Tag: summer
Just found a draft of something I’ve written a few years ago… Thought it matches my feelings so well, that I can post it here.
London is wonderful during the autumn. It really is, as it is wonderful during all the seasons. But the autumn… it’s something different. The colours are connected one to each other in a magical dance. You can hear the music, coming from the trees, and not only because of the wind, not only because of the pumping rain drops, playing their last dance before crushing into the window. The music comes from the calm, relaxing atmosphere, from the saddened orange sun, still trying to be warm, but so hard to drill the clouds, of course from you and me, thinking of the last summer…
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October 12, 2011
Good is never good enough when it comes to looking after my little daughter – I want the best for her, as every mother. So now that the summer months are here and (thanks god) there have been liots of hot days already, for me it’s time to make my choice about her suncare.
I am sure that if you regularly read my blog you already know about my love affair with Green People and their lovely baby and kids skincare range. It’s all natural, organic, gentle to the skin, so it’s no wonder my preferred choice. I’ve been very kindly sent one of their No Scent Children’s Sun Lotion to try out – thank you, lovely Green People 
The first impresion is that the lotion is no greesy, but light and creamy. Surprisingly (in a very good way though), there are no white marks when applied on the skin – it rather spreads smoothly and absorbs nicely.
My daughter used to have eczema and her skin is still very delicate and prone to skin allergies, so choosing a natural, free from chemicals and alergens sun cream is very, very important for me. This one is exactly this, so I’m happy to use it again and again – they use natural mineral sun filters and skin-friendly ingredients to effectively protect against UVA and UVB rays, without the need for synthetic chemicals.
Another benefit is that this sun lotion is naturally water-resistant and it offers broad-spectrum UVA & UVB protection generated through a blend of earth minerals, and a UV filter derived from cinnamon leaf and edelweiss.
As of July 1st the RRP is £15.95 for 150ml / Available from www.greenpeople.co.uk, or at John Lewis, Waitrose, Wholefoods, Planet Organic and independent retailers.
You may also want to try their Lavender Children’s Sun Lotion SPF25 or Children’s Aloe Lotion & After Sun.
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July 5, 2011
My favourite one is Just So Festival, Barnswood, Nr Leek, Staffordshire on August 20-22. The Just So Festival is a family arts festival, which has been dreamt up by two Macclesfield couples who’ve spent years visiting traditional festivals with their children and finding much of the entertainment to be off-limits. They’ve set up a camping weekend in 65 acres of unspoilt Staffordshire woodland where everything – from traditional fairground to artificial beach, from gypsy bands to top name authors – is aimed at giving children and their parents a magical experience.
Highlights from the programme will include music workshops from Manchester Camerata, Parkour training sessions from some of the UK’s top free-runners, following the Fairy Queen trail with the Fairyland Trust, and one of the organisers’ favourites, a party with the Moomins. Families will be able to go on this amazing journey of the imagination, participating in a medley of art, craft, music and theatre within a beautiful natural landscape. The experience of families going along to the Just So Festival will be a far cry from your average festival. Camping is in small woodland glades. There will be a bedtime noise curfew (though the local rabbits and hedgehogs may not comply), and a large and comfy nappy changing area with changing mats and wipes laid on. The loos will, of course, be lovely.
Here are some other family-friendly festivals:
JULY 14-18 Larmer Tree Festival, Wiltshire/Dorset Turning 20 in 2010, this small festival has won both “Best Family Festival”, giving families an opportunity to choose from fantastic programmes for Comedy, Film, Street Theatre, Adults, YouthZone, Kids, Spoken Word, or Everything together!
JULY 15-18 Latitude, Suffolk. Cute festival with mini-glasto overtones. With just two weeks to go, Latitude still pulls more names out of the bag. Unlike any other festival, Latitude has built its sterling reputation as a brave and pioneering event with a line-up like no other. Four arenas are dedicated to an exciting selection of musical talent from emerging bands, international stars and homegrown heroes, whilst the arts onsite command no less than thirteen arenas providing something for everybody.
