You and your family will be taken on an exclusive backstage tour of The O2 on 3rd April where you will be greeted like a
VIP and get to sample all the backstage action. This exclusive opportunity will allow you to walk in your idols footsteps and see everything they do before they hit the stage! You will even get the chance to visit their private dressing rooms. Not only that but you will also be able to walk out into the arena where artists from around the globe have performed in front of 20,000 people, making this an amazing opportunity for any young aspiring stars! You will then be taken to the British Music Experience to create your very own rock star moment.  Using the BME’s exclusive wardrobe and range of instruments you and your family will create a photo with a difference! Simply rock up and take centre stage in The Co-operative Jam Studio and take home photographic proof that you really could be in your own band.

As runner ups, there will also be 12 families (4 in a family) who will win tickets to visit the museum.

The British Music Experience is an incredible interactive museum which showcases 60 years of musical history, with visitors able to explore music’s influence on art, fashion and politics through the decades. Younger audiences can also take part in some great activities such as recording themselves singing, mixing and playing guitar.

For your chance to win this great prize all you need to do is answer the following question:

How many years of musical history does the British Music Experience showcase?

cforms contact form by delicious:days

All correct answers will be put into a draw.  All entrants will receive our free newsletter

T&Cs:

• Prizes cannot be exchanged or redeemed
• The prizes allow for 4 people in a family
• 03/04/2012 is a fixed date, winners who are unable to attend will not be rescheduled
• The runners up tickets can be used throughout the year 

The fifth and final BabySafe video focuses on unconsciousness (breathing/not breathing) in babies and young children.

The how-to video features an expert from the British Red Cross demonstrating what to do if your baby or child is unconscious. This will give parents the basic skills required to give Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to a baby or a young child who has stopped breathing.

BabySafe is a free nationwide child safety initiative by Tesco Baby & Toddler Club featuring experts from the British Red Cross. The first four in the series of how-to videos focused on Prevention in the home, how to treat Burns, how to recognise the signs of Meningitis and how to deal with Choking.

• All five how-to BabySafe videos can be viewed on the Tesco Baby Care & Share website www.tesco-baby.com and viewing these could provide you with invaluable life-saving skills – in some cases saving the life of a baby or toddler.

Lorna Dickinson, Category Buying Manager-Baby and Manager of Tesco Baby & Toddler Club, comments: “We know from our research that lack of time and costs are the key reasons for mums-to-be and new parents to not attend a first aid course. By launching BabySafe videos, we are making first aid free and accessible by bringing it directly into their home.”

* Research carried out in July 2011 amongst 2,213 parents who are members of the Tesco Baby & Toddler Club

There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forwar to take her younger sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. Fo her, survival is second nature.

Shows at 10am and 11.30am

Tickets £4.50 (adults and children); £3 concessions apply to both adults and children if the adult is on benefit, over 65 or a full time student

Tickets available on the door from half an hour before each performance or online at www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk (£2 admin fee per transaction; not per ticket)

Sat 25 February

Stuart Clark

Ages 3 to 8

Take a dash of amazing magic, a good measure of juggling and several twists of fun, shake don’t stir, and you have the perfect cocktail of a show! Sit back, relax… and drink in the show!

Sat 3 March

The Bird Princess by In-Toto Theatre

Ages 3 to 7

Breathtaking Korean fan dancing, storytelling and puppetry blend to tell the tale of the enchanting bird princess who flies down from her bird kingdom to the human world to weave her magic spell. Join in with her happy dance finale.

Sat 10 March

The Ding Dong Show by Rubberface

Ages – under 8s

Rubberface the musical clown turns the world upside down. With puppet tricks, dance and song it’s Ding Dong Ding Dong all show long.

Sat 17 March

Sonia the Baby Seal by Jactito Puppet Theatre

Ages 2 to 7

A huge storm sweeps Sonia the Baby Seal across the oceans. Join her on her search to find her Arctic home when she meets exotic fish, Penelope the Dancing Penguin and Peter the Polar Bear. Beautiful puppets and Jactico’s trademark humour.

Sat 24 March

Otiz Cannelloni’s Magical Mayhem

Ages 3 to 8

Fresh from the comedy circuit to the cutting edge of family cabaret with minimal magic and maximum madness for the young and young at heart. Some tricks, some prizes and some joining in… plus Musical Keith’s magical notes.

Sat 7 April

NO SHOW

Sat 14 April

Little Red Riding Hood by The Story Hat

Ages 2 – 6

A little girl in a red cape, a dark forest, a poorly grandmother and a big bad wolf! The Story Hat presents this traditional tale in a fresh new way, inviting the children to join in and help the story along. Plenty of interactive fun with songs, dancing, percussion and the magic Story Hat…

Sat 21 April

Singalonga Showtune

with Sister Mary McArthur

Ages 3 to 8

Join in with all your favourite songs from the musicals, such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, and loads more.  Sister Mary, Highgate’s very own star-struck nun, will lead the way

Sat 28 April

Who’s Been Eating My Porridge?

