Tag Archives: Review

Hape Walk-A-Long Snail Review | Toys

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Frost loves the Hape Walk-A-Long Snail. First of all it is cute and looks so happy. Next, it is also a shape sorter. Your little one can pull it along like a cute companion or sit and play with the snail. It is wooden, high quality and very well made. It is also eco conscious. What more could you want?

When your child starts walking, they’re going to need a faithful companion to explore and play with. This is where the Hape Walk-A-Long Snail comes in to save the day.

This playful little snail will become your child’s favourite toy as he loyally tags along. Once they’ve got used to this friendly snail, they won’t want to go anywhere without him.

The snail is extremely versatile and totes a shell full of wooden blocks that can be removed to not only lighten the load, but also to use as a separate colourful shape sorter toy. You can even set up the blocks to create a “maze” that the snail can navigate through.

Your child can experience the wonders of the Walk-A-Long Snail from as young as 12 months. With the high quality wooden construction, your children are in safe hands and are ready to explore the world around them alongside their playful snail companion.

As with the entire Hape range of products, this unique Walk-A-Long Puzzle has been thoroughly designed to the highest of safety and quality standards. Also, with a commitment to sustainability, Hape only use eco-friendly materials and water based paints in order to produce their much loved products.

Give your child a toy that not only provides hours of entertainment, but also allows them to learn valuable skills, getting them ready for a bright future.

Hape’s Walk-A-Long Snail measures H18.6, W11.2, D30.1cm and is available from Argos for £24.99.

 

The People At Number 9 By Felicity Everett Now Out In Paperback

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One of Frosts favourite books of the year is now out in paperback. You can read our review of The People At Number 9 here. We recommend you get your hands on a copy.

Meet the new neighbours. Whose side are you on?

Have you met the People at Number 9?

Sara and Neil have new neighbours in their street. Glamorous and chaotic, Gav and Lou make Sara’s life seem dull. As the two couples become friends, sharing suppers, red wine and childcare, it seems a perfect couples-match. But the more Sara sees of Gav and Lou, the more she longs to change her own life. But those changes will come at a price.

 

Felicity Everett grew up in Manchester and studied English Literature at Sussex University. She worked in children’s publishing in London, whilst raising a family and is the author of more than twenty works of children’s fiction and non-fiction. After a short career break, Felicity returned to writing full-time and in 2011 published her debut novel, The Story of Us, a funny and touching account of the friendships forged between five women at University in the 1980s. Her second novel, The People at Number 9, published in April 2017, is a dark satire on sex, envy and betrayal in the suburbs. Felicity has recently returned from a few years living in Melbourne, with her husband and now lives in Gloucestershire. Her new work in progress is a gothic tale of marriage and mental instability set in the dark heart of the countryside. You can follow Felicity @ittymay and on Facebook, Felicity Everett – Author.

The People at Number 9 is available here.

 

Review: The Stepmother

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The Stepmother
Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre
Until September 9

www.cft.org.uk
01243 781312

Photo credit: Catherine Ashmore

The words ‘seldom performed’ in a marketing blurb can trigger alarm bells. In many cases there’s a damn good reason why directors don’t dust down certain plays. In this instance, however, it’s an absolute mystery why it has taken so long to revive Githa Sowerby’s beautifully observed drama, in the experienced hands here of former artistic director of the National Theatre Richard Eyre.

Written in 1924, money, equality – or the lack of – and career are core themes. The setting is the home of widower Eustace Gaydon (Will Keen). A financial chancer lacking in integrity, kindness and sincerity, when he discovers that shy young Lois Relph (Ophelia Lovibond) is set to inherit his sister’s estate he promptly marries her, thus providing a stepmother for his two young daughters and shoring himself up financially. Ten years on and the shy young woman he married has become a successful society dressmaker, but Eustace’s dodgy deals have turned on him.

Keen is superb as Eustace. Shifty, sly, domineering and full of self-justification, he is irredeemably unpleasant.

Lovibond also convinces as the young girl who, as she morphs into a confident businesswoman, gradually comes to realise just what a ghastly situation she has signed up to.

A strong supporting cast includes Eve Ponsonby as stepdaughter Monica. Desperate to marry but constantly blocked by her father’s refusal to make good with an allowance, her youthful passion and increasing desperation are beautifully portrayed.

Historically fascinating, this stylish production deserves a life beyond Chichester.

