Hot Dogs bite back! With Jungle Dogs

I know I'm boring you, because I'm boring myself, when I start yet another post telling you how Squeaky is what's politely termed a "fussy eater".  Believe me, we have many more creative terms in our house.  Truth is, she's picky in the extreme.  However, one thing she's guaranteed to tuck into is hot dogs.  So when Jungle Dogs got in touch and asked us to try out some of their dogs, we were happy to oblige.

Jungle Dogs are fresh hot dog sausages, kept in the fridge section of the supermarket.  They're smaller than canned hot dogs, just right for smaller appetites.  And most importantly for us, they come in a pack of 6, which is split into two smaller packs of three.  So no need to eat hot dogs for 3 days in a row, no bowl of brined sausages sitting in the fridge threatening to fall out every time you open it for milk.  Simple ideas are often the best, and this is a great one.  The dogs are able to be cooked in a pan or in the microwave - very convenient, though I did find when I microwaved them the ends expanded to look like something a bit ruder than a hot dog!  Made no difference to the flavour though!

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!

I was quite impressed that Jungle Dogs are made from 85% pork, with no mechanically recovered meat.  That might not sound too surprising, but I looked at a tin of "normal" hot dogs to discover that they are mostly chicken, and mostly mechanically recovered (i.e. all the nasty slurry bits after the real meat has been taken off for other foods)  Makes me feel a bit wobbly, so Jungle Dogs get a thumbs up from me for being real food.  They taste great to me as well, a bit meatier than canned hot dogs, for obvious reasons.

The Squeaky verdict is obviously all-important.  We tried the hot dogs as hot dogs, in a bun, and they went down a treat.  We tried them alongside pasta (alongside, not mixed in, this is important!), and they went down a treat this way too.  I think we can comfortably call them a success!  In fact, if you want a confession, we ate them all so fast I had to go out & buy some more for these photos, and because Squeaky's enjoying them so much.  They've taken up a regular spot in my weekly shopping list.

A success!

Jungle Dogs are available in the chiller section of most major supermarkets, priced around £1.00 per pack.

Disclosure: I was provided with two packs of Jungle Dogs sausages free of charge for the purposes of this review, I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme and will not be rewarded for their use.

Castle Adventures

Raglan Castle

Living in South Wales, we're blessed with a fair number of local castles, in varying states of decay.  So Squeaky & I decided to have a little adventure to one of the castles we haven't visited before, Raglan Castle, in the hope of finding ourselves a brave knight or a handsome prince.  What? A girl can dream, right?

Anyways.  Raglan Castle, somewhere not far from Monmouth, and just off the A40.  Admittedly we went because Squeaky's school homework was to visit a castle & write about it, but I wanted to go somewhere different, rather than the ironworks owner's folly at the top of the road.  But an adventure is an adventure, even if there is an ulterior educational motive behind it.  Right?

Small archer

Pretentious arty moment

We were lucky to have a dry day, not many of those round here at the moment, and the sun even peeked out from behind the clouds for a while, just long enough for us to enjoy a picnic in the fountain courtyard.  We did everything it's posdible to do in the ruins of a 15th century castle.  Climbed to the top of the tower, imagined what it would be like to live in the bedrooms, shot imaginary arrows through the defences, went down into the spooky cellars (including a wine cellar! There was none left, I checked!), took pretentious arty photos through anything with a hole in, and were very glad we didn't have to use the soldier's toilet in the fortifications!

The soldiers' toilet

Squeaky and I came to the conclusion we'd love to live in a castle, but we'd prefer one with a roof and some glass in the windows!  It's just a bit too air conditioned for my delicate sensibilities.  That said, there's a lovely cafe, with free wi-fi.  All mod cons, almost!

Exploring castles can be a dangerous pastime, apparently.

Our castle adventure is linking up with the Coombe Mill Country Kids linky.  Show them some love!   

Silent Sunday 23-3-14 #SilentSunday

That London!