By Pocketful of Nothing

Ages 3 to 7

An emergency call from Baby Bear!  Someone’s eaten his porridge, broken his chair and slept in his bed!  The Captain Clueless Detective Agency springs into action to leave no tale untold and no trick un-fumbled with magical routines and loads of audience participation.

Other Special Events

Sun 8 April

Egg Decorating, Treasure Hunt & The Great Egg Roll

11am start

£6 per child

No advance booking (first come first served; max 100)

Bring a parent/carer

Tickets on sale from 10.30am; finish 1pm – no latecomers

Wear suitable clothing. Meet at the back of the House near the café.

Sun 22 April

Otiz Cannelloni & The Sleight of Band

12.30pm  /  £6 (£4 concs)

Advance Booking: 020 8348 8716 and www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk (£2 admin fee per transaction; not per ticket)

A family fun packed hour of music, magic, mayhem, joining in and unbelievable prizes – you won’t believe they’re prizes. Featuring Otiz Cannelloni – Master of minimalist magic with The Sleight of Band – masters of minimalist music. The show with guaranteed audience satisfaction.

Family Friendly Classical Concerts

Sponsored by Markson Pianos and supported by the Elias Fawcett Trust.

Bring along your children and teenagers – our unstuffy atmosphere and young musicians make it perfect for nurturing the next generation of concert-goers.

These are hour long concerts which are not children’s concerts as such but to which children are welcome.  The age is at the discretion of the parent and we have had some very young children who have been entranced, but, as a general guidance, we would recommend starting at age 5 to 6 years.

Tickets available:

• on the door
• by credit/debit card on 020 8348 8716 (£2 admin fee per transaction; not per ticket)
• at www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk (£2 admin fee per transaction; not per ticket)

Sun 4 March

11.30am  /  £7 (£5 concs, £1 schoolchildren)

Jubilee Quartet

Tereza Prívatská and Atsuko Takao (violin), Stephanie Edmundson (viola), Lauren Steel (cello)

1st Prize winners of the Val Tidone International Chamber Music Competition, the Jubilee Quartet was formed in 2006 at the Royal Academy of Music, London. They were chosen to perform in the 2010 Schumann and 2011 Brahms Festival concert series at the Royal Academy of Music.

Programme: Mendelssohn Op.80 No.6 in F minor, Webern Langsamer Satz and  Haydn Op.20 no.4

Sun 25 March

11.30am  /  £7 (£5 concs, £1 schoolchildren)

Siskin Trio

Pippa Willshire (piano), Elitsa Bogdanova (viola) and Sarah Brown (clarinet) formed in 2009 at the Trinity College of Music.  In February of this year the group undertook a series of concerts in Sofia, a selection of which was broadcast on Bulgarian National Radio and in April the trio performed in Belfast where they were featured on BBC Radio Ulster.

Schumann, Marchenbilder (Fairy Tales)

Kurtag, Hommage a Robert Schumann for clarinet, viola and piano

Francaix, Trio for clarinet, viola and piano

LAUDERDALE HOUSE
Highgate Hill, Waterlow Park, London N6 5HG
Enquiries 020 8348 8716
www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk

The Stay & Play packages start from just £104.00, based on a family of four (2 adults and 2 children) sharing a standard Family Room. A full English breakfast is included.

The packages are valid for the following weekends:

Friday 24^th February – Monday 27^th February;

Friday 2^nd March – Monday 5^th March;

Friday 9^th March – Monday 12^th March.

During these weekends Drayton Manor’s Thomas Land™, along with the 15-acre zoo will both be open. Thomas Land is packed with rides and attractions based on loveable Thomas & Friends™ characters, including Cranky the Crane and Harold the Helicopter.  There’s also a Thomas the Tank Engine train ride, indoor and outdoor play areas, café and a shop selling a wide range of Thomas & Friends merchandise.

Meanwhile, Drayton Manor Zoo has more than 100 animal species from around the world, including big cats, monkeys and primates, as well as penguins and various   reptiles.

For more information or to book a stay go to www.draytonmanorhotel.co.uk or call 01827 285551. The hotel is also on Facebook www.facebook.com/Drayton-Manor-Hotel and Twitter www.twitter.com/DraytonManHotel for regular updates and news. Please note, no other attractions will be open during these weekends.

