Pottery Paining

 Mid January Lisa had kindly booked a family day out doing some pottery painting. Unfortunately no Joshua and Tina as they were working on the Saturday and I initially declined thinking only Holly would be interested. As it turned out Brandon was also keen to go and took Maia with him as well. So thank you kindly to Lisa and David for taking Brandon, Maia and Holly out for the day. As you can see below they had a fab time doing the pottery painting and are looking forward to receiving their masterpieces back once they have been baked.

Brandon, Maia and Holly ready to start their pottery painting.

Maia painting teddy bears on her mug and Brandon doing a Sleep Token themed mug.

Thank you so much to Lisa and David for organising and taking the kids for the day.

Brandon even getting down in to the insides of his mug.

Holly choosing a cup rather than a mug and doing owls on hers. Nanny would be proud!

 

Really surprised Brandon wanted to do this, but he said he had a great time.

Maia and Holly's finished mugs ready for baking.

Brandon even did some lyrics or something on the back.

Holly's owls and the colours used are amazing. Very spring like.

And even the bottoms were painted to date the craftwork.

Xmas Leftovers & New Years 2026

As I said on Brandon's birthday post - really poor frequency of blog updates since Xmas 2025. Anyway here are a few leftovers that I forgot to post early Jan. Just a couple of pics showing my annual Jamie Oliver turkey and leak pie which always goes down a treat between Xmas and New Year - especially with the white gravy. Then there was my festive cheesecake which was equally delicious.

New Year was just the usual with all 5 of us at home enjoying some games, drinkies, snacks and then watching the London fireworks on the TV. Both Tina and Josh were working the next day so nobody stayed up mega late. As usual the final game of the night was the Game Of Life which has become a bit of a tradition for us on New Years Eve. Although over the years the debates during the game have got more interesting. This year for example it focused around how outdated the game was by only allowing you to have blue male characters and pink female characters in your cars. Nothing to cater for the other 37+ genders that you might want to chose for your in game kids!!!

2025 Jamie Oliver Turkey and Leak Pie.

Xmas cheesecake using some chocolate mint sticks as separator's.

Like usual New Year was spent as a 5 playing games with some snacks and drinks.

Brandon's 17th Birthday & Paleface Swiss Deathcore Concert at the Troxy

I am so far behind on blog updates! Nothing posted since late Dec - worst start to the year ever on the blog. I will have to do a catch up post on January but for today the focus is on Brandon who turned 17 today. So that means having not that long ago finished teaching Josh to drive and getting him through his test - now it all starts over again with Brandon!

One of Brandon's birthday treats this year was a concert he wanted to go to for a deathcore band called Paleface Swiss at the Troxy in London. So me and Brandon went two Saturdays ago and to say I was nervous about going to my first ever deathcore concert and being on the floor was an understatement. However I have to say we had a bloody amazing night and Paleface Swiss were absolutely incredible, definitely sold on them and will be listening to more of this in the gym. Even one of the support bands called Stick to Your Guns were very good and even did a bit of a collaboration with Paleface Swiss later in the show. Troxy was dead easy to get to as we went from Basildon Station straight through to Limehouse and then a 5 min walk - door to door in under an hour.

For Brandon's birthday he really only had one main present this year which was a Valve Steam Deck gaming hand held device that he wanted. It actually made a nice change for him to want one main present as usually he just wants loads of clothes, watches, aftershave, shoes and that sort of stuff. 

We played a little prank on him with the Steam Deck though and wrapped it up in the box for Holly's old Nintendo Switch. He really didn't want a Switch and for weeks I had been telling him I couldn't find any reputable sellers in the UK that sold the Steam Deck with the OLED screen at an affordable price (partially true as I did have to order it from the US!). His face was a picture when he opened it and clearly he just didn't know how to react. He really didn't want a Switch but knew her had to try and be grateful for his present and not look too upset. He made a comment along the lines of "Well at least it will get more use than Holly's one". Then he opened the box and saw the Valve Steam Deck inside and his face lit up and he immediately starting calling me a jerk for playing the prank on him.

