First was the Cannt (the antihero of Cannes), the second was the NMA Awards at The Grovesnor (where my fabulous colleague Laura JB won The Greatest Contribution to New Media Award) and the third, my home from home; Cybermummy.

Cybermummy was so much fun and incredibly social in the true meaning of the word. It embraces the chaos and joy of life and kids are part of the package. Not an eyebrow was raised, just warm smiles, as I arrived with my daughter in tow (who snaffled every chocolate and cupcake on offer before sloping off with a goodie bag). The event celebrates the Mummy blogging phenomenon and is leading the overwhelmingly positive movement among women bloggers, as referenced here in The Independent. And most of all, it’s a bit of a laugh.

So what’s it really like?

As we arrived at the we were greeted by a very jolly doorman, who wouldn’t have been out of place at The Savoy, at The Brewery on Chiswell Street.

‘Welcome to Cybermummy!’ he announced.

Blimey, I thought, it’s all gone a bit posh this year. The venue was a cool space in the City and very impressively laid out over three floors.

My favourite place was The Recharge Zone – it was very serene with massage therapists, two hair stylists, a make up artist, a medicine ball advice area and a smoothie bar. As planned, I took full advantage of this and my hair done, a massage and a smoothie.

Inside Cybermummy Central was a vast array of branded stands from the likes of Disney, Savlon, The Portland Hospital, Crocs, Boots, Savlon and more. There was a plethora of branded cupcakes and mints on hand to refresh the hordes of bloggers and some lovely wine courtesy of Naked. Many sponsors, such as Butlins, were keen to sign up brand ambassadors to spread the word about their companies, while others such as Hyundai were there to listen and interact with bloggers. Bloggers were given a Cybermummy passport which was filled with the logos of all the sponsors. The passport had to be signed by all the sponsors in order to enter a competition. I made it round to all of them and was encouraged to sign up for other competitions on the stands. I didn’t win anything. I did give away my details. I didn’t mind. The people were really well informed about their products and enjoying being part of the event so it didn’t feel like a big sell. I also knew quite a lot of the sponsor already so it was nice to catch up with them face to face. The event feels like meeting up with an extended and enormous family.

There were quite a few speakers, including keynote Sarah Brown who I was very keen to see. She told the story of how she and Martha Lane Fox worked through the various social media channels available and how she chose twitter. I liked her approach to social media; she spoke with a voice of experience so was a great choice. Sadly I was far too fidgety to sit around for the other speakers and checked out a couple of workshops.

There were four schedules of three workshops running concurrently. I went to Inspiring Content which was great because it was about sharing learnings; Tara Cain, Karamina and Red Ted Art were honest, informative and fun. The WordPress workshop was a bit too 101 but a few people I spoke to were keen to move from blogger so this would have been a great starter for them.

There were a couple of classic clangers; Sophie King upset a few bloggers in her workshop (which I’m glad I missed) by telling them to rebrand, and Boris Johnson’s sister claimed she didn’t know anything about social media (according to some tweets) – well, you can’t please all the people can you?

And the rest?

I have to confess I spent much of my time mooching around and speaking to people I haven’t seen for ages and making new friends. We all spend so much time on our laptops and gadgets that it’s a joy to put them aside for a day. I was armed with all my usual blogging paraphernalia but instead of live blogging, I checked it into the cloakroom.

At the end of the conference, screens drew back to reveal a bar for the networking drinks. It was a great way to end the event. I reckon it should be a full weekend next year – Jen, Sian, Susanna – are you listening?

To conclude; social media is such a personable business and an event like this shows brands how it should be done – I hope a lot of social media practitioners are taking note of this. And to everyone I had the pleasure of catching up with, I hope to see you all again soon.

So what’s next? I shall spend the next few days weeding through the sample packs.

And if you’re coming to the IAB Social Media Conference on Tuesday – come and say hello.

