Lego Discovers Manchester!

Lego is, please excuse the pun, a building block in my childhood.  I really am looking forward to building stuff with Lil H, his imagination is developing at rocket speed now so I have no doubt we will have a great time!  We have fun with Duplo but I really am desperate for him to get into the “proper stuff”.  You know what I mean by proper stuff?  The red, yellow, green and blue bricks that are 4×2’s, 2×2’s and the never enough of 2’s etc.  The bright bricks that really, really, really are excruiciatingly painful when you tread on them in bare feet.  The stuff that makes parents treading on it swear out loud, no matter how they try not to and wander off muttering under their breath because they can’t be cross with you for “quietly playing with Lego”! 

Mr L’s family live near Legoland in Windsor and a visit there is on the “to do list”.  However much closer to home (a little PR fairy tells me) at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, a Lego Discovery Centre is due to open before Easter on 22nd March 2010!  That’s less than four months away and the other great news is that it is aimed at families aged 3-12years (that’s me! me! me!) or up to 36+ years young if like me you still love your Lego!  Sadly my skills are rusty, in the Lego building halls of fame I am an amateur and would be seriously out classed should I have applied for the role as Master Model Builder – think X-Factor contest but in Lego.  Indeed the lucky candidate who wins the appointment will literally be paid to build Lego models all day long.  Yes, seriously, this job exists!  Wanna be Kylie, Ryan Giggs, Terry Pratchett?  But can’t sing, play or write?  No fear!  If you can build ’em in Lego your ideal job does in fact exist! 

I’m writing about this new opening because I am a North West girl and a big supporter of the regeneration of Manchester and its surroundings.  We have some fab attractions and frankly living in the UK (until global warming really starts to take off!) the more indoor attractions for families the better.  Its being opened by the guys who do Legoland (obviously, duh!) The London Eye, Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers.  The Legoland Discovery Centre whilst the first in the UK, and they picked MANCHESTER, but of course, will be the fourth in the world.  So I’m thinking they will have worked out what works, doesn’t and we’ll have a really great family day out on our hands.  The Manchester Legoland Discovery Centre promises to be the best yet.  Amongst a host of themed Lego attractions, it will host:

• ‘Miniland’ featuring key landmarks from Manchester and the Northwest including Salford Quays, the Blackpool Tower and the Lake District


• An interactive and immersive LEGO themed ride


• A 4D cinema where you can reach out and touch the stars


• Learn some building secrets in a Model Builder’s Workshop


• Birthday rooms for that special big treat! (FAB!  Outsource for excellence I say!)

So that’s what I know about what’s coming from Lego in March, I will write more as I hear more, but for now I’m off to hone my brick building skills.  Whilst writing this post I was tweeting about trying to find some Lego Kickers for Lil H, my tweet got misread as Lego KNICKERS, as in underwear, and I now appear to have started a Lego Knicker building contest!  As a Wannabe Master Model Builder I am determined to win … if only I could find more yellow 2’s …

We got the chicken pox jab!

Some of you may have read the prequel posts to this, but for those who haven’t a quick summary … I decided that rather than my son experience chicken pox and my household experience him with chicken pox I would have H vaccinated against it.  First clinic couldn’t do it due to wierd coincidence that the private doctor happened to also work at our GP Practice and there are rules about that, second, the Childrens Immunisation clinic www.childrensimmunisation.com  in Manchester were brilliant and cheaper than the first! 

The vaccination against Chicken Pox is routinely done along with the MMR, the MMRV vaccine, in the USA and Canada.  It is also done in the UK on the NHS if you haven’t contracted Chicken Pox by the age 12.  Being brutally honest my reasons are mostly very practical reasons behind the decision – at the end of the day I don’t feel there is any benefit to my son to experience the illness and the financial cost of avoiding this to give him the same immunity level as having the illness is just £95 so to me it was a no brainer.  The cost of the jab is less than the nursery fees I would still have to pay even though he wouldn’t be able to attend nursery with the pox for around a week.  Chicken Pox can be a serious illness for some, I know two children who have been hospitalised with the pox, but generally for most just uncomfortable but it does tend to leave scars and for parents a series of sleepness nights and an upset child. 

So anyway we had the jab – in, out and done in 2 minutes – my two year old cried for less than 10 seconds and was immediately distracted and appeased with a packet of chocolate buttons.  Following the jab two weeks ago my son has experienced no fever or high temperatures, no blisters or issues around the injection site (which we did with the MMR), there have been no reactions at all and he has no scars and we’ve had no sleepless nights.   Compare that to the tale of a parent with a child with Chicken Pox – all camomile lotion, scratching, tears, scars and Disney channel in the middle of the night and I feel it was money well spent! 

So, would I do it again?  Absolutely, categorically, without question, YES!

Sharing the saving!

I have received notification from the Administrators of Oilily Clothing store which is based on Deansgate in Manchester.

 On Wednesday 6^th May they are going to hold an Open Evening in between the hours of 7–10 pm with fantastic discounts up to 40%, this evening will have limited places and should you be interesting in joining us on the night please email Joanne.Booth@charlestaylor.co.uk to confirm a place.

 After this evening the shop will be trading with the following discounts (subject to terms and conditions) as follows: 

Thursday May 14^th                      10am – 5pm      35% Discount

Friday May 15^th                          10am – 5pm      35% Discount

Saturday May 16^th                      10am – 5pm      35% Discount

Thursday May 21^st                      10am – 5pm      50% Discount

Friday May 22^nd                         10am – 5pm      50% Discount

Saturday May 23^rd                      10am – 5pm      50% Discount