family time Archives - Page 3 of 4

Fathers Day Gift Guide 2018

Fathers Day is just round the corner and it’s time to get those thinking caps on again for some of those great pressies which are out there. I’ve got some ideas that can give you a nudge in the right direction.

We all have different living arrangements and fathers, mothers and grandparents day can be a tricky one to navigate if you don’t necessarily fit into those brackets. Celebrating our own uniqueness with love and acceptance is a good way to go. On any given day you can show and help our little ones to demonstrate the love to those who help to bring them up.

Personalized Cart.com is one of those sites that is full with unusual gifts that you don’t see everywhere. I spent a long time browsing through so many ideas. I decided on the watch case as one of my favourites. There are lots of different sizes and styles. One of the bigger ones is a wonderfully large with dimensions of: 12.6″x 10.2″ x 6.3″(32cmX26cmX16cm) so as you can see, it’s a good size, plenty big enough to store away those more valuable items.

Pretty Gifted provides that final flourish that makes your gift look like a million dollars!

It’s a 6 step easy process to make your bespoke paper. Pick a paper, pick a font, pick a foil, write your message, pick a font size and pick an icon. You are guided through the steps and it really is very straight forward. I enjoyed it!

You can either wrap your pressies in it or I think that designing the paper and giving it as a present itself is a great idea. I chose to make some paper with the boys for their dad. His favourite colour is orange so I was pleased to see a bright orange design and then see the writing really pop out. My OH never does things by half so we knew that he would love these bright colours.

Adding a special something to your Father’s Day gifts can also come as a low cost or no cost price tag. Crafting your labels and cards will also go a long way to bringing the grin to dads face.

We love vouchers and you can easily make ‘dads vouchers’ with the kids which can be used at anytime by the big man. You can use slogans such as “Dad gets a lie in” One free hug” or for the older kids; “One car wash” or “5 cups of tea”. Have fun with what dad enjoys the most and get crafting.

What are you going to get up to and what ideas do you have?

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Our home and building tales.

Since buying our home over three years ago now we’ve done lots of different renovations to the house. It’s been a great journey where I have learnt so many new skills and found out about an odd assortment of new terms that I wouldn’t normally of come across. It’s taken up lots and lots of time and of course the inevitable large chunk of our savings. The best part about our house was that it was one of those rare houses that needed doing up. When I viewed the house the agent even started by saying ‘oh you probably won’t like this one but I’ll show it to you anyway’. She wanted to show me something that needed loads of work and then another one which was the finished article and that you could just move into without doing a thing.

As soon as I saw my little house, as run down, smelly and in need of alot of tender loving care, I knew it was the one for me. I often hear people say that they know they loved a house as soon as they walked into it and this was exactly how I felt with this one.

The garden was huge in comparison with what we had been used to and the bigger the boys were getting, the more space they needed.

There was room for improvement and on the back of the house there was a rickety old lean-to that was being held up by cobwebs and not much else! There were old doors on the back and steps down into the lean-to. The ground floor was all pretty dark.

Our idea was to have this knocked down and build a conservatory on the back to massively increase the family space on the ground floor.

Our home and building tales. — Concrete floor poured and the plaster is up.

When we were planning to have the conservatory built there were so many different options when it came to areas like what type of roof we should have, should we go for our French doors or bi-fold doors, should we go for under floor heating or double radiators. The list seemed endless but we learnt so much from that process that we feel far better prepared for our next big project.

One of the key things I learnt was to be prepared! Prepare to invest in my property, prepare myself by researching products and prepare to have a certain amount of upheaval for the family while work is being carried out. No pain no gain!

There have been ways to reduce the cost of a lot of our items and that was by looking around to see the best deal we could get. I was so surprised by the difference in quotes from the sales people who came around.

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The patient part of our partnership has to be my other half, he has the patience to take in all of the little details whereas I tend to rush in and get over excited by the first good idea.

Our final design was great and had all of the elements we had on our wish list apart from one which was under floor heating! My other half still has to wear his slippers and if we had to do it all again and change anything then it would probably would be that.

