This day I love.......: Doncaster

Tickets were provided in exchange for review

This weekend we headed over to Cast in Doncaster to watch Odd Doll theater Company production of Whisker’s First Winter. Odd Doll theater are a Yorkshire based company who are known for using physical storytelling, handcrafted puppetry, original music and distinctive design in their highly visual and accessible theater performances. Whisker’s is the companies fifth production and will be touring nationally in 2020.

Whisker’s First Winter is aimed at children aged 2-6 and so I was a little worried what the girls aged 7 and 9 would think. Nonetheless we were looking forward to the performance and headed over to the theater door. We were politely asked to remove our shoes, which we did and then entered the Winter wonderland. We were initially greeted by a man in a ski mask, which if I am honest felt rather odd, especially since he seemed to sit at the side of the stage for the entire performance and not move. Could he perhaps have worn something more friendly?

There are no assigned seats and we struggled to find 5 seats together, I would recommend getting there as early as possible. Finding two remaining white cushions and giving them to my youngest two children. My Mum, my eldest and I sitting on the hard step. It was rather a tight squeeze and not the most comfortable of surface to sit on. The set however was stunning. A white winter wonderland lay in front of us and the two performers were blowing snow around the theater. The whole set felt magical.

The performance lasts for 45 minutes and there is no interval. The performers themselves are incredibly talented, telling the story using movement only is an amazing skill but I did wonder if Little Man at 3 years old understood some of the references. I am not sure he understood when Whiskers was playing in the snow for example, or when he was standing on ice. At certain points he did look to be concentrating very hard and trying to work out what was happening. My Mum said after that perhaps a narrator would have been a good idea, not necessarily for the whole show but in certain parts to just help the younger audience members to understand the story better.

The show is brought to life with the use of music and lights and this does aid in telling the story. Little Man seemed to enjoy the fish the most, reaching out and trying to touch them although I am not sure he understood why there were fish there. I think the pace of the show was just right for him and I would say 3-4 years is perhaps the best age to enjoy the show. Regardless of age I think everyone enjoyed meeting the characters after the show and giving Whisker a high five.

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We have had such a festive and busy weekend, and we haven't seen Father Christmas once! The girls and Little Man have experienced so much this weekend, and we have all learnt loads too. Our weekend started a little earlier on the Thursday when we were invited to the press opening of Enchanted Christmas at Brodsworth Hall and Garden.

Last year the girls were treated to an evening at Brodsworth Hall and Garden and they had been asking to go again this year. Last year [and the year before] they met Father Christmas, and it is still one of our favourite places to meet him, but unfortunately this year we were unable to. Not to worry as we were still in for a real treat.

Having been for the past two years, I was a little worried the girls might feel like they had seen it all before but there were so many wonderful new additions this year. The girls favourite was the fairy garden.

It was certainly clear to see why too. Such amazing attention to detail.

It was a real challenge to try and get any half decent photos given how dark it was, but I am hoping these at least show just a little of how beautiful the fairy garden is.

The girls were simply captivated and at one point it was the quietest I have ever seen them as they stood and took in all the sights surrounding them.

Whilst I still cannot pronounce the word, the illumaphonium was magical. A large structure which you could play music on. The melody would travel up the 6ft structure and the lights change as it went.

All around the gardens you could hear the sounds of the illumaphonium. It was so magical. Such a wonderful addition.

The girls loved walking through the gardens. Following the lights, and seeing where they lead us.

Finding magical fairy doors to knock on, before entering the dell.

Warming hands on the opening fire, which we were told was also for toasting marshmallows on.

The glittering disco ball casting patterns or light on the woodland floor.

The whole experience was magical and a great way to start our festive weekend.

The girls have been wanting to make slime for some time so on Friday we too inspiration from ex Blue Peter presenter and craft queen Konnie Huq, as she has partnered with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) to create the homemade STEM toys of Christmas, rivalling some of the must-have toys on the market. This is a more economical way of creating some of the must have toys this Christmas, and it is also a lot of fun to do too. I have included the video in case you would like to have a go as well.

It would not be Christmas without a trip to a Christmas market. Saturday was a trip to York to visit the Christmas market and do some last minute shopping. The girls love the chocolate pancakes and they always work well as a treat during our visit to the market.