JULY 22-25 The Secret Garden Party, East Anglia A weird and wonderful selection of artists will fill the Great Stage, Where the Wild Things Are stage and various other amusingly named venues. They provide the Garden and plant the seeds, but you nurture its life and allow it to blossom. It is your party – your creative participation allows the festival to rejuvenate & regenerate. The Secret Garden Party brings people together by removing all barriers – you will do things you never thought you had the nerve or bombast to do.
JULY 23-25 Womad, Wiltshire This festival offers a world of music with performers from as far afield as Ethiopia, India and New Zealand. Meanwhile, the World of Kids and the Children’s Parade will be one of the festival highlights. Enjoy children’s craft workshops, global market villages, an old-fashioned steam fair and food from around the world. Take WOMAD at a comfortable pace and spend a night camping in one of the ready-pitched tents that sleep up to 8 people and include airbeds and sleeping bags.
JULY 24-26 Camp Bestival, Dorset Winner of the Best Family Festival in the UK Festival Awards 2009, this baby sibling to the Isle of Wight’s Bestival takes place at the idyllic Lulworth Castle in Dorset. With 53 sleeps before Camp Bestival throws open its gates it’s not long until we can enjoy three full days of partying with Madness, Friendly Fires, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, The Human League, Calvin Harris, Stornoway and many ugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his River Cottage Cafe, enlightened and erudite entertainment at the East Lulworth Literary Institute, Fairy Tale fancy dress, Zippos Circus, The House of Fairy Tales and much, much more.
AUGUST 6-7 Belladrum, Inverness-shire The Editors will headline the event, which takes place on Friday and Saturday. Other acts include Toploader, Peatbog Faeries and Ocean Colour Scene. A new one-man play, tackling the life of occultist Aleister Crowley, and Mr Methane “king of farts” have also been lined-up.
AUGUST 20-22 The Green Man, Brecon Beacons There’s a film tent, a campfire more musical pleasures. Plus there will be literally 100s of free things for kids to do, amazing food from the likes of Hfield, a science tent as well as Joanna Newsom, Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons. This year there’s a boutique babysitting service. If you need a well-earned break from the kids you can always use our new ground breaking Boutique Babysitting service, offering a bespoke and friendly babysitting run by fully qualified childcare professionals. For anyone who’s ever considered taking children to a festival – or for those that already do – The Boutique Babysitters are a new childcare company that has entered the festival scene to provide a bespoke, festival-friendly babysitting service. For the first time, parents can enjoy a care-free festival experience; content in the knowledge that their children are safe and professionally cared for, whilst the kids enjoy a fun-packed “mini festival” of their own at the Boutique Babysitting kids club.
AUGUST 27-29 Solfest, Cumbria There are only 5,000 tickets for this three-day festival that has a line up including James and the Magic Numbers. There are also plenty of children’s activities and the festival takes pride that tiny babies and many generations of the same family come back every year. Solfest is enjoyed by babies under and hundreds of toddlers, older children and teenagers – so it’s an experience for the whole family! Forget the music; this is the stuff that memories are made of!
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August 2, 2010
I have a confession to make. For the last couple of years I’ve been having an affair. Yes, that’s right, a love affair. Don’t blame me – you would, too. I felt in love with Green People – they are green, but they don’t come from Mars! Green People only do and sell the best natural and organic skincare products ever!
My new discovery is their SPF cosmetics range – ideal for the surprisingly hot UK summer this year! For the last month I’ve been testing three of their products with SPF 15, giving me additional sun care natural protection. My daily skincare routine now starts with applying the Day Solution SPF15 – a daily moisturiser with UVA & UVB protection with 85.10% organic ingredients. This gentle skin defence cream, rich in essential fatty acids, is formulated using UV Filters derived from Edelweiss extract, Titanium Dioxide and Cinnamon to achieve a sun protector factor of 15, protecting from both UVA and UVB rays.