Post Office Tower - a useful landmark for finding our hotel

We did something amazing recently. Managed to escape La Squeak for a whole weekend & headed off to That London for excitement, adventure and really wild things.

I do enjoy London, all the glitz and sparkle, though there's a bit of me that's glad when I can escape back to my quiet little town in suburbia, and get out of the hustle and bustle. There's something for everyone, I find, and that's what I enjoy the most. 

Carnaby Street

 Carnaby Street is a good way to judge someone's musical age.  It can be the centre of Swinging London of the 60's.  It can be the home of the Smash Hits office of the 80's.  Or it can be "Eh? Where?" if your knowledge of music begins and ends with Katy Perry.

Ducklings in Regents Park

 Having an adults-only weekend means we can walk and mooch about to our hearts' content, no moaning about hurting feet or needing ice cream. We strolled through Regents Park, looking at the gardens and ducklings, wished our bank balance away in the shop windows of Old Bond Street, and took in the randomness of Covent Garden, where I might have slightly got carried away with shopping, just a little bit. Ahem.

The only Easter Egg I want this year

We didn't really make any major plans, and so wandered from our hotel in search of something to eat in the evenings, and happened across a lovely Greek Cypriot restaurant, only a few minutes from the hotel.  For a very reasonable price (even by my standards!) we tucked in to the most tender, delicious lamb I've seen this side of Athens.  And I probably shouldn't mention the sticky cake I followed it up with.  Mmmmmmm!  We could have so easily spent a fortune in an upmarket restaurant, there's plenty to choose from, but by just stepping back one street from the main shopping streets, we found fantastic food at much better prices.

Daddy decided he wanted to see a show, and got himself a cheap matinee ticket to Eric & Little Ern - the Morecambe & Wise tribute showing at the Vaudeville Theatre. That show was totally not my scene, so instead I was all cultured and spent a happy hour mooching the National Portrait Gallery and being amazed by the Andy Warhol picture of Elizabeth Taylor (which is under copyright, so I couldn't take a picture.)  The theatre can be great value in the daytime, the matinee shows are often cheaper than the evenings, and you can pick up tickets from cut-price vendors on the day.  The major galleries and museums offer free entry, though they do ask for a contribution (and give a rather hefty suggested donation), but it's all voluntary, and they offer good value as well as making you feel that you're all civilised and grown up.  (And galleries tend to have good coffee shops as well)

What else did we do?  We found a Banksy - completely by accident.  Though to be honest I was more amused by the comment someone had left alongside it.

We took a tour of BBC Broadcasting House, where we met up with an old friend.  These tours are a whole lot of fun, and you never know if you'll bump into someone famous popping out to pick up a sandwich.  The tours are a really interesting way to see a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes at the Beeb, we even got to sit on the One Show sofa (with a special cover on it, because Alex Jones' bottom couldn't possibly be contaminated by the mucky jeans of a mere mortal!)

I'm still a bit confused by Daleks, to tell the truth.  They're evil and all, but it's even more like an egg whisk, sink plunger & washing basket up close.  The security guard who was hovering somewhere just to the left of this photo was considerably more intimidating.  That's my suggestion for the next series of Doctor Who, forget the Daleks & Weeping Angels, have a terrifying race of security guards who won't believe you that the "suspicious shape" in your camera bag is the magic string that connects the camera to your computer, even when you show them.

And then there was this.  I have no idea why the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square is currently home to a giant blue chicken, but it is.  Your guess is as good as mine.

That's the thing really, the randomness of it all.  There's a London for everyone, whether you're grown up and cultured, a traditional tourist, in need of a good pampering & an expensive meal or a really silly person who spends half an hour going on about Big Blue Cocks.  It's all there, somewhere.

A walk in the park

Some days, life is just a walk in the park.