We are moving on to looking at the loft next and moving upwards to converting it. I’ve started a pinterest board on it if you want to have a look at some of the ideas, also I would love some recommendations or ideas. If you have some I would love to hear from you.

Have you started any renovations recently or have experiences you’d like to share?

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Duffy’s Lucky Escape – Guest Post and Giveaway

Duffy the Sea Turtle is an engaging story of the relationship between humans and wildlife and the dangers turtles face in their own natural habitats due to ocean plastic. Stunning artwork captures the imagination of young readers and brings to life a very real threat to our oceans.

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I love to have guest blogs here and I find it’s such a great way to share stories, learn something new and to share our own passions. My guest blogger today is Ellie Jackson who has recently returned to the UK after having lived abroad for many years and being involved in conservation work. Ellie has written the wonderful tale of Duffy the Sea Turtle .

Ellie Jackson and illustrator Liz Oldmeadow, are two mums with 5 children between them who met at mother’s group when their sons were babies. A chance discussion over coffee led the mums to discover their mutual talents and so began a partnership that after many months of juggling children and other commitments has finally led to Duffy’s message being ready to be shared. Here’s more about her story.

I never thought about becoming an author, it was a process that I fell into by reason of circumstance and luck. An amazing opportunity to live for a year on a tropical island in the Great Barrier Reef was not something that I ever thought would lead to a new direction for me – we moved there as a family for beaches and adventure! The most beautiful beaches, framed by palm trees and sunsets, just how you would imagine an island paradise to be.

We didn’t wear shoes for a year, we had our own pool, and a great circle of friends. My three children were all under school age and it was the perfect chance for us as a family to experience a more laid back approach to life and give our kids real freedom. My husband works from home and this allowed us the opportunity to try something different before we had to start real life when our eldest started school.

We heard about a turtle release happening on one of the beaches – I have to say I didn’t realise what a big deal this event was going to be – the whole island turned out plus TV cameras and journalists. When it was time for the turtle to be put back into the water, we formed two lines into the sea and the turtle was released on the beach and immediately headed for the sea and was gone in a matter of seconds.

It was a surprisingly emotional experience to see this turtle who had spent a year in the aquarium getting fit and healthy again, returning to her ocean home. After the turtle release, we visited the Turtle Hospital on the mainland and heard all the different reasons as to why turtles need our help – one of which is where they suffer from eating too much plastic. As soon as my young children had made the link between plastic on the beach and turtles, every time we went to the beach they were running around picking up rubbish saying “Mummy, I’m saving a turtle!”. Well that was it for me, I was amazed at how such a simple true story could motivate and encourage such enthusiasm for picking up rubbish!

Duffy’s Lucky Escape is a beautifully illustrated book teaching children about the dangers of ocean plastics without overwhelming them. The powerful message is delivered in a fun and friendly way and ends by inspiring children to make changes to their own and their families lives. A perfect present for Christmas or gift to your child’s school, please visit duffytheseaturtle.com to order your copy for just £7.99 with a percentage of all profits going to UK national marine charities.

You can follow us on social media for latest updates and competitions as well as information about my new book due out before Christmas.

@duffytheseaturtle

@duffytheturtle

Thank you so much Ellie for joining us today and telling us about the events leading you to write your book.

You can win a copy of Duffy’s Lucky Escape below in the rafflecopter giveaway. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Pre Empty Nest Syndrome? Is this what I have?

Not quite a teenager and not a little boy content with running up to his mummy and back. My little boy is growing up and I’m finding it hard.

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When I saw my eldest son ‘M’ for the first time, it took my breath away. The moment is always with me and I look back and talk about it whenever I can….here with you, with the kids and with my friends. The feeling was no different with my second boy ‘G’. I’ve always had a strong drive to keep both of my boys safe and a bit wrapped up in cotton wool. Those that know me would nod along now and hopefully smile in recognition as I’m probably the most over protective of the lot. I’ve heard of empty nest syndrome but never pre empty nest syndrome….my babies are still at home, just growing up.

empty nest syndrome — ‘M’ aged 4….he’s 11 now. Oh how time has flown.

As my eldest reaches towards 12 I am having a few moments when I struggle with him taking that next step towards teenagehood and being more independent. I think maybe it’s because it’s the start of another school year and so many different questions….and behaviours have begun to show.

