Competitions and Reviews

The Plastic Problem – a Review and giveaway

March 9, 2020 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

I was sent this book, The Plastic Problem, for review in return for my honest opinion. I also have two books for the giveaway which you will find at the end of this post. Read on to find out more about The Plastic Problem and how you could win a copy. This page also contains affiliate links which if you click may earn me a little money at no extra cost to yourself, so thanks in advance.

ISBN: 9781788689359
Writers: Lonely Planet Kids, Aubre Andrus
112 pages, 112pp color, 0 maps
Dimensions: 172mm × 215mm

The Blurb

Help Solve the Plastic Problem

Plastic is everywhere! Its almost impossible to get through a day without using it. That’s causing major problems for our planet.
In this practical guide, you’ll discover loads of easy ways to reduce the use of plastic in your life.*
Your actions, however small, can make a big difference. With each change, you’ll help our oceans become a cleaner and our planet a little healthier.
Are you up to the challenge?
*This book is 100% plastic free. \it may not be as glossy as others on your shelf but its better for the environment.

60 Small Ways to reduce Waste and Help Save the Earth

This handy hardback book is aimed at 9-12 year old’s but it contains lessons that can be learnt at any age.

The first section focuses on what types of plastic there are, the history of plastic and where you can find it. It simple but informative blocks you will soon learn the basics you need to know about plastic before you make up your mind what you are going to do about our worldwide problem.

The next section talks about the problems that plastic causes, why it’s so hard to recycle and what happens to plastic waste. And also how it affects our oceans which has an immense effect on our planet.

What you Can Do.

Once you have learnt about plastic then hopefully you will be inspired to do something about it. First the book talks about how we can build a better future just by taking action with our plastic use.

There is always something new to learn. I have often bought my girls water bottles only to have them lose them. So I buy bottled water but reuse them throughout the week with filtered water. However, these bottles are PET, easy to recycle but not safe to reuse because PET absorbs bacteria and is hard to clean after it has been used. So these bottles should not be used more than once. I’ve now vowed to buy the girls metal bottles to re-use, I have warned them to be careful not to lose them.

I knew that PVC was not the best to wrap sandwiches in, so now that Star is having packed lunches I’ve decided to buy her some re-useable sandwich wraps.

Then there are a full 60 ideas on how you can take action against plastic, in your bedroom, your, wardrobe, your bathroom, at lunch time, when eating out, at the supermarket, at school, out and about, at a party and around your community.

Finally you are encouraged to take the ‘plastic patroller’ pledge and to help you keep your pledge there is a handy checklist. Once you have done any of the 60 ideas you can tick them off. Then hopefully you will have habits formed for your lifetime.

Today is the perfect time for a change. As a future guardian of the planet, you can say no to plastic. Your actions, however small, can make a big difference every day. And with each change, you’ll help our oceans become a little cleaner and our planet a little healthier.
Are you up to the challenge?

Give Away

I have two copies of The Plasti Problem to give away to my readers. Just fill in the widget below for your chance to win. Good Luck!

Terms and Conditions:

The competition prize is one of 2 books
The winner must be living in the UK
No information is collected other than for contacting the winner
The prize cannot be exchanged for cash
The competition starts on 9th March 2020 and ends 6th April 2020
Prize winner will be selected from the widget.
Not all parts of the competition need to be completed, but you need to have completed the part you have been selected for if you win.
Winners will be contacted by e-mail

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lights on Earth – Photowall Review and Discount Code

February 25, 2020 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

The lovely people at Photowall offered me a gift in return for my honest review along with a special discount code for my readers.

Lights on Earth

As my son’s room is in dire need of something to brighten the walls I thought I’d give him the choice of what to have. A photowall would have been fantastic, but I wouldn’t be able to get one up anytime soon so we decided on a nice poster.

At Photowall the choice is amazing, you can have wallpapers. designer murals, posters, canvas’ or framed prints. You can even choose a photo or picture of your own.

The designs are amazing and there is so much choice, animals, food and drink, maps, sports, astronomy and so much more.