Holly bought Brandon a neck chain and a really nice Ice Nine Kills fleece which he absolutely loves. Then as he enjoys the off rum and coke with me and Tina, we also bought him his own personalised rum glass to remember his 17th.

Originally I told Brandon that as we went to the Paleface Swiss concert we would not be going out for a family meal for his birthday as the concert cost quite a bit in total by the time you add up tickets, trains, food, merch etc. However we did tell him he could have a takeaway of his choice as a treat instead. In the end we ended up going out for a Toby Carvery to celebrate his birthday as every Thursday night throughout January they are offering the carvery for £6 per head, so arguably cheaper than what a takeaway would have cost us.

Brandon opening his Ice Nine Kills fleece from Holly.

Brandon was over the moon with this and wore it to dinner later in the evening.

And then there was the chain that Holly got for him.

Then the main present cunningly disguised in a Nintendo Switch box.

The face of pure disappointment as you realise it is not what you wanted or expected.

All's well that ends well though as he opens the box and finds the Valve Steam Deck.

Our little baby boy turns 17.

Tomorrow night we will let him celebrate with a couple of rum and cokes in his own glass.

But for tonight it was a family meal out at the Toby Carvery to celebrate Brandon turning 17.

Nothing fancy for Brandon's birthday cake. Just a tasty Tesco's chocolate special/

Never too old for a huff and puff.

Early birthday present watching Stick to Your Guns at the Troxy in London.

Then it was the main event with Paleface Swiss, as you can see we were right in the heat (literally).

The performance was amazing, great stage presence, great vocals and a really good vibe at the venue.

I am definitely sold on deathcore and loving spending time sharing Brandon's love of music by going to concerts with him.

My ears were certainly ringing the next day after this one. But it was definitely worth it.

Lakeside Winter Wonderland 2025

We never made it to our annual Winter Wonderland visit before Xmas and instead squeezed it in between Xmas and New Year for 2025. Part of the reason was that we just didn't have time, the other reason was that Brandon was planning a date night with Maia on 28th Dec to celebrate their one year anniversary. So we killed two birds with one stone by driving them to Lakeside to save getting a train and then taking Holly to the Winter Wonderland for some rides and ice skating.

I am not sure whether it is because we went to the Winter wonderland after Xmas, but it seemed like there was a lot less stalls than normal. You still had the Bratwursts, Yorkshire wraps, crepes, mulled wine, hot chocolate etc, but none of the stalls that usually sell things like cheese, Xmas knick-knacks etc.etc.

Holly seemed to enjoy herself though and she had a ride on the Waltzer, Avalanche, some big crazy spinney thing and the Big Wheel. We tried not to intrude on Maia and Brandon too much and let them have some time on their own.

Lakeside Winter Wonderland 2025.

1 Year anniversary for Maia and Brandon.

 

Holly and Tina at Lakeside Winter Wonderland.

Me and Tina.

Holly riding solo on the Waltzer.

Then the Avalanche.

After Avalanche the little psycho went on this thrill ride.

Finally the big wheel with Maia and Brandon.

Despite it being their date night, Brandon and Maia were very good letting Holly tag along at times.

As we had to wait around to take Brandon and Maia home, it seemed logical to just pay for Holly to go ice skating as well.

The happy couple on their date which Brandon has been planning for ages.

Maia sorting out Brandon's collar on his new trench coat.

Turns out Maia used to live in Canada and is a bit of a dark horse when it comes to ice skating.

Needless to say she put Brandon and Holly to shame.

Holly held her own though and didn't fall once.

The young love birds.

The old romantic on young shoulders.

Strike a pose.

Maia showing off and trying to teach Brandon to skate backwards.

My little princess.

The lights in the ice rink looked very festive.

Trying to get a picture under the ice skating sign with all the letters illuminated and no one else in shot (almost impossible!).

Holly really enjoyed her evening out.

Brandon and Maia on the ice.

And again trying to learn new skills from the expert girlfriend.