Theatre purists often snort with derision when stars of the small and silver screen grace the stages of the West End. But why should they? I’ve seen great productions such as This Is Our Youth with Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix and not so great with Phil Jupitus in Hairspray. That’s the nature of theatre though and everyone is allowed their own point of view.

In January I was one of many who spent hours trying to buy tickets online for this new production of Much Ado About Nothing. My patience paid off and I managed to bag two tickets.

The cast is led by BBC faves; Catherine Tate and David Tennant and their larger than life characters; Beatrice and Benedick – the antagonistic lovebirds. Both translate brilliantly from the small screen and fill the stage with a huge presence and the sound of laughter.

The set was rather like something I would expect to see at The National – a minimalist revolving stage with central pillars which both defined the look and feel of Messina but also served to offer two separate scenes, the all-important fore and background, the necessary mechanic for comedic drama.
The floor and air space were well utilised and the sideshow of painters provided a great distraction; in one scene Catherine Tate was elevated repeatedly skywards as she overheard a conversation, her journeys propelled by the hapless painters move up and down while they painted pillars. And then David Tennant, in a true as true can be bout of slapstick, managed to absent mindedly paint himself with whitewash, much to everyone’s amusement.

Two things really stood out for me; the Royal family parodies and the 80s inspired dancing. There were more than a few nods to Adam Ant and Wham and I felt that the production was let down by not using the original songs and the muzak inspired versions (possibly the production team did not want to pay royalties) of these 80s hits let things down by being tangential rather than on the money. That said, the wardrobes were great, especially the men in their floppy pirate shirts and leather jeans and tukka boots. I especially liked Hero’s wedding dress and the Princess Diana mask she donned for one of the parties.

So what to expect? There’s an instant recognition of both Catherine Tate and David Tennant as spectacular TV icons but what they do is transcend the genre we are accustomed to seeing them in and they shine on stage without putting the rest of the company in the shadows. I would definitely see this again. I was surprised that the language of Shakespeare truly stood the test of time and there was a lot of fun to be had throughout the whole production.

Shakespeare competes with many of our favourite pop stars and films now appearing in the West End; Think Queen (We Will Rock You), Grease, Priscilla and so on. But the enduring sprit of Shakespeare is an inspiration in itself, and I’m glad that the big stars of the BBC are bringing audiences in their droves back to the Bard.

So that’s my opinion. And what of Miniminx? She was after all the beneficiary of tickets due to a post SATs celebration – she enjoyed it, but preferred King Lear. Now that’s quite something in itself.

Here’s some video stuff I found about the show.

Cast
David Tennant (Benedick)
Catherine Tate (Beatrice)
Tom Bateman (Claudio)
Alex Beckett (Borachio)
Joshua Berg (Titus)
Jonathan Coy (Leonato)
Anna Farnworth (Innogen)
Mike Grady (Verges)
Clive Hayward (Hugh Oatcake/Friar Francis)
Derek Howard (Angelo)
Kathryn Hunt (Ursula)
Adam James (Don Pedro)
Lee Knight (Conrade)
Elliot Levey (Don John)
Nicholas Lumley (George Seacole)
Sarah MacRae (Hero)
John Ramm (Dogberry)
Enzo Squillino Junior (Balthasar/Sexton)
Leo Staar (Messenger)
Natalie Thomas (Margaret)
Hannah Warren-Green (Maria)

Creative
Author: William Shakespeare
Director: Josie Rourke
Producer: Sonia Friedman Productions

Show info:

Two young lovers Claudio and Hero are to be married imminently but the devious scheming of a resentful Prince looks set to thwart the nuptials.

Meanwhile, marriage seems inconceivable for reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick whose endless witty sparring threatens to keep them apart forever.

Directed by Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s great plays and reminds us all of the failings and triumphs of the human condition in our never ending search for perfect love.

Dates
Previews from 16th May 2011
Opening night 1st June 2011
Booking through until 1st September 2011

Audience: Much Ado About Nothing is suitable for audiences aged 8 and above

Run time: tba

So first stop was Churchill’s Britain at War on Tooley Street, SE1 just near London Bridge and the London Dungeon. I bought tickets online which gives a £3 discount and worked out at about £15 for an adult and child. The venue is easy to find as it’s covered in memorabilia outside; including a large V2 rocket.

