Back in the mists of time when our 80 year old neighbour Eric used to live next door we used to have a bit of a rat problem.

At least we thought it was a problem. Unfortunately Eric felt it was nothing of the sort and used to deliberately leave food out for them. He even had one that he had tamed.

Yes. Not good.

Mind you, Eric’s tame rat’s wasn’t the least of his little quirks. It was only when he moved out we discovered that he didn’t actually have a working toilet in his house. Instead he’d been doing the necessary in a bucket and then tipping it down an outside drain when no one was looing.

Yes. Not good.

Still, we sort of miss him really. He was a proper character and living next too to him was always interesting. I’ll never forget the annotated newspapers he used to shove through our letterbox at random intervals. And how many 80 year olds do you know that are ardent Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans.

Plus lets not forget he once gave me all these comics:

Glorious.

Although on reflection they probably all had rat droppings on them.

Recently however I have taken over Eric’s mantel as being the rat feeder. I should point out that I’m not doing this intentionally. The little buggers are helping themselves to the food I leave out for the chickens.

I’m not sure what to do about this to be honest. I think they are actually nesting in a hole within the coop itself – and so leaving poison or traps down isn’t an option as they may harm the chickens. I’ve a feeling I’m going to need to call in a pest control service, but I’m a little loathe to spend the money.

It’s probably better than shelling out on chicken food to feed them month after month however.

Any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

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Amy, Evan and I went for a 8 mile bike ride along the canal towpath this afternoon.

After conquering a particularly steep bit of path Evan exclaimed:

“Phew, that was hard! My muscles will be getting a level-up after all this exercise!”

I think perhaps he might be playing a bit too much Xbox.

This is obviously a photo of Amy, not Evan. That’s just the way I roll people – I’m a rebel.

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The very kind people over at Palmers Department Store emailed me the other day asking me if I’d like to review some of their V&A Bedding.

NO! I told them. I do not! Only wimpy girls like bedding, especially bedding with flowers on it! (Does V&A bedding have flowers on it? I’m not entirely sure, but you can’t be too careful).

As the readers of this blog know I am a manly man! What I want to review is not bedding, but masculin things such as pans to make marmalade, jams,and chutneys in. Because as the old saying goes – You can judge the quality of a man’s marmalade by the size of his maslin pan.

No doubt intimidated by my marmalade manliness, Palmers Department Store rushed me the very finest maslin pan they had in stock.

And so… behold my mighty Marmalade making!!

And my review of the pan? It’s pretty good to be honest. It’s very big, so you can fit a lot of stuff in it and still have space for some pretty impressive rolling boiling, the bucket handle means it’s very easy to pore from despite the weight of it’s contents, and it makes a nice boinging sound when you hit it with a wooden spoon.

And it makes some damn good marmalade even if I do say so myself.

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We’ve had a pretty creative week. The pinnacle of which was the spectacular creation that is Amy’s Easter bonnet. Who would have thought that a trip to the Huddersfield indoor market would yield sufficient materials for what is sure to be the new craze to sweep the nation.

To be honest I’m looking forward to summer now. The range of indoor activities is starting wear thin and it’s becoming increasingly tempting to switch on Cbeebies when inspiration dries up. It’s a quirk, or even a fault, of mine that I feel the necessity to Do something on each of my days off. If I just kick around the house the time seems to go quicker somehow and I feel that I’ve wasted precious time. These days I’ve added the feeling of guilt that I’m not stimulating Amy too. The logical part of me realises that she finds pottering around the house seeing how much of the floor she can cover with toys just as much fun as driving half an hour or so in order to have an outing. That doesn’t stop me exclaiming, “lets go pot-holing!” as soon as I get my first twinge of boredom.

Hopefully the summer will open out a wealth of new possibilities – such as the park, picnics, and perhaps even trips to the beach.

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A game featuring doggie doo, a chatty robot and a gun with a 20-feet range: awards ceremony reveals the most popular children’s toys around today

It can be very difficult for us adults to keep up with the latest playground crazes.

While some children’s activities, like arts and crafts, remain universally popular, toys and games tend to go in and out of fashion.

If you are surprised to learn that Space Hoppers, Rubik’s Cubes and Cabbage Patch Dolls are no longer as popular as they once were, then it could be time for you to have a refresher course on the toys which children love to play with these days.

Thankfully the Toy Retailers Association Toys of the Year ceremony, which took place on 24th January 2012 in London’s Banqueting House, provides many clues about modern kids’ tastes.

Below is a list of the main category winners, together with some information about them – all you need to know to be bang-up-to-date with current trends in girls’ and boys’ toys!

Game of the Year – Doggie Doo

[Picture by Marc Majcher] It was 15 years ago that toy inventors first developed a proto-type of Doggie Doo – creating a pooping dog game that made loud farting sounds as its leash was squeezed. However, toy manufacturers side-stepped Doggie Doo as they thought it was unsuitable for children.

