The Co-operative Community Fund and How I Support It!

The Cooperative Membership Fund



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Every time we go to the local Co-op shop to buy sweets the lady behind the counter asks Mummy if she has her membership card. Mummy told me that every time we shop and we swipe our card we are giving some money back to ourselves because it is a co-operative and that some of the money we get back we give to charity and local groups too.

I don't know what charity in our local area we give the money too, but if it were up to me I would spend some money on making some really cool places for me and my friends to explore and for the old people that live near us to have things brought to them rather them having to go out when it is all cold and slippy. Mummy and Daddy help some of them, but there are too many for them to do all of their shopping and I think that it would be nice if a team of people could help.

Mummy says that my idea would be a good way to help the community and that if it were up to her that is what she would give the money to. I think that the co-operative giving money to help making local areas better is a great thing to do and it would cheer everyone up too! There are a few pictures of people who have had money and for projects that they worked on. I thought it was funny as some people were helped with things like swimming clubs, and some to take photographs and there was even some people who were bee keeping!

Daddy says that lots of different people have lots of different ideas about what will make their community better and that the Co-operative will give the groups that apply to them for money the amount they ask for and that can be £100 or £2000 or anything in between! I guess the best way that I can support the Co-operative is by buying lots more sweets so that more money goes into the pot. I don't think that Mummy and Daddy will agree though!

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Wordless Wednesday - Fark Chocolate?

Two things;

1) Top Ender is obviously Psychic as she was the one that said Fark the other day in the Top Ender Giggles - Growing up Post

2) Makers of Weetabix Chocolate flavour this is also not an acceptable new flavour. I don't want Dark Chocolate, I don't want Fark Chocolate I want Milk Chocolate okay?!

The Tooth Fairy - A Film I like by Top Ender

Hi Everyone this is Top Ender.

Mummy has said that I can tell you about a film that I really liked that is going to be out on DVD on the 20th September called The Tooth Fairy.

When I saw bits of this film on the television I wanted to go to the cinema to see it and so Mummy took me as Daddy said that he didn't want to see it. I made Mummy take me two times because I loved it so much. The film is about a man who is an ice hockey player who is called The Tooth Fairy because he bangs into people when he is playing and their teeth fall out.

When he is mean to his girlfriends children he gets punished and turned into a real tooth fairy! It's meant to be a punishment, but I think that he likes it after a while and I would love to be a tooth fairy. Mummy says I can't tell you how it ends because you might not of seen it and it wouldn't be fair. I am going to ask Father Christmas to bring me a copy for Christmas, and if you haven't seen it by then you can come round and watch it with me.

I am going to let Mummy tell you the rest now.

Top Ender really loved this film and even I sat through it twice, and the second time I didn't buy popcorn so it can't be all that bad. It is a sweet story and we probably will buy it on DVD for Top Ender as a stocking gift, just don't tell her! It is the sort of film that children will love, because of the comedy and simplicity of the storyline and would be perfect Sunday afternoon viewing when you are trying to digest the roast.

The Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne Johnson will be out to buy on DVD and Blu-ray on 20th September 2010 at a cost of £19.99 and £24.99 respectively. Its a PG and the lovely Julie Andrews and Stephen Merchant also star with Dwayne Johnson and there is a cameo from Billy Crystal.

Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends "Hero of the Rails" for the Wii - a Review

Baby Boy is two years old and loves to play on the Wii, unfortunately for him, most of the games are just a little too complicated for him to play with any great success. When Ubisoft asked if I would be interested in reviewing a new Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends Game titled "Hero of the Rails" I knew that Thomas mad Baby Boy would adore the game.

The first screen gives you two options, you can either go to a "Story" section or a "Game" section. On our first play Daddy went to the Game section and we chose a random game which was a race between two engines, one of which is controlled by your hand movements on the Wii controller. The game started before explaining how you were to use the controller to make your engine move and Daddy found himself working very hard to catch up (and then overtake) the engine he was racing.