The reluctance by him to spend as much time with me has been something to get used to. Having him want to spend time alone, chatting with his friends without wanting me around is something new. I love it so much, that he’s growing up and he has lovely friends who all get on and laugh at their own in-jokes. However, I’m now looking on at this and not instigating it. It’s not created by me – for him…..I’m not included as much, wow, when did this happen? I’m starting not to be the only big thing in his world. It’s a bit of a shock!

The full on unashamed spontaneous hugs have also started to fizzle out, when they do come it’s magical and I crush him in my embrace. He does that ‘ok mum’ and giggles, knowing that I will undoubtedly now ruffle his hair which he has just preened and styled to an inch of its life.

My rational side knows that I am proud of what we have achieved. This is what I have been preparing him for so why does it give me a lump in my throat even writing about it?

I know that being a parent is to nurture and care for our young and I realise that they are not to be owned by us. We have to prepare them and set them on their own unique path. I hadn’t realised until now that the notion of this would be so hard, I had been in the caring role for so long.

It’s all such a learning curve being a parent. I’m always amazed at the different emotions it brings.

Am I alone or is this normal or even normal-ish? Do you ever get these feelings?

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Flight Experience Simulator Review and Giveaway

During half term we all had a great day out in London. The boys have been working really hard at school and we wanted to have a family trip out to do something different.

A trip on the train is really the way to do it as far as I’m concerned to get up to london, it’s so nice not to have to drive and worry about the other traffic, stopping because someone wants the loo or bad weather making it a more stressful trip. On the train I can relax, have a cup of tea and we can all stretch our legs if we need to.

We had a real treat in store for us as we were invited as guests to try out the Flight Experience™ in Putney.

Flight Experience™ was the original flight simulator business to ‘open the cockpit to the world’. They are the world leader in flight simulation entertainment. The simulators are built to an extremely high standard using the latest technology in both hardware and software and in fact are used by flight schools, universities and airlines for actual pilot training. They are approved by many aviation regulatory authorities around the world.

We were warmly welcomed by Paul and Nick into the spacious reception where we watched the 6 minute information video before our experience. My OH would be taking charge of the controls and the boys and I were going to be the passengers. It was all really exciting. Scenic flights start at £109.00 and there are many different packages to choose from. The fly and dine looks great for a special occasion.

One of the attractions for us was that we could all be part of the flight. The boys and I could go into the simulator and sit in the back of the cockpit being part of the whole thing. To fly the simulator there is a guide age of 14 and height of 5ft 1′ (155cm)

Our pilot Paul took us through all the procedures needed to understand what was going to happen and what would happen during the flight. This really is as near as you are going to get to being a real pilot. The cockpit is an actual Boeing 737 twin-engine commercial aircraft. As you can see from the pictures there are so many switches, lights and aircraft paraphernalia that it is very high-tech and had the boys and I enthralled.

On our trip we took off from Heathrow (with us giggling with excitement in our seats) my other half concentrating fully and taking instruction from our pilot. We were suddenly hearing all the terms you would imagine such as ‘thrust off’, ‘spoilers’ and ‘altitude’. After flying through the sky he landed us safely back in Heathrow, to a hearty round of applause. We then were treated to a slightly more tricky landing coming into Hong Kongs Kai Tak airport which is now closed but was the international airport in Hong Kong from 1925 to 1998. It is known for its dramatic landing over the densely populated Kowloon area onto the runway jutting out into Victoria harbour. It was said to be one of the ultimate tests of a pilots skills and we did it! The graphics on the simulator as brilliant and clear, giving a realistic view of your outside surroundings. We loved it and I can highly recommend it for a gift, day out for yourself or the family.

You can actually win one in my giveaway here today. Such an amazing prize and I’m so pleased to be able to offer it to you today. Enter in the rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Take command of the world’s most popular jet airliner; the Boeing 737! You will sit in the Captain’s seat and take-off, cruise and land the plane. With thousands of airports to choose from, land at a challenging airport or fly to your home town in an experience you will never forget.

We were gifted a scenic flight experience in order to carry out our review, lucky us:) All views are my own.

