Book review : And The Wind Sees All - Gudmundur Andri Thorsson

And The Wind Sees All by Gudmundur Andri Thorsson is part of the Home in Exile series by Pereine and introduces us to the various inhabitants of a small Icelandic fishing village. The blurb on the back of the book informs us that the entire novel takes place in two minutes, as a young woman in a polka dot dress cycles down the main street.

The woman's name is Kata and she is the conductor of the village choir. As she cycles past each of the inhabitants, waving at them or being glimpsed through a window, each character takes centre stage for their chapter. There are lots of very interesting and intriguing characters : a priest with a gambling habit, an old brother and sister who haven't talked for years, a sea captain who has lost his son ... Some of the characters' stories intertwine, revealing connections between them and hinting at a greater sense of community, while others prefer to keep to themselves.

I will admit, it took me a few chapters to get into, because I'm always in a rush, going from mum duties at home to work, then back home at the end of the day and picking up mum duties again, with dinner, homework and all the rest of the things that we all have to deal with every day, so each chapter seemed a bit too short and separate. Grabbing just a few minutes to read a chapter and discover a new character soon turned into a pleasant moment of me-time though, during my lunch break, on the bus on the way to work or just in a (very rare !) quiet moment at some random point in the day. It reminded me of people watching, then idly wondering about the past, present and future of the person you've witnessed. The novel fills in all the background, showing the private selves that the general public never usually see.

It's a simple, enjoyable read that meanders through the village, looking at the secret lives of each of its inhabitants.

star rating : 4/5

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Peirene Press Ltd (30 Sept. 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1908670460
• ISBN-13: 978-1908670465

https://www.peirenepress.com/shop/books/and-the-wind-sees-all/

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.

Festive picture books from Owlet Press (review)

Can you believe that in two week's time, we'll all be sitting around feeling bloated after eating too much turkey and too many mince pies and Christmas will officially be over ! Right now though, you'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better be good, I'm telling you why ... Santa Claus is coming to town ! Oops sorry, I got slightly sucked in by the festive hype there, but seriously for a minute, if you're looking for new ways to keep the Christmas sparkle going in your house over the coming weeks, how about investing in some festive picture books to read with your kids? They'd be perfect for bedtimes in the run up to the big day or maybe you could start a new tradition and create a gift box especially for Christmas Eve with some funky pyjamas, festive nibbles and some well-chosen picture books inside. These two from Owlet Press would be ideal.

Our first discovery was Santa's Wish, by Samuel Langley-Swain. In this charming tale, you'll be swept away in the festive fun when two children visit Father Christmas and ask him what HE wants for Christmas. As you'd expect, he comes up with the perfect answer and tells them to give love. All together now - awwww !

The pictures accompanying the texts are understated, largely in black and white with just a few details added in colour. This works really well and we loved looking at the illustrations to point out all the cute little details, such as leaving out a carrot for the reindeer. The Madhouse kids loved the animals, both pets and wild animals at the North Pole, getting involved in the Christmas festivities, tucking into festive treats and decorating the trees.

It's a book that, with its close family unit and all the Santa magic. will leave you with a lovely warm feeling inside, whatever your age !

Our second title was The Christmas Next Door, also by Samuel Langley-Swain, along with T.A. Creasey.

Glancing at the back of the book had me giggling to myself : "Grandad's coming to stay for Christmas ! What could possibly go wrong?". Thinking about the Madhouse Grandad, I could think of a few things !

As is often the case, despite all the preparations, things don't all go to plan for the Christmas celebrations in the story. Daughter Lily, who has autism, suffers a meltdown during the school nativity play and, on the big day itself, Christmas dinner ends up being slightly cremated ! Grandad always has the perfect solution though and brings out a dvd with a special Christmas message from Granny, who has now passed away.

This is a lovely way of reminding us all about what really matters at Christmas - family and those we love - especially as this will be our first Christmas since Madhouse Daddy died. It is very easy, especially as an adult, to get totally wrapped up in unimportant details and forget about the true spirit of the season, so this is a lovely, heartwarming story to read together.

Santa's Wish has an RRP of £5.99 and The Christmas Next Door retails at £7.99.

for more information : www.owletpress.com

Disclosure : We received the books in order to write an honest review.

Board game review : Splendor

We've been reviewing several games for the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club recently - you may have spotted our reviews for Pandemic and Ticket To Ride over the past few weeks - and we finished off our selection with another game that we'd never heard of before : Splendor. This is another game that targets older kids aged ten and upwards, as well as adults.