Drayton Manor Theme Park is one of the UK’s most popular family attractions with over one million visitors a year. Drayton Manor was first opened to the public by the current owners, the Bryan family, in 1950 after husband and wife co-founders, George, OBE, and Vera Bryan, converted 80 acres of derelict land, which once belonged to the former British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel and his family, into a wonderful family attraction. Today, set in approximately 280 acres of beautiful woodland and  countryside, the family owned and run Drayton Manor Theme Park features some of the biggest, wettest and scariest rides around, including Shock-wave, G-force, Maelstrom, and Apocalypse, as well as a 15-acre zoo, the hugely popular Thomas Land™ attraction, and a 4D Cinema.

There’s nothing like a hearty roast dinner in winter and it’s a classic British favourite for good reason.  Warming, filling and quite simply delicious – there are not many Brits who don’t lick their lips at the thought of a good roast.

But while we all love them, how many of us regularly cook and eat roast dinners these days? Research shows the roast is on the wane, with many of us believing they are too expensive and time consuming to cook – which actually couldn’t be further from the truth.

Contrary to popular belief roast dinners can be affordable, feeding big, hungry families for a surprisingly small amount of money. They’re also easy to prepare as it’s all about bunging everything in the oven and returning a couple of hours later to the wonderful aroma of a delicious meal.

To prove just how easy and cheap roasts can be, celeb mum Suzanne Shaw has joined with Aunt Bessie’s with the challenge of cooking a roast to feed a family of four for just £9.51. As well as showing the nation how economical roasts are, she also wants to prove how simple they are to cook, and that they’re a perfect midweek meal for your family.

Watch our video feature to see how she gets on.

Click here to watch a video showing another delicious recipe from Suzanne Shaw.

Sometimes parents will notice things which on their own mean nothing – but the following things have all been recognised by parents whose child has subsequently been found to be using drugs.

Phone Calls. Teenagers and the telephone usually mean long phone calls – does your child hang around’ the phone sometimes and pick it up as soon as it rings… replies very briefly and then leaves the house – returning after a short time. This can often be a dealer friend phoning to say that they are nearby with some drugs.

Bedrooms. Do you often find the windows open even on cold days ? Lots of air-freshener being used? This can be to disguise the smell of cannabis being smoked in the room.

Money. Does your child never seem to have money nowadays? Do you notice that valuable things seem to be missing – cameras, jewellery etc. Drug users often sell items to buy drugs – at first their own but later they may steal from the family.

Language. Users do not speak of ‘using drugs’ – they will say someone ‘does drugs’ – watch for words like gear, deals, straight, clean, munchies, clucking, – and slang terms for drugs.

If you are worried that your child may be involved with drugs it is important not to ignore matters. Of course it is better to try to prevent use – and research has shown the following:

Parents who are too strict or too easy-going are more likely to have children who use drugs. Firm, fair and age-appropriate discipline is best.

Families should eat together and have regular family meetings’ where things like holidays, pocket-money, chores, curfew times are discussed. Each family member should be allowed to contribute and should be listened to.

Any infringement of agreed rules (such as home by 11.00 p.m.) should be dealt with in a consequential way. Punishments should be made to fit the incident. From babyhood parents should agree together on standards of behaviour – if you say it you must mean it!

Celebrate and praise! Parents should have a simple rule of thumb – for each time you need to criticise you should subsequently praise at least twice for behaviour which you want repeated. Celebrate any small improvements and see the child blossom.

Is your child less responsible … comes home from school late, forgets family occasions, ignores requests to help with chores, uses bad language, becomes argumentative and tells parents “don’t hassle me”?

Clothes, music, hair styles … do they now wear totally different clothes and hair styles …listen to different music, become less interested in academic work and demand permission to stay out later and to have more ‘privacy’?

Is communication more difficult… does your child refuse to talk about new friends, go ‘out’ without saying where they are going; tend to defend the ‘recreational’ use or legalisation of drugs when the topic is discussed on TV or radio; declares teachers are unfair; defends the ‘rights’ of children and talk about the ‘bad habits’ of adults who use alcohol or smoke cigarettes?

Physical changes … has your child lost weight, changed sleep patterns – cannot sleep till early hours of morning, cannot wake up in the morning, increased appetite for sweet snacks, very thirsty, becomes very forgetful and seems to have lost all motivation for exams, or future careers?

Some physical signs

The following brief physical symptoms may suggest the use of a variety of drugs. These symptoms may not effect everyone and are dose and time dependant.