5 Tips on Buying a Family Car

If you are thinking of what you need when buying your family car. Have a look at my top tips which I found have been really useful to us.

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The cars that I have bought over the years have changed so much. Not only that but the types of cars that are available now are so much smarter than when I first started driving.

I remember the old mini that I first passed my test in, it was a little beauty but rather temperamental. When it was cold I would have to bump start it down a hill behind my flat just to get it started! I didn’t think too much of it at the time, it was just what I needed to do to get it going. It’s a different story now though, so many more things to think of. Mainly that I am a mum now and I have to take different things into account.

So, it’s a good way to pass on some tips that I have learnt over these past few years. Here I have my..

5 Tips on Buying a Family Car

1. Safety, this has to be the number one thing for me now. Since having children the whole priority on what I need from a car has changed. Cars.com is great because it’s packed full of information about different cars, makes and models. Plus, it has other helpful information as well, including car seat safety check tips and more!

2. How many people are going to regularly travel in the car. We now have a car that normally seats 5 but has 2 emergency seats that turns it into a 7 seater when needed. It’s great to have that flexibility to do that without having the size that a full 7 seater needs all of the time.

5 tips of buying a family car — How many seats do you need?

3. How long to you plan to keep the car? Our discussions are around the money we pay versus how long we plan on keeping it. If your children are younger and you need the space for longer then you need a car that has a good reputaion for lasting and holding it’s value.

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4. Space around the car. By this I mean roof rack and bike rack. See what added space the car can offer. Last year we put a bike rack on that holds up to 3 bikes comfortably. We also have the option of a top box if needed. This all makes a big difference when going on day trips and holidays. It’s better to have the inside of the car clutter free for us.

5. My last tip might seem a bit more frivolous but don’t be fooled. I’m talking about interiors! Bright white leather does look stunning and I’m sure that the latest glossy mags show it off to its glorious best. Now come back down to earth and you will realise that a family car is going to get grubby hand and footprints in every conceivable place. Think long and hard about this often overlooked accessory on a family car. Choose wisely!

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Taking Care of our shoes with Granger’s Care Kits

Well, the weather has certainly turned, what a true brit I am to be starting the post talking about the weather!

It seems like only yesterday that we were having some beautiful sunny walks and staying out for what seemed like forever as the sun didn’t set until nearly 9 o’clock.

We had some amazing days out in the summer and still make the most of it now, no matter what the weather.

Taking Care of our shoes with Granger's Care Kits

We had a lovely long walk through bournemouth gardens following a mystery trail. It took us from Coy Pond all the way to the seafront. I certainly had sore feet by the end of it and my lovely OH made the final walk back to the car and then came back to pick me up. I felt a bit of a wimp but it was a nice treat not to have to do the last bit of the walk, I was so tired!

Well I can say that with two boys it’s hard not to start fretting about muddy foot prints coming into the house. Even getting out of our car and coming inside is now an exercise in trying not to get our shoes full of mud from the front garden.

So one of the things that has made it easier is having the chance to try the new cleaning kit from Grangers I have been giving it a go to see if I can make a difference to how the boys shoes look. I’ve also got the chance to have a look at the clothing care kit to treat my waterproof jacket. It gets even better as I have a fabulous giveaway to end the post with so you will get the chance to try out some products too!

Taking Care of our shoes with Granger's Care Kits

The Footwear Care Kit was what I was most looking forward to trying as the amount of shoes I goes through for the boys is huge. Shoes are so expensive and what I really need to do is protect the ones we have and properly make use of the investment I have put into them.

Each kit contains one bottle of Footwear + Gear Cleaner, one bottle of Footwear Repel, one Footwear Brush, and a free tube of Leather Conditioner.

Using is easy and reminded me of when I was small and would sit with my grandad watching him while he carefully cleaned his work shoes. How different memories come to the surface doing the simplest of things. Like being Featured on MovingBabies there are so many things which have an impact on what I do with my own children. The grip on the handles is comfy and you can make it an easy job by doing it regularly. Like with most things, the more you do it the better the result.