I had a feeling that my son would go for Astronomy, he has a real fascination with space.

This is the picture he chose, Lights on Earth by David C. Miller and I love that you can see the Northern Lights.

Our Review

The Little Man was very please with his picture which came on a canvas print and with a smoked ash hanger. You can also choose to have a print without a white border.

I thought The Little Man would have chosen to have the poster above his bed, but he thought it would be better on the opposite wall so he could see it when he woke up as he lies facing this way.

I think he made the right decision and it looks great.

The quality of the poster is really good and it looks fabulous in the frame. The Little Man is very happy and so am I.

Discount from Photowall

I’d definitely be happy to buy from Photowall again and when it comes around to decorating my bedroom after the work has been done, I’d really consider a mural. I’d love a bookshelf wall, especially as I’m having to get rid of two of my bookshelves to make way for my lift. It would be nice to have a city skyline, or a beach view though. I think it would probably take a day or two to choose.

What do you think? Would you choose a mural or a poster, a print or a canvas? If there is anything you’d fancy from the website Photowall have offered a special discount code ‘raisiebay2021’ which will give you 25% off for as many time as you use it for a month.

Beanbag Bazaar Review and Give Away

February 24, 2020 by Anne Sweet 99 Comments

I was gifted a Beanbag Bazaar Oslo Bean Bag for the purpose of this review and I am also offering the same as a prize to one of my readers using the widget below.

Review of Beanbag

We are big fans of bean bags and have had a few in the past, but this one is by far our favourite. It looks fabulous and is so comfortable while providing support. The Icon Oslo Armchair Bean Bag is the perfect extra seating you need for your home.

We are a big family of seven and even with two big settees we are always in the need of extra seating. If we have visitors then it’s always handy to have somewhere else to sit. We have had a bean bag before for the kids to lounge about it and use for when they are playing video games. This seat, however, is a lot more sophisticated, it’s almost having an extra armchair but it’s easy to move and put aside when not in use.

The Icon Armchair BeanBag.

The Bean bag arrives in a big box and half of it is already filled with polystyrene balls and you get a big bag of extra balls to fill it up. There is a bag within the chair that zips up and the outer fabric is separate. It’s quite easy to fill but be wary there may be a little spillage.

The outer fabric is a soft herringbone woven material that looks really fabulous. It will fit in with any decor and comes in three colours, grey, charcoal grey and ochre yellow. I went for the charcoal grey, simply because I thought that with a large family it would look cleaner for longer. The ochre yellow would have been a great statement piece though.

Our Verdict

The chair has been a big hit in our home. Not only does it look good it’s really comfortable and I find the kids are fighting over who sits on it rather than sitting on the regular settees.

We have it generally pushed back against the sideboard until it is is needed. When we move the furniture around to make room for the lift it will fit perfectly next to our largest settee. However, when it’s needed, its usually pushed up next to the coffee table where it’s perfect to join in with coffee and conversation, or board games.

Gaming Chair

We love our gaming consoles in our house and this chair is perfect for playing games in. Before the kids would sit on the floor but now they can sit supported and comfortable while they play.

As you can see The Little Man Looks really cosy while playing here. But it’s not just for kids, the adults find it just as comfortable. My husband said it is great for his posture as well, as before he was using a bean bag and just slouching around.

Oslo armchair been bag — The other two colour options

Win a Beanbag for Your Home

Beanbag Bazaar has kindly offered an Oslo Armchair Bean Bag in the colour of your choice to one of my lucky readers who enter using the following widget.

Rules and Conditions.