Inside the box, you get a collection of 40 gem tokens, with seven of each colour (green, blue, red, white and black), as well as 5 yellow jokers.

There are also 90 development cards classed in three different levels (40 x level 1, 30 x level 2 and 20  x level 3). It's a simple game to set up, following the instructions and you just have to lay out a combination of cards - the number of cards depends on the number of players. Two to four players can play together in any game.

The game is supposed to be set in the European Renaissance period and, as a merchant, your target is to get rich quick by collecting precious stones to trade for development cards. The rules explain that global trade routes are now a reality and nobles, once content with large castles and fur robes, now seek dark sapphires and glittering diamonds to show off their wealth. You can use the cards to accumulate more gem stones and create fantastic jewellery, which will appeaI to the nobles and help you gain the prestige you need to win.

The target is to buy the cards on offer by collecting the necessary gem stones - here, for example, you need three green, two red and two black. On each turn, you can collect the precious stones needed to trade for development cards or purchase a card from the in-play 'mining stack'. This allows you to use the gem value of your card to trade for bigger and better goods, working your way through the stacks until you reach the numbered cards. The winner is the first player to hit fifteen points, and what makes it exciting is that everyone tends to work their way through the levels at the same rate, so it's a fight for victory towards the end of the game !

The artwork on the cards is really appealing and the tokens are lovely and solid, so you really feel like you're playing a quality game. One slight negative, however, is that box seems overly big for what it contains. Once you've played a few times and picked up the basics, it's very quick and simple to play, especially as you can only do one action on each turn. You need to allow about half an hour for each game, but what makes things more complicated (and competitive) is trying to work out tactics, so I guarantee you'll want to replay to try to snatch back victory after your first game !

We love the fact that it's such a simple concept to pick up but your gameplay will evolve as you play more. It always ends up as an exciting race for victory at the end of each game and you never know who's going to win !

RRP : £25.99

Disclosure : We received the product from the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club in order to share our honest review.

What's Cooking at The Madhouse? menu plan 2018 week #50

Phew, last week was a busy week with lots of after-school meetings so I'm looking forward to a less hectic, normal week ... starting Tuesday, as there's one final meeting on Monday ! Wednesday will be the evening we head off to the town hall to see Father Christmas abseiling down (put back from Saturday, when it was much too windy), so it will be a fairly busy week. Oh well, only two more weeks to go and we're on holiday - phew !

Monday 

dinner - I'll be home late so it needs to be something quick and simple - I'm thinking spaghetti carbonara or spaghetti bolognese, as it ticks all the right boxes with minimum fuss (or, if I'm lucky, Sophie will be on cooking duty tonight !)

Tuesday 

dinner - steak, ebly & carrots

Wednesday 

lunch -  battered fish, rice and peas

dinner - sausages, mash & beans (I need something quick and simple)

Thursday 

dinner - pork chops, pasta & veggies

Friday  

 dinner - fajitas with chicken, peppers & onions, plus guacamole, tomato salsa & sweetcorn

Saturday

lunch - kids' choice of restaurant/fast food - probably the old favourite, McDonald's !

dinner - leftovers/snack food (quiche, salads, bread, dips, crisps, fruit, yogurts, etc)

Sunday

lunch -  roast chicken probably, with all the trimmings

dinner - sandwiches and leftovers

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

November 2018 Festive Degustabox review

There's something about Christmas that means that, however much you buy, the snack cupboards never seem full enough of festive munchies ! We were therefore very happy to receive the latest Degustabox a couple of weeks ago, as it was stuffed with delicious Yuletide treats to add to the mix.

Here's a closer look at the contents - all very popular this month and the kids couldn't wait to start tasting things ! Time to investigate ...

First up, we discovered two bags of Emily Veg Crisps Sweet Potato Sticks (RRP £1), which come in two flavours, Sea Salt and Chilli & Lime. I love the Chilli & Lime ones, but the kids prefer the plain salt ones. I wasn't sure what they'd make of sweet potato sticks, but they love them and didn't even register that they weren't potato crisps ! As well as tasting great, they count as one of your five a day portions of fruit and veg - bonus !

Next, a box of Jules Destrooper Almond Thins & Belgian Chocolate (£2.19). These disappeared in record quick time ! They have a fabulous crisp texture and a delicious taste of chocolate coming through - mmmm! We'll definitely be looking out for these as a special treat. They make a nice change to the Butter Crisps that we usually treat ourselves to from the same brand.