Taking Care of our shoes with Granger's Care Kits

Safe to use on all types of footwear – including those made from leather, suede, nubuck, and fabric – Footwear Care Kit cleans and protects all footwear without adversely affecting any of the technical features your shoes or boots may possess, and is perfect for restoring the water-repellent finish found on boots with Gore-Tex® and eVent membranes.

Taking Care of our shoes with Granger's Care Kits

I was offered a product to review for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. Clean shoes are a massive bonus!

Stunning Stourhead National Trust Estate

We had a real treat recently with our trip to Stourhead which is a National Trust estate with huge gardens and house. We won a family ticket which was a thrill in itself and we wanted to go somewhere that we hadn’t previously heard of.

My OH and I had a look through the national trusts site. With our need to have somewhere; family friendly, a long walk and a good house to have a nose around, coupled with somewhere within 1 to 2 hrs drive, we settled on Stourhead in Wiltshire. It seemed to have all the elements that would suit us. It does state that no balls are to be taken for the kids and I can understand that they don’t want a football to go hurtling into all their beautiful plants and flowers.

We packed a good old family picnic in the morning and set out on our trip. It didn’t take too long to get there from our home in Dorset, just over an hour. Our prize ticket did work OK. I’m always a little worried when using a voucher or something that ‘the computer says no’ or there is a problem with that day or time being excluded. Everything was fine though.

The house is stunning and you can see from this view looking up from the gardens that it is framed really well by the care that is taken over the gardens. you can also see by the dark clouds that rain was a feature of our day too!

The literature and the information around the house charts the lives of the last family to have Stourhead, parents Henry and Alda Hoare and their only son Harry. The family were devoted to each other and to Stourhead. Behind the public rooms used for entertaining and shared with visitors were the intimate family spaces where the family could relax and be themselves.

As you move around the family home, you follow in the family’s footsteps from their arrival and through the war years. Henry and Alda were devastated when Harry was killed in World War 1. They gave Stourhead to the National Trust in 1946.

In the playrooms there were dressing up areas for the children to try on clothes from the era that the family were in residence. Our boys had some fun in there. It’s a good break if you are doing the tour in the house with children as they can let off a little steam without worrying that they will upset anyone.

There is also a picture quiz where they have to go round and find pictures of dogs in different paintings around the house. The boys love a bit of competition between themselves so it was another task to keep them occupied.

So much care and dedication was put into the gardens by the family, it was such a labour of love for them.

“The greens should be ranged together in large masses as the shades are in painting: to contrast the dark masses with light ones, and to relieve each dark mass itself with little sprinkling of lighter greens here and there.“

Dogs are welcome across Stourhead’s countryside areas all year round. They are welcome in the landscape garden from March-October after 4pm, after 3pm in November and all day, every day from December-February.

The kitchen gardens were in full bloom. The plants were massive and growing so well. I would of loved to chatted with one of the gardeners to get some tips but I didn’t manage to. In one of my posts where my OH made my pallet garden you can see what we have managed at home. I’m really chuffed with what we have managed on a small scale and for free! My dream would be to have a huge garden devoted to fruit and veg.

The visit was wonderful and I think the rain added to the day in ways that surprised me. There were times we had to stop and take shelter under some of the huge trees or hide under the arches. In those times we felt some more of the magic of Stourhead.

Have you been there or visited other walks that you would like to share? I’d love to hear about it.

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Bicycle First Aid Kit Review and Giveaway

We go on a fair amount of trips in our household which is great fun. The boys and my OH have been increasing the distance in their bike rides and I’ve been pretty blown away by how far they are managing to go on their boys outings. I’m not a massive lover of riding so that’s normally when I get in a bit of blogging time. Saying that, when we went to center parcs I loved it because I had an electric bike and the difference it made was amazing and I loved every second.

I always pack a first aid kit in the car so that I’ve got the essentials on hand should I need it. With my 2 boys there is often the odd graze, cut or sting to take care of.

I’ve never seen or had a bicycle first aid kit though. It was great therefore to try out these first aid kits from SJ Works specifically for attaching to bicycles and putting family first aid as the priority.

Aswell as being able to show you how good they look and to give our first hand opinion, I also have one of the saddle first aid packs to giveaway! You can see how to enter further down the post.