We entered the exhibition by descending in a lift; once in the depths of the place we were soon hit by the musty smell of damp and old London. We followed the signs and arrived at a small screening room and watched some fascinating old war footage. We sat on old chairs and there were bunk beds along the side wall occupied with ‘civilians’ taking shelter from the blitz. They were dummies but it was a little unnerving as we were in the dark. The films were extremely moving; the stories were told through voice overs quoting from old letters; one in particular sent from a young man at sea during the war, his ship was sunk with the loss of over a thousand lives. The narrator read his letters home and the telegram to his Mother informing her that he was missing in action. It was very poignant to hear the stories of women who’d had their homes bombed and of course, the many children who were sent away to the country and away from London.

As we walked around viewing war memorabilia; including some great posters like the ones below. It was heavily focused on life at home and the impact of war on the British public.

There were some room sets like this listening post and a pub set up complete with a soldier taking some time out to read a newspaper. They were far from perfect but the place had a great atmosphere.

There were loads of articles from old magazines and I found this one of boys working in munitions factories quite stunning. In 2011, as we spend time looking at developing countries and ponder the fate of families, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago, wartime Britain and Europe was facing the same, if not worse, conditions.

The exhibition space had some great displays from life in wartime Britain which included clothing, ration books, magazines and the obligatory gas masks. We got to sit in a bomb shelter, which was no bigger than a three man tent, and listened to the sirens and blasts. It felt surreal.

The grand finale of the tour is the Blitz Experience which is a walk through of a bomb site and it was really scary because we were the only two people there. It was dark, badly lit and there were lots of sound effects. A blown out house had a broken bath and water gushing from a burst pipe, there were broken bodies too (more dummies!). And then we arrived in the gift shop.

It was an interesting exhibition, definitely great for kids as it’s quite short, possibly a bit too short as I felt we had only seen half of what we should for the price.

We definitely had an appetite for more war stuff – so off we went to the Imperial War Museum. It’s not as conveniently placed as Britain at War but the venue is quite breathtaking. I also wanted us to see the Once Upon a Wartime exhibition which is based on five children’s books about war.

The museum is free and it’s got a great restaurant so we had lunch before going to the Once Upon a Wartime exhibition. We got our tickets for £10 for the both of us and spent some time walking round it. There are rooms dedicated to each of the books; War Horse, Little Soldier, Carrie’s War, The Machine Gunners and The Silver Sword, which are also on the year 6 curriculum at the moment. I was a bit disappointed to find the design of the Warhorse room – based around the book by Michael Morpurgo – aimed at very small children – I’d say about five years old – so it wasn’t easy for either of us to read the display cards.

There was a lot to take in and Carrie’s War had some great displays, including this kitchen cupboard which conceals a skull. Visitors are invited to interact with the exhibition and answer questions about war by using mixed media; from opening cupboards to using touch screens.

We moved around the floors which are choc full of anything from rockets, submarines and tanks to bombs and old buses, and found that the Holocaust Exhibition was not suitable for under 15s so off we went to view the Children at War rooms.

The display cabinets were great and I loved the artwork as well.

These food posters are pretty cool, especially since the potato is not even considered a vegetable in these 5-a-day days.

Secret War was by far our favourite, covering off MI5, MI6, SOEs and more and even better there’s a quiz for kids to take round and complete. There are some great displays of old spy gear which would not be out of place in a Bond movie.

There’s another are called Outbreak based around the start of World War II in England. There were more posters on display, including the now iconic ‘Keep Calm and Carry’ graphic which is all over the place right now due to the enduring credit crunch. It all felt unnervingly current.