Baby Boy, Top Ender and I played the other games taking turns as they are all one player games and I was thinking that this might not be a good game as it was rather boring and didn't seem to be as great as I was expecting for something associated with Thomas the Tank Engine brand.

After doing all the games, we decided to listen to the story. I was sitting on the floor when suddenly I realised that the story needs input in order to progress. All the games that we had just been playing in the Games Section are in the story! This put a new spin on things and even Top Ender (who says that she doesn't like Thomas the Tank Engine) was enjoying helping Thomas and friends help save a long forgotten steam engine called Hiro (Yes like in Heroes) get fixed up all whilst keeping it secret from Spencer.

Baby Boy found the game easier for him to complete than other games that we have and it took thirty minutes to listen to the story and do the games within the story. Daddy was a bit worried that Baby Boy would get bored after he had completed the game, but he has asked to play it again on a couple of occasions and has played along with little or no help from me.

The game has an RRP of £19.99 and is rated PEGI 3 and I think that this is a great game to get for younger Wii users, as they will get to grips with what they need to do quite quickly and it uses characters that they are familiar with, as I don't think I know any children who don't know of Thomas the Tank Engine!

Aramazu: A new way to Learn to tell the time

At the start of the Summer Holidays, Top Ender and I were sent a book called "Aramazu The Learn to Tell the Time Right Now Book". Top Ender had been learning time at school, but she wasn't finding everything as easy to remember as O'Clock and Half Past which is what I felt the school were focusing on and efforts at home to teach Top Ender with more detail were just met with frustration from both sides. In stepped Aramazu with a book that has a new and easy way to learn to tell time for children that can count to sixty.

We waited until Baby Boy was asleep and then Top Ender and I stretched out on the floor side by side and started to read the very bright and colourful book. The book tells the children that they are going to learn a new way of telling the time, unlike any way that the grown ups in their life may of learned and so when they have read the book it is up to them to teach the grown ups the new method. Top Ender loved this idea, which I guess is the point of putting it on the first page. If children know they are going to be able to teach something to an adult they are all the more willing to give it a go!

We started reading the book and within a few minutes were both totally engrossed in the method that was being explained. It took us about twenty minutes to read the book, as this included a couple of toilet breaks and a lot of practice at the end and Top Ender was reading the time with a lot of confidence and testing my ability to tell the time.

The method is Mountain climbing and each hour is a mountain that time has to climb. It made total sense to Top Ender from the start and I feel a lot better about her understanding the time when she goes back to the subject at school. She even managed to work out how to read my magic clocks that Daddy made for me a few years back;

And that takes talent!

Wordless Wednesday - Another Year Passed

An update to my Wordless Wednesday post one year ago One Year Changes Everything.

Mixed Spice Biscuits Recipe

As requested this is the recipe that was seen in my Ladybird Books - A Gurgle Girls Review. This was a recipe that I "borrowed" from a family member, and it works well with Gluten/wheat free flour so I use it to make biscuits or Gingerbread a lot. I tend to find that my mixture is always sticky and so I have to add extra flour to keep it from looking like a batter and more like a biscuit mixture!

Ingredients
12oz plain flour (plus extra in case the mixture is too sticky)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2½ teaspoons Mixed Spice (or ground ginger if you are making Gingerbread!)
4 oz butter
stir in
6oz brown sugar
mix together
1 egg
4 tablespoons golden syrup

Method
Preheat the over to gas mark Five or 190oC. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice (or ground ginger if you want to make Gingerbread) together into a bowl, then rub-in the butter. Stir in the Sugar and then mix together the egg and the golden syrup. Knead all the ingredients together, adding more flour by eye if it is too sticky.

Roll out and cut out biscuits, (or pull off a lump and roll in your hands in to a ball before flattening the balls in to biscuit shapes) before placing on a lightly greased baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Cool the biscuits on a wire rack (or eat whilst warm!) and store in a tin for up to a week or as I find five minutes before the family eat them all.