Doggie Doo – which was originally called Pooping Puppy – was left on the drawing board until 2009 when an eagle-eyed toy executive saw the game festering away at the back of a toy warehouse. The rest is history as the long-tongued Dachshund dog found a loving home at John Adams’ toy company.

Doggie Doo produces (plasticine) faeces for children to clean up – kids have to collect as many pieces of poo as possible to win the game.

And this magic mutt doesn’t just produce doggie doo; it has also made a mint for the company which sells it and has made a clean sweep of many countries’ toy award ceremonies.

Doggie Doo can be picked up for about £20 on the High Street and it is even cheaper if you buy the game online and have Doggie Doo posted through your letterbox.

Collectable Toy of the Year: Moshi Moshlings

[Picture by Eric Huang] Moshi Monsters has been described as ‘Facebook for kids’ – a social networking online game and virtual pet site which allows kids to adopt and care for a pet monster. Players collect prizes and points along the way – enabling them to care and nurture their pets more effectively.

Moshlings are cute creatures for the Moshi Monsters to catch.

In 2011 Moshi Monsters leapt out of PCs and laptops and materialised in playgrounds as collectable toys and trading cards.

Not everyone is a fan of Moshi – in 2011, spoilsport Lady Gaga slapped an injunction on Moshling character Lady GooGoo; preventing her near-namesake from promoting the product by doing the Moshi Dance.

Construction Range of the Year: Ninjago, Lego

[Picture by cbcd04] The Ninjago Fire Temple has been worshipped by a lot of junior builders since it was released in 2011.

The kit comes with seven figures, including sword-wielding ninjas, skeleton soldiers and a Mr Miyagi-style Japanese old wise man. There is also a fire-breathing dragon which is almost as big as the temple itself.

Alongside all these symbols of ancient Japan, the construction trucks which come with the kit do look a little out of place but kids, with far superior imaginations to adults, don’t seem to mind!

Pre-School Toy of the Year: Toot-Toot Drivers Car and Garage

The Toot-Toot Drivers Garage has a car wash, a petrol station and a spinning turntable. Decked out in the primary colours which kids love, the garage can ‘recognise’ all the cars in the Toot-Toot car range; playing music and making noises as the cars pass through magic sensor exit gates. The cars in the range include an ambulance, a police car and a fire engine – all the emergency services that Toot-Toot town needs.

Girls’ Toy of the Year – Fijit Interactive Friends

[A Fijit Friend: picture by DebMomOf3] These happy little robots have a vocabulary of about 150 phrases and the ability to respond to about 30 key phrases – that’s a wider vocabulary than many full-grown adults possess!

The feel-good factor is definitely strong with Fijit Friends – stock phrases include “You look fabulous”, “I love the weekend” and “that tickles!”.

These robots are clearly simple, easily-pleased ‘creatures’ but one mystery about them does persist – why are they only popular with girls rather than boys? Should manufacturer Mattel start making a boy-friendly version?

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Boys’ Toy of the Year – Nerf N-Strike Maverick

[The Nerf: big in Japan too. Picture by Ryoku Kasinn] While the girls’ toy of the year is a singing, dancing robot which will compliment you at the drop of a hat, the boys’ toy of the year is a pretend weapon-of-destruction.

Bulkier than a hand pistol but less cumbersome than an Uzi, the Nerf N-Strike Maverick has a rotating barrel with six bullets. The sights on top of the gun are ideal for sharp-shooters who like to line up their targets.

Its range and accuracy, judging by YouTube footage, is impressive – naughty boys could use one to shoot a girl’s Fijit Friend from 20 feet away.

Toy of the Year – LeapPad Explorer

[The LeapPad Explorer: picture by Pierre Lecourt] The LeapPad is a child’s educational tablet and features a built-in camera, video recorder, reading apps and hundreds of games. It’s quiet rare that educational toys become as popular as the LeapPad. When it was shortlisted for the Toys of the Year award it sparked a sales rush which saw shops run out of stocks in the run-up to Christmas.

This caused some unscrupulous traders to push their prices up to take advantage of the high demand.

Let’s hope our kids use the LeapPad to educate themselves to behave a little better than some of the people selling this must-have toy!

This post was sponsored by Giraffe Childcare Dublin.

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Cora Hughes was born at 13:45 today weighing 9lb 5oz. Both she and Kerry are doing well.

Nice to meet you Cora :)

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I don't know if you've seen Home of the Future over on Channel 4 and the associated E.ON Innovation challenge run by its sponsors, but they are both worth a look.

I've been particularly impressed that the TV program is not just some sort of lazy attempt to sell us the same old tired refrigerator connected to the internet that manufactures expect us to get excited about for some reason. Home of the Future actually tackles potential negative prospects for the future, such as meat shortages and energy consumption limitations,  and how we could adapt our day to day lives in order to tackle them.

