Life is a beach!

We are so lucky to have a temporary beach built right next door on the bank of the River Thames.

They say life’s a beach, and it is here, at least for a while.

Champions Wharf, in Twickenham, is transformed into a sandy oasis for several weeks thanks to 20 tonnes of sand, as part of national play day until 31st of August 2012.

The beach was open daily from Wednesday, July 27, and there is a full programme of activities for the whole family to take part in at noon and half past 3 (was it 2? need to check) every day.

Come rain or sun, this is a fun place and the naked ladies (York House) Gardens is a perfect place to have a picnic later on 🙂

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Notting Hill Carnival with a child. To go or not to go?

Since watching “Notting Hill” the movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, I have been wanting to see that carnival.

But belieive it or not, every year there is something that gets on a way meaning we do not make it to it.
This year the carnival is on this Sunday and Monday 26th and 27th August 2012.
I am thinking to finally hitting it with our three year old.

They say the best time to visit the carnival with kids is Sunday the 26th during the day.
More info here

But I am still in doubt? I know I love the movie and wanted to go to the carnival for ages. But am I becoming a conservative parent? Wanting to shield my child from extra noise and germs?..

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Bank holiday get away

We parents always try to think ahead and use those few days to get away from the hustle and bustle of London.
Usually we can not afford to go away for a whole weekend, due to prior commitments but I found a great deal that provides us with a seaside getaway for a small fee 🙂
How nice is that a day of the sea air for £12. Plus, groups of three or four (adults and children) travelling at the same time can buy a DaySave ticket for £24. For any additional children travelling, it’s £1 extra. So for a small fee we can go to Portsmouth, Brighton Beach from Clapham Junction, yippee!!!

Here is the link
http://www.southernrailwaytickets.com/buytickets/daysave/DaySave.php?sEvent=TicketDetails

As it’s an off-peak ticket valid for one day, you can travel any time on Saturday, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. It can also be used on weekdays, but not before 10am or between 4.45pm-7,15pm when boarding trains from East Croydon and London stations such as Victoria, London Bridge and Clapham Junction. Railcards and other discounts can’t be used with this offer and it excludes Gatwick Express services. Tickets can’t be refunded or exchanged. You’ll need to register with Southern before buying tickets.

• Routes included: London Victoria to Portsmouth, Brighton to Southampton, Eastbourne to Ashford. See the Southern network map for full journey info.
• How to book: Visit Southern Railway website
• When does it end? Ongoing
• Any restrictions? Excludes Gatwick Express. You must travel on the date shown on the ticket and buy at least seven days in advance, online only.

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Hello WORLD from London :)

It has been quite a while I have been trying to come up with this blog.

This night (it is 03.24 a.m. in London now) I have finally decided to start with this, as this idea has been in my head for long and caused me some sleepless nights. You know when you get all excited when you start new projects i your life. I felt like I need to do it.

Anyway, longstory cut short. I have came to London 4 years ago when I got married. First 2.5 years I did not like it here. No offence, but after my lavish life in another european country, rather budget life in London (thanks to recession) was nothing to compare.

Besides I became pregnant and had my baby. So it was rather isolating, having a young baby and surviving on husband’s average salary. It is not that bad actually, just I had to cut back in my ways A LOT! That took me time. But thankfully my background in Finance, Economics and Law helped me through all this. And nowadays I am actually more proud of myself than I used to before.

It is a military job to manage your family’s budget and enjoy a family life in London, especially in West London.

Firstly, when I got married I realised my new family was in huge debts. That we paid off all now, guess thanks to who 🙂

Secondly, the general borrowing culture in UK shocked me. I have never seen a society like this, where it is normal to buy the things you can not afford. For instance, in Switzerland, most of the people do not own their houses. And this is normal. As they know they can not afford it. End of story! Basta! Nobody goes out of their skin to buy a house or a flat. But when I came to UK, I was amazed at all this culture. It is not only bad mortgages, but everything else as well. From a big screen 3D TVs to store credits for buying clothes (talking about I have to close my £9 credit, before I forget).

What is the outcome? Well we can see it everywhere. The bubble bursted and now we are all blaming each other, who is the one who picked the bubble so it burst. Well it should not have been there in the first place, do not you agree?

Anyway, if you would like to discuss more about this just come to my courses (take an advantage while they are free) of “Run your family as a business”. Enquire more info from me, where and when the next one is taking place.

Phew, again all my thoughts are coming storming. But hold your breath. This blog is not about that.

My blog is for LONDON MUMS (and for that matter DADS, as we are in parenthood together). And as I am based in a leafy part of West London, most of the things I cover will be around this area of London.

I always heard a myth (yes), that London is not a child friendly place. Well, now I am a blessed mother of a three year old and can totally reject this cliche!

The reason most people say that, they think in order to do things with your kids you need to pay a lot! Well NO! So this is the aim of my blog: How to enjoy parenting life with your kids in London for free or next to nothing!

I will be publishing here the latest finds, things to do with your under 5s within and around London without breaking a bank. And all the thrifty ways to plan and stretch your family budget (my friends here were surprised how I do it, which is why I started actually teaching it).

So come and enjoy. As the best things in life ARE FREE 🙂

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