Whilst in York we visited Fairfax house. It took us just over an hour to walk around and was a rather interesting visit. Fairfax House is laid out in the traditional décor of 17th century life, with a whole host of treasures waiting to be discovered. There are a range of family friendly activities to encourage children to learn about life in the 17th century. This includes following the tail of the town house mouse Gregory.

The house was decorated in traditional Georgian Christmas style and so in some rooms Gregory had been moved to make space for Christmas, this also meant that some of the quiz we were unable to complete too, but we did our best. My youngest daughter at 5 found some of the questions quite tricky and instead counted the clocks throughout the house and spotted Gregory, my 7 year old managed the downstairs questions and a few upstairs.

There are no photos or videos allowed inside the house, so I could not take any as we were walking round. The girls enjoyed looking round but would have preferred much more hands on activities. Perhaps some Georgian dressing up, or baking in the Georgian kitchen. There was an event later that day at 5pm, but it would have made it too late for Little Man as he would want his dinner. It was still a nice way to spend an hour, especially getting out of the cold and breaking up the shopping trip too. We did learn a lot about Christmas in the Georgian period and we were astonished to learn about their 30 course dinners!

Having done shopping, learnt about Christmas past, made Christmas crafts, visited Christmas fairies and elves, there could be only one festive activity left for Sunday a festive show!

We headed over to Cast in Doncaster to watch 'The Great Christmas Dig' by Handmade theatre. Last year we saw the 12 birds of Christmas and absolutely loved it so we were very excited to see the performance this year.

Whilst last year we were sat in nests, this year we were on an exciting archaeological dig in Egypt and so we were sat on rugs and benches. We were greeted to our seats by a camel, which set the tone and got the girls giggling from the start. Christmas spirit came to introduce herself too, which was nice.

As is always the case with Handmade productions their shows are incredibly interactive and also lots of fun, which makes them perfect for the whole family to enjoy. The Great Christmas Dig did not disappoint. There was singing and dancing, and audience participation. The girls loved digging to discover Christmas decorations and getting the chance to decorate the tree. Each cast member should be congratulated in ensuring that no one was forgotten about or left out and that every child got to participate if they wanted to.

50 minutes just flew by once again but it is safe to say the dig was successful and we all left full of Christmas Spirit! We all thoroughly enjoyed the performance and would highly recommend it.

It has been such a wonderful festive weekend, I am not sure we could have fitted anything else in! The final week of school to go and a week full of Christmas productions and carol singing lies ahead.

This day I love a festive weekend

Enchanted Brodsworth - Fri 15 - Sat 23 Dec 2017

Fairfax House - Check website for events

The Great Christmas Dig - 9th - 31st Dec 2017

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The festive season cannot truly begin until you have been to the Pantomime. A proper thigh slapping, sing a long, shout at the stage pantomime. Whilst you may know the story, or think you do, and whilst you know that there will be a scary ghost of some kind which takes away 1 cast member one by one, there is nothing more exciting than shouting 'oh yes it is' at a stage and watching your child jump up and down with joy.

Our Pantomime this year was Jack and the Beanstalk at the Cast theatre in Doncaster. We have seen several shows at Cast and love its comfy modern theatre, which is accommodating to families and easily accessible by car, train and bus. We began our evening by getting into the pantomime spirit and playing with some props in a selfie studio, and of course with the pantomime dame heads!

It was not long before it was time to take our seats and watch Jack and the Beanstalk. Only we noticed a large proportion of the audience signing to each other, something I had not noticed before at the theatre. The pantomime started with 'fairy nuff' who introduced us to fairy fingers. Fairy fingers, a fully integrated part of the pantomime. A fully integrated character and part of the story, nothing unusual there you may think, but fairy fingers does not say a word all show. She may not say a word but she still tells the story, she tells the story through British Sign Language and she is on stage the entire time. Not stood on stage in a corner under a spot light, but a character in the show and my word I was in awe. Fairy fingers is utterly amazing, completely captivating and I spent more of the pantomime watching her than I did any of the other characters.

At the start of the show as the deaf community clapped by waving their hands in the air, it was obvious who was signing and who was not, but as the show progressed something amazing happened, more and more people began to sign. They waved their hands to show clapping, they were giving thumbs up, and more and more people tried to sign along with fairy fingers. This in itself is something I have never seen before, to captivate that many people and engage them was just an unbelievable sight. Although there was never a feeling of the signing and the speaking, there was a real buzz as we left the show, a joining of communities and of bringing people together and this can only be described as the true meaning of Christmas. Bringing people together.

What Cast have achieved with their pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk needs to, no it MUST continue in other aspects of theatre. Having the first fully integrated British Sign Language Pantomime in Britain right here in South Yorkshire makes me very proud. To have witnessed it first hand made me emotional. Cast have done South Yorkshire proud and if you are planning on visiting a pantomime this year you need to witness the groundbreaking performance first hand and watch Jack and the Beanstalk at Cast in Doncaster.

3 days later and I am still in complete amazement and want to shout about what Cast have achieved and how they have created not only a traditional British pantomime but added to it the true meaning of Christmas, a welcoming and joining together of communities.

This day I love Oh yes it is

I received 1 free ticket but paid for 4 other tickets to attend the pantomime. I have not been asked to write this post and all words are my own opinion.

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I have huge admiration for anyone who takes on a challenge, and does so to raise money for charity. Challenges are there to push us to the extremes and require as much physical preparation as they do mental. That is the thing people tend to forget about challenges, they require as much physical preparation as they do mental.

We joined Jo Brand on Day 3 of 7, on her Hell of a walk challenge for Sports relief. Jo is attempting to walk 150 miles, coast to coast, from Hull to Liverpool in 7 days. If you break that down that is around 21 miles a day. Can you imagine someone telling you that you will be walking almost a marathon a day, every day for 7 days? Now that really is a Hell of a walk and certainly deserves support.

Myself, Penny and Jo met at Doncaster Racecourse and were excited about the day ahead. As the afternoon progressed and the arrival of Jo at the racecourse got closer, the room started to fill with more and more people. It suddenly dawned on all 3 of us how much organisation goes into a challenge like this. We were introduced to navigators, camera crew, photographers, assistants, support workers, logistics, trainers, GPs, Sport Relief staff and media co-ordinators. Not to mention the wonderful Gabby Logan who was joining Jo for the afternoon.

We were briefed that Jo was in good spirits, following a horrible wet day previously and that she was making good progress. In fact 52 miles in, or if you prefer 2 marathons back to back! I remember the pain after completing just one marathon and could only imagine how she must have been feeling. Our second briefing was outside just as we were about to set off. Stay with the navigators, pay attention to the roads and listen to instructions.

Our walk began at a comfortable pace, which my pregnant self was rather pleased with. It was clear Jo was hurting, but she didn't let the smile disappear from her face. She chatted in front of us with Gabby and even made jokes with the crew. When a member of the camera crew slipped off the pavement, they were walking backwards, Jo even made sure they were all-right before continuing.

The support bus kept driving past and stopping just ahead, the rickshaw cycled just in front with 2 camera crew inside and the team all walked around Jo and Gabby. It was clear talking to her trainer Greg just how proud he is of Jo. I took a lot of inspiration away from listening to him talk, 'break down the challenge into smaller goals and celebrate each achievement' I had a sense this was what Jo was doing.

Even when members of the public shouted abuse or started heckling, Jo took it all in her stride and took the bigger stance showing that her energy and her focus were on the challenge ahead. On route we met some lovely people who brought cake, donated money and simply gave Jo words of encouragement. We even came across a group who had set up a tea and coffee stop for Jo and the crew, what a lovely thing to do.

It was here that we had to say our goodbyes to Jo, Gabby and the rest of the crew.

I think we all left with a mixture of emotions. We all felt honoured that we had been asked to be a part of something amazing, sad that our journey could not continue and that we did not have longer to chat with Jo, Gabby and the crew and suddenly rather lonely as it was just the three of us heading back through the dark streets of Doncaster.

I feel so inspired by what Jo has achieved to date, let alone what she will have achieved at the end. It has got me thinking about what my next challenge will be, after the arrival of Thing 3 of course. If you feel inspired you can take a look at the sports relief site for further ideas. If you are a blogger make sure you keep your eyes firmly on Team Honk who will be making an announcement on February 1st about their plans.

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