To be fair, its a 10 year old’s paradise. We were lucky in that we got a bright, albeit quite cold December afternoon for the party. But the boys had an absolute blast. Finbar, head honcho at West Cork Secret, recommended the boys wear very old clothes or a wetsuit  if they had one and to bring a change of clothes and footwear and a towel so they could avail of the hot showers after all the play.

The day started off with the boys being split into 2 teams and tackling puzzles and and go kart races in one of the fields.

Then came the race to see which team could transfer enough water along the pipes to fill the container at the finish line. This initially was quite a test for the boys but it ended up a very close finish as they began to cooperate very well.

By this stage they were fairly wet but none seemed to mind. Next the army obstacle course. Under the netting, balancing on the ropes over the water, through the tyres, over and under the wooden logs in the water. They ran around and around. The finale was the monster water slide. They loved it and I lost track of how many times they went down it. By this stage, soaked to the skin and covered in suds but having a ball.

As it was getting dark, they decided they’d had enough and headed to the warm showers and changed into dry clothes. Finbar served homemade pizza cooked to order in the wood burning oven. Needless to say, demand was very high after all the activity. The pizza was delicious.

Oisín had a brilliant unforgettable party.

Many thanks to all at West Cork Secret. Would highly recommend it. There is no doubt that we’ll be back!

photo credit: gavinsblog

I’ve decided to make a list of “Things to Do and See in and around Bandon” for his family, keeping in mind that the children range in age from 6 years old to 9 months.

This is what I’ve come up with so far.

• Clonakilty Model Village and train
• Inchydoney beach
• Playground in Clonakilty
• Playground in Bandon
• Garretstown beach
• Charles Fort in Kinsale
• Whale in Kilbrittain
• Playground in Timoleague
• Nice flat walk from Courtmacsherry to Timoleague along the inlet, suitable for bike rides
• If weather is terrible and you feel like a day trip, I would recommend the Aquadome in Tralee and stop on the way in Killarney National Park. Great playground there. Aquadome good fun. Driving there takes about an hour and half.
• Cinema in Clonakilty
• McCarthys Maze Trail in Kilbrittain
• Fota Wildlife Park
• Bandon Skate and Play

So what have I missed? I know there’s plenty more but nothing else is springing to mind at the moment so any suggestions would be most welcome!

You can register in advance by emailing ct10k@yahoo.com or on the day between 5pm and 7.30pm at Courtmacsherry Community Centre. The entry fee is  €10 which covers water and refreshments on the route and post race tea, coffee and sandwiches.

Prize categories: Men & Women Over 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60,, Junior (U16 boys and Girls) Wheelchair Athlete.

€100 bonus to winners if course record is broken: Men: 33.45 Women: 37.42

If the weather is anything like last year’s for this event, it’ll be a lovely way to spend a summer’s evening.

photo credit: subewl

The day includes:

• Demos of Traditional Skills such as baking and sausage making
• Horticultural Talk on Fruit Trees by John Hosford
• Kid’s Colouring Competition – themed “In the Garden with Granny and Granddad”
• Real Lemonade Making – A hands on session especially for children (of all ages!)

As part of this year’s theme  – we have 20 apple trees to donate to schools in West Cork and Cork city.  We would love to see the next generation growing and nurturing trees for their own fruit in the school yard. Teachers and those interested in receiving a tree for their school should email slowfoodwestcork@gmail.com or call 086 067 6249 for further details.

Hosfords is located on the main Bandon to Clonakilty road. This sounds like it’s definitely worth popping into if you’re in the area next Sunday.

To make a long story short, we had a terrific day there, spending over 2 hours in the pool. The children loved the intervals when waves would traverse the pool. The smaller slides were perfect for the 5 year old, whilst his older siblings tackled the much larger flume slide.

The lazy river, various water showers and sprays, jacuzzi and spa pools were all tried and tested. It was great fun.

8 year olds and younger have to wear arm bands which is no harm as parts of the pool complex have water depths which are above their heights. I felt the whole set up was very well run. There were plenty of staff and life guards keeping an eye out.

My only minor gripe is that I felt the individual changing rooms were on the small side. I would have preferred a larger family one in which we all could have been accomodated rather than the hassle of splitting the children up into their own rooms.

It is quite expensive but there is a good deal on offer at the moment where you get a second family visit for half price which we availed of the following week which I guess is another indication of how much we liked the place. It was a great way to spend an otherwise dreary Sunday and I can definitely see us heading there quite often over the next few months.