Now as some of you may be aware, my OH has got a big trip coming up in the new year that will see him going off to New Zealand for a few weeks and spending quite alot of time on different cycling treks. He’s even taking his bike from here in the UK over with him so he’s pretty committed. I don’t think that my electric style of biking would go down too well over a long period and this is something for him to get out of his system while I will probably be doing something far more sedate like spa days and girly lunches!

He will be taking the saddle pouch first aid kit with him on his trip which gives me peace of mind. Him too but he’s far too butch to let on that much. Since it will deal with most minor first aid needs it is ideal to have on the bike. It’s better to have and not need than to deal with an accident and be left kicking yourself for not putting it on.

There is so much included in this SJ Works saddle pouch kit. Including:

1pcs An empty saddle bag
1pc American Red Cross First Aid Guide
6pcs Antiseptic Towelettes
5pcs Easy Access Bandage 3*1″—5pcs Easy Access Bandage 3/4*3″
5pcs Junior Easy Access Bandage 3/8×1.5″
5pcs Butterfly Wound Closures
2pcs Sterile Non-Adherent Pads 2″x3″
2pcs Sterile Non-woven sponges 2″x2″2pcs/pk 4ply
1pc Sterile Eye Pad
1pc Pressure Bandages 2″x2″
1pc Pressure Bandages 3″x3″
1pc Triangular Bandage 42″x42″x59″ nonwoven
1pc First Aid Tape Roll 1/2″x10yds.
1pc Emergency Blanket 38″x60″
1pc SJ Works Reflect strip

This one and their other products can also be found here to buy.

They also make this mini hard cased pack which is great for popping in any travel bag or glove compartment of your car.

Another nice little extra is that they have a 100% no questions asked money-back guarantee with a 30 days notice, so if it’s not right for you then just get in touch with them.

The larger SJ Works Classic Bicycle first aid kit has everything the saddle kit has and more! Even a little emergency bike light! They have thought of everything.

So after you have had a look at them, why not enter into my giveaway below and see if you can win one for yourself. Open to worldwide entrants.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was given the first aid kits in order to carry out an honest review, in my own words which is what I have done. They are perfect for my family and I’m delighted to have them now. You can go to my contacts page to see giveaway general terms.

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Club Hub UK – App Review

There’s a great new app on the scene! Club Hub UK. This has really caught my attention! I heard recently from Tessa Robinson, the creator who quite rightly, had worked really hard around the launch date with getting the news of her app out there to let us all know that we could make use of it.

The app is designed to make finding activities easier…Ok that’s good enough for me already!:)

But let me tell you more….

The app is designed to locate children’s clubs and activities around the U.K. It caters for children from newborns up to 18 years old.

Tessas background is in acting and she started a children’s musical theatre group. She started teaching children after school, and enjoyed sharing her knowledge in everything she could in terms of acting, singing and dancing.

During this time her idea was forming which has now become ‘Club Hub UK’. Tessa thought that there should be a way that she could promote her after school club to all the parents in her local area. She then thought about creating an app where people could locate all the children’s clubs in their area too – a simple app where parents could input their child’s age and interests, and the search results would list local clubs and their details.

Tessa really pushed her idea forward and came second with Club Hub UK in the #InSport competition with Ideas Britain. An app where people are able to show their ideas to the world. That too is very much worth checking out if you need coaches to assist in your app ideas.

Ella Harding is the graphic designer and I really love the drawings she has created for the site.

The app and website is free and listings are free too! You couldn’t want more as a resource. If you are looking for a club to promote your activity, check out the club owner section.

I think this is an app that is well worth keeping an eye out for, it could be one of those that you start seeing everywhere and it comes to be a go-to app at the weekend! Well done Tessa!

Here are all the contact details below:

Website: www.clubhubuk.co.uk

Twitter: @clubhubuk

Facebook: Club Hub UK

What do you think, is this an app that you’d think of downloading? You can download on the App Store here or Google Play here

I am one of the supporters for this app because I really believe in the great idea and the hard work behind it.

I’d love you to subscribe to my blog so that you’ll be updated on each new post. You can do so here: