We were lucky enough to see the show a few weeks ago and had a really enjoyable evening.

Watching films and television is fine but there is something about live theatre. Berwick Kaler and Martin Barrass lead a very talented cast in the show with plenty of wit and slapstick.

We particularly liked the used of the video screen in the performance and the local references.

With bright costumes, a funny cast, an audience sing-a-long and much much more if you get chance over the next two weeks it is really worth a trip.

Robin Hood and his Merry Mam is on at York Theatre Royal, St Leonard’s Place, York until February 2nd.

Photo copyright Kipper Matthews.

Set in beautiful countryside the park provides the opportunity to ice skate, go Nordic (cross country) ski-ing, get lost in a winter maze and do our personal favourite which was a walk through the Enchanted Forest. There is also a cafe for a warming cup of tea and snack.

We visited a few weeks ago on their opening night of the season and were very lucky to be given the opportunity to try everything.

The Enchanted Forest was a definite favourite with all the family with magical lights and scenes to visit.

For more details see: http://www.stockeldpark.co.uk

In it was a lovely “Little Shrimp William Star Print Top” for smallest child.

Generally I buy clothes for my children from the supermarket or high street shops and tend to go for cost over style. But on this occasion I have been completely won over by the design, fabric, colour and fit. I’m also amazed at how well this top washes.

The material is 98% organic cotton with 2% polyester and it is a very nice thickness of t-shirt. The colours are vivid and they don’t seem to fade with washing.

I will be exploring the website more in the future as it looks a brilliant place for nice coloured, good quality birthday and new-baby presents.  (Smallest child might also need some new pyjamas soon!)

You can follow them on facebook or @daisychainbaby on Twitter.

“Wonderland” is an arts and light project that has been put together with the help of Vic Reeves. We enjoyed wandering around the light installations and watching the creatures projected on the Yorkshire museums. There are also lots of other surprises along the way which we won’t spoil by telling you.

Ten year old Lottie was lucky enough to go to the preview evening and was highly impressed:

“When you first enter the museum gardens it to be honest doesn’t look that great as you can’t see all of the lights hidden away behind the trees. But past the sign saying ‘awful toilets’ you can see almost everything. From bicycle birds to animations of angry teachers, this family friendly event has got it all.

Now, when I said flying birds, you were probably wondering what I was talking about. These bikes, which are attached to light-up wings, can be pedalled to make the wings flap, turn brighter and change colour. By the museum door there are projected animations onto the museum.

If you haven’t been reading this properly then I’ll say it again. ILLUMINATIING YORK S A GREAT PLACE TO GO THIS AUTUMN. Got it? Ok, and remember, don’t worry if you can’t see your map, it’s meant to be dark!”

Thanks Lottie.

Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal Box Office or online from http://www.illuminatingyork.org.uk

They cost £5 for adults, £1 for children and under  fives are free.

The festival runs until Saturday 3^rd November

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The new Perky Peacock is slightly different in decorative style as it has a very modern look to it but it keeps all the things we love about its older sister – “life-saving” cake, gorgeous sandwiches, lovely coffee and my own favourite ginger biscuits.

One new introduction is the brunch that’s now served on a Saturday.

It isn’t a huge shop but there is some nice seating making it the perfect place to meet a friend, grab a quick coffee and cake or just get a takeaway sandwich as you are passing.

Perky Peacock, 74 Gillygate, York   Twitter: @SaviourofCoffee

And also at North Street Postern Tower, Under Lendal Bridge, York.  Twitter: @theperkypeacock

My last memory of a trip to a Harvester was a couple of years ago when we went to one near Temple Newsam near Leeds. I had always thought it was strange we didn’t have one in York so was quite pleased when we were invited to try the new one at Clifton Moor (near the Vue cinema).

We visited early on a week day evening when the restaurant was busy without being crowded. We were shown to a booth at the back of the restaurant – but still close enough to the salad cart.

The children liked the idea of sitting in the booth as it meant we felt like we were in our own private area. Menus, with colouring activities for the children, were excitedly pounced on and our server for the evening introduced herself.

I was slightly daunted by the selection on the adult menu and the idea that you choose a dish and then added a sauce and a side but husband and eldest child, who declared herself too big for the children’s menu, made their choices easily.