Muddypaws' New Friends - Parragon Book Buddies

I love being a member of Parragon's Book Buddies, it's introduced Squeaky and I to all sorts of books that we may not otherwise have found, and they've matched so well with her interests it's like they can read our minds.  In fact she took last month's book, Everybody Loves Butterflies in to school a couple of weeks ago for a book day where the children all shared their favourite bedtime stories & the teacher declared it the prettiest book in the class.  That might be because she hasn't yet seen this month's book - Muddypaws' New Friends.

 Muddypaws, our hero, is an adorable Labrador or Golden Retriever type puppy (I'm never too sure), and the book follows his adventures with his best friend, Ben, when Ben takes him to Puppy School, where he meets two more very cute and cheeky puppies.  Mischief and hilarity inevitably ensue.

What really surprised me about this book was how accurate the illustrations are.  Full page illustrations throughout the book, and they are far from the cartoon style pictures you usually expect from children's books, the dogs look real.  Not photography real, but like actual art type illustrations, I can't think of another way to describe them.  I almost thought this might put Squeaky off a little, maybe being a bit too old for her, but I was wrong. She loves Muddypaws and his friends, and we've spent even more time than normal playing puppies and puppy training.  It's a great book for lighting up her imagination, and she adores imaginative and pretend play

The only drawback I can see with this gorgeous book is the increasing demands for a puppy of her own. It's certainly helping her get over her fear of dogs, and helping her understanding that different people (puppies, etc) learn at different paces, and that's just fine.  The difficulty with bringing up a bright spark is they can struggle to understand why others can't keep up, and it's led to a few uncomfortable questions about why so-and-so can't do this when she can and it's really easy.

I am learning so much from being a parent, and reading with Squeaky. As a child, I believed almost all books, with the exception of very obviously non-fiction books, were just for entertainment.  Now I'm sharing books with Squeaky I can see how the vast majority are a learning opportunity, not just learning to read, but learning about different subjects, relationships, people. Where it's hard sometimes to spark a conversation on a subject, there's undoubtedly a book on the shelf that will help.  One of Muddypaws' friends is a Bassett puppy, so we had a chat about how I had a Bassett Hound just like that when I was a little girl.  Cue questions about "where was I when you were a little girl, Mummy?"  Ah well, that was inevitable I guess.  Stick to easier subjects next time, Mummy!

(Oh, and a quick explanation for some slightly looking photos this time around.  I got a new phone last week, I'm still working out how it all works, but it certainly seems to have some interesting ideas about what shape a photo should be.  Any experts on LG phones, please help!)

I Wish I Was There...

In the interests of full disclosure, I'm writing this post whilst half watching the opening match of this year's Six Nations rugby.  And considering the weather, which has been a hailstorm all morning, I certainly don't wish I was there at the Millennium Stadium.  Far too cold.

Instead, I wish I was here...

Regular readers, and personal friends will recognise this photo, because I absolutely love it.  The photo was taken in  Neos Marmaras, Halkidiki, Greece, when I'd just got off a boat trip.  Boats are totally not my scene, I don't do boats without extreme terror, but this boat trip was the only way to see places on the other peninsulas so I put on my big girl pants, got on board and sat below deck crying.  We stopped here in Neos Marmaras, and the rest of the tour group spent their time exploring chic boutiques and coffee shops, whereas I just made the most of being on dry land again.  We walked up a little hill, and I spotted this view between two houses, out over the bay, and froze.  It just epitomises everything Greek to me, that shade of blue, the whitewashed walls, it's just everything Greek.  I can almost taste the glass of ouzo.

Right now, with the hailstones rattling against the window, and the winter showing no signs of letting up, this where I really wish I was.  The photo was taken in the years pre-Squeaky, but I just know she'd love Greece as much as I do, the beaches, the food, the dancing, though she'll have to wait a good few more years before the ouzo!

What about you? Are you keeping yourself going through the winter months by looking back over your summer snaps?  Where do you wish you were right now?  Thomson Al Fresco want to know, and they've got a competition to win a Nikon D3200 DSLR camera for sharing your wishes.

Disclosure: This is my entry to the Thomson Al Fresco Wish I Was There competition.  I have not been compensated for the post.