street food – the joy of five

Children, Christmas, Cinema, Craft Fairs, Crafts, Families, Family Life, Festivals, Food, Kids Days Out, London, Outdoor Play, Parks, Reviews, Shopping

An Uber Cool Christmas At Winterville

December 4, 2018December 4, 2018by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment

Last year we had our first visit to Winterville on Clapham Common. We didn’t really know what to expect and we were pleasantly surprised with its calm, cool, festive vibe.

When we were asked to visit again this year we jumped at the chance and as soon as we got there we knew it was going to be just as much fun. The neon sign shone out across the park and welcomed us in with its pretty christmas lights, catchy christmas tunes and the smell of wonderful food.

I would actually sat that if you are bit of a foodie then Winterville will be right up your street. There is so much on offer with the Truck Stop and Street Feast areas homing the majority of the stalls. From crispy chips to sticky ribs, Baileys hot chocolates and warm cookie dough puddings.

Of course its not just food and drink on offer at Winterville. There is a whole plethora of amazing activities to join in with and the kids didn’t know where to start first!

The gleaming lights of the fairground rides were calling us and while Izzy headed to the bigger rides I stayed with the boys and took a ride on the train, span around in the tea cups and watched them as they bounced as high as they could on the trampolines.

It was now a bit of time for Mum so I grabbed a mulled wine and took a look around the Solo Craft Fair that had some amazing gifts for some amazing independent business which makes a very welcome change to some Christmas markets that are full of mass produced items you can get anywhere.

Crazy golf is always something my lot love and the the UV – powered Plonk Golf course at Winterville was great fun.

Anything that involves being on wheels or blades draws my children in but is my worst nightmare! Winerville have both a beautiful ice rink and a roller disco on offer and i managed to persuade the kids to only try out the ice skating as I don’t think my nerves could take both.

All of the children could take to the ice and there are penguins to help the round the rink. We all did really well until the very end where Oscar took a tumble just as he was putting his penguin back. We ended up with a split lip and a very sad little boy and I have to say that in this moment of need we were confrunted by a surly and very unhelpful member of staff which was a real shock after having such an amazing experience with everyone we had come across.

We literally scrapped the surface of everything on offer at Winterviile. There are live DJ sets, cocktail bars, wrestling, Backyard Cinema, Big Fish Little Fish family rave, family shows on a double decker bus and so much more.

So if your looking for somewhere to kick off that festive spirit then this is the place to be!

*we were given tickets to Winterville for the purpose of this review and they are all my own, honest opinions.

Children, Cinema, Families, Family Life, Kids Days Out, Reviews, Reviews

Movies In A Lost World:The Backyard Cinema

September 29, 2016September 29, 2016by thejoyoffive6 Comments

If I said to you I had taken the children to a cinema in the middle of a jungle you would probably think I had lost my mind a little, but that is exactly what we did last weekend.

Walking through South London being surrounded by office blocks and high rises I was a little unsure of what to expect when we reached the Backyard Cinema.

I was more than pleasantly surprised when we came across The Lost World nestled in the middle of a cool and quirky food market offering fabulous street food and drink in a super laid back funky area.

Our jungle experience started the minute we collected our tickets from the super friendly ushers dressed head to toes in safari outfits that really helped us to get into character.

Entering was a huge source of excitement for the kids(and me!) as we crawled through a tiny entrance into a dark and eery jungle with animal noises coming from all directions.

Just taking this in we were beckoned to enter the cinema by jumping onto the rope swing and landing in a big foam pit!

With three hyper kids in hand we were taken to our seats – or I should say bean bags where we all soon nestled down and snuggled up with our blankets while number three went to get some snacks from the bar serving your usual popcorn and sweets plus some pretty tasty looking cocktails.

The film started and I was so pleased that the children had got to watch the classic Disney film The Lion King in these spectacular surroundings; even if number four did get a little confused and asked where the boy in pants was! Clearly the whole jungle theme had really drawn him in!

As expected my fidget of a two year old didn’t last the whole film and we had many ‘unneeded’ trips to the toliet and every other imaginable excuse but the staff went out of their way to help and nothing was to much trouble.

I am a notorious cinema hater and this has completely converted me. It was so much more than just a cinema screening. It was a magnificent experience for your senses and a feast for our imaginations.

They have some real classics running until the beginning of November and if you get the chance to go then take it as it really is a trip to remember.
*we were given tickets for the purpose of this review and they are all my own honest opinions.

Allergies, Allergy Free, Children, Diet, Families, Family Life, Food

Kerb Camden Preview Evening

September 2, 2016by thejoyoffive1 Comment

Trips out with the children are often guided by my tummy, so when we were asked to come along to the opening of Kerb Camden it sounded just like our kind of evening.

Proudly standing in the centre of the hustle and bustle of Camden Market, Kerb has brought together an array of 35 traders serving a huge array of mouthwatering food that is available 7 days a week, 364 days a year which leaves you with no excuse to get yourselves down there to sample some delights for yourself.

We arrived with rumbling tummies ready to be filled, and with such a huge selection this was an easy task.

We wandered around first taking everything in as I’m a great believer in eating with your eyes first.

The variety of sights and smells coming from each stall soon got our tastebuds watering and it wasn’t long before we had our first bite.

My children vary from fantastic eaters to super fussy so it’s no mean feat to please them all.

Kerb did this with ease and had them all in silence whilst tucking into suculent, crispy chicken from Mother Clucker, American style hotdogs with sweet brioche buns filled to the brim with homemade sauces and delectable pulled meats from Oh My Dog.

I love seafood so was immediately drawn to Ink and its crispy squid that was perfectly coated in a light, crispy batter and served with a choice of yummy mayos that complimented the squid perfectly.

Number four is always our trickiest customer with a list of allergies as long as his arm and he tends to always end up with the same bland choices when we eat out.

His experience here was a world away from the norm and he happily gorged on the flavourful gluten free, vegan chilli from the Louisina Chilli Shack that actually went down a treat with us all. Followed by some delicious allergy friendly cupcakes from Cupcakes ‘n’ Shhht.

We washed all of this down with some super refreshing homemade lemonade and a cheeky G and T for me before heading out for a trip along the canal taking in the quirky sights that Camden Market has to offer.