Nine to Three Thirty

TouchBase Pears Launch Their Inclusive Children’s Theatre Season – Win Tickets

Circles in the Sand

TouchBase Pears is an independent, multi-purpose, community hub based in Selly Oak in Birmingham. TouchBase Pears was designed by the charity Sense, which supports people who have complex disabilities, including deafblindness, to communicate and experience the world. TouchBase Pears have just launched an inclusive theatre programme designed for young children, however as TouchBase Pears is an inclusive venue, all are welcome. With high quality productions from experienced children’s theatre companies, every show at Touchbase Pears will take place in a “relaxed performance” environment, inclusive to all and including BSL interpretation and/or multi sensory communication at all performances. The performances will run from April through to July 2019.

Saturday 27^th April 11.30am & 2.30pm

Get Lost & Found presents…

Mischief & Mystery in Moominvalley (BSL interpreted)

Based on the much-loved Moominland novels by Tove Jansson, this gentle heart-warming show tells the story of a year in Moominvalley. Each section of the story has an interactive element; audience members have a snowball fight, toast marshmallows around a fire and go sea-swimming. The characters of Moomintroll, Snufkin, Little My and Thingummy & Bob are brought to life with 2D rod puppets and life size 3D puppets. The show uses beautiful original music and songs, and pre-recorded narration. The iconic Tove Jansson illustrations are recreated in a magical pop up book.

Saturday 11^th May 11am & 2pm

Lyngo Theatre presents…

Egg & Spoon (BSL interpreted)

The very young won’t sit still to watch a show and we don’t expect them to. Egg and Spoon is an interactive romp through the seasons where you come in and out of our magic circle and get to open all the gifts of nature. We’ll run through the rain and the falling leaves and sleep under the snow till Spring wakes us up for the butterfly party. Egg and Spoon is a perfect gentle introduction to the magic of theatre.

Saturday 25^th May 10am, 11.30am & 2pm

The Deaf & Hearing Ensemble presents…

Mathilda & the Orange Balloon (BSL Interpreted & Captioned)

Mathilda is a little grey sheep in a little grey world. When an orange balloon makes a surprise appearance on the farm, Mathilda discovers there is more to who she is than being a grey sheep! With a diverse cast of Deaf and hearing actors, Mathilda’s tactile, fully realised world is welcoming and fully accessible to Deaf and hearing children and families through the use of spoken English, sign language, and creative captions and animation.

Saturday 6^th July 10am, 11.30am & 2pm

Half Moon presents a Tam Tam Theatre production…

Circles in the Sand (Non-Verbal, Sensory performance)

Join us in a world of buckets, castle building, spinning and tumbling in this delightful show which explores sand in new and exciting ways. With no words, and accompanied by an evocative soundtrack of world music, Circles in the Sand is an intimate, imaginative and captivating show, providing the perfect introduction to theatre for the very young. At the end of the performance, children are invited onto the stage to delight in the feel of the sand as it trickles between fingers and toes.

Access Information

TouchBase Pears is a fully accessible environment with level access, on site parking including reserved Blue Badge holder spaces, accessible toilets including some with hoists and changing beds, and a welcoming team of staff.

All the performances take place in a relaxed environment, which means that TouchBase Pears will take a relaxed approach to noise, movement and the use of assistive technology

A variety of seating and spaces will be available, including chairs, soft chairs, beanbags and floor mats.

All performances include a range of communication methods, which vary by production and the audience can use their own technology (without sound) if this helps audience members to enjoy the production.

A touch tour/familiarisation session is available in the space (30 minutes) before each performance.

A ‘chill-out’ zone will be available outside the space for those who need to take a little time out before, during or after the show.

A visual story for the event will be available via email from 2 weeks before the performance date.

Competition

I’ve teamed up with Touchbase Pears to offer a prize of a family ticket, which allows entry for two adults and two children which can be used for any of the shows (subject to availability). Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes on 28th April 2019.

