Learning made fun

NEW FRANCHISEE FOR CHILTERNS MUSICAL MINIS

We are delighted to announce that the Musical Minis Chilterns franchise has been re-sold and that classes will be re-starting in May. Our new franchisee, Emily Johnson (seen in the picture) is very excited to have taken over the franchise in the area. 

Emily began attending Musical Minis with her son Oliver when he was around 4 months old; he is now just 1. Emily explained "I’m not sure whether Oliver or I had the most fun! Oliver knows all the songs – especially the Hokey Cokey which always brings a huge smile to his face! When the opportunity to buy the franchise came up I therefore jumped at the chance to become involved."

Emily also said "The classes are packed full of action songs, nursery rhymes, puppets and instruments – there’s something for everyone. The classes aren’t just for the children either – it’s a great way to meet new friends and a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time with your children in a relaxed and fun environment."

Emily initially plans to re-launch classes in the Leighton Buzzard area before expanding into other areas in the Chilterns. Times and venues will be published on the Chilterns page on the website so please check it regularly. If you can’t find a class that’s convenient, please let Emily know as she is open to suggestions for new places to start classes.

Emily and her team have undergone extensive training and we are confident that the classes will be run well and in accordance with Musical Minis developmental aims. We wish Emily all the best for the future and are looking forward to working with her.

Emily can contacted by phoning 01525 237855 or by emailing chilterns@musicalminis.co.uk

Port Douglas And The Daintree Rainforest

The one hour transfer from Cairns to Port Douglas followed the beautiful coastline. We were greeted at the Peninsula Boutique Hotel in great fashion. An ice cold glass of water was followed by an equally cold flannel which was welcome on a fairly hot day. The welcome was the warmest we have ever received and we were shown to a beautiful suite with its own patio leading onto a shared jacuzzi and then down to the swimming pool. January is usually the beginning of the wet season but whilst they had recently had some showers at night, there was no rain during our stay and it was not too humid.

We wanted to visit this area to go and see the rainforest. We were really lucky as we were the only ones on our trip. We had a boat ride along the Daintree River to spot the local wildlife but a high tide meant no crocodiles or snakes were seen. The Daintree Rainforest was fascinating to visit because of the abundance of different trees, shrubs and wildlife. Rob fed by hand some kangaroos and wallabies that had been rescued after road accidents (I wasn't brave enough) and we sampled some home made ice cream from locally grown tropical fruit.

A stroll along four mile beach as the sun was setting seemed such a good idea until we realised that we had a four mile walk back in the dark. Thankfully we were told where the local bus stopped and had a taste of Queensland friendliness. How often has a bus driver asked you whether you liked conundrums? The 10 minute journey was spent with him telling us puzzles and us answering them.

Fundraising Party In South Wales

South Wales Musical Minis held a special fundraising party in March to raise funds for the All Saints Church in Barry's Organ Appeal. Jo Weaving, the South Wales Musical Minis franchisee, uses the church hall for the Monday Musical Minis sessions and decided that it would be great to make a contribution to the £70,000 the Church is trying to raise.

Musical Minis and their siblings came along to the party and joined in with all the fun which included singing, bubbles, parachute, puppets and instruments. After they had sang and danced the Hokey Cokey a very special visitor arrived - Buzz Lightyear! Buzz stayed for photos and to help with the craft activity which was making Humpty Dumpty's before he disappeared back to 'Infinity and Beyond'.

Everyone had a great time and £100 was raised for the Organ Appeal.

Marmite Chocolate

My children bought me a bar of Marmite Chocolate to try this week. They know I like both marmite and chocolate but together they're horrible! If anyone else is tempted to buy it I suggest that you think again!

The chocolate is in a yellow foil wrapper inside a black cardboard box. On the black packet and on the yellow foil the words 'Very Peculiar' are written. Very peculiar and very disgusting are both words that could describe the bar of milk chocolate. It is described as having a hint of marmite indulgence - as soon as you open the packet you are hit with a strong smell of marmite, so I'm unsure where the hint comes from!

Each strip of chocolate is made up of 4 pieces. I had one piece and could still taste it an hour after eating it and having eaten other chocolate afterwards to take the taste away!

Over recent years different tastes and spices have been added to chocolate. I quite like chocolate with chilli or cinnamon and have bought them again after trying them once. Whereas I understand marmite is a taste you either love or hate, I really think marmite chocolate is one you just hate! Surely there will be no repeat buys on marmite chocolate.

Marmite chocolate costs £2.99 from Selfridges. It may be available elsewhere - but I'm guessing not for long!

Hamilton Island - Queensland Paradise

Landing at Hamilton Island we got a real flavour of what was to come. The luggage arrives not on a conveyor belt but piled on a series of trolleys. The hotels are there to greet the guests and to take them and the luggage on the very short journey to their hotel. Everything is handled with super efficiency. What is most noticeable is the preferred means of transport - the golf buggy.

Our room was on the 13th floor of the Reef View Hotel. The view from the bedroom was amazing, looking across the beach towards Whitsunday Island (famous for its Whitehaven Beach). The bed is sited so that you can look through the massive patio window onto this view. The one warning is not to leave the balcony doors open as the native cockatoos like looking for food in unoccupied rooms.

We spent three nights on Hamilton Island and absolutely loved it. Hamilton Island is a resort but it was so different from our previous resort experience at Ayers Rock as to be incomparable. The whole area is geared to tourists and in addition to the golf buggies there are free island buses and numerous walks round the island. The marina (where most of the restaurants were located) was a 10 minute walk. The restaurants we tried were of a very good quality without being over priced. Indeed, given there is a captive audience, the prices of most things were cheaper than we had got used to elsewhere in Australia. At capacity there are 8,000 tourists and 2,000 staff. We were there at the height of the season and it certainly didn't feel crowded. Indeed we took one walk along the beach and didn't see another person.

The highlights for us were the Great Barrier Reef, the views from Peak Point and cocktails at One Tree Hill at sunset. The trip out to the Great Barrier Reef was really well organised. There was the chance to snorkel, scuba dive and go into a semi-submersible as well as looking at the reef and fish from an underwater viewing chamber. Rob went snorkelling with a marine biologist for a reasonable additional cost and was shown things he might otherwise have missed. I am not a great fan of water so stuck to the semi-submersible, which I went out in twice.

The airport was good fun at departure. The security was excellent. I was selected to undergo an explosives check with the security man sharing his family history on both sides. His mother's family arrived with the first or second fleet (i.e. convicts), whilst his father's family was descended from William Pitt (the prime minister). Not often you hear a story like that. We boarded a small plane to take us on to our final Australian stopping point, Port Douglas.

Happy Easter

Everyone at Musical Minis would like to wish you all a great Easter.

If you haven't already done so click here and enter your details to download our free Easter activity pack for lots of ideas to do with your children, whatever the weather.

Have fun!

Easter Fun With Musical Minis In Gloucestershire

Join Gloucestershire Musical Minis for an action-packed Easter party.

Tuesday 10th April 10.15 to 11.45am at Christ Church Parish Centre, Malvern Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2JH

Easter/Spring Arts and Crafts
Action Songs
Parachute and Bubble Machine
Story and Rhymes
Drink and Easter biscuit
Easter egg for every child to take home

£6 per child Adults free (discounts available for siblings)

Contact Jo on 01242 228232 or joanna@musicalminis.co.uk 

Please book and pay in advance – places not available on the day