatre, activities and lunch, we eventually headed back to MediaCity and caught the tram home at around 2pm. Final Thoughts ✨ We had such a lovely family morning seeing Dear Zoo Live. Alice and Leo are probably towards the older end of the audience for the show now, but because they already knew and loved the book, they still had a brilliant time seeing all the familiar animals brought to life. Even though they're probably moving beyond the main preschool audience, it was lovely seeing how involved they still became in a story they've known for years. The audience participation definitely helped keep them engaged and meant they weren't simply sitting and watching for the whole performance. I also really liked how recognisable everything was from the book. The giant book on stage, colourful crates, puppets and different animals make it really easy for young children to connect what they're watching with the story they know from home. Its short running time also makes it really manageable for younger children, and I think it would make a lovely first theatre experience. Adding the activity sheets before the performance, choosing their little badges and visiting Wild Things afterwards meant we were also able to turn a relatively short show into a much bigger family day out at Salford Quays. A colourful and interactive family theatre trip that brings a much-loved children's book to life. More Information About Dear Zoo Live 🦁 Dear Zoo Live has now finished its run at The Lowry, where we saw the production in the Quays Theatre. The good news is that the production is continuing to tour the UK, so there are still plenty of opportunities to see the show at other venues. You can check out the official Dear Zoo Live website for more information and the latest tour dates. As performance times, ticket prices, age recommendations and facilities can vary between theatres, it's worth checking the details directly with the venue you're planning to visit. If you'd like to read our more detailed theatre-focused review of the production, you can head over to our Dear Zoo review on All About Theatre 🎥 Watch Our Dear Zoo Theatre Trip in the Weekly Vlog If you'd like to come along with us on our family trip to see Dear Zoo Live at The Lowry, you can watch our visit in my weekly vlog. - Coming Soon 🎭 At A Glance 📍 Venue Visited: The Lowry, Salford 🎭 Theatre: Quays Theatre 🗺️ UK Tour: Dear Zoo Live is continuing to tour the UK – check your local venue for upcoming dates and ticket prices ⏱️ Runtime: Approx. 55 minutes ☕ Interval: No interval 👤 Recommended Age: 3+ 🎟️ Tickets: Prices vary by tour venue – tickets at The Lowry were £19.50 🎭 What to Expect: Puppetry, costumed characters, music and lots of audience interaction 👶 Good First Theatre Show?: Yes – the short runtime, familiar story and opportunities to join in make it particularly suitable for younger children 💺 Our Seats: Stalls Row G, Seats 13–16 👀 Seat View: Excellent clear view of the stage 🪑 Booster Seats: Available at The Lowry – we picked one up near the Stalls doors before entering the Quays Theatre 🛍️ Merchandise Available: Dear Zoo books and character badges were available during our visit, with prices from £2 🍫 Food & Drink: The Lowry has bars and cafés, with plenty of additional places to eat at Quayside MediaCityUK opposite the theatre 🐾 Things To Do Nearby: The free Wild Things exhibition at The Lowry features Dear Zoo alongside other much-loved children's books 🚋 Getting There: The Lowry is easily accessible by tram, with MediaCity and Imperial War Museum stops both nearby 🚗 Parking: Parking is available at Quayside MediaCityUK opposite The Lowry ♿ Accessibility: Accessible facilities and performances are available at The Lowry – check individual performances when booking Watch The Trailer

Little HOME Family Festival Finding things to do with children throughout the school holidays can quickly become expensive, so we were really looking forward to returning to Little HOME Family Festival at HOME Manchester. Little HOME is an annual family festival held during the school summer holidays, and this was actually our third year attending. In previous years we'd only visited for one day, but this year we decided to make a full weekend of it and attend on both Saturday and Sunday. Taking place on 1 and 2 August 2026, the festival offered a completely free programme of theatre, crafts, films, live performances and family activities across HOME. Some of the shows and activities required advance booking, but these were still completely free. With two full days to explore the festival, we were hoping we'd manage to fit in much more than we had in previous years. As it turned out, even two days weren't enough! 🎭 So Much More Than We Could Fit In There was so much happening across Little HOME that despite visiting on both days, there were still plenty of activities we didn't get chance to try. Alongside everything we experienced, Saturday's programme included Family Crafts and Storytelling with Phoebe Foxtrot, Manchester Libraries: Read to the Beat, Make Your Own Story Dice by People's History Museum, Celebration Pin Dolls Make and Take by National Football Museum, Afrocats Family Dance Workshop and Amazing Animations on the big screen outside. Sunday also included Outdoor Games with Tabs, Bhangra Dance and Dhol Drumming and Amazing Animations were on the big screen outside again. Some activities ran for much of the day, while theatre shows and performances took place at specific times, with several offering more than one performance. This made it quite easy to choose the shows we particularly wanted to see and then fit the drop-in activities around them. And that's just what we didn't manage to do. Over the next two days, we still packed in four theatre shows, a film, crafts, live music, outdoor activities and circus skills. 🎨 Starting Our Day in Creativity Corner On Saturday morning, the children, my brother and I caught the bus into Manchester at around 9:35am and arrived at HOME just before 10am. Getting there by bus was really easy for us because our bus stopped almost directly opposite the venue. As children were also able to travel free on the bus throughout August, Alice and Leo didn't cost anything to get there either. As soon as we arrived, they headed straight for Creativity Corner. Alice settled down to do some drawing while Leo became much more interested in a giant rocket that was being created from cardboard boxes. He happily got involved and really enjoyed helping to build it. Creativity Corner ended up being somewhere we returned to several times throughout the weekend. Later on Saturday, the children decorated little cardboard tubs to turn them into drums, and when we returned on Sunday they did even more crafts. Having somewhere they could simply drop into between performances worked really well and meant there was always something to do while we waited for our next show. 🌊 Tales From The Lighthouse Our first theatre show of the weekend was the 10:30am performance of Tales From The Lighthouse. We had booked tickets in advance, but seating was unreserved, so you could choose where you wanted to sit. Most of the seats nearer the front had already been taken when we arrived, but there was a better rake towards the back anyway, so that's where we decided to sit. Theatre 2 is quite an intimate space, and we still had a great clear view. The 55-minute show combined storytelling, live folk music and puppetry to tell stories inspired by the sea. One particularly lovely touch came after the performance when the children were invited to come down and meet the water horse puppet. They could also have a closer look at the concertina used during the show and even have a little go while the musician held it. 👉 You can read more about my Tales From The Lighthouse visit and shorter review. 👉 Read my full All About Theatre review of Tales From The Lighthouse. 🧺 Lunch With a Puppet Show After leaving the theatre, we headed outside and found one of the picnic tables to eat the packed lunch we'd brought with us. We'd actually picked a very good time to stop for lunch because Kismat Wala by Thingumajig Theatre was being performed outside. The visual street-theatre puppet show was centred around a wonderfully colourful cart inspired by South Asian street markets and followed a young man's journey in search of his destiny. Being able to sit outside eating our sandwiches while watching a live puppet performance definitely made our packed lunch a little more interesting than usual! Afterwards, Alice and Leo played with a giant outdoor Connect 4 before discovering a huge sheet of paper that had been taped down outside for children to draw on. Sometimes the simplest activities are the ones they enjoy most, and they were perfectly happy sitting on the floor adding their drawings to everyone else's. Then it was time to head back inside for our next show. 🐭 All In A Mouse's Night Our second theatre show on Saturday nearly didn't happen. We were supposed to have tickets for the 1pm performance of All In A Mouse's Night by Goofus Theatre, but somehow our tickets had come through for the 11am performance instead. Obviously, we couldn't have attended that one because we were still watching Tales From The Lighthouse! We explained what had happened and joined the standby queue. Thankfully, there was enough space and we managed to get in. Seating was once again unreserved, with children encouraged to sit on blankets on the floor at the front. Alice and Leo immediately decided that was where they wanted to sit. All In A Mouse's Night was a non-verbal show using puppetry and play to follow the adventures of a curious mouse who dreams of heading into space. After the performance, the children could meet the moonlight puppet and have their photograph taken with it, which Alice particularly loved. 🎬 A Relaxed Cinema Screening After the show, Alice and Leo went back to Creativity Corner and decorated little cardboard tubs to turn them into drums before we headed to HOME's cinema. At 2pm, we watched a relaxed screening of Puffin Rock and the New Friends, which had a runtime of around 80 minutes. The film follows Oona, Baba, May and Mossy as they welcome some new friends to Puffin Rock. When the last Little Egg of the season mysteriously disappears, they have to work together to find it and bring it home before a big storm reaches the island. The children really enjoyed the film, and I bought them both a tub of ice cream to eat while they watched, which I think cost around £3.50 each. Having a relaxed cinema screening included in the festival programme was something I particularly appreciated, especially as it provided a very different experience from all the busy outdoor activities and live performances we'd been enjoying throughout the day Having a relaxed cinema screening included in the festival programme was something I particularly appreciated, especially as it provided a very different experience from all the busy outdoor activities and live performances we'd been enjoying throughout the day. 