What's on for the family: 28th to 29th June 2014

Hello again Little Lambeth!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and has seen another weekend without a post, but hopefully this weekend's will more than make up for it! Enjoy...

SATURDAY:

• Lambeth Parish Fete: SE1 7JU
• @ 2pm - 5pm - Adults £4 // Concessions £2.50 // Children £1.50 // Family £8
• Thanks to the lovely people over at Vauxhall, the Oval and Kennington I found out about this wonderful event, with a rare opportunity to view the Lambeth Palace Gardens. Lots of family friendly activities too! Entry is via the garden gate facing the river.
• St Jude's CofE Primary School Summer Fair: Regent Road, Poet's Corner, 88 Rattray Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 0EL
• @ 1pm - 4pm - FREE
• Lots of games and crafty activities for children, plus lots of lovely locally produced food, music and stalls.
• The Abbeville Fete: Abbeville Road, SW4 9JU
• @ 12pm - 4pm - FREE
• The 18th fete to be run by the community for the community. So much fun going on you must check out their website! They even have a Kids Zone with lots of fantastic activities for your little ones! Plus all money raised goes to local charities - marvellous!
• East Dulwich Literary Festival
• @ 1pm - 5pm - FREE
• Family Fun Day is happening at Harris Girl's Academy in East Dulwich - a jam packed scheduled with lots to do!
• Friends of Windmill Gardens: Brixton Windmill Gardens
• @ 10.30am - FREE
• Whilst entry to the tournament is closed you may like to wander down and support some of the young teams. 

Of particular importance this weekend is:

• Crystal Palace Overground Festival: 
• They've got two wonderful guides to what's on - Saturday // Sunday.
• Particularly exciting is the Kids Zone on Saturday and it's wonderful to see Toddle in the City back on Sunday @ 10am, 2pm & 4pm!

So, there we have it a short (but rather sweet I'd say) guide to what's on in Lambeth this weekend.

Keep an eye on Twitter for any other things going on in and around the area this weekend and as always, if you want your event mentioned then just drop me an email!

Have a wonderful weekend!

What's on for the family: 14th to 15th June 2014

Happy weekend Little Lambeth, I hope you've all been enjoying the beautiful weather!

Apologies for the lack of last weekends post - I was very fortunate to have a couple of days in Valencia, although no wifi which inevitably meant no post...

SATURDAY:

• Mad Hatter's Tea Party: CoolTan Arts, Third Floor, 224-236 Walworth Rd, SE17 1JE
• @ 1pm - FREE
• CoolTan Arts opens its doors for a fun filled afternoon with four free workshops and the official opening of their new exhibition. The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is part of the Anxiety Arts Festival, challenging the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health. Head over to support a great charity.
• Little Folk with Albo: Merton Abbey Mills, SW19 2RD
• @ 10.30am - £4
• A concert for children aged 0-6 - a great introduction to music!
• Medieval Summer Festival: The Rookery, Covington Way, SW16 3XB
• @ 12pm - £2.50 (adults)
• A great festival for the family in it's 3rd year - so much going on you have to check out the link!
• The Foundling Museum: The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, WC1N 1AZ
• @ 10am (Sat & Sun) - FREE 
• Celebrating their 10th Birthday, everyone is invited to their weekend long event where there will be a range of activities and performances to suit all ages. Cake is included!
• Dulwich Bakery: 78 Park Hall Road, SE21 8BW
• @ 10am - FREE
• Head over to sample some of their delicious Ladel and Larder chutneys and pickles! Why not pop in to Wigwam to wish them a very happy (belated) first birthday...
• Marie Curie Blooming Great Tea Party: Clapham Common Bandstand
•  @ 10am
• If you fancy a day at the park then why not head to the bandstand for your refreshments; tea and coffee, cakes and raffle tickets, the money all goes to a wonderful charity.
• If you're there in the afternoon then you can catch Southwark Concert Band A's varied programme of rousing marches, Broadway and West End show tunes and modern interpretations of classic works - @ 3pm.

SUNDAY:

• Father's Day Workshop: Brockwell Park
• @ 10.30am - FREE (donations are very welcome!)
• Celebrate your dad by making him a fabulous father's day present inspired by their garden.
• Spitalfields City Farm: Buxton Street, E1 5AR
• @ 12pm - FREE
• It's their Summer Market and it's happening every Sunday until the end of September! With performances, family activities and lots to eat and drink you're guaranteed a good day out - definitely worth the trip out of Lambeth.
• The Fantastical Story Factory: Udderbelly Festival, Southbank
• @ 2.30pm - £10
• It's not cheap, but if you fancy a treat for Father's Day then this could be it. Suitable for ages 6+ The Fantastical Story Factory takes your ideas and makes them into stories...
• The View from The Shard: 
• Dad's go free with any full paying adult or child. Another pricey one, but if you're looking for something different then this is another option.
• Pack a picnic and head to your local park
• @ anytime you like - FREE
• Pack up all of your picnic favourites and head down to your local park laden with family friendly games and of course a camera - lots of wonderful memories to be had doing this kind of thing! 

Well there we are, another little guide to what's on in and around Lambeth this weekend.

If you know of or are organising any local events then get in touch and we can update the post!

Have a lovely weekend!

Yummy Fun - Flapjacks!

Well I'm not sure how often I'll be able to do these posts, but I had to share this recipe as it's by far the best flapjack I've made!

On a search for different recipes (tried and tested) I settled upon this one from The Guardian and thought I would let you all in on it.

Baby A definitely had lots of fun making/eating/licking it and despite the fact that it was incredibly messy - I'm still finding porridge oats - it was worth it for the fun we had.

You will need:

- 300g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
- 75g demerara sugar
- 120g golden syrup (6 tablespoons)
- 250g jumbo rolled oats
- 200g quick-cook oats

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F / gas 5 (150C / 300F / gas 2 if you prefer them chewy rather than crispy). Line a 30 x 20cm baking tin with baking parchment, cutting slits in each corner so it fits more neatly.

2. Melt the butter in a small pan with the sugar, syrup and a pinch of salt. Stir well to combine, then take off the heat and stir in the oats. Press evenly into the tin and bake for 25 minutes for chewy, 30 minutes for crunchy, until set and golden. Allow to cool completely in the tin, but cut into squares a few minutes after they come out of the oven, before they harden.

This recipe makes 16.

I hope you enjoy them - let me know what you think & show us your photos on Twitter / Instagram / Facebook! (I just took at my pics of Ava & they were incredibly blurry - might be something to do with the golden syrup she was trying to drizzle all over the the floor)

Rainy Day Idea # 1

What's this - a new type of post? Oh yes indeed and one which I hope will be somewhat useful to all you parents trying to entertain the little ones on a rainy day.

With the weather looking like it could go either way over the next couple of days I thought I would share a recipe that I've tweaked for your own 'DIY playdough' - it's come from Anna over at The Imagination Tree except she has beautiful photos, so please do head on over and check it out.

You will need:
- 2 cups plain flour
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 tbsp cream of tartar
- Up to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding a little at a time until it feels right)
- Food colouring (this is optional, but it's always nice)
- Edible glitter (definitely optional, but how much fun!)

Method:
- Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar & oil in large mixing bowl
- Add food colouring to the boiling water, in turn add this to the dry ingredients (bit by bit!)
- Stir continuously until it combines (it should be sticky!)
- Allow it to cool down, remove from bowl & knead vigorously until it is no longer sticky (it took me about 3 minutes!)
- If it is still sticky then add just a little flour until you get it just right.

According to the wonderful Anna, if you keep this in an airtight container it can last up to 6 months!!!

Perfect for those rainy days at home...