Middle child chose a nice selection from the children’s menu and smallest child was pleased to find that ordering just a portion of chips was fine. The children’s menu had a nice selection but I was a bit disappointed that the pasta couldn’t be served without sauce as fussy smallest child would have preferred.

Bowls quickly arrived for us to visit the salad cart – I would like to apologise to other customers there that evening as my children seemed to think helping themselves to salad actually meant filling their bowl with croutons. Our starters quickly arrived after that and the nachos and potato skins were very tasty. When we finished those our plates were promptly cleared away and our main courses arrived without delay.

Three members of the family went for a variety of chicken dishes served with sauces and chips. Having tried to between decide which combination of meat and sauce I went for something completely different and had the very nice plate of scampi and chips. The bigger children had refillable fizzy drinks with their meals which you refilled yourself meaning they had no waiting around to order another drink but due to the very attentive staff even ordering a drink was a very quick process. Our meal was rounded off with huge yummy ice cream sundaes.

We had a very enjoyable trip to the Harvester; the highlights for us were the lovely staff and very attentive service. The food was very nice but my only complaint would be the pre-prepared nature of some of the dishes that meant we couldn’t order the pasta without sauce.

The eating area and the toilets were extremely clean which we often find a problem in some chain restaurants. On the whole we would probably make a return trip to the Harvester but with a bill of just over £70 for our family we would either be looking out for vouchers or saving it for a very special occasion.

1)      Take a trip to the park with a picnic lunch. Rowntree Park and the Homestead are our favourites but for somewhere a little quieter why not try West Bank Park.

2)      Visit the library and sign up for the summer reading challenge.

3)      Go to the Art Gallery – take a pencil and pad to make masterpieces of your own.

4)      If you live in the City of York and have a York Card then entry to the Castle Museum is free – always good for a rainy day.

5)      Another rainy day favourite is the National Railway Museum.

6)      Visit your local charity shop and buy games or dressing up clothes (not free but usually cheap and for a good cause)

7)      The Yorkshire Museum is free with a York Card and has fun activities on throughout the school holidays.

8)      Ride through the solar system along the York to Selby cycle path.

9)      Fill the paddling pool and pretend you are at an outdoor pool! Remember – no bombing or petting.

10)   Something we don’t know much about but are keen to try is  geo-caching.

“When I was living in London in the mid 1990s it seemed all the rage to sit in a book shop slurping on a coffee while reading. Now that concept has been brought back to life in a brilliant fashion with the launch of the new Reading Cafe in Rowntree Park.

There are inside and outside seating areas with plenty of room for pushchairs. Baby changing facilities are also available.

Children’s books are thoughtfully displayed in easily accessible bookcases with plenty of choices of adult reading – it must be the only library facility in York to still have a copy of 50 Shades of Grey on the shelf and I presume that is only because it hasn’t opened yet.

The opening menu offers the usual fare of hot and cold drink and gorgeous looking cakes.
For a savoury option there is a nice range of sandwiches including the yummy sounding chorizo, fried onion and red pepper or the tomato, mozzarella and pesto mayonnaise.

Main meals are also on offer with the menu being developed further over the next few months.

I really like the look of this cafe and the idea behind it. I can’t wait to visit when it’s fully open to see whether it lives up to my expectations.”

The Flax and Twine is a craft shop and cafe spread over three floors near the bottom of the Shambles. 

On the ground floor is a shop area selling very nice vintage and vintage-inspired wares.

The first floor is home to the cafe area – with a “pushchair park” and highchairs children are very welcome.

On the top floor is another seating area that is bookable for private functions and the toilets and baby changing area.

It is well worth a trip up the stairs to see the fabulous wallpaper in the toilet area.

I had tea and lemon drizzle cake on the day I visited but will be taking another trip to explore more of the menu.

With friendly staff and a central location it is definitely high on our list of places to visit in the city centre. Now, bring on the next tea and cake!

The Flax and Twine, 20 Shambles, York, YO1 7LZ   01904 289151

http://www.facebook.com/theflaxandtwine

The fun afternoon is being held at The Friends Meeting House on Friargate in York on Friday 29th June from 2-4pm.

There will be tea, coffee and fabulous homemade cakes for sale along with a raffle – all to raise money for Treasure Chest to train more breastfeeding peer supporters.

The main aim of this event is to give local families a comfortable place to have fun with their children. Breastfeeding information will be available at the event but everyone is welcome.