The competition prize is one Oslo Armchair Bean Bag in the colour of your choice
The winner must be over 18 years old
The winner must be living in the UK
No information is collected other than for contacting the winner
The prize cannot be exchanged for cash
The prize will be provided direct from Beenbag Bazaar
The competition starts on 24th February 2020 and ends 23rd March 2020
Prize winner will be selected from the widget.
Not all parts of the competition need to be completed, but you need to have completed the part you have been selected for if you win.
Winners will be contacted by e-mail

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Red Shoes – Matthew Bourne

February 17, 2020 by Anne Sweet 6 Comments

I am a big fan of ballet and an even bigger fan of Matthew Bourne. The Red Shoes is the third of his performances that I’ve seen. I paid for my own tickets although being in a wheelchair it does mean I get to sit in a specific box for disabled users and I also get to take a carer with me for free.

You are not allowed to take pictures of the performance but you can see them for a while on the Birmingham Hippodrome site This post may contain spoilers, but nothing compares to watching the dancers perform.

The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes originates from a fairy tale from Hans Christian Anderson in 1845. It’s a dark story based on vanity of the main character.

In 1948 a film was directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger with the same name. During the film was a fifteen minute ballet based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. The film was widely acclaimed and won many awards.

Of the three Matthew Bourne perfomances I’ve seen so far, I think The Red Shoes stays closer to the original plot of the film. The main character, Vicky, is chosen to play the main part in the ballet and we see the the ballet as envisioned by the director, Lermontov who has feelings for her. He has a box in which he shows how he would like the performance to be done, and when we see the actual ballet, it has the same box like stage setting.

Vicky is in love with composer Julian Craster, who is passionate about his music and gets upset that he is not getting the credit he deserves from the jealous Lermontov.

The Red Shoe’s ballet is performed beautifully and Vicky gets her taste of the fame that could be hers. But in the end she is forced to choose a life with the man she loves instead and they move away to london to be together. Here we see her performing in some less classier shows and her relationship with Julian is falling apart. At the same time we see Lermontov longing for the girl he has lost.

Eventually, torn between the chance of dancing fame and being with her lover Vicky leaves to be with Lermontov. But she is not happy and her choice leads her to a very similar demise as the dancer in The Red Shoes.

Matthew Bourne

Romeo + Juliet was set in an asylum, Cinderella was set in the blitz of WWII, but the Red Shoes is most closely related to the original story. We do still see a fair bit of the novelty you come to expect of Matthew. The bathers in San Francisco were a lot of fun, as were the acts in the less classier London shows. You certainly get a bit off a shock when the Egyptian dancers appear. There are also some strange goings on during the upper class parties. It was certainly a little confusing at times. When the ballet within the ballet had finished I was almost convinced that the story was over, despite knowing there was more to come.

The scene changes were both elaborate, fantastic and at times confusing. There was a huge curtain on stage which showed the different circumstances of both Vicky and Julian and the lamenting Lermontov. During the final scenes we see the screen twirl around and around which I believe represented the many performances Vicky performed after leaving Julian and achieving her fame.

The ending is shocking and sad, and I guess a lesson is learnt, just as Hans Christian Anderson would predict in his somewhat gruesome fairy tales. And of course, the red shoes were finally removed.

I would encourage anyone to see a Matthew Bourne Ballet, if not for the stirring music, the stunning dancing or the original storytelling, you will be left with a feeling of being a part of something very special.

New Competition – Hidden Wonders Book and Jigsaw puzzle

January 10, 2020 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

Recently I reviewed a fabulous book from Lonely Planet Kids. Hidden Wonders, which is aimed at 9-12 year olds. Now, I’m running a competition to give away a copy of the book and a 260 piece jigsaw puzzle.

Our Review

A lovely hardback book with quality paper and gorgeous illustrations. This book would make a lovely gift for any chid aged 9 or over. It’s recommended up to 12 years but it’s one of those books that will interest anyone of any age.

With loads of photographs and short stories, it’s easy to dip into and find something interesting to read. A lot of these places you will have probably never heard of. And there is a whole 240 pages to digest. It will be a book that’s treasured for a long time.

Hidden Wonders Competition

I have a copy of this book, (normally £14.99 but currently on sale for £11.99) to give away to one lucky reader. I also have a 260 piece jigsaw puzzle which features the beautiful front cover of the book. Please read the terms and conditions and enter using the widget below. Good luck!