Weetabix On The Go Kids (£2.99) is a new product that intrigued us. Inside the box, you get four ready-to-drink cartons, which provide vitamin D, calcium, fibre and protein. We got strawberry flavour, but there are two other flavours available too. The kids liked them, but I think they'd work out as a pretty expensive breakfast option, especially as we have three children. They'd be good in times of illness though, or if you're on holiday or on a trip and need a quick and convenient option.

Unsurprisingly popular, Reese's Peanut Butter Snowman (£3) is a great Christmas offering. You get the classic sweet and nutty flavour of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in a cute snowman shape - we loved the packaging. A special festive treat that any fan of Reese's will love.

Mallow & Marsh Cranberry Marshmallows are another great sweet treat with a bit of a festive theme going on. They are free from artificial colours and flavourings and the soft, gooey texture and fruity flavour were a big hit with everyone.

Next we have this month's Product of the Month - two tins of Amy's Kitchen soup, in Organic Chunky Tomato and Organic Lentil Vegetable flavours (£1.80). These are lovely - warm, comforting, nutritious and guaranteed to please, whether or not you're a vegetarian. They are gluten-free, low fat and above all, big on taste. Delicious !

Back to the sweet treats ! Nick's Coconut bar (£1.45) is a slightly healthier option though, as they are part of a fight against sugar and the bar is sugar free. You get a delicious, naturally-sweetened coconut bar, covered in milk chocolate. Don't mind if I do ! 

There's always at least one brand that I'd never heard of in each Degustabox and this month, it's The Bee's Knees (£1.89), which is a non-alcoholic sparkling wine that is made from grapes and infused with green tea. As well as being alcohol free, it is gluten free, lower in sugar and contains about half the calories of regular wine. 

There is also a bottle of The Original Tabasco Sauce (£2), a classic sauce which is celebrating its 150th birthday this year. Amazingly, this product contains just three ingredients - red peppers, vinegar and salt. It can be mixed with eggs, added to a festive Bloody Mary, mixed with mayo for a quick prawn cocktail sauce ... I like to add a quick dash to soups and casseroles when I feel they need a bit of oomph ! 

Kallo Stock Pots are a handy addition to any kitchen cupboard and this 4-pack of Kallo Organic Vegetable Stock Pots (£1.80) will be great for adding to the turkey leftovers for soup, casseroles and curries. They are MSG free and free from artificial additives too.

Finally, Jack Daniel's & Cola or Jack Daniel's & Light Cola (£2) are ready-to-drink and perfect for keeping in the fridge for the festive period, for whenever anyone wants a bit more festive cheer ! I don't like whisky so I'm not a fan, but I know they'll find a taker over Christmas !

This month's recipe card suggests creating Lentil Cottage Pie with the tin of Amy's Kitchen Soup and Kallo Veggie Curry with the stock pots. They both sound very tasty and just the kind of thing I'll fancy eating after all the over indulgence of Christmas !

This is a great selection of products that will all be devoured over the festive period. A subscription to Degustabox costs £12.99 per month including delivery, with each box having a value of much more than that, but the great news is, I have a discount coupon code for you which means you'll get the first box for just £7.99 - enter code 0BS6T at the checkout.

for more information :

http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - website

http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Facebook

http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - twitter

Also now on Instagram @DegustaboxUK

Disclosure : We received the box in order to write an honest review. As a Degustabox blogger, I receive all of the products that go into the monthly boxes, but subscribers may not get exactly the same selection.

Fab freebies of the week 8/12

Well, we're going into Christmas overload this weekend ! Christmas shopping, free ice skating in the town when we go to see the decorations, Christmas market ... sounds like fun ! Hope you have a lovely weekend planned too. Let's kick things off with this week's freebies :)

**************************************************

You can now try Naturelly for free at Sainsburys and Waitrose every Wednesday until December 31st 2018. It’s our Christmas gift to you and your family.

There are 1,193 prizes available to be won in the Brioche Pasquier advent giveaway

Kiddylicious have over 50,000 prizes available.

Discover Magnum Tubs, the ultimate indulgence. Velvety ice cream encased in a Magnum cracking chocolate shell, with decadent chocolate shards throughout. Try a FREE tub today. Download your coupon now.

Claim a free sample of Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel, the next generation in the treatment of dry skin.

Sign up below and you could be 1 of 50 lucky entrants to receive a free sample of Hyaluron-Filler Night Peeling & Serum.

Order a 75ml sample of Fairy Non Bio Liquid on Super Savvy Me.

Try to grab one of 100 copies of One Minute Later on Caboodle Firsts.