With all there was to see at the Imperial War Museum, the big test for us was to compare the Blitz Experience offering with the one at Britain at War. We queued for ages and it was really disappointing. About 20 of us sat in a dark room and listened to a sound track voiced by ‘East Enders’ followed by a walk round of a bomb site. Our guide shone a torch to direct us where to look and we were both trying not to laugh because it seemed so amateur. We did snigger a little when we walked round in the semi dark and spotted another broken bath – the missing half of the one we’d seen earlier perhaps?

For all the grandiosity of the Imperial War Museum, I felt it was too much and a little too masculine in that women were under represented. And Miniminx? She was adamant that Britain at War told the story better, was more to the point and more interesting and engaging for her.

We rocked up at The Royal Court Theatre yesterday to see Get Santa! The show is in the downstairs Jerwood theatre and as you enter the room you are greeted by a domestic tableau of any average house in the UK during the festive season. And that’s where normality ends – and thank heavens for that!

It’s a very brave thing to put on a family Christmas show that isn’t a panto. I love panto but only rate two; Hackney Empire and Notting Hill, both of which appeal to my inner London humour. That’s the problem with us townies, we want a little more sophistication and localised innuendo. I grew up on Richmond theatre and the Young Vic panto and I’m tired of the format. That said, I still love to get into the Christmas season with a visit to the theatre.

The premise of the story is that 10 year old Holly has written her Christmas list but all she wants is to meet her real Father. Her Mother has married a dog, yes, a dog, who takes himself out for late night walks (with a doggie bag) and Holly is not happy. She sets a trap for Father Christmas and that’s where the mayhem, and much amusement begins.

Anthony Neilson is somewhat of an enfant terrible of ‘in-yer-face’ theatre which makes him the perfect creator of a somewhat nihilistic and immensely entertaining show. There’s a great review of the play in The Independent, written by Paul Taylor. Watch out for the character Bumblehole – he’s pretty funny, and doubles up as an inflatable turkey and alarmingly doubles as a giant leprachaun towards the end of the performance – or maybe that’s just me! Intrigued? You should be!

If you fancy catching the show, the details are here:

1 Dec 2010 – 22 Jan 2011
Get Santa!
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London
Written and directed by Anthony Neilson
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court

Tickets
Box Office 020 7565 5000 or online

Public Performances
Prices Adults £12, £18, £25. Children (under 16) £8, £10, £12.50. School groups of 8+ £8.
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)

10.45am: 24, 29, 31 Dec 2010
1.30pm: 20,21,22 30 Dec 2010
3pm: 4, 11, 18, 23, 29, 31 Dec 2010 and 8, 15 Jan 2011
5pm 21, 22 Dec 2010 and 6, 13 Jan 2011
7pm 14, 17, 18, 23 Dec 2010 and 4, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15 Jan 2011

We love Hallowe’en and while cynics say it’s a vastly commercial enterprise, I don’t think forking out £3 for a pumpkin and £5 for sweets to give to kids at your front door is really much to carp about. It’s a really big thing for young kids and probably the only night of the year they can go out in the evening and knock on stranger’s doors. It’s also a big laugh and let’s face it, we all need a few of those.

It’s great when Hallowe’en falls on a Sunday because it makes the whole thing last the weekend. My daughter decided she was going as a zombie type thing to a party yesterday. I was happy to tell her she

did

look a complete fright. We used Snazaroo face paints for kids – we’ve had them in a cupboard for ages but they’ve finally seen the fright light of day. They’re great because they have sponges, brushes and glitter and a look book with lots of advice.

She’s going trick or treating tonight in her Pirate Witch outfit which she got at the Tesco Clothing Hallowe’en bash a few weeks ago – it comes with this jaunty witch’s hat headband.

If you are short of ideas for scary drinks, how about trying this revolting little cocktail?

Bottlegreen, who do those lovely healthy squashes, have sent me a spooky recipe for Frozen Eye Juice.