🍕 Pizza Before Heading Home By the time the film finished, we were all hungry again, so we decided to get some food at HOME's bar before travelling back. We headed to the bar and ordered pizza and chips. The pizzas were cut into eight slices, so Alice, Leo and I shared one while my brother had one to himself. We initially ordered one portion of sharing chips but quickly realised we'd underestimated how hungry everyone was and ended up ordering another. For two pizzas, two sharing portions of chips, a pot of gravy and a pint of Diet Coke, our total came to £49.15. After such a busy first day, we caught the bus home at around 4:30pm. You might think we'd have been ready for a quiet Sunday after that. Instead, we went back and did it all again! 🥁 Back for Day Two Lawrence was off work on Sunday, so this time all four of us headed into Manchester for our second day at Little HOME Family Festival. We caught the bus at around 11:25am and arrived at HOME at approximately 11:45am. Unsurprisingly, Alice and Leo's first stop was Creativity Corner again, where they spent some time decorating paper cups. We then headed outside to watch Batala Manchester. The drumming created a fantastic atmosphere, and Alice was soon dancing along to the music. Leo found the volume a bit too much, though, and decided he'd rather go back inside to Creativity Corner with Lawrence. Alice and I stayed outside to watch the drumming before heading back in to meet them afterwards. I actually think this was a good example of one of the things that worked particularly well about the festival for us. There was so much happening in different parts of HOME that if one activity wasn't right for one of the children, there was usually something completely different they could do instead. 🍪 Biscuit Decorating & A Surprise Goody Bag Once we were all back together, we headed over to do some biscuit decorating. Alice and Leo decorated their own biscuits, and while we were there they were also each given a HOME goody bag. The goody bags came in HOME-branded tote bags and contained some sweets, leaflets about upcoming shows and a light-up foam baton. It was a lovely unexpected extra, and obviously the children were very pleased with their new bags! With biscuits decorated and goody bags in hand, it was time for our first theatre show of the day. 🎲 Over To You: The Storytelling Gameshow At 1pm, we headed into Theatre 1 for Over To You: The Storytelling Gameshow. This ended up being one of the most interactive shows we saw all weekend. Seating was unreserved, with children encouraged to sit on blankets and cushions at the front. On the way in, Alice and Leo were given paddles with red on one side and green on the other, which they could use to vote and help decide what happened during the story. We were also given slips of paper with questions asking us to invent things such as a character, their name and their superpower. The answers were collected and some were selected during the performance to help create that day's completely unique story. Alice was even chosen to go up and play a game of Higher or Lower. She didn't win, but she really didn't care. She was just incredibly excited to have been picked. And she didn't leave completely empty-handed because she received a consolation prize. A zip. Yes, an actual zip! 😂 The winner received three zips, so clearly the stakes were very high! Alice thought the whole thing was brilliant. Leo, on the other hand, was much more upset about Alice not winning than Alice was herself. He became quite emotional and decided he wanted to go home. Unfortunately for him, we were heading almost immediately into another theatre! 📚 The Magic Bookmark We went straight from Theatre 1 into Theatre 2 for the 2pm performance of The Magic Bookmark. Leo was still upset and initially decided that he didn't want to watch it, so Lawrence took him back outside before the show started. Then he changed his mind because he wanted to come back and sit with me. They made it back inside just before the performance began. And I'm very glad he changed his mind because The Magic Bookmark ended up being his favourite show of the entire weekend! Starring Mama G, the show followed Book Worm's plan to steal all the books from Mama G's library, with Mama G needing to prove why books can help make the world a better place. There was plenty of pantomime fun, storytelling, songs and audience interaction, and Leo's mood had completely changed by the end. Watching him go from not wanting to enter the theatre at all to deciding it was his favourite show was probably one of my favourite moments of the weekend. 👉 You can read more about our Magic Bookmark visit and shorter review Here. 👉 Read my full All About Theatre review of The Magic Bookmark Here 🎪 Apparently We're Not Joining the Circus After The Magic Bookmark, Alice and Leo wanted to head outside and have a go at the family circus skills with Skylight Circus. Naturally, I joined in. We tried plate spinning. We were terrible. We tried juggling. Also terrible. 😂 Thankfully, Leo then discovered a diabolo, and we finally found something we weren't completely hopeless at! I actually had one when I was younger, so I could still remember how to get it spinning and even managed a couple of very simple tricks. Leo wasn't too bad at it either and spent quite a while having a go. Afterwards, Alice and Leo did a little more outdoor drawing before we finally admitted that we'd run out of energy. We caught the bus at around 3:30pm and were home by approximately 4pm. After two days at Little HOME, all four of us were completely exhausted! ♿ How Accessible Did We Find Little HOME? One of the things I particularly appreciated about Little HOME Family Festival was the amount of choice. Family events can sometimes feel as though children are expected to join in with everything in exactly the same way, but that wasn't our experience here. When the Batala Manchester drumming became too loud for Leo, he could simply head back inside with Lawrence and carry on crafting while Alice stayed outside dancing. The theatre performances we attended had unreserved seating, and at some of them children were encouraged to sit on blankets or cushions at the front rather than having to remain in a conventional theatre seat. We also really appreciated the relaxed screening of Puffin Rock and the New Friends. When Leo initially didn't want to watch The Magic Bookmark, there was no pressure for him to go in. Lawrence could take him outside, and when he changed his mind, they came back before the performance started. Having so many different types of activities happening throughout the building made it much easier for us to adapt our day depending on how everyone was feeling. 💷 How Much Does Little HOME Cost? One of the best things about Little HOME Family Festival is that the festival itself is completely free. All of the theatre shows, crafts, live performances and family activities we took part in across the weekend were free, so we were able to pack an incredible amount into our two days without paying for any of the entertainment. Some shows and activities did require tickets to be booked in advance, but these were still completely free. There were also plenty of drop-in activities that we could simply join throughout the day. Our only spending during the festival was on optional extras such as food and treats, including the children's ice creams during Puffin Rock and the New Friends and our meal at HOME on Saturday. For families looking for affordable things to do during the school summer holidays, I think this is one of Little HOME's biggest strengths. We managed to enjoy two days filled with theatre, crafts, puppetry, live performances, cinema and circus skills without paying for any of the activities themselves Final Thoughts We had a fantastic two days at Little HOME Family Festival. What impressed me most wasn't necessarily one particular show or activity, but just how much variety HOME managed to fit into one weekend. In two days, Alice and Leo experienced theatre, puppetry, storytelling, crafts, drawing, live music, cinema and circus skills – and there were still things on the programme that we never managed to get to. They also experienced the festival in completely different ways. Alice loved being right in the middle of things, whether that meant dancing to the drummers or being picked to take part in Over To You. Leo particularly enjoyed the creative activities and circus skills, and after initially deciding that he didn't want to see The Magic Bookmark, it unexpectedly became his favourite show of the weekend. There were moments when something didn't work for one of them, but because there was so much choice, that never meant the whole day had to stop. For me, that's one of the biggest strengths of a family festival like this. After three years of attending Little HOME Family Festival, it's become one of those summer events we really look forward to. This was our first time attending on both days, and although we were completely exhausted by Sunday afternoon, I'd definitely do the full weekend again. At a Glance 📍 Venue: HOME Manchester 📅 Festival Dates: Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 August 2026 ☀️ When: Little HOME is an annual family festival held during the school summer holidays 🎟️ Admission: Free entry. The official programme advised that some activities may require booking. ⏰ Festival Programme: Activities took place throughout both days, with many drop-in activities running between 10am and 4pm alongside scheduled shows and performances. 🎭 Shows We Saw: Tales From The Lighthouse, All In A Mouse's Night, Over To You: The Storytelling Gameshow and The Magic Bookmark 🎨 Activities We Tried: Creativity Corner, outdoor drawing, giant Connect 4, biscuit decorating and family circus skills with Skylight Circus 🎬 Cinema: We attended the 2pm relaxed screening of Puffin Rock and the New Friends 🎶 Live Performances: We watched Kismat Wala by Thingumajig Theatre and Batala Manchester 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Suitable For: Families looking for a mixture of theatre, crafts, storytelling, film, live performances and creative activities ♿ Accessibility: We found the variety of activities particularly helpful because it allowed us to change plans when one of the children needed something quieter. The festival programme also included a relaxed cinema screening. 🍕 Food: Food and drinks were available at HOME. On Saturday, we paid £49.15 for two pizzas, two sharing portions of chips, a pot of gravy and a pint of Diet Coke. 🚌 Getting There: We travelled by bus, which stopped almost directly opposite HOME. ⏱️ How Long Did We Spend There? Approximately 6½ hours on Saturday and just over four hours on Sunday. Watch Our Little HOME Family Festival Weekend You can see both days of our Little HOME Family Festival experience in Weekly Vlog #462, including the theatre shows, crafts, live performances, relaxed cinema screening and our attempts at circus skills. Our Little HOME weekend starts at 13:12 in the vlog, so you can jump straight to that part if you just want to see our visit to the festival.