TouchBase Pears

Win 1 of 3 Fuzzikins Dozy Dogs

Fuzzikins Dozy Dogs

How cute are these Fuzzikins Dozy Dogs? They are the perfect set for children who like both crafting and animals. Fuzzikins Craft Dozy Dogs is a craft set for young children to colour and decorate their very own doggy family (to their own design) and to make them accessories for a good night’s sleep. They are for children aged five years old and above. Inside each kit, it comes with three different size, lightweight dog figurines (small, medium and large), three felt tip pens (typical doggy colours are included: black, brown and grey), a brush, self-assembly felt sleeping bags in different colours, other accessories to customise and play with (like eye masks and capes), wooden lollipop stick (to help make up the sleeping bags) and full instructions.

The RRP for the sets is £9.99 each and they are available to buy from good stores and Amazon. There are lots of fun Fuzzikins sets to collect. Have a look at Interplayuk.com to see the full range (including the super cute cats). They are a good size and price for birthday party presents and the sort of thing I tend to keep in my present box so I always have a gift to hand when I need one. Now Interplay UK is giving me the chance to give away one of these Fuzzikins Dozy Dogs sets to three of my blog readers and followers. Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes on 28th April 2019.
Win 1 of 3 Fuzzikins Dozy Dogs

Debut Single From RiverSystem: Hello Stranger

I don’t do a lot of music reviews, so bear with me on this one. This is a song that I wanted to write about for two reasons: friendship and the important message it conveys. I have made friends with a number of people online over the years and some of them I talk most days. My connection to RiverSystem started when I began following his sister on Twitter and chatting to her regularly. Along the way I ended up following and talking to her sister-in-law (RiverSystem’s wife and co-writer of this song). It’s her that I’ve met many times over the last few years and I speak to her often online. Through her I met RiverSystem and discovered his music.

river system hello stranger RiverSystem’s debut single has a hypnotic feel that will stay with you. The song, and its accompanying video, aim to help raise awareness for mental health. RiverSystem says of his song that it “was a labour of love that was co-written with my wife. It is about how depression or mental health issues can just creep up on you and potentially damage your perception of life.”

Hello Stranger has a strong folk-influenced melody with a melancholic air. There’s a strong rhythm from the guitar riff and that’s overlaid with more delicate synths. The sound builds as the song progresses with multiple layers of music adding richness and complexity. The lyrics are beautifully haunting and the most memorable verse for me is this one:

Hello stranger
If I knew you were coming
I would’ve closed all my doors
And held fast against the oncoming storm

The video complements the song and successfully conveys how depression can come back to plague you when you least expect it.

You can watch the video on YouTube, stream the single on Spotify and follow RiverSystem on Facebook for updates.

Week 13 of 2019

magnolia

This week has been one to enjoy the spring weather. I’ve still got blocked sinuses so I haven’t been to the pool (which is annoying), but I have done plenty of walking and some yoga. My to do list hasn’t made much progress though and I think that’s because I did a load of stuff in the garden ahead of it. To be honest the garden needed some attention anyway, so maybe it was just as well.

tidy greenhouse

I’ve been getting ready to plant seeds for the new growing season. I don’t tend to start too early as my greenhouse is unheated. I’ve been busy cleaning, tidying and washing pots. I still have to finish this job off, but I got distracted from that by other work. I’ve decided to try to garden by the phases of the moon this year – I know this might seem a bit new age, but at least it is a cycle of nature. I gave this a try one year in the past in a bit of a half-hearted way, but I did seem to have more success that year, so I’m trying it again this year. This week was a good week for planting root crops, so I dug over the beds and planted seed potatoes and carrots in two of them.

Cabbages

Still swatting in this year’s root bed were a few brassicas that have been in all winter. I’m planning to harvest these soon so I can plant some more carrots next time the moon is in the right phase. The good thing about having to plant in a particular phase is that you actually get out there and do it. This time last week I would have laughed if you had said I’d have the seed potatoes in the ground as I hadn’t even bought them then.

garden bench

I’ve been spending a lot more time outdoors this week with all the gardening, plus doing an extra long walk in the countryside. Luckily there has been plenty of sunshine, so it’s been very pleasant to do.

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