Request a sample of Aerin perfume

There are loads of prizes up for grabs in the Sudocrem Snowball Fight

Grab a free sample sauce sachet from Lee Kum Kee

Claim your free sample

Holiday season is coming, claim your free sample to discover the perfect seductive gift.

#BOSSTheScent #AugmentedSensuality

On The Insiders : We are looking for 150 dog owners who would love to try this month-long dental routine for their dog! To give your dog a fresh start to the year with a daily oral care routine, simply subscribe below by the 14th December to confirm your interest.

You can see previous weeks' freebie roundups by clicking here but be warned, many of the offers are only valid for a short time. Let me know if any have expired and I'll remove them from the roundup.

You may also like to enter my current giveaways :

Giveaway #707 : Win 3 x Dog Days on dvd - closing date 20/12

Giveaway #706 : Win The Not-So-New Mum's Notebook - closing date 18/12

Board game review : Pandemic

 

Pandemic is another of the new games that we received to review from the Asmodee UK Blogger Game Club, after trying out Days of Wonder from the Ticket To Ride series. (Click through to read our review of that game.)

 

This game has a very dark and unnerving goal : the fight against a deadly, international pandemic. Players all fight together against the illness, which is an unusual type of game play, and also a great way of getting brothers and sisters to forget about arguing with each other and actually work together with a common goal !

The game include lots of small components, but it's quite simple to set up once you understand the basic concept. You have 96 disease cubes (24 each in red, blue, yellow and black), 48 infection cards and 59 player cards (48 city cards, 6 epidemic cards, 5 event cards).

 

As the instructions explain, you and the other players all work together as a disease control team, trying to eradicate a pandemic before it gets out of control. You need to discover cures for four diseases, but you will lose if eight outbreaks occur, resulting in worldwide panic, or if you run out of disease cubes (meaning the disease has spread too much) or player cards (you've run out of time). Aaaaggghhh ! 

 

Each player has a specific role to play. You may be a dispatcher, a quarantine specialist, a contingency planner, a researcher, a scientist or maybe something else. It doesn't really matter as you all play together as a team, helping each other out against the common enemy.

Setting up the game is actually very simple, as you just have to follow the instructions on the box, selecting cards and putting all the elements where shown, for example the disease cubes.

Each player takes their turn, but all players can give help and advice as you're all working together with a common goal. This is a great way of introducing younger players to the game when they first start joining in. You can do up to four actions, including moving around, treating diseases, infecting more people and places or, with a bit of luck, finding a cure.

Adding (or, if you're lucky, removing) infection cubes from around the globe is a great way of revising geography but shhh, don't tell the kids !

Will you manage to stop all four diseases or will the epidemic get out of control? You can choose different levels, so the game will grow with you. It's an interesting game and the fact that you're not guaranteed to win every time keeps you coming back for more !

Suggested age 10+, for 2-4 players. Each game lasts about 45 minutes.

RRP £36.99

Disclosure : We received the product from the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club in order to share our honest review. Keep your eyes open - there will be more reviews coming up over the next few days !

The Very Merry Christmas Game review

Well, we're into December so as far as I'm concerned, it's time to start rolling out all the old Christmas traditions, as well as starting some new ones ! This year, we've discovered The Very Merry Christmas Game, which is a great festive board game for the whole family to play together.

Diving into the box, I pulled everything out and discovered the board, some cards and a funky Christmas hat like the ones you get in a cracker.

The basic idea of the game is trying to be the player with the best presents at the end of the game. You will be collecting and swapping gift cards, which represent presents with star values between one and five stars. Some of the one-star gifts actually sound pretty good to me though - I wouldn't say no to a festive jumper !

 There are also two cards with sprouts on and, let's face it, who actually likes sprouts ?!

The game brings together many of the best Christmas traditions, including pulling crackers. This allows you to snatch a better gift from someone else's stash and swap it for one of your bad ones.

 The game provides cracker cards, which imitate pulling a cracker, but you could buy a box of cheap crackers and use them instead for added excitement.

Another square will have you singing a Christmas carol but be careful, you can't sing one that's already been used by someone else. (This sounds simple but, if you've been at the Christmas sherry beforehand, you might find it slightly trickier !)

You won't find out what everyone has got until the end of the game - who will have the best set of presents?!

 Two to four players (or teams, if there are more of you) can play  It's a lovely game for the whole family to enjoy over the Christmas period and will really help you get in the mood, or just notch excitement levels up a bit more if you're already excited about Christmas ! Officially it's for players aged 8 to adult but you can include younger players too - you'll just have to help them out a bit for certain tasks.

Available to buy from John Lewis for £20.00

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.