Containing Aloe Vera, green tea, rosemary and chamomile extracts, as well as hemp, rose geranium and jojoba oil, this moisturiser nourishes the skin and prevents from premature ageing. It’s suitable for all skin types, especially sensitive like mine. I love the pump bottle, too, as it’s far more hygienic and comfortable to use. After just a few appliances my skin is left moisturised and re-balanced all day long.
I then move to applying the Green People No Scent Soft Lips SPF8, which is designed to protect and soften dry, chapped lips. I find it ideal for the hot summer weather, when the delicate skin of my lips needs some extra care to keep them soft and appealing. It’s a great nourishing lip balm with UV protection and 70% organic ingredients. My lips get natural sheen from berry wax and fairly traded Cupuaca butter. This mild no-scent formulation (no essential oils) is just perfect for dry, sore and chapped lips and looks fab over my lipstick for a subtle gloss effect! The Green People No Scent Soft Lips balm contains an SPF to provide effective UV protection from the suns harsh rays, while 100% pure plant oils offer long-lasting hydration for soft, supple lips skin.
What I find most exciting is adding some extra sun protection via my powder. The Green People’s Pressed Mineral Powder SPF15 is a 3-in-1 foundation, powder and SPF15 Sun Protection – effective and cost-saving, love it! Mine is honey-tinted, but it’s also available in Caramel or Maple. The 3-in-1 foundation, powder and sunscreen SPF15 gave my skin a natural complexion with a matte finish and no tide mark! Minerals reflect the light to minimise fine lines and wrinkles (I’m just over 30 now, so this is important for me).
Traditional makeup is made with a lot of unnatural, chemical ingredients, which resulted in skin problems. Green People’s Pressed Mineral Powder is 100% natural and gentle to the skin and don’t clog pores, allowing the skin to breathe. The added jojoba and sunflower oil beautifies the skin even more, making this powder my best friend from now on.
A little tip on how to apply it: Swirl, Buff, Tap! Swirl brush head twice around outer edge of the powder, buffing up the minerals, and tap off any excess powder. Apply in downward strokes moving inwards (the way your hairs go) starting with the left cheek, reapply powder and move to the right cheek, reapply, add to T-zone, reapply and cover under the nose and chin. As your skin tone changes between winter and summer, try blending Caramel or Maple with Honey for the perfect match!
Of course, if you expect to be in the sun for any length of time, it is still advised that you apply a traditional sunscreen product for maximum protection. Green People have a great range of sunscreens for both mums who love their skin and the give it the best possible (natural and toxic-free) care, but also for babies and children! Have a look at their full sunscreen products range here. There is free post during July!
See, I am sure you will now understand and won’t blame me for having an affair. My husband won’t even notice, as everything looks so natural on the skin, only making it look more healthy and beautiful!
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July 13, 2010
At GreenKiddie we are starting a Green Mama Blog Carnival. Each month we will ask you to dig out your best “green” blog post on a specific topic. The idea of the Green Mums’ Blog Carnival is to share your tips, creative ideas and expertise around the mums’ community, but also to create traffic, links and comments for our blogs.
We would love to hear from you if your posts are 1/ relevant to the topic, 2/ published on your blog during the current month, and 3/ inspiring, informative or provocative.
The topic for our first carnival in July is: “Eco-friendly Summer Holiday with kids” – write about your tips and advice or about your funny stories. If you want to get involved in the July carnival, all you have to do is email a link to your post to info (at) greenkiddie (dot) co (dot) uk by 27th June and the carnival will be posted on the 7th July. Get immersed into the “green summer” theme and share your inspiration with us!
And don’t forget to read other people’s posts and comments when the carnival is published. I promise it will be interesting, helpful and fun!
If you are a brand-representative and would like your product story to be included in the Blog Carnival, please contact us on advertising (at) greenkiddie (dot) co (dot) uk.
We are also looking for interested mums bloggers to host the next edition of the Green Mama Blog Carnival. The August topic will be “Green (Handmade) Accessories”.
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June 8, 2010