Family Weekly Update After all the excitement of my birthday week, this week's family weekly update started at a much slower pace as we headed into the first full week of the school holidays. It didn't stay quiet for long, though, and by the weekend we'd somehow gone from relaxing at home to spending two very busy days at Little HOME Family Festival! 😴 Monday – A Much-Needed Quiet Day After such a busy birthday week, I was absolutely exhausted on Monday and really didn't feel like doing very much. Luckily, Lawrence had the day off and it was also the first day of the school holidays, so he took Alice and Leo to the park for a little while. I spent most of the day on my new iPad, practising drawing in Procreate and getting used to all the different tools. I'm still very much learning, but I'm really enjoying being able to draw again. It's been a long time since I've properly sat down and created my own artwork, so at the moment I'm mostly experimenting and trying to find a drawing style that I like. It was exactly the quiet day I needed after the previous week. 🎭 Tuesday – Games, Nando's & Oh Zeus! at Lowry Tuesday morning started with some family games. We played Leo's favourite, UNO, followed by Hungry Hungry Hippos, before I started getting ready for another theatre trip. I was heading to Lowry to review Oh Zeus!, but getting there was slightly more complicated than usual because of the work taking place on the tram lines. With no trams running and my usual bus missing out MediaCity, I decided there was absolutely no point risking being late. I set off at around 4pm, caught a bus to the Trafford Centre and then changed onto the number 30. I got off opposite the Imperial War Museum North at around 4:45pm and walked across the bridge towards Lowry. Considering the performance didn't start until 7pm, I'd definitely succeeded in my mission not to be late – I had more than two hours to spare! My first stop was actually the Cadbury shop, where I treated myself to one of the Roses pick-and-mix boxes. I say pick and mix, but there wasn't actually much mixing involved because I filled the whole box with strawberry and orange creams! With chocolate sorted, I headed to Nando's at around 5:05pm to get something to eat. One advantage of arriving ridiculously early was that I could actually sit down, eat and relax without constantly checking the time. Afterwards, I headed over to Lowry, collected my programme and two drinks vouchers from the box office and found somewhere to sit while I waited for my brother. Unfortunately, his journey wasn't going quite as smoothly as mine. As it got closer and closer to 7pm, there was still no sign of him. Eventually, at around 6:50pm, I decided I couldn't wait any longer and headed into the Quays Theatre. Thankfully, at approximately 6:55pm, with just five minutes to spare, my brother finally appeared! Nothing like making a dramatic entrance. We were sitting in Stalls Row M, Seats 1 and 2, which is the second row from the back. Despite being towards the back, we had a really good clear view. The Quays Theatre is much smaller and more intimate than the Lyric Theatre, so you still feel quite close to the stage. The show started at 7pm, almost immediately after my brother had sat down. Act One lasted around 70 minutes, followed by a 20-minute interval, which finally gave us a chance to properly catch up. We also used our drinks vouchers – I had a lemonade while my brother went for a cider. The performance finished at around 9:30pm, and afterwards we walked back across the bridge and caught the bus to the Trafford Centre before going our separate ways for the final part of the journey home. I finally got home at around 10:30pm and, instead of sensibly going straight to bed, started writing my review. I didn't finish it and eventually gave up at around 1am! 👉 You can read my more personal Oh Zeus! review and theatre trip on Sarah Monaghan HERE. 👉 Read my full Oh Zeus! review on All About Theatre HERE. ✏️ Wednesday – More Procreate Practice On Wednesday, I finished writing my Oh Zeus! review and shared it on Instagram. Once that was done, I went straight back to practising my drawing on the iPad. Alice and Leo were obviously interested in what I was doing, so I showed them how Procreate worked and let them both have a little go at drawing on the iPad too. Afterwards, I got out some paper and felt-tip pens so they could carry on drawing at the table while I continued practising. It ended up being a very creative afternoon for all three of us. 🎨 Thursday – Designing My Own Theatre Artwork By Thursday, I decided it was time to stop simply practising and actually try creating something. I started drawing a collection of simple theatre-themed icons that I'm hoping I might eventually be able to turn into a repeat pattern for things like mugs and notebooks. I've got lots of ideas, but at the moment I'm concentrating on learning and trying to make everything look consistent. I spent quite a lot of the day drawing, although there was still housework to do and Alice and Leo made sure I didn't spend the entire day attached to my iPad! We played some more UNO and a few games of Matching Pairs too. 🛒 Friday – My First Theatre Pattern & Craft Room Organisation On Friday, I finished drawing my first set of theatre icons and started experimenting with arranging them into a repeat pattern. I'm still learning, but I'm really enjoying seeing the individual drawings start to come together as a collection. I also decided to tackle my craft room. I'd ordered a four-shelf trolley from Amazon for around £26 because I desperately needed somewhere better to store some of my craft machines. Thankfully, it was really easy to put together, and once it was finished I managed to fit my air fryer, Cricut, Minc machine, Cinch and badge maker onto it. I absolutely love it! It's made such a difference having everything together rather than taking up space in different parts of the room. 🎭 Saturday – Our First Day at Little HOME Saturday was the start of a very busy weekend as the children, my brother and I headed to Little HOME, HOME Manchester's free family festival. We caught the bus at around 9:35am and arrived just before 10am. One nice bonus was that the children could travel for free because children are able to travel free on buses throughout August. When we arrived Alice and Leo headed straight for Creativity Corner. Alice did some drawing while Leo got involved in helping to build a giant cardboard rocket, which he really enjoyed. At 10:30am, we headed into Theatre 2 to see Tales From The Lighthouse, a family show combining storytelling, live folk music and puppetry in a collection of stories inspired by the sea. We had tickets but seating was unreserved, so you could choose where you wanted to sit. We decided to sit towards the back, where there was a better rake, and still had a great view because it's such an intimate theatre. At the end of the show, the children were invited to meet the water horse puppet and could even have a closer look and a little go on the concertina while the musician held it. 👉 You can read more about my Tales From The Lighthouse visit and shorter review. 👉 Read my full All About Theatre review of Tales From The Lighthouse. We then headed outside to eat our packed lunch at one of the picnic tables while watching Kismat Wala, an outdoor puppet show set around a magical cart inspired by South Asian street markets, following a young man's journey to discover his destiny. After lunch, Alice and Leo played giant Connect 4 before joining in with some outdoor drawing on a huge piece of paper that had been taped down to the floor. Then it was time to head back inside for All In A Mouse's Night, a non-verbal puppetry show following a curious little mouse who dreams of travelling into space – although we nearly didn't get in! Somehow our tickets had been issued for the 11am performance instead of the 1pm show, so we had to join the standby queue. Thankfully, there was space and we managed to get in. Alice and Leo chose to sit on the blankets on the floor at the front, and after the performance they could meet the moonlight puppet, which Alice particularly loved. There was just enough time for another visit to Creativity Corner, where they decorated little cardboard tubs to make drums, before we headed into HOME's cinema for the 2pm relaxed screening of Puffin Rock and the New Friends. I bought Alice and Leo a tub of ice cream each to eat during the film, which definitely went down well! Afterwards, we finished our first day with pizza and chips in HOME's bar. We ordered two pizzas, two sharing portions of chips, a pot of gravy and a pint of Diet Coke, which came to £49.15. We eventually caught the bus home at around 4:30pm. And somehow we were going back to do it all again the next day! 🥁 Sunday – Back to Little HOME! On Sunday, Lawrence was off work, so this time all four of us headed back to HOME. We caught the bus at around 11:25am and arrived at approximately 11:45am. Once again, Creativity Corner was our first stop, where Alice and Leo did some crafts and decorated paper cups. We then headed outside to watch Batala Manchester, the drumming was fantastic, and Alice loved dancing along to the music. Leo found it a bit too loud, though, so he went back inside to Creativity Corner with Lawrence while Alice and I stayed outside. We listened for a while then headed back inside to find Lawrence and Leo, and we all went to do some biscuit decorating. While we were there, Alice and Leo were also each given a little HOME goody bag. These came in HOME-branded tote bags and contained some sweets, leaflets about upcoming shows and a light-up foam baton. They were very pleased with their unexpected treats! With biscuits decorated and goody bags in hand, it was time to head into Theatre 1 for Over To You: The Storytelling Gameshow. This was a really fun interactive show where the audience helped decide what happened in the story. Alice was even picked to go up and play Higher or Lower! She didn't win, but she was just excited to have been chosen and was perfectly happy with her consolation prize – a zip. 😂 The winner got three zips, so obviously the stakes were incredibly high! Leo, however, was much more upset that Alice hadn't won than Alice was and decided he wanted to go home. We were heading straight into another show, The Magic Bookmark, a panto-style storytelling adventure where the evil Book Worm makes all the books in Mama G's library disappear because he believes reading gives people too much knowledge. Mama G must then find three books that can help make the world a better place, with the mysterious Magic Bookmark helping her along the way. Leo initially decided he didn't want to watch it. Lawrence took him outside, but at the last minute he changed his mind and came back in because he wanted to sit with me. I'm very glad he did because it ended up being his favourite show of the entire weekend! 