Hyper-activity and alertness: amphetamine

Bloodshot eyes: cannabis

Confusion, bizarre behaviour: LSD

Compulsive behaviour: amphetamine

Constipation: heroin

Crawling sensations: cocaine

Dreamy, introverted, head nodding: heroin

Dreamy, spaced out, giggly, distorted perception of all senses especially time, hungry for sweet things, slow thinking: cannabis

Depression: amphetamine, LSD

Dilated pupils (sometimes): amphetamine, cocaine, LSD

Dry mouth, great thirst: amphetamine, cannabis

Flushed (sometimes): amphetamine, heroin

Loss of co-ordination: solvents, LSD, cannabis

Frequent urination: amphetamine

Increased appetite: cannabis

Loss of appetite: amphetamine

Insomnia: amphetamine

Nausea: cannabis

Pin-prick pupils: heroin

Paranoia: amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine

Skin pallor: solvents, cannabis

Restless/talkative: amphetamine

Rapid, repetative speech: amphetamine

Rhinitis (running nose): heroin

Sweating: heroin, amphetamine

Shaking: heroin, cocaine, LSD

Alternative signs of drug use

Parents of young drug users have told us that a combination of the following ‘alternative signs and symptoms’ may be very indicative of use:

Drug slogans on clothes

Pro-drug posters on walls of bedroom.

Jokes and conversations about drugs.

Agrees with legalisation of drugs.

Uses ‘druggy’ words like stoned, gear, stash, high, hit, trip, fix, dry, busted, hooked, doing drugs, score, wrap, works.

Bedroom window often open even in chilly weather. Smell of air fresheners used to disguise the sickly sweet smell of cannabis.

Wears sunglasses a lot, uses eye drops and nasal sprays, loses weight, can’t sleep at night, oversleeps in the morning.

Oversize Rizla papers found in bedroom or clothing.

Friendship groups change – usually older. Parents are not introduced to new friends. Unknown people come to house but do not stay. Child becomes secretive, often lies, moody and sullen.

Membership of sports clubs, uniformed groups etc. lapses. Wants to ‘party’ a lot and go to raves, clubs and pubs.

Stays out much later than requested, sometimes all night, tells parents ‘don’t hassle me’, behaves unreasonably.

Child becomes aggressive, quick temper. Demands privacy in bedroom – angry if room is tidied.

School/college grades drop noticeably. Homework/course work neglected, talk of leaving school/college to get a job.

Never has any money, borrows money, valuable personal possessions like rings, watch camera etc. disappear – “I’ve lent them to a friend”. Money disappears from family members.

Relationships with family deteriorate. (Siblings often know of drug use but don’t tell).

This information is reproduced by permission of National Drug Prevention Alliance who can be contacted for more information by Email.

The book is filled not just with practical advice for harassed mums and dads, but also hundreds of NLP exercises which really do work, and which will help you to review your progress, tackle challenging times and generally be a happier parent.

Top 10 things you can do differently in 2012 to get the results you want with your children.

1.  Focus your attention on what they do well.
What we focus on is what we get more of. Children need attention from you so give them attention when they do something well and they learn to do that thing more often as it gives them positive attention.

2.  Use a feedback sandwich.
When you want a change in behaviour comment first on what you like about them, then suggest what would be even better (what you’d like to see more of or less of) and finish on a good note; overall what you are pleased about.

3. Tell them what you do want.
Using the word ‘don’t’ draws attention to what you don’t want them to do. Instead reword the instruction telling them what you want them to do.

4. Avoid the word ‘try’ as it suggests they won’t succeed.
Just tell them to do it!

5. Show them the behaviour you want.
Demonstrate by example how you want your child to behave. They learn from you!

6. Keep your tone low and slow.
The more out of control you sound, the more they will tune out.

7. Ask them what they think they should do.
Encourage them to work things out for themselves and be resourceful then use the feedback sandwich.

8. Step into their shoes.
A child’s world is very different from ours. They are not deliberately being difficult they simply see things in a different way. Understand that way and you’ll have to key to influencing them.

9. Be specific about feedback.
When commenting on what your child has done well, point out the specific skill or quality so they learn from the feedback rather than generalising.

10. Decide whether they use a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic preference and match it.
Children have a preference whether they notice what they see, hear or do. Adapt your choice of words to match this and you will connect and communicate effectively.

Judy Bartkowiak is the author of Teach Yourself: Be a happier parent with NLP and the Engaging NLP series of workbooks. More details at www.judybartkowiak.com.

This March, hundreds of thousands of school children from around Britain will pit themselves against students from around the world to find the best young Mathematicians, spellers and Science brains in the universe during the World Education Games ( 6^th- 8^th of March).

The three-day global competition will test students during a variety of online games set against the clock and our best young brains will be battling for honours during World Spelling Day, World Science Day and the opener -  World Maths Day.

The games are being backed by world famous Maths entertainer Scott Flansburg AKA ‘The Human Calculator’ who holds the world record for the for adding the same number to itself more times in 15 seconds than a person could do with a calculator.

So to see how our British competitors are likely to fare during the World Education Games we challenged some of the big hopefuls to a ‘calculation off’ with ‘The Human Calculator’ as well as members of the public.

Watch our video to find out how they got on and to find out everything you need to know about the World Education Games.

For more information visit the website: www.worldeducationgames.com