At the weekend we went to the Magical Lantern Festival that this year is being held in Kings Heath Park in Birmingham. It’s timed entry and you can park in a nearby school car park, so it doesn’t get too difficult logistically. If you are on public transport the number 11 bus goes right past and that goes just about everywhere in Birmingham, plus there are buses from the city centre going up nearby Kings Heath high street. The timed entry means that the lantern trail isn’t overcrowded and you can get to fully enjoy the lights.
The boys (H and his cousin) had a lot of fun picking out the lights as we turned the corners of the route through the park. There were some lights that you could get a little closer to and take some pictures like this one, but you aren’t supposed to touch any of the light installations. The Magical Lantern Festival is open until 1st January 2018. There’s loads to see including a representation of Birmingham’s Central Library building. I think my favourite were the flamingos, but the polar bears came a close second.
Around the trail there are various stopping off points where you can get something to eat or drink, or maybe go on a fairground ride or two (mostly geared to little ones). There was also a Santa’s Grotto (for which there’s an extra charge) and you can either book in advance or queue up on the night.
At the end there’s a tent where you can go to eat your food if you have purchased from one of the stalls. This was great for us as we hadn’t eaten before we went, so we were able to get some food and sit down to eat it inside (there are outside benches too, but it was a bit damp).
In more recent years it’s got easier, but there were still issues. There’s a limit to have much watching material a tablet can store and at the rate that H gets through books, it’s difficult to carry enough without weighing you down (he’s not keen on a kindle). So when London Midland offered us the chance to try a day out on their rail network, we jumped at the chance. We put their newish (launched in April) on-board entertainment scheme, 
Motion is a free service accessible via London Midland’s free on-board Wi-Fi. H packed his phone as his entertainment device as it has a reasonably big screen and it’s smaller/lighter than a tablet. The variety of content on Motion is brilliant with Hollywood Movies (such as The Kings Speech and The Girl on the Train), Kids Entertainment includes Ben 10 and Peppa Pig, for grown-ups there’s Now TV with entertainment, drama and comedy to watch, books, magazines (such as Horrible Histories, Olive, Top Gear, Cosmo and Hello), news and a range of games to choose from, there really is something for everyone.
We got off the train in the heart of the city and got to work seeing the sights. H had asked to visit the 
On the spur of the moment we decided to go onto the 
A wander around Liverpool finished the day off before heading back to catch our train at Lime Street station. The journey back whizzed by as H caught up with some Dexter’s Lab and I read Olive, both via Motion.
When H was younger he was a massive Octonauts fan (in fact, he still likes to check if they have a new series out to watch). He’s always been interested in the ocean and he has a lot of books about sea creatures. Not long ago we watched a documentary together about the giant squid and he found it fascinating. So it was no surprise when he started watching The Deep on CBBC. The Deep follows the adventures of the Nekton family: a brilliant team of underwater explorers. With state-of-the-art technology and a thirst for discovery, the Nektons explore the mysterious depths of the ocean. The deep is a place where leviathans swim through sunken cities, pirates lurk amid floating black markets, and a mysterious group of Guardians hide long-lost secrets.
As H is more than a bit of a fan of the TV series he was very keen to go along to one of his favourite places to have a go at being a Nekton himself. He went around the Sea Life Centre solving the clues, using the decoders and learning a few facts about the sea or the creatures that live in it. Of course, he got to visit all his favourite fish and other sea animals while he was there too. He always learns something new when he’s going round. At the end he got a badge and a sticker sheet for his efforts in correctly solving the puzzle.
For further information on this event which runs to 17 September or to pre-book tickets online before your visit please go to 