👉 You can read more about our The Magic Bookmark visit and shorter review Here. 👉 Read my full All About Theatre review of The Magic Bookmark Here 🎪 Apparently We're Not Joining the Circus After The Magic Bookmark, Alice and Leo wanted to try some circus skills with Skylight Circus. We tried plate spinning. Terrible. Juggling? Also terrible. 😂 Thankfully, Leo then found a diabolo. I actually had one when I was younger, so I could remember how to get it spinning and even managed a couple of simple tricks. Leo wasn't too bad at it either and really enjoyed having a go. After a little more drawing outside, we finally admitted defeat and headed for the bus. We got home at around 4pm and were all completely exhausted after two very busy days. Our Sunday evening therefore involved doing as little as possible and watching The Wild Robot together. Perfect. 👉 Read more about our two days at Little HOME Family Festival, including all the shows, activities and family fun we experienced. Final Thoughts This week's family weekly update definitely started more peacefully than it ended! I've really enjoyed having some time to learn Procreate and start creating my own theatre-themed designs. I'm still very much a beginner, but it's been lovely getting back into drawing and seeing some of my ideas gradually come together. My trip to Oh Zeus! was another fun theatre night too, even if the lack of trams turned getting to Lowry into slightly more of an adventure than usual. The biggest part of the week, though, was definitely Little HOME. I loved how much variety there was across the weekend and how Alice and Leo could enjoy the festival in completely different ways. Alice happily danced along to the drumming while Leo preferred somewhere quieter, and after initially deciding he didn't want to see The Magic Bookmark, it ended up being his favourite show. By Sunday afternoon we were completely exhausted, but we'd managed to pack so much into our weekend. I think an evening on the sofa watching The Wild Robot was very well deserved! Watch This Week's Family Weekly Vlog You can see much more from this week's family weekly update vlog in Weekly Vlog #462, including my trip to Lowry for Oh Zeus!, putting together my new craft trolley and both of our days at Little HOME.

The Magic Bookmark at HOME Manchester 📚✨ On Sunday 2nd August, we saw The Magic Bookmark at HOME Manchester as part of the Little HOME Family Festival – and it ended up giving us one of the biggest surprises of our weekend. Just before the performance, Leo had become upset and decided he didn't want to watch another show. Lawrence initially took him out of Theatre 2, but Leo changed his mind at the last minute and came back in just before it started. I'm very glad he did, because by the end The Magic Bookmark was his favourite show of our entire Little HOME weekend! Theatre 2 At HOME Manchester 🎭 The Magic Bookmark was performed in Theatre 2, one of HOME's smaller and more intimate theatre spaces. Seating was unreserved for our performance, so we chose to sit towards the back. Despite being further away from the stage, we still had a really good view and the smaller size of the theatre meant we never felt particularly far from the action. With Leo settled back in his seat just before the show began, it was time to meet Mama G and discover exactly what The Magic Bookmark was all about. The Magic Bookmark 📚🌈 The show begins with a colourful animated introduction featuring a collection of cartoon characters, including a dragon, accompanied by a catchy song about looking inside books and discovering the stories waiting to be explored. Then we meet Mama G, played by Robert Pearce, the wonderfully larger-than-life librarian of the Panto Land Library. Unfortunately, there's trouble in the library. Book Worm, the show's panto baddie, once loved books but has become rather annoyed that worms appear so far towards the end of the alphabet. He decides that if things can't be done his way, everyone else's books are going to disappear. Mama G isn't going to let that happen without a fight. Believing that books can help make the world a better place and that everyone deserves to see themselves represented in stories, she sets off on an adventure with the Magic Bookmark to find the books she needs to prove Book Worm wrong. What follows is a lovely mixture of children's storytelling and traditional pantomime, with plenty of silliness, songs, colourful visuals and opportunities for the audience to join in. A Journey Through Stories 🏰📖 Mama G's adventure takes her to three different locations: a castle, an island and a fairground. Every time she needs to travel somewhere new, Mama G gets the audience to join her in the travel song. Because it returns throughout the show, the children quickly learn when it's time to sing along. At the castle, Mama G finds a book, only to discover that its pages are empty. This is where the children have to help. Everyone shouts "Abracadabra!" to make the contents appear, but naturally it doesn't work properly the first time. Apparently, we weren't loud enough! So everyone has to try again. Mama G later travels to an island, where she discovers The Lipstick, written by Laura Dockrill and illustrated by Maria Karipidou, which she reads to the audience. Her final journey takes her to a fairground, where she finds Oh Yes I Am!, written by Mama G herself and illustrated by Totò. I really liked the way the books were incorporated into the production. It never felt as though the main show suddenly stopped for a separate storytime. Instead, each book became part of Mama G's adventure and helped move the wider story forward. Songs, Puppetry & Lots Of Audience Participation 🎶 One of the biggest strengths of The Magic Bookmark is just how much there is for children to get involved with. There are plenty of traditional panto moments, including "Oh yes I am!" and "Oh no you're not!", as well as lots of opportunities to warn Mama G when something is happening behind her. The travel song gives everyone another chance to join in, and the original songs are incredibly catchy. Several were still stuck in my head long after we'd left HOME! There is also a song that mentions lots of different books, with their covers appearing on screen as Mama G sings about them. I thought this worked really well and fitted perfectly with the show's celebration of reading. The Magic Bookmark itself is brought to life as a colourful puppet with large expressive eyes and a moving mouth. It gives Mama G another character to interact with and adds another fun visual element for younger children. The participation isn't limited to shouting and singing from your seat either. At our performance, some children were invited onto the stage to help Mama G, which naturally created plenty of excitement. These interactive moments worked really well, as the children weren't simply watching Mama G's adventure – they were regularly being encouraged to become part of it. Mama G & That Brilliant Costume Change 🌈 Mama G was definitely a hit with Alice and Leo. She is warm, energetic, very silly and wonderfully over the top, with exactly the larger-than-life personality you'd expect from a pantomime dame. Both children found her really funny, and I particularly liked how naturally she responded to things the children shouted from the audience. With a family show like this, you never quite know what a child is going to say, but Mama G made those spontaneous moments feel like part of the fun. Her costumes are equally larger than life. Mama G initially appears in a huge purple and white gingham dress with enormous lilac sleeves, pink details, pearls and an impressive sculpted hairstyle. Then comes one of my favourite moments of the show. Mama G spins around and the gingham dress suddenly transforms to reveal a bright rainbow dress underneath. It was such a fun reveal and exactly the kind of colourful theatrical moment that gets a reaction from a young audience. A Lovely Message Behind The Panto Fun 💛 Although The Magic Bookmark is packed with silliness, songs and panto fun, there is a lovely message underneath it all. At its heart, the show celebrates books and the importance of children being able to discover stories about different people, different families and different ways of being themselves. What I particularly liked was that this never felt too heavy for the children. The message is simply woven into the adventure. Alice and Leo were busy laughing at Mama G, singing the travel song and joining in with the panto, while those ideas were being introduced naturally through the books and story. It makes the production entertaining first and foremost, while still giving families something meaningful to take away from it. Final Thoughts ⭐ We all really enjoyed The Magic Bookmark at HOME Manchester. It is a colourful and funny family show that brings together children's books, pantomime, original songs, animation and puppetry in a way that works really well for a young audience. I particularly liked how the books became part of the adventure rather than feeling like separate storytime sections, and there was always something happening to keep the children interested. But I think the biggest recommendation has to come from Leo. He went from not wanting to watch the show at all to choosing The Magic Bookmark as his favourite show of our entire Little HOME weekend. I don't think I could ask for a better review than that! More Information About The Magic Bookmark 📍 The Magic Bookmark was performed at HOME Manchester as part of the Little HOME Family Festival on Sunday 2nd August 2026. The show runs for approximately 55 minutes with no interval and is aimed at audiences aged 4+. Our performance at Little HOME was free, although tickets needed to be booked in advance, with a small number also available on the day. This was specific to the Little HOME Family Festival, and performances at other venues may have a ticket charge. The Magic Bookmark is a touring production. You can visit the official The Magic Bookmark website to find tour dates, venues and further information about the show. If you'd like to read my more detailed theatre-focused review of the production, you can also head over to our sister site, All About Theatre. 🎥 Watch Our Visit In Weekly Vlog #462 If you'd like to see more from our weekend at Little HOME Family Festival, including our visit to see The Magic Bookmark, you can watch it in Weekly Vlog #462. Our Little HOME Family Festival visit begins at 13:12 in the vlog. At A Glance 📍 Venue: HOME Manchester 🎭 Theatre: Theatre 2 – one of HOME's smaller, more intimate theatre spaces 📅 Performance Attended: Sunday 2nd August 2026 at 2pm 🎪 Event: Little HOME Family Festival 🎟️ Our Tickets: Free with advance booking as part of Little HOME Family Festival. Performances at other venues are normally ticketed, so check individual venues for prices. 💺 Seating: Unreserved for our performance 👑 Starring: Robert Pearce as Mama G 📚 What To Expect: Children's storytelling, pantomime, original songs, puppetry, animation and lots of audience participation 📖 Books Featured: The Lipstick by Laura Dockrill, illustrated by Maria Karipidou, and Oh Yes I Am! by Mama G, illustrated by Totò 🙋 Audience Participation: Lots of opportunities to sing and shout along, with three children invited onto the stage at our performance 🌈 Our Highlights: Mama G's humour, the catchy songs, Magic Bookmark puppet and rainbow costume transformation 🚋 Getting There: HOME is easily accessible by tram, bus and train 🚊 Closest Tram Stop: Deansgate-Castlefield 🚆 Closest Train Station: Deansgate Watch The Trailer