Review: Grimm Tales, Chichester

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Grimm Tales – For Young and Old
Adapted by Philip Wilson
Chichester Festival Youth Theatre at the Cass Sculpture Foundation, Goodwood
Until 19 August

Photo credit: Johan Persson

If you go down to the woods today… Just when it seems impossible for Chichester Festival Youth Theatre (CFYT) to achieve any greater heights they come along and smash it of the park. The sculpture park, in this instance.

The Cass Sculpture Foundation is the perfect setting for Grimm Tales. Woodland paths, tree-lined hollows and sheltered clearings provide a series of glorious natural stages. Greeted by a raggle-taggle band of minstrels beckoning us into the woods, the music throughout is evocative, catchy and haunting. All members of the Youth Theatre, these young troubadours are exceptional and add greatly to both the charm and continuity of the production.

Starting with Little Red Riding Hood and followed at different locations by Hansel and Gretel, Hans My Hedgehog, The Goose Girl at the Spring, The Three Snake Leaves, Rapunzel and The Juniper Tree, these yarns are grim indeed. Adultery, murder, child abduction, cannibalism – Mr Disney may have prettied some of them up for the big screen, but in their original form these fairy tales offer no trace of saccharine sparkle or Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. Marvellously dark, but not without humour, Philip Wilson’s adaptations are magical, mysterious and utterly spellbinding.

Under the skilful direction of Dale Rooks the acting is uniformly superb. Remaining totally in character even when leading the audience from location to location, even those in minor roles demonstrate the discipline and focus of seasoned professionals. It would be grossly unfair (and almost impossible) to single out any one performance.

Testament to the excitement and enrichment of the experience, the smiles of the cast at the curtain call are wider than that of Grandma’s wolf. With satellite groups across the county, West Sussex children are so lucky to have CFYT available to them. Especially at a time when funding cuts threaten to hack drama and the arts down to almost nothing in some schools.

Ably supported by members of the Technical Youth Theatre, as darkness fell there wasn’t a star in the sky to outshine this supremely talented company.

Tickets: 01243 781312 www.cft.org.uk
There is no parking at the sculpture park, but a highly efficient system of park-and ride coach transport is in operation from Chichester College.

Review: The House They Grew Up In

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The House They Grew Up In
Minerva Theatre, Chichester
Until 5 August
Box Office: 01243 781312 www.cft.org.uk

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

Deborah Bruce’s new play, a co-production with Headlong, manages to be both entertaining and deeply moving. It’s a tale of our time. Middle-aged brother and sister Peppy (Samantha Spiro) and Daniel (Daniel Ryan) live in the house they grew up in amid floor-to-ceiling clutter (Max Jones’s claustrophobic set design is marvelous). Isolating themselves, autistic Daniel spends his days recording a precise log of every passing moment in his diary. Highly strung and obsessed with art history and Cambridge University, Peppy leaves the safety of their nest only for food and, later, to visit Uncle Manny to try to find out why he didn’t make his regular Christmas visit. But the arrival of the little boy next door into their co-dependent lives (superbly played by Rudi Millard on press night) triggers a terrifying change in their reclusive existence, with the police, social workers, neighbours and journalists forcing the much-feared outside world upon them.

Remarkably, what seems certain to be the inevitable conclusion takes a happier turn. Jeremy Herrin’s thoughtful direction and Bruce’s accomplished writing allow Peppy and Daniel to be heard and understood, ultimately earning our compassion and making us feel uncomfortable at failing to feel and extend it sooner.

Beautiful and bitter sweet, the tragedy of the optimistic ending is that in the real world Peppy and Daniel would be the exception rather than the rule.

With superb performances, especially from Spiro and Ryan, this a thought-provoking and fascinating play that deserves a wider audience than its short run in Chichester will generate.

Review: Fabulous Fiddler

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Review
Fiddler on the Roof (until 2 September)
Chichester Festival Theatre
Box Office: 01243 781312 www.cft.org.uk


Photo credit: Johan Persson

Heart, humour and world-class performances are just some of the elements that make Daniel Evans’s big summer musical an absolute belter. Add to that terrific musicians, Alistair David’s thrilling choreography and Lez Brotherston’s cleverly conceived set, which makes the very best use of Chichester’s unique stage, and you have a show that has all the hallmarks of a West End transfer.

The story of Tevye, a poor dairyman with five daughters, it is 1905 and in Russia an uneasy sense of impending change is in the air. But on a poor shtetl Tevye is more immediately concerned with finding husbands for the three eldest of his girls. Alas, despite his best efforts to keep with tradition, it seems that they are determined to follow their hearts rather than their heads, or indeed the advice of Matchmaker Yente (gloriously played by Liza Sadovy).

Omid Djalili is superb as Tevye. Radiating warmth sufficient to melt a Moscow frost in January, he convinces absolutely as the ordinary family man who is not without his shortcomings. In his regular exchanges with God (Dajalili’s stand-up career is much in evidence here), and later as he sings the touching Do You Love Me? to his wife, he reveals a touching vulnerability.

Tracy-Ann Oberman as his wife Golde is equally impressive. A feisty lioness who knows her old man better than he knows himself, it is an inspired pairing.

The singing overall is outstanding. From sweet and soaring to joyous and rousing, Tradition, the opening number, is nothing short of an emotional musical wallop to the gut.

A stupendous ensemble effort, this is a revival that feels both fresh and relevant. Delivering the theatrical triple of laughter (the dream scene is as clever as it is riotous), tears, and food for thought, it is the latter of the whole shebang that is the production’s ultimate strength.

A sharp reminder of how political and social unrest continues to throw lives into disarray, the final moments are heartbreakingly poignant.

Inner-Soul Roses and Lemons Daily Nourish Kit Review

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Inner-Soul’s Roses and Lemons Daily Nourish Kit Review

We love natural skin care so decided to review Inner–Soul‘s trio of 100% natural, certified organic products. We reviewed a trio of products:  Roses and Lemons Tender Cleanse Balm, Barefaced Beauty Natural Serum and Supreme Comfort Daytime Moisturiser. The cleanse balm removes make up well and leaves skin feeling super clean. It is gentle and smells great. The serum can be mixed with the moisturiser and also smells great. It has vitamin C in which is known to be great for skin. The moisturiser feels very nourishing. It doesn’t have an SPF in which would be my only complaint. All three of the products feel great on skin and smell good. They are 99%, 41% and 81% organic respectively. They have a good range of ingredients and are gentle while leaving skin looking great. The samples we were sent were not enough to use for a long length of time so we can’t say if the products make a good, long-term difference to skin, but we were impressed overall. Good stuff.

 

Give your skin the treatment it deserves every day with Inner–Soul‘s trio of 100% natural, certified organic products to cleanse, nourish and moisturise. Presented in a beautiful organic silk drawstring pouch and includes 55ml Cleanse Balm and Moisturiser and 15ml Serum. £59.00

Emma believes that a daily skincare routine including massage equals happier, healthier skin and this kit makes it simple for you to achieve this. Roses and Lemons Tender Cleanse Balm, award-winning Barefaced Beauty Natural Serum and Supreme Comfort Daytime Moisturiser have been designed to balance dry, sensitive and mature skin types with antioxidant-rich fruit and flower extracts leaving you nourished, soft and glowing.
TIP: Become your own skincare expert by simply mixing as much or as little of the face serum with the moisturiser in your hand before applying and see how your skin responds.
Inner–Soul is all about boosting inner confidence through treatment of the skin holistically to nourish, balance and enhance.
Inner–Soul’s Founder Emma Coleman is a qualified Aesthetic Nurse, Clinical Aromatherapist and Skin Nutritionist and offers clients a comprehensive range of bespoke skincare treatments and solutions through a combination of science and nature with natural & organic skincare, facials, rejuvenating treatments and aesthetic injectables.

 

 

Hape Lucky Ladybug And Friends Train

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Hape make the most adorable trains and this trio of insect trains are no exception. This is a three piece set lead by an adorable ladybird train. The other two are a caterpillar and a bee. Children love them because they not only look fun, but are exciting. The ladybird has some fun little balls inside and the other two have fabulous wings. Fun and sensory: we can highly recommend this train set. It is just too cute for words. 

The Lucky Ladybug and Friends Train from Hape makes a lovely first train. The adorable ladybug theme, complete with magnetic pieces to connect together, is guaranteed to delight your toddler. A brilliant set that works with other Hape wooden train sets.

 

Fit and features

  • Wooden construction
  • Magnetic
  • 3 pieces
  • Encourages imaginative play
  • Works with other Hape train sets
  • Suitable from 18 months

Available from http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk