Family Festival Fever in Wychwood festival!

This week the James family are mighty excited as we are off once again to Wychwood Festival and are on the final countdown to Friday when the fun begins.

 Matthew and I have shared a love for festivals since me met all those years ago. There is something about camping in a sunny field, listening to music with thousands of other people, that makes us both happy. For years we attended big mainstream commercial festivals and generally had a ball.

When our 2 children came along we really didn't want to put an end to our festival days but were reluctant to take them to the festivals we were used to going to as they weren't really designed for families and were just too vast. Last year we were lucky enough to win a family ticket to Wychwood Festival which is a real family festival. In fact it has been nominated Best Family Festival in the UK Festival Awards every year since the awards started. We knew it was a Family Festival but we were still a little unsure whether we could still enjoy a festival experience with 2 young children in tow.

We needn't have worried as we all had a wonderful time! In fact the children still talk about it now and are even more excited than us, that we are going back. The festival had so much going on for the children, it meant we could relax and take everything in whilst the children were entertained all day long! We did so much and the vast majority of activities are included in with the ticket price. One of our favourite memories was a free African drumming workshop in a huge tent, with lots of people taking part. The children really enjoyed and we did too!

Other highlights were seeing Justin Fletcher AKA Mr Tumble, standing up on stage and performing a RAP in a poetry workshop, the children's play area, pottery making, puppet shows, relaxing in front of the main stage with the kids in a hot tub courtesy of Superspa DJ which was the most fun we have had for ages!

The children absolutely loved the festival experience and camping with lots of other people including friends and their families was great fun. Here is my best friends mother Vicki enjoying the festival with her grandaughter Perla who was only 1 when she went. Matt can be seen in the background blowing up the biggest balloon known to man!

We really liked that there was a whole field dedicated to workshops and children's entertainment and that was all included in with the ticket price.  The festival is also easy to navigate and is quite compact. The organisers also allow you to drive your car onto the campsite to unload and set up your tent which is a godsend especially for those with young children.

Wychwood Festival 2015 has even more on offer for everyone including families, There is the Wychwood Comedy tent with award winning comedians such as Michael Legg.

There is  the Headphone Disco which is a really surreal and fun experience as it is basically a tent full of people dancing to music coming through headphones, choosing which DJ they want to listen to. If you take your headphones off, you are dancing in silence!

 We will be asking a friend to babysit on one of the evenings so we can take in some of the comedy and bands aswell as the headphone Disco as I don't like to keep the children up too late in the evening. The bonus with going with friends is that you can share the babysitting. There are a really diverse range of artists playing on the different stages at Wychwood and we are particularly keen to see UB40, Craig Charles, The Wonderstuff and Dr and the Medics to name a few!

Family activities include the Mega Roller Disco , Puppet shows, magic shows, bubble shows, Punch and Judy, music workshops, poetry workshops, story telling, singing workshops, Kids Literature Festival (including famous authors such as Christopher Edge and Steve Anthony) , Circus workshops and much much more. This is what makes Wychwood such a fantastic family festival- the sheer number of family activities that they put on ensures you are never bored. We will also be rocking out to Mr Tumble, he was fab last year.

We will definately be booking into the Super Spa DJ again as we enjoyed that so much. There is a charge but it is definately worth it!

There are also a variety of speakers at the festival and one I am definately interested in seeing is Ecotricity founder Dale Vince who is going to speak about renewable energy. I watched a documentary about him before and found his life story fascinating. He used to be a bit of a New Age traveller and had a small wind turbine on his caravan. This sparked a business venture and he now runs a very successful renewable energy company and is a self made millionaire on the back of wind power.

There is also a fancy dress theme this year for the first time. The James family love fancy dress so we will be fully embracing the theme Punk vs Disco! You will have to wait till the post festival review to see the pictures.

It is not too late to grab your tickets if you want to give Wychwood Festival a whirl. Tickets are very reasonably priced compared to some of the other large mainstream festivals and they really do offer fantastic value for what you get.

Wychwood Festival returns to Cheltenham Racecourse from 29th to 31st May 2015 featuring an eclectic line-up of music, comedy, literature and family entertainment. Weekend tickets are priced at just £129 for adults, £104 for concessions, £62 for 10-15 year olds, £22 for 5-9 year olds and under 5 free. Day tickets are available from £42 for adults, £32 for concessions, £22 for 10-15 year olds and £10 for 5-9 year olds and under 5 free. All tickets and more information is available from www.wychwoodfestival.com.

FESTIVAL LINE-UP

MUSIC
Ladysmith Black Mambazo / UB40 - Ali Campbell, Astro, Mickey Virtue reunited / Boney M
The Undertones / Justin Fletcher / The Proclaimers / Craig Charles / Andy Kershaw / Dreadzone / Basseskou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba / Mad Dog Mcrea / Dr & The Medics / Songhoy Blues / The Outcast Band / The Going Goods / Talk In Code / A Way With Words /  The Edwin Starr Band ft. Angelo Starr / Electric Swing Circus / Rusty Shackle / Pocket Club / Ghostpoet / Lucy Rose / Mt. Wolf / Plastic Mermaids / Fickle Friends / Monsieur Doumani / The Wonder Stuff Acoustic / Darlia / Demob Happy / TED ZED / Black Honey / Palace / Zak Abel / Lanshapes / Syd Arthur / Henry Green / Hunter & The Bear / Loud Mountains / Cooper Black / Object Object / Josephine and the Artizans / Sophronie / George Montague / Danni Nicholls / The Black Feathers / John Adams / Grace Palmer / James Michael / All Ears Avow / Spice & The Readies / SPOILS / Ben Cipolla / Gigi St. Fallow / Bobby Scaife / Katie Collins/ Megan Timms / Joe Buckingham / Dan Walton / Maxine Stacey / Neil Morris / David Young

BBC Introducing Coventry & Warwickshire: Grassroutes, Rosetta Fire / Yes Sunshine / Reece Bahia /Quarry / Speak Brother / James TW / Emily Burns / The Commonjets / Joe Doloman

BBC Introducing Hereford and Worcester: Cantaloop / Ronin / Clark Carmody / Tom Forbes / Interior Castle / Crowsaw / 7shades / The Dale Von Minaker / Fictonian / Chase The Deer

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Ali Sparkes / Petr Horacek / Giancarlo Gremin / Steve Anthony / Steve Cole / Chris Edge / Paul Strickland / John Dougherty / Anna Wilson / Karen Langtree / Tracey Corderoy / Philip Ardagh / Cathy Cassidy / Philip Adagh / Tracey Corderoy / Matt Brown / Tony de Saulles / First Draft

WYCHWOOD COMEDY IN ASSOCIATION WITH EFESTIVALS
Michael Legge / Jenny Collier / Jack Heal / Chris Turner / Jay Cowle / Jamali Maddix / Jarred Christmas / Becky Brunning / Sam Chaplin / David Jordan

I would definately recommend taking your family to Wychwood. You won't regret it. We have convinced even more friends to join us this year so there should be about twenty of us in total. We are going to have a ball!

How to help a friend or family member quit a bad habit

People have a much better chance of changing their lifestyle when the people around them are supportive of their efforts to improve how they live. That's certainly true for serious lifestyle concerns such as illegal drug addiction; rehab clinics know that former users are much more likely to quit successfully if they can break away from the people still in that lifestyle. It's also true for more everyday health habits, such as quitting smoking, losing weight or just trying to eat more healthily. 

So how can you assist a loved one to make positive changes in their lives? The answer is - by doing it with them! Making changes can be difficult if other people aren't changing with you. I recently noticed that my husband seemed to be drinking every single night and it was becoming a bit of a problem. We had a good discussion about it after I told him how I felt and we have now set some ground rules for us going forward. These include not drinking in the house, and not drinking when the kids are around. Even though I have previously also drunk in the house, I have felt much better since we have both stopped this. 

It's hard to stop smoking if all your friends are out there on the pub doorstep still puffing away, and it's miserable trying to diet if your family fills the cupboards with tempting treats. Be supportive of people trying to improve how they live by joining in with them - you could do yourself some good in the process! 

- If your friend is trying to be more active, why not join in with their exercise sessions so you can motivate each other, or consider signing up for a fun run you can do together.
- If your partner is improving their diet, it's important not to lead them astray. Make sure there are healthy snacks and food around the house and join in with what they're eating so they aren't tempted by your meal instead.
- If you're supporting someone as they quit smoking, use it as inspiration to quit yourself or consider switching to electronic cigarettes as they could be a healthier alternative. Don't tempt them; hide your cigarettes and don't put pressure on them to join you for a smoke.
- There's a strong correlation between the amount of time people spend preparing food and how slim they are. Restaurants tend to be more generous with butter, cream and salt than you'd be if you were cooking at home. So if you're trying to eat more healthily, eating out can be a minefield. If you have a friend or family member trying to eat healthily, don't base your social life around eating out. Instead, how about a healthy home cooked meal or visit a park or attraction where food isn't the focus?

Making changes alongside your loved one can improve you lifestyle too, and it can also improve your relationship with that person. I highly recommend it!

#Silent Sunday

Guest Post: My Name is Matthew and I have a mental health condition.....

My husband has very bravely agreed to talk about his Mental Health and how he manages his condition with the support of his friends and family.  Take a look at his post written from the heart. 

My name is Matthew and I have a mental health condition. When I agreed to do this blog I thought  how I was going to approach it. Firstly I thought about what I didn’t want it to be – I knew that if I could quickly identify this then I could probably write something useful and meaningful to others. I didn’t want to create something full of clichés and stereotypes, nor did I want it to come across as an attention seeking, sympathy plea (which would only add fuel to an already all too common misconception of sufferers of mental health conditions). Instead I want the piece to be an open and honest account of how my condition affects me from day to day. I want to share my experiences with you on a level which I hope will achieve my goal of dispelling some of the stigma surrounding mental health so people have a better understanding and awareness of the subject.

I first realised that I had a mental health condition back in 2011 which ironically coincided with the birth of my second child. This was a very difficult time as coping with a new born baby, and feeling deeply depressed at the same time made it difficult to bond with my son at that time, and led to me feeling that I was a failure as a father.  Going through the journey of managing my illness I’ve learnt that I’ve always probably suffered with mental health issues throughout my life but was unable to self diagnose or recognise the symptoms as mental health was something people just didn’t talk about. Counselling has helped me piece together aspects and past experiences of my life to date and attribute them to my illness which is kind of good as it helps me to rationalise past things better so that I can draw a line under them and move on when before I would find myself reflecting on past events and dwelling on things that I couldn’t change which would bring me down.

I have learned that there are many different faces to mental health illness – it can manifest in different ways and the symptoms I think are personal to the individual (anxiety, self loathing, negative and suicidal thoughts etc). I have a number of ‘triggers’ or warning signs that I recognise which allow me to take appropriate measures to manage the problem. Early intervention is key for me in terms of my day to day management of the illness as it will allow me to take steps to enable me to function properly.

I feel that the danger of a decline into a dark spiral for me is increased if I do not have the support of others. I know that if I let myself slip into a state of isolation this will intensify the feelings associated with my condition and the harder it gets to come back up. That is why the various branches of support are so important to my recovery and continued journey. Support from family, friends, colleagues is very important. It is also important for me to keep connected to people on a day to day basis as this helps my symptoms. Simply by asking me ‘how are you?’ can be so important to me. People sometimes admit to me that they are scared to talk to me about my mental health problems as they don’t want to upset me. From a personal point of view, I find talking about my illness in an open and honest way has the opposite effect-it actually helps me feel better  rather than upsetting me. This blog is part of helping me with my condition. Being self aware, honest and open helps me keep on top of things although there are occasions/situations when I don’t feel comfortable

I do get a general feeling of lack of understanding of the illness and a great deal more can be done to help raise awareness. I’ve heard people associate the illness as attention seeking and a made up illness and that people suffering from depression are just ‘lazy’. This kind of misinformed labelling is damaging and negative and shows a lack of understanding. I’ve experienced that people who have experiences or exposure to mental health issues either directly or indirectly are more likely to approach me and enter into dialogue.

I live with a mental health condition and this will probably never leave me, but I am just grateful that I have the support of those around me. There will be times that I feel fine, and other times I will need extra support and understanding.  By having the courage to talk about mental health, and making time for people by just asking ‘how are you today’ you can make a real difference to people like me. 

Matthew

My Daughter Has Cataracts.....

I often think that my daughter is one in a million, due to her wicked sense of humour and intelligence that surpasses mine by a mile. There is not a day that goes by that I don't feel proud of her in some shape or form. Don't get me wrong, there are times when she pushes my buttons but that's children for you! Every parent hopefully thinks their child is one in a million, but in Iola's particular case, she is 1 in 20'000 as she has Cataracts, well 'Bilateral Familial Congenital Cataracts' to be precise and she has had this since birth.

She has my husband to thank for this as due to a genetic anomaly in my husbands family, many of them are born with Cataracts. My husband was born with it, and 2 of his brothers. His mother was also born with it. When I was blessed with 2 children I always knew that there may be a chance that either or both of them would be born with the condition so flagged it up with the health visitor as soon as my daughter was born. Thanks to this, it was picked up early and she is monitored regularly by the hospital. Bryn has been lucky so far, but our wonderful child minder did mention to me a few weeks ago that he seemed to have trouble seeing things so we will have to watch this space.....

Iola's condition is rare, and so much so that the consultant in our local hospital referred her to a larger hospital in Swansea as they have more experience in dealing with the condition in children. We spent a good few hours there today having lots of tests to see if needs surgery. To be honest, apart from the fact that she wears glasses, I haven't noticed any real signs that she is struggling to see. Her teacher did mention that she seemed to be struggling on occasion to see the board but I wasn't sure if this was Iola excusing the fact that she had got something wrong by saying she couldn't see the board.

During the tests today I was shocked to find out that the Cataracts are so bad in one eye that she can barely see out of it. She has Cataracts in both eyes so it must be affecting her more than I realised. The consultant said that is likely that she will need surgery quite soon as her education will suffer otherwise. I now need to make an appointment to see her teacher to make sure the school are aware of how her condition has deteriorated, and also she needs to have a Special Educational Needs assessment to make sure her needs are catered for.

Although the extent of her Cataracts did come as a shock, it does make me thankful that we have the technology and NHS to fix this genetic abnormality. Years ago, she would have been left to go slowly blind which can be a heartbreaking thing to happen. There will be a risk with the laser surgery and she will need four weeks off school to recover, but eye sight is so precious, it's a small price to pay.

I would love to hear your thoughts if you have ever had any experience of this condition?

#Silent Sunday

Why I Feed My Kids Out Of Date Food

Well, they say everyone has their 15 minutes of fame, and mine happened to come a few weeks ago when I appeared on prime time ITV in Bargain Fever Britain. I have never been one to seek out the lime light but I definitely love a bargain. Let me tell you how it all began.....

I came across Approved Foods whilst reading another lovely blog Larger Family Life where Tanya tells us all about life raising a large family. Although both parents work, with such a large family it pays to be thrifty (a girl after my own heart) so she blogged about Approved Foods and how much money she was saving through ordering with them. It immediately got my interest so I decided to take a look on the site and was astounded how cheap everything was. You may be thinking why is the food so cheap? Well the answer is, that the vast majority of it is either past its 'best before' date or coming up to it.

A lot of people will be shocked at this, but the fact of the matter is, this food is perfectly safe to eat. They wouldn't be able to sell it if it wasn't! Let me explain further...... Retailers of dry goods will put a 'best before' date on their products. This is the date that the quality of the goods may start to decline but it is still perfectly safe to eat. This may put some people off, but don't let it! A 'best before' date is different to a 'use by' date which is generally put on fresh produce, meat, cheese etc where there is a danger of food poisoning if you eat it after that date.

I placed an order with approved food and ordered £200 worth of shopping for £50! Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is right. The delivery charges are higher than you would pay with your local supermarket. but are actually quite reasonable. The bargain price of the food more than makes up for this. The goods are really well packed and if a product does get damaged there is no problem with getting a refund.

Well, they say the test is in the eating, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that everything tasted exactly the same to me despite being past its 'best before' date. From that date I was converted. I had no problems in feeding any of the stuff to my kids, and they never complained. My cupboards from that day of my first order have been absolutely packed full of delicious food that I got a rock bottom prices.

Don't just take my word for it, check out this picture of my cupboards..

This is actually a lot emptier than they usually are as I am waiting for my next delivery. Prior to writing this post I took a few items out of my cupboard that I had bought previously which are well past their 'best before' date.

This is just a few of the products but I would have no hesitation in feeding any of this to my kids. My children or I have never been ill, and we are saving a hell of a lot of money in the process. I have never been comfortable with the idea of how much food is wasted in the UK, when there are billions of families  in the world who do not have enough to eat. Approved Food Ltd appeals to me on two levels- I save lots of money, but it also saves lots of waste as all this food would previously have been added to landfill.

This fruit and nut flapjack kit has a 'best before' date of December 2013. We bought a few of these from the site and the kids love making them. The finished flapjacks are delicious! I think I paid 99 pence for 3 boxes, so you really do save a fortune.

Lots of people will still turn their noses up when I say that we eat this food, which I think is a real shame. I recently contacted my local foodbank as I wanted to donate some tinned and dried goods, but some of these were past their 'best before' date. I was told that it was not their policy to accept these goods, even though they knew that the goods were perfectly safe to eat.  I thought that this was a crazy policy considering that the people using food banks is increasing all the time. With a little bit of information explaining the concept of 'best before' dates I think a lot more people would be happy to accept this food.

My fifteen minutes of fame, came when I noticed on the Approved Food face book page that they were looking for someone who lived near Cardiff to film about their experience of Approved food. I feel really passionate about the company and what it stands for, so was happy to give up my time to do this. The filming was really enjoyable and I think I even converted the camera crew by the end of the afternoon! I was contacted about 6 months later to say that some of what I had filmed would be featured on Bargain Fever Britain which was a documentary looking at the changing face of British Retail and how many firms that can save you money are on the rise.

I was nervous about appearing on the television, and was really reluctant to tell anyone but there was no getting away from it!. I was actually really pleased with the finished product and it wasn't too painful to watch. The episode definitely got people interested in the concept and the Approved Food Website crashed that evening with all the interest, which was great news!

I recently ordered this week and some of the fantastic bargains I had were:

• 5 bottles of Hellman's Extra Hot Ketchup for £1 (20 pence each!)
• 10 packets of curry sauce for £1 (10 pence each!)
• 2 boxes of Special K Chocolate Chip cereal bars for £1.00 (50 pence each)
• 3 bottles of Nando's sweet Chilli sauce for £1.00 (33 pence each)
• 3 jars of Wagamama stir fry sauce for £1.00 (33 pence each)

I could go on and on. As you can see the majority of the products are good quality brands but you really do get great bargains. I would love to hear your thoughts on 'best before' dates and if you do end up ordering from the site. My advice would be to check out the biggest saving tab, Bargain Alerts for the specials they have on offer each day, and the clearance tab as these will bring you the biggest saving. I do think the website could be improved to make it more user friendly but it is definitely worth taking a look.

A few of my friends are now converted and we tend to make one big order between us and then split the delivery charge. I'm even thinking of setting up a 'out of date' tuck shop in work to convert my work colleagues. Watch this space!!!