Tales From The Lighthouse at HOME Manchester ✨ On Saturday 1st August, my brother, Alice, Leo and I headed into Manchester for the Little HOME Family Festival at HOME Manchester, where we had tickets for the 10.30am performance of Tales From The Lighthouse. We got the bus at around 9.35am and it was such an easy journey because the bus stopped almost directly opposite HOME. As an added bonus, bus travel for children was free throughout August, so we only needed to pay for the adults. We arrived at HOME at around 9.55am, giving us plenty of time before the performance started. Pre-Show Fun at Little HOME 🎨🚀 As soon as we arrived, Alice and Leo headed straight to Creativity Corner. Alice settled down to do some drawing while Leo got involved with making a rocket ship out of cardboard boxes, which he absolutely loved. It was such a nice way for the children to start the morning and gave them something creative to do before we headed into the theatre. Creativity Corner isn't just part of the Little HOME Family Festival either. It's a permanent family-friendly space at HOME where children can enjoy books, dressing up, puppets, toys and colouring activities when visiting the venue. During Little HOME there were additional activities taking place too, including the cardboard rocket-making activity Leo joined in with. I always think little extras like this make family theatre visits feel more relaxed, especially when there is time to fill before a performance starts. Our Seats & View 🎭 When it was time for the performance, we headed into Theatre 2, one of the smaller theatre spaces at HOME, for Tales From The Lighthouse. The seating was unreserved, so you could sit wherever you wanted. A lot of the seats at the front had already been taken by the time we went in, so we decided to sit towards the back where the rake was also slightly better. We ended up on the second row from the back and actually had a really good view. Theatre 2 is a small and intimate space, so even sitting towards the back we never felt far away from the stage and the children could see everything clearly. The Show 🌊 Tales From The Lighthouse is a family theatre production combining storytelling, live folk music, original songs and puppetry, all inspired by myths and stories connected to the sea. The story follows a Lighthouse Keeper who once loved the ocean and everything surrounding it. After tragedy strikes during a storm, his feelings towards the sea completely change and he becomes frightened of something that once brought him so much happiness. As the years pass, he becomes increasingly withdrawn until a mysterious Stranger arrives with his concertina. Through music and stories, the Stranger begins helping the older Lighthouse Keeper reconnect with his past and slowly rediscover the magic of the sea. There is actually quite a thoughtful story underneath all the music and puppetry, exploring things like fear, loss and becoming isolated from the things you once enjoyed. These are quite big subjects for a children's show, but they are handled gently and balanced with humour, music, audience interaction and plenty of magical creatures. The puppetry was definitely the highlight for us. One of the most impressive puppets was the older Lighthouse Keeper. He was almost life-sized and incredibly detailed, with glasses, a moustache and his own yellow waterproofs. I really liked the way the puppet immediately showed that many years had passed. The Selkie was another lovely moment. It begins as a seal before transforming into a woman right in front of the audience, which really fascinated the children. But our favourite was definitely the Water Horse. Rather than staying on the stage, the Water Horse came right out into the audience, allowing the children to reach out and touch it as it passed. It created so much excitement because suddenly this huge mythical creature from the story was right beside them rather than something they were simply watching from their seats. The live music was another big part of the show. Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne performs the music on an Anglo concertina, and I really enjoyed the folk sound throughout. It fitted the lighthouse, sea and folklore themes really well and gave the show a very distinctive atmosphere. There were a few quieter sections where the show became more focused on the music, and I did notice some of the younger children starting to lose concentration a little, although they were soon drawn back in when the puppets and more interactive moments returned. Towards the end, everyone was encouraged to join in with a singalong, which was lots of fun and a lovely way to finish the story. Meeting the Water Horse Afterwards 🐴✨ One of the nicest parts of the experience was that it didn't quite finish when the performance ended. The children were invited to come down and meet the Water Horse puppet properly, which Alice absolutely loved because she loves puppets. After watching it move around the theatre during the show, it was lovely that they could get a closer look at it afterwards and see just how detailed it was. The children were also able to take a closer look at the concertina and even have a little go themselves while the musician held it. I really liked this part of the experience because they had just spent the whole show listening to such an unusual instrument and then got the chance to see how it worked up close. It was a really lovely way to round off the performance. Final Thoughts ✨ We really enjoyed Tales From The Lighthouse at HOME Manchester. It is quite a gentle show, but there is plenty packed into its 55-minute running time, from storytelling and live folk music to audience participation and some fantastic puppetry. There were a few moments during the more music-focused sections where I felt the pace slowed a little for the younger audience, but the production always had something visual or interactive to draw them back in. For us, the puppetry was what made the show particularly memorable. The Selkie transformation was really clever, but the Water Horse coming right into the audience was easily our favourite moment. Getting to meet the Water Horse afterwards and having the chance to look at and try the concertina was also a lovely extra and made the experience feel even more interactive for the children. If your children enjoy puppets, music, magical creatures and stories about the sea, Tales From The Lighthouse offers something a little different from a traditional children's theatre show. A magical family theatre trip filled with live music, mythical creatures and some fantastic puppetry. More Information About Tales From The Lighthouse 🌊 Tales From The Lighthouse was performed at HOME Manchester as part of the Little HOME Family Festival. The show runs for approximately 55 minutes with no interval and is aimed at audiences aged 5 to 105. Our performance at Little HOME was free, although tickets needed to be booked in advance, with a small number also available on the day. This was specific to the Little HOME Family Festival, and performances at other venues may have a ticket charge. Tales From The Lighthouse is a touring production. You can visit the official Tales From The Lighthouse website to find tour dates, venues and further information about the show. If you'd like to read my more detailed theatre-focused review of the production, you can also head over to our sister site, All About Theatre. 🎥 Watch Our Visit in Weekly Vlog If you'd like to see what we got up to during our trip to Little HOME and our visit to see Tales From The Lighthouse, you can watch it in this week's family weekly update vlog. Our Little HOME Family Festival visit begins at 13:12 in the video, although the vlog also includes lots of other family moments from our week. 🎭 At A Glance 📍 Venue: HOME Manchester 🎭 Theatre: Theatre 2 – one of HOME's smaller, more intimate theatre spaces 📅 Performance Attended: Saturday 1st August 2026 at 10.30am ⏱️ Runtime: Approx. 55 minutes ☕ Interval: No interval 👤 Age Guidance: Ages 5+ 🎟️ Tickets: Our Little HOME Family Festival performance was free with advance booking, with a small number of tickets also available on the day. This was specific to the festival, and performances at other venues may have a ticket charge. 💺 Seating: Unreserved for our performance 🎶 Features: Live folk music, original songs, storytelling, audience interaction and puppetry 🐴 Post-Show Experience: Children were invited to meet the Water Horse puppet and could see and have a little go on the concertina 🎨 Creativity Corner: HOME has a permanent family-friendly Creativity Corner with books, dressing-up clothes, puppets, toys and colouring activities for children to enjoy when visiting the venue. During our visit, there were also additional Little HOME festival activities, including the cardboard rocket-making activity Leo joined in with. 🚋 Travel: HOME is easily accessible by tram, bus and train 🚊 Closest Tram Stop: Deansgate-Castlefield 🚆 Closest Train Station: Deansgate 🚌 By Bus: Several bus services stop close to HOME; the bus we used stopped almost directly opposite the venue 📍 Address: HOME Manchester, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, M15 4FN 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Events at HOME: Visit HOME Manchester's family page to find out more about visiting HOME with children and see what family-friendly shows, activities and events are coming up at the venue. 🌍 Tales From The Lighthouse Tour Dates: Visit the official Tales From The Lighthouse website for tour dates, venues and further show information.

Oh Zeus at The Lowry – A Night Out With My Brother On Tuesday 28th July, I headed to The Lowry to review Oh Zeus!, the latest comedy from Le Navet Bete. This theatre trip ended up starting much earlier than usual thanks to all the work currently taking place on the tram line. There were no trams running that day and the bus I would normally catch was missing out MediaCity, so getting to The Lowry wasn't quite as straightforward as it normally is. Rather than risk being late, I decided I might as well set off early, get myself over to Salford Quays and have something to eat before the show. My brother was meeting me there later, although as you'll discover, his journey didn't exactly go to plan either! Getting To The Lowry Without The Tram 🚌 My slightly complicated journey involved first catching a bus to the Trafford Centre and then changing onto the number 30 bus. I got off opposite the Imperial War Museum North at around 4:45pm and walked across the bridge towards The Lowry. Considering the performance wasn't starting until 7pm, I had managed to arrive with more than two hours to spare! I definitely didn't need to worry about being late. Since I had so much time, my first stop wasn't actually the theatre. Instead, I headed into the Cadbury shop and treated myself to one of their Roses pick and mix boxes. I am very predictable when it comes to Roses, so rather than having an actual mixture, I filled mine entirely with strawberry and orange creams! With chocolate sorted, it was time to find some proper food. Dinner At Nando's Before The Show 🍗 At around 5:05pm, I headed to Nando's, which is just across from The Lowry. One of the advantages of arriving so early was that I could actually sit down and enjoy some food without constantly checking the time and worrying about whether I needed to rush off to the theatre. I left Nando's at around 6:10pm and rang my brother to see how his journey was going. He wasn't entirely sure when he would arrive but thought it would probably be somewhere around 6:30pm to 6:40pm, depending on the buses. Since I didn't really have anywhere else I needed to be, I decided to head into The Lowry and wait for him there. On the way in, I stopped at the box office to pick up my programme and was also given two drinks vouchers. I then found one of the tables near the bar outside the Lyric Theatre and spent some time reading through the programme while I waited. By 6:30pm there was still no sign of my brother. I rang him again and discovered he was probably going to be another 15 minutes, so I decided to make my way upstairs towards the Quays Theatre, where Oh Zeus! was being performed. Oh Zeus Programme & Merchandise 📖 There wasn't a merchandise stand for Oh Zeus! and the only souvenir available was the official programme. The programme cost £4.50, which I thought was really good value. It was a proper good-quality programme with plenty of information about the production inside, rather than just a small cast sheet, and at £4.50 it was considerably cheaper than a lot of theatre programmes I've bought recently. I spent the next little while sitting in the Quays Bar reading it and waiting for my brother. And waiting... By 6:50pm, I decided I couldn't really wait any longer and headed into the auditorium to find my seat. Thankfully, at around 6:55pm, with just five minutes to spare, my brother finally appeared! Nothing like making a dramatic entrance. Our Seats In The Quays Theatre 🎭 For this performance, we were seated in the Stalls, Row M, Seats 1 and 2. Row M is the second row from the back of the stalls, but I was really pleased with the view. We had a clear view of the whole stage and I never felt like we were too far away from the action. The Quays Theatre is a much smaller and more intimate space than the Lyric Theatre at The Lowry, so even towards the back of the stalls you still feel quite close to the stage. I would happily choose Row M again. The performance started at 7pm, almost immediately after my brother had sat down. Act One lasted approximately 70 minutes, followed by a 20-minute interval. After his slightly stressful journey over, the interval gave my brother and me a chance to properly catch up. We also used our drinks vouchers at the bar. I went for a lemonade while my brother chose a cider. The second half began at around 8:30pm and lasted approximately an hour, with the performance finishing at around 9:30pm. Greek Gods, Mortals & Complete Chaos ⚡ I had previously seen Le Navet Bete's King Arthur in 2024 and really enjoyed it, so I already had a good idea of the company's style of comedy before seeing Oh Zeus!. This time, they've turned their attention to Greek mythology. The story begins when Zeus discovers that his daughter Hebe plans to marry Gregg, a mortal who owns the brilliantly named Hotel Krapios. Zeus isn't exactly thrilled about the idea of his daughter marrying a human and becomes determined to stop the wedding. Naturally, things don't quite go according to plan. What follows is a very silly journey involving gods, mortals, mythical creatures and eventually a trip to the Underworld. You definitely don't need to know loads about Greek mythology beforehand to enjoy it. There are plenty of references for people who do know the stories, but at its heart this is simply a very funny piece of physical comedy. One of the things I enjoy most about Le Navet Bete is just how much they manage to do with only three performers. Al Dunn, Matt Freeman and Nick Bunt constantly disappear from the stage before reappearing moments later as completely different characters. Sometimes the changes happen so quickly that I genuinely found myself wondering how they'd managed to get changed in time. The physical comedy was probably my favourite part of the show. The set is filled with doors, windows, different levels and places for characters to suddenly appear from, and the cast make full use of all of them. There's always something happening somewhere on stage and some of the biggest laughs came from the visual comedy rather than the dialogue. I particularly enjoyed Matt Freeman's Hera, who was one of my favourite characters of the evening. There is also quite a bit of audience interaction, but it felt fun rather than uncomfortable, and the cast were brilliant at reacting to whatever the audience gave them. Set, Costumes & A Trip To The Underworld 🔥 Visually, Oh Zeus! is much more impressive than you might expect from a three-person comedy. The Greek-inspired set transforms as the story moves between Mount Olympus, Hotel Krapios and eventually Hades, with the lighting changing dramatically once the characters reach the Underworld. The costumes are also a huge part of the fun. With the performers playing so many different gods, mortals and mythical creatures, there is a seemingly endless collection of costumes, wigs and ridiculous transformations. The first half was my favourite of the two acts. It felt incredibly quick and there was barely time to recover from one joke before something else happened. I did feel the pace slowed slightly once we reached Hades in the second half and there were one or two scenes I probably would have shortened. However, there were still plenty of laughs and I really enjoyed the show overall. If you like physical comedy, farce and productions that don't take themselves remotely seriously, Oh Zeus! is definitely worth checking out. The Journey Home 🚌 After the show finished at around 9:30pm, my brother and I headed back outside and walked across the bridge towards the Imperial War Museum North. With the trams still out of action, we caught the bus back to the Trafford Centre together. Once we arrived there, it was time to say goodbye as we were catching different buses for the final part of our journeys home. It had taken considerably more buses than one of my usual trips to The Lowry, but thankfully everything had worked out in the end – even if my brother did arrive with only five minutes to spare! Final Thoughts ⭐ Overall, I had a really enjoyable evening seeing Oh Zeus at The Lowry. Having enjoyed King Arthur a couple of years ago, it was lovely to see Le Navet Bete again and discover another of their wonderfully silly adventures. For me, the biggest strength of Oh Zeus! is the three performers. The speed at which they move between characters is incredibly impressive and their comic timing makes even some of the most ridiculous moments work. I also loved the colourful set, costumes and the way the production uses the whole stage as part of the comedy. The second half didn't quite have the same momentum as the first for me, but there was still plenty to enjoy and I left The Lowry having had a really fun evening. It was also lovely having my brother there. Once he'd actually managed to make it to the theatre, anyway! A wonderfully silly night of Greek gods, physical comedy and theatrical mayhem – and definitely worth all those buses. More Information About Oh Zeus! 📍 Oh Zeus! is at The Lowry till 1st August, tickets are available on the Lowry wibesite. Tickets for the Lowry performances ranged from £21.50 to £34.50. For future performances and tour information, check the official Le Navet Bete website. If you'd like to read my more theatre-focused 4-star review of the production, you can also head over to All About Theatre. 🎥 Watch My Theatre Trip In The Weekly Vlog If you'd like to see what I got up to during my trip to see Oh Zeus!, you can watch the theatre trip in my weekly vlog. I'll add the vlog number and timestamp here once the video is live. At a Glance 📍 Venue: The Lowry, Salford 📅 Lowry Run: Tuesday 28th July – Saturday 1st August 2026 ⏱️ Runtime: Approx. 2 hours 30 minutes including interval ☕ Interval: Approx. 20 minutes 👤 Age Guidance: 12+ 🎟️ Tickets: £21.50 – £34.50 🎭 Genre: Physical Comedy / Farce ⚡ What To Expect: Greek mythology, slapstick comedy, audience interaction, parody songs and rapid character changes 📖 Programme Available: Yes – £4.50 🛍️ Merchandise Available: No merchandise was available at our performance apart from the official programme 💺 Our Seats: Quays Theatre Stalls, Row M, Seats 1 & 2 👀 Seat View: Clear, unobstructed view of the whole stage despite being close to the back of the Stalls 🍽️ Food Nearby: There are several restaurants at Quayside opposite The Lowry, including Nando's 🚋 Getting There: The Lowry is located at Salford Quays and can usually be reached by tram, bus and car. Imperial War Museum North is also served by buses, followed by a short walk across the bridge to The Lowry ♿ Accessibility: The Lowry offers accessible seating and facilities. Check the venue's website for accessibility information and any accessible performances available for individual productions 🌍 Further Tour Dates: Visit the official Le Navet Bete website for future Oh Zeus! tour dates and show information Watch The Trailer