Ingredients:

10 scoops bottlegreen Elderflower Sorbet

300ml (1/2 pint) sparkling water

6 canned lychees, drained

6 green grapes

Thin slices from 3 glace cherries

Cocktail sticks

Method:
Scoop the bottlegreen Elderflower Sorbet into a large jug and add the sparkling water. Use a whisk to mix them together to give a slushy consistency. Share between 6 small glasses.

For the “eyeballs”, stuff each lychee with a grape and stick a small slice of glace cherry in each one. Spear onto cocktail sticks and arrange on the glasses.

Serve at once, before they melt.

Cook’s Note: You could use raisins or sultanas instead of the glace cherries – just make a small hole in the grapes with a knife or skewer and then poke them in

I shall be sticking to my favourite Hallowe’en drink…a really Bloody Mary….

We had our Summer street party a couple of weekends ago and it was a brilliantly organised day with everyone mucking in to make it happen. As someone who is more at home at the Notting Hill Carnival, I wasn’t sure what to expect; we had a great day and a packed agenda, which you can see scrawled on the white board below.

There was an unashamedly retro feel to the day, much in evidence with Audrey’s tea rooms and bunting all around, and it all felt very British.

I added some Mackerel to the bbq and a twist of Britishness to the marinade with these little flags.

We also brought a Pinata for the kids to bash to pieces and there was a great game of egg throwing which went on for some time, much to my amusement. Some kids couldn’t take the pace so there were a few tears when the eggs dropped but other than that it was hilarious.

The kitchens were all busy preparing a sitdown meal for a hundred or so of us at 7pm and it was amazing. Just look at these gorgeous salads. The tables and chairs were all borrowed from local schools and we paid £10 for the party fund.

The road was cordoned off so the kids could run around freely. The local fire brigade popped by to do a demo which I missed as I’d popped inside to finish off a salad, Miniminx told me about a week later that she’d washed down the street with the firehose. Little Britain? Yeah, I know!

I may think again however, as Interflora has come out with a range which taps into the new prom trend. I was quite surprised when a friend of mine who is a teacher mentioned that her year was having an end of school prom – sounds very American I thought, but then, back in my hideous 80s, we had Balls – and that’s precisely what they were!

This range of corsages is very gorgeous and I chose the Orchid one to review.

When it was delivered, it was left out in the sunshine on the doorstep while I was out all day, but it was fine when I got home and I stuck it in the fridge overnight to keep it fresh. The flower itself was really big, much bigger than the ones on the plant orchids we have dotted around the house.

Miniminx gave it to her teacher as an end of term thank you. She wore it on her wrist and it was really stunning.

This is a fuelmyblog review

If, like me, you’ve spent the winter drooling over all the cookery shows and you’re just dusting off the barbecue now that we’ve got some sunshine, you might want to pop along to the BBC Summer Good Food Show, which also has BBC Gardeners’ World Live running alongside, to get some top chef tips. It’s on in Birmingham from June 16-20 and tickets are under £20 – plus some great offers are running this weekend if you want to book ahead.

You can also get a free ticket courtesy of me, just drop me a comment below and I’ll be giving away 10 pairs only, so get in quick.

You can meet the top TV chefs, MasterChef celebrities and gardening gurus, in one place, all in one day. Plus shop till you drop too.

Watch celebrity chefs cooking summer recipes live in the Summer Kitchen sponsored by Sainsbury’s, including James Martin, the Hairy Bikers and Rachel Allen.

Get top design and planting ideas for your garden in BBC Gardeners’ World Live, and get inspired for alfresco entertaining with friends and family.

Make your way to the outside areas to visit the Grow Your Own Area where you will learn from the experts on how to make the most of whatever space you have to grow your own delicious ingredients!

Don’t forget to visit the brand new MasterChef Experience, sponsored by Miele, where the nation’s favourite TV programme really will be brought to life. Here are just a few things you won’t want to miss!

There are plent of other great things to see and do at the show as well:

Invention Test (Fri-Sun) Show off your own skills to impress MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, competing against 11 other visitors in front of a live audience (£25 per person)

MasterChef Masterclasses (Wed & Thurs) This is an exclusive opportunity to benefit from expert tuition from Monica Galetti, Nadia Sawalha, James Nathan or Thomasina Miers in small group sessions (£15 per person)

Miele Cookalongs Cook alongside and learn from the familiar faces from Good Food magazine in these small group sessions, and enjoy your home-made dish in the dining area afterwards (£15 per person)

Click here to book now or call 0844 581 1341.

Oh and being the kind, caring, football aware female that I am, here’s a great tip; look out for Muddy Boots burgers and Supreme Sausages, South African Biltong and a range of South African wines. Pick up a new BBQ or even invest in a spa! Also, make sure you visit David Domoney’s World Cup Garden for even more ideas of how to enjoy the beautiful game at home this summer.

This is a Digitorial Post from Handpicked Media: BBC Summer Good Food Show

Yes, I’m being nagged about going back already.

We went to Legoland yesterday and found it a pretty good experience. I think we were quite lucky because it was the first day of half term on bank holiday – it wasn’t too busy. The cloud and rain put off a lot of people from turning up but since we bought tickets which could only be used on the day, we just went ahead with the day out.

We did shiver but we didn’t succumb to the big yellow plastic macs on sale; we made sure we had umbrellas and waterproof clothing on before we came out.

Legoland is just outside beautiful and historic Windsor and it’s got a great appeal for kids of all ages. I took my daughter for a celebratory half term treat and my brother who is disabled and he had no problems getting around.

Because of the lay out, it’s easy to make the comparison with Disneyland Paris which is obviously much bigger and more commercial. The park weighs up pretty well on the facilities; there are lots of cafes and conveniences which include a boxed off area for smokers. I’m suprised it was still there to be honest as I thought smoking was banned just about everywhere these days.

If you want to do your desktop research before going, hunt around online for cheap ticket deals and also check the great interactive map on the Legoland website.

Miniland was my favourite part because of it’s unique and universal appeal. There’s so much to look at and a lot of artistry involved. The park is divided up into about 10 areas, some of them with corporate sponsorship such as the Xbox area and the children’s driving school. It’s easy to get around and there are Legoland strollers for very young children. I really like the ambient lego sculptures which break up the greenery. There’s a great Loki’s labyrinth to walk around in the Viking area and lots of free rides around the place. We didn’t have to wait longer than 15 minutes for each ride we went on but there was one popular attraction; Laser Raiders that had an hour or so wait. By some mistake we had walked into the front of the queue and were left in fear of a growling woman who looked ready to throttle us. We followed the directions and reached a barrier. ‘I don’t understand?!’ I said out loud. ‘WHAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?! IT’S A 90 MINUTE WAIT.’ Snarled a very aggressive woman. So with that we were off. Apparently if you jump the queue at Legoland you get thrown out. We weren’t trying to do that but I think they should have a rule about being grumpy old moaners.

As a resort of theme park, Legoland is missing a dramatic centrepiece; I’ll never forget my trip to Universal Studios in California years ago when I went through all the stunt scenes. Miniminx and I adored the firework display and Main Street parade at Disney, and that is the kind of memorable experience that needs to be added to this venue. There are some great things to look at like the One Man Band figure and the Dinosaur smashing through the building but for a theme park, you don’t really want to feel like you’re in a giant One O’clock club or playgroup.

There is a huge amount of space at the venue and some great views around the countryside so you get a nice feeling of freedom and relaxation here; I would choose it above many of the London venues in fact.

Highlight: A couple actually; the kids driving school was cool and a fabulous sweet shop with an amazing Pick’n'Mix

Lowlight: The replica of Mount Rushmore that says in a terrible American accent, or accents, ‘Welcome to Legoland.’

If you want to save money on tickets, make sure you shop around for deals. If you have a Kidstart account you need to book by phone at least 48 hours before you go and you will get the best deal there too. If you book online, you just need to print the tickets off at home and take the credit card you booked with.

9 Movie Clips from SEX AND THE CITY 2 from ColliderVideos on Vimeo.