I must admit I'm a little disappointed that they have yet to cover one of the most pressing issues however – the  inevitable zombie apocalypse. But I guess they might be holding that one back for the second series.

The E.ON Innovation project is equally as interesting as well (although again, disappointingly vague about the important issue of battling zombies).

E.ON are challenging the general public to visit their website and submit ideas on how to reduce energy consumption  It all seems very worthwhile indeed and the energy company are planning on developing the best ideas in order to make them a reality. What's more they have a number of prizes on offer including home energy makeovers worth £2,000 and £10,000. Which isn't bad at all.

There are five challenges in all and you can enter all of them with as many good ideas as you can muster. As an example here's one of the challenges:

How could the home ‘learn’ about your energy use in order to create a more restful environment?
For example, your home could help you to relax using controls for lighting, temperature and air quality e.g. humidity, temperature, filtration, fragrancing and ventilation. You could customise energy use in the home to suit you and lower the bills too. The home could even have different energy zones.

Here's a video which explains things much better than I can (and will put you in mind of a young Toya Wilcox)

Even if you don't have any ideas to share the  E.ON Innovation site allows you to engage in the community and view other peoples submissions – perhaps finding something that will help you reduce your own carbon footprint.  You can also comment on submissions and even vote on which one you feel is best.

I've got a few energy saving ideas I'm planning on submitting myself. For example I'm in the process of drawing up plans for a treadmill generator powered by  zombies I've captured (you can't have that idea by the way, it's mine). 

If you think you can do better 9doubtful,lets face it) why not go over and submit your own ideas, it can't hurt and you might even see it rolled out nationally if it's a good one

You can follow the E.ON on twitter @talkingenergy and follow the project's hashtag at #eoninnov.

This is a sponsored post.

Viral video by ebuzzing

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Anyone feeling nostalgic pangs for my occasional pop culture posts will no doubt be ecstatic to discover that as well as podcasting Lee and I are now regularly writing proper blog posts over at the Midinight Movie Club blog.

For Example this week I’ve written about:

• Journey 2: the Mysterious Island
• Five superhero movies that are worse than Daredevil
• My dislike of Frank Miller

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Lee also talks about Faith and the Daredevil and gives us another fantastic Ensign Dave comic strip. But his stuff isn’t as good as mine obviously

Can you tell we’ve been talking about Daredevil this week?

So even if you aren’t a podcast fan there is no reason not to pop on by the Midnight Movie Club. Well, unless you don’t like geeky pop culture that is (in which case there is possibly no hope for you anyhow).

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Every year during the winter half term school holidays the village where we live holds a moonraker festival. Basically this involves daily workshops where kids and their parents are supported to make huge paper lanterns on a theme (this year was the sea). Then on the Saturday night there is a procession through the village with everyone carrying their candle-lit lanterns. Scattered within the hordes of lamp carriers are various bands (there was a Dixieland jazz band, a troop of drummers, and a brass band). There are also other bands dotted around the village that play for the procession as it goes past.

Last year it was our first winter in Slaithwaite, and therefore our first moonraking. Having moved here from Batley, where the closest comparison to this event was kids setting dustbins alight in the park, we were overwhelmed with a sense of community. Not to mention the sense satisfaction that we had chosen the right place to bring up our child. This year was the same. Slightly better even as we managed to see a few faces in the crowd that we recognised (the Dr’s receptionist, someone that Kerry chats to on the train, that kind of thing).

I grew up in a small town just over the valley from Slaithwaite (Holmfirth to be precise, home of the TV show “Last of the Summer Wine“). I’m really pleased that Amy and the looming #2 will get to grow up in a place where things like the moonraker festival goes on. I can see her eight or nine years from now running around the town with her friends on moonraker night, just like I did during Holmfirth folk festival or the torchlight procession. Events like those are building blocks for a childhood. Days that you can hang your memories on like Christmas and bonfire night but more local, and therefore somehow more special.

I like it here and I’m glad we moved.

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The internet is a wonderful thing. For example it allowed us to make some rather nice oatmeal and raisin cookies the other day by providing an easy recipe that even I could follow. Unfortunately due to the fact I have the organizational skills of a dead ferret I just scrawled it on a piece of paper and didn’t bookmark the site – reasoning that if I could google it once I’d be able to google it again.

Fat chance.

Never mind, this fleeting glimpse of a near perfect cookie recipe is perhaps even more enriched by it’s transience. Wish I hadn’t eaten them all in one go though.

Bryn ended up eating nearly half a pack of butter that I’d left out on the kitchen table (what? You expect me to create Culinary masterpiece and tidy up afterwards?). He’s getting much more daring in his food raids these days.

It’s mine and Amy’s day tomorrow again and I’ve not yet made any decisions what we’re doing. It’s a bit miserable to be doing much outside, but I’ve just about exhausted the inside activities. I’m vaguely tempted to try giving the dogs a bath, that should provide us with some amusement. I’ll see what whim comes over me I suppose.

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