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold at The Lowry On Wednesday 22nd July, Mum and I headed to The Lowry to see The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. I went into this one knowing very little about the story. I'd never read John le Carré's famous novel or seen any of the previous film or television adaptations, so I was experiencing the story completely fresh. Dad dropped us off opposite the Imperial War Museum North at around 7pm and from there we made the short walk across the bridge towards The Lowry. We arrived with around half an hour to spare before the 7:30pm performance. Once inside, one of the first things I did was head over to the Box Office to collect my programme. Programmes & Merchandise 🛍️ After collecting my programme, Mum and I headed over to have a look at the merchandise available for the production. There was actually quite a large selection compared with some plays I've seen recently. The merchandise included: 👕 T-Shirt, sizes S-L – £30 👜 Tote Bag – £25 📓 Notebook – £20 ☕ Travel Mug – £16 📖 Script – £12 📚 Clothbound Book – £22 I didn't buy anything this time, although I always enjoy having a look at what is available before heading into the auditorium. After looking at the merchandise, it was almost time for the performance to begin, so Mum and I headed into the Lyric Theatre to find our seats. Our Seats At The Lowry 🎟️ For this performance we were seated in Stalls Row N, Seats 25 and 26. I was really pleased with the seats. They were centrally positioned and gave us a clear, uninterrupted view of the actors and everything happening across the stage. There was, however, one part of the set that we couldn't fully appreciate from this position. A detailed map had been built into the stage floor, but from our seats in the stalls very little of it was visible. I didn't realise just how detailed the design was until I saw the official production photographs afterwards. I imagine anyone sitting higher up in the Circle or Upper Circle would have a much better overall view of the floor design, although for watching the actual performance I thought our view from Row N was excellent. The play began promptly at 7:30pm. Act One lasted approximately 60 minutes before a 20-minute interval, followed by another 60-minute second act. The performance finished at around 9:50pm. The Story & My Thoughts 🕵️ Set during the Cold War, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold follows British intelligence officer Alec Leamas. After witnessing one of his agents being killed while attempting to cross the border in Berlin, Leamas believes he is finally ready to leave the dangerous world of espionage behind. Instead, he is persuaded to take on one final mission. Back in London, he begins living under a new identity and takes a job in a library, where he meets Liz Gold. From there, the story becomes increasingly complicated as Leamas finds himself surrounded by secrets, betrayal and people whose true loyalties aren't always clear. Without giving too much away, there are a lot of twists. As someone coming to the story completely fresh, I found the first half quite challenging to follow at times. There are lots of characters to meet and plenty of information to take in, and there were moments where I thought I had worked something out only for another twist to completely change what I thought was happening. The second half worked much better for me. Once the bigger picture started to come together, I found myself much more invested in the story and genuinely wanted to know how everything was going to end. This also isn't the type of spy story filled with car chases, gadgets and huge action sequences. Most of the tension comes from the conversations between the characters and never being completely sure who can actually be trusted. Staging, Lighting & Performances 🎭 The staging itself is quite simple, but it works well for the story. The Berlin Wall dominates the back of the stage for much of the production, while smaller pieces of furniture are brought on and off to create the different locations. As I mentioned earlier, there is also a large map built into the floor. It's a really clever part of the design, although unfortunately much of it is lost if you're sitting at stalls level. I really liked the lighting throughout the show. Searchlights, dark shadows and small pools of light helped create a tense atmosphere, while the sound and music added to that feeling without overpowering the dialogue. Ralf Little is rarely off stage as Alec Leamas and gives a really strong performance. He manages to show someone who has spent years surrounded by lies and secrets and has reached a point where trusting anybody has become almost impossible. Gráinne Dromgoole is equally impressive as Liz Gold and brings a much warmer side to the story. I enjoyed her scenes with Ralf Little, particularly because they give the production a chance to slow down amongst all the twists and information. Tony Turner also gives a calm and measured performance as George Smiley, while Nicholas Murchie commands attention as Control. Peter Losasso is suitably intimidating as Hans-Dieter Mundt and Eddie Toll also impresses as Fiedler. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I thought the cast did a really good job of making each one feel different and helping the story stay clear. The Journey Home 🚗 Once the performance had finished at around 9:50pm, Mum and I made our way back out of The Lowry. Dad had come back to pick us up, so thankfully we didn't have to worry about catching a late tram home. We chatted about the show on the journey back, particularly how complicated we had both found parts of the story and what we thought of the performances. Final Thoughts ⭐ Overall, I'm glad I got the chance to see The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, even though it probably wasn't the easiest story to go into knowing absolutely nothing beforehand. I struggled with parts of the first half and spent quite a bit of time trying to work out who was really working for whom, but I enjoyed the second half much more once everything started to make sense. The performances are strong throughout and I particularly enjoyed Ralf Little and Gráinne Dromgoole, while the simple staging, lighting and sound all help create the tense Cold War atmosphere. It wasn't one of my favourite plays I've seen this year, but there was still plenty I appreciated about the production and I'm glad I had the chance to see it. Mum felt quite similarly. She said this one wasn't really for her and, like me, she found parts of the story quite difficult to follow. She wouldn't choose to see it again, although she did think Ralf Little was really good as Alec Leamas. Even though the production wasn't completely for either of us, it was still another lovely theatre evening to share with Mum. More Information About The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 📍 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is at The Lowry until Saturday 25th July 2026, tickets are available from the Lowry wedsite. For more information about the production, including future tour dates and show information, visit the official The Spy Who Came in from the Cold website. If you'd like to read my more theatre-focused review, you can also head over to All About Theatre. 🎥 Watch Our Theatre Trip In My Weekly Vlog If you'd like to see what Mum and I got up to during our trip to see The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, our theatre visit will also feature in Weekly Vlog #461. Our trip to the show begins at 01:08 in the video, although the vlog also includes some other family moments from our week. At a Glance 📍 Venue: The Lowry, Salford 📅 Date Attended: Wednesday 22nd July 2026 ⏱️ Runtime: Approx. 2 hours 20 minutes including interval ☕ Interval: Approx. 20 minutes 🎭 Genre: Cold War Spy Drama 💺 Our Seats: Stalls Row N, Seats 25 & 26 👀 Seat View: Excellent clear and central view of the stage, although the floor design is difficult to appreciate from stalls level 📖 Programme Available: Yes 🛍️ Merchandise Available: T-Shirts, Tote Bags, Notebooks, Travel Mugs, Scripts and Clothbound Books 👕 T-Shirt: £30, sizes S-L 👜 Tote Bag: £25 📓 Notebook: £20 ☕ Travel Mug: £16 📖 Script: £12 📚 Clothbound Book: £22 🚗 Travel: We were dropped off opposite the Imperial War Museum North and walked across the bridge to The Lowry 🚋 Public Transport: The Lowry is accessible by tram and bus 🌍 Further Tour Dates: Visit the official production website for future dates and show information Our tickets for this performance were kindly gifted for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Watch The Trailer

Family Weekly Update This week's family weekly update covers 20th–26th July, and it was a very busy one! Between a theatre trip, an early birthday date with Lawrence, the children's last days at school and getting everything ready for my birthday, I seemed to spend most of the week making, designing or organising something.# There was also a very exciting early birthday present, plenty of musical theatre-themed crafting and, by Sunday evening, we'd finished the week with cake, friends and a very nostalgic game of Lips on the Xbox 360. 💻 Monday – Editing Day Monday was a fairly normal start to the week. I spent most of the day doing what I usually do on a Monday – editing our weekly vlog and writing the previous week's family weekly update for the blog. It might not be the most exciting way to start the week, but both jobs always seem to take much longer than I expect! 🎂 Tuesday – Designing My Birthday Cake My birthday was at the end of the week and we were having a few friends round on Sunday to celebrate. I didn't really want to make my own birthday cake, but I couldn't find anything I particularly liked in the shops either. In the end, I decided to order a plain cake from Costco and decorate it myself using my edible printer and lots of sprinkles. Obviously, I couldn't just make a simple cake topper! I decided to give the cake a musical theatre theme, and because I didn't have much time to design everything from scratch, I used AI to help me come up with some of the artwork. One idea quickly turned into another, and before I knew it I was also designing musical theatre-themed crisp packets and KitKat wrappers to match. That pretty much took up my entire day! 🎭 Wednesday – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold at The Lowry During the day I caught up on some housework before heading to The Lowry with Mum in the evening to review The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Dad dropped us off opposite the Imperial War Museum North at around 7pm and we walked across the bridge to The Lowry. Once we arrived, I collected my programme from the Box Office, had a quick look at the merchandise and then we headed into the Lyric Theatre to find our seats. We were sitting in Stalls Row N, Seats 25 and 26, which gave us a great clear and central view of the stage. The play started at 7:30pm and finished at around 9:50pm. Dad came to pick us up afterwards and, when I got home, I decided to make a start on my review while everything was still fresh in my mind. Apparently I was more tired than I realised because I ended up falling asleep while writing it, so I had to finish it the following day! 👉 You can read more about our trip to see The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and my shorter review [HERE – ADD SARAH MONAGHAN LINK WHEN LIVE] 👉 Read my full The Spy Who Came in from the Cold review on All About Theatre HERE. 🎳 Thursday – Bowling, TGI Fridays & My New iPad Thursday was the only day Lawrence was off while the children were still at school, so we decided to have an early birthday day out together. We caught the bus to the Trafford Centre and started with a game of bowling at King Pins. Of course, I had to get a raspberry blue slushie. I don't think I can go bowling without one anymore – it's basically tradition! Neither of us played particularly well, and somehow it turned into an incredibly close game that came down to the final go. Unfortunately for me, Lawrence won. After bowling, we walked across from Trafford Palazzo to the Trafford Centre for lunch at TGI Fridays. I'd been looking forward to this for ages because I love their steak with the whisky glaze. We went for the lunchtime menu, which was £12.49 for a starter, main and drink, although the steak was an additional £8. I chose garlic ciabatta bread with cheese for my starter and a medium-rare steak with chips for my main, while Lawrence went for chicken bites followed by the whisky-glazed sesame chicken burger. We also ordered some whisky-glazed sesame chicken strips to share. Lawrence accidentally ordered a Fanta that wasn't included in the offer, so he somehow ended up with two drinks! For dessert, we ordered a chocolate fudge cake with ice cream to share, which was a lovely way to finish our early birthday lunch. The food was delicious, and we've already decided that once the children are back at school we'll have to go again. Before leaving the Trafford Centre, I checked my Krispy Kreme app and spotted a 12 doughnuts for £12 offer, so obviously we couldn't ignore that. We also popped into the Haribo shop, where I treated myself to some birthday sweets – Red Crush and Strawberry Softies. We then walked over to ASDA for a quick look around and picked up some onion ring crisps for Alice, as they're one of her favourites at the moment, before catching the bus home. Once we got back, I finally finished my review of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Then my birthday present from Lawrence arrived! Technically, I'd found it and ordered it myself and he'd paid for it, but that still counts as a birthday present, right? I'd chosen a refurbished 9th generation Apple iPad and Apple Pencil. I was slightly concerned when the iPad arrived in nothing more than a padded envelope, but thankfully it looked fine. Once I'd charged it and checked everything was working properly, I got it all set up and bought Procreate. The main reason I wanted an iPad was so I could start drawing my own artwork and eventually use my designs on things like mugs and notebooks. It's something I've wanted to try for a while, so I'm really excited to start learning how to use Procreate properly and get back into drawing again. 🎶 Friday – Last Day of School & A Musical Theatre Game Apparently designing a cake topper, crisp packets and KitKat wrappers wasn't enough musical theatre birthday preparation for me because on Friday I decided to create an entire musical theatre card game! I designed the game, worked out all the rules and started planning the different cards. I thought it would be something fun we could play when my friends came round on Sunday. Mum and Dad also dropped off my Costco cake, which they'd kindly collected for me. I didn't get chance to start making the game cards straight away because I needed to collect Alice from school a little earlier than usual as it was the last day of term. Once I'd collected Alice, we headed over to Leo's school, where they were holding a special parade around the playground to celebrate his final day there. It felt quite strange knowing this was his last day at the school, especially after it had been such a big part of our routine. Once we were back home, it was straight back into party-preparation mode and I started designing toppers for the cupcakes and biscuits. 🍰 Saturday – Cake Decorating & Party Preparations Saturday was basically one enormous birthday-preparation day. The children and I walked to the local shops to pick up a few things I still needed for Sunday, including crisps and biscuits. Alice had received a £5 Amazon voucher from school for her hard work and improvement with her maths. I added the voucher to our Amazon account and gave her £5 in cash so she could choose something from the shop instead. She chose a cute cherries plush for £1.99 and a Dora the Explorer playset for £2.99. I also spotted a Disney Princess stationery set and couldn't resist buying it. I'm a stationery addict and I love Disney Princesses, so there was really no chance I was leaving that behind! When we got home, it was finally time to decorate my Costco cake. I added the musical theatre cake topper I'd printed using my edible printer and finished it with the sprinkles that had conveniently arrived while we were out. I was really pleased with how it turned out, especially considering I'd started with such a simple plain cake. I then quickly made a batch of cupcakes before moving on to the crisp packets I'd designed earlier in the week. Now that I'd bought the actual crisps, I could finally put everything together. Then I went back to working on my musical theatre card game. I'd decided that the song cards would use QR codes linking to the correct songs, so every card needed its own code. After completing around 50 cards, I realised I was planning to make approximately 300 altogether. There was absolutely no chance I was finishing that before Sunday! I decided to put the game on the back burner and finish it properly at a later date rather than rushing it. Instead, I moved on to making some treats. I melted white chocolate and coloured half pink and half green before covering mini pretzels in each colour. I also dipped some wafer biscuits in pink chocolate and added sprinkles. Finally, I used the remaining pink chocolate to make little pretzel nests. I broke up some pretzel sticks, mixed them into the chocolate, spooned the mixture into muffin cases and popped them into the fridge to set. By that point, I'd definitely done enough baking and crafting for one day! 🎈 Sunday – It's My Birthday! Sunday was finally my birthday! I spent the morning finishing the last few things before everyone arrived. I iced the cupcakes I'd made the day before, as well as some biscuits we'd bought from the shop, and added the edible toppers I'd printed to both. I was really pleased with how everything came together. While I prepared the party food, Lawrence blew up some balloons and put up a few decorations. Our friends arrived at around 6pm, and we spent the first part of the evening eating all the food I'd prepared and having a good catch-up. Then we decided to get my old Xbox 360 out and play Lips. I hadn't played it in ages, but it was so much fun. Leo really enjoyed joining in too, and of course there was one song that absolutely had to be performed. Whenever my friend Ste and I play Lips, it's tradition for us to sing The Phantom of the Opera together, so naturally we had to bring that tradition back! Eventually everyone sang Happy Birthday, I blew out the candles on my musical theatre cake and cut it up for everyone. I then opened my presents before everyone headed home. Once we'd got the children into bed, Lawrence and I did a quick tidy-up, watched a little TV and, naturally, finished my birthday with another piece of cake. It had been a very busy week, but it was such a lovely way to spend my birthday. Final Thoughts Looking back at this week's family weekly update, I seem to have spent most of my time either designing, making or decorating something! What started with the simple idea of buying a plain Costco cake somehow turned into designing a musical theatre cake topper, crisp packets, KitKat wrappers, cupcake toppers, biscuit toppers and an entire card game that will eventually contain around 300 cards. Getting my iPad and Apple Pencil has also made me really excited to start drawing again. I haven't properly drawn for quite a while, and I'm looking forward to learning Procreate and experimenting with creating my own artwork. It was also a big week for the children with the end of the school year and Leo saying goodbye to his school, before we finished everything off by celebrating my birthday with friends and family. There was lots of food, far too much cake and plenty of terrible singing on Lips – which sounds like a pretty good birthday to me! Now I just need to finish those other 250 cards... Watch Weekly Vlog #461 You can watch everything from this week's family weekly update, including my birthday preparations, our bowling trip, my new iPad and Apple Pencil and my birthday celebrations, in Weekly Vlog #461 below.