]]> https://manicmammy.com/2011/02/27/welcome-to-the-aquadome/feed/ 0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ https://manicmammy.com/2010/11/15/wexworlds/ https://manicmammy.com/2010/11/15/wexworlds/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:14:48 +0000 Manic Mammy https://manicmammy.com/?p=2456 Wexworlds, Wexford town’s Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fiction festival is coming back. From Friday November 26th till Sunday November 28th, a host of events for both children and adults is taking place in many venues around the town.

Guests include Eoin Colfer, Herbie Brennan, Andrew Donkin, Kate Thompson and Oisin McGann. There is a wide and varied programme of events, discussions, demonstrations, talks and competition which includes:

• 21st century career -  breaking into 2000AD and other comics
• Zombie workshop -  a chance to learn and apply Zombie makeup and  monstrous moves.
• Cosplay workshop – Learn some of the crafts of making costumes based on Anime and Manga creations.
• The Science of Artemis Fowl with Dr Emma J. King
• Poisons, pestilence and parasites  with Dr Heidi Mounsey
• Lego Workshops
• Superheroes and Evil Masterminds in young adult fiction
• Myth and folklore in modern fiction

The downloadable pdf  is available here which describes the full programme. More information also on the Wexworlds website.  Am hoping to attend with some of my kids. It looks like it’ll be very interesting and entertaining.

Running on both Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st of October from 10am to 5pm.

photo credit: shawncampbell

Hallowe’en events are as follows:

• Pumpkin Olympics

Come and test your strength, guile and skill (or just have a laugh!)
Pumpkin Golf, Pumpkin Skittles, Pumpkin Shy, Pumpkin Races, Guess the name of the Pumpkin

• Pumpkin Carving Competition

Bring your carved pumpkin and enter it in the competition to be judged on Sunday.

• Witches String Trail

Suitable for all ages from toddlers up. Follow the trail of string and see what surprises unfold.

• Orienteering for Ghouls

Dressed in your scariest Halloween costume, follow the orienteering trail, through the check points, and hope you make it back in one piece.

• Show us your Brains!

Solve the themed puzzles and riddles, such as word scramble and word search.

• Family Adventure Trail

Departing from the courtyard at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, through the ancient woodland, you and your family must negotiate the obstacles, including Spider’s Web, Rope Walk, Slack Line plus much more.  Adjustable difficulty, so suitable for all ages.

All activities are included in the €5 entrance fee, which is a donation to INFF,  a registered charity. Family tickets are available for €15 for 1 day or €20 which includes admission for both days.

Oscar has just completed this summer camp and is raving about how good it was and how much he enjoyed it. It took place on Garrettstown beach. We were fortunate that the weather was relatively good this week and there were some waves. All equipment was supplied by the surf school. The children were kitted out with wetsuits, booties, boards etc.

So from  10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday himself and 15 other kids aged 8 to 12 years old had a blast on the beach. They had great fun learning to surf, kayaking, coasteering and cliff jumping. The instructors were excellent, I had no worries regarding Oscar’s safety. He was taught safety procedure, what to do if in trouble and good surfing rules and etiquette. After this camp he is now at the stage of being able to judge the waves and get up to standing on the surfboard.

It was an action packed week,  he was exhausted most evenings. He made some good friends and most importantly had a really fun time. There was a good mix of boys and girls participating in the camp. Would thoroughly recommend it. The SuperSea camp cost €150 which initially did seem expensive. But after seeing what he got out of the week, I reckon it was good value for money.

He is now talking about saving to buy his own wetsuit and surfboard as he intends to  continue surfing.

It was held in the Bandon Grammar school grounds which was great as in addition to outdoor running track and facilities, there was access to indoor halls should the weather turn inclement.

The three aged 5, 6 and 8 years old had a brilliant week. They really enjoyed the range of activities which included:

• sprints
• long jump
• high jump
• relays
• javelin
• hammer throw
• discus
• shot putt

The camp cost €65 for the first child and €50 for each subsequent sibling which I rate as good value for money. It ran from 10am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. I found it really well run. There was  plenty of supervision and coaching. Each child recieved a certificate of attendance and a medal on the last day. They were chuffed.

Would definitely recommend.

* This was Fionn’s query when his older brother suggested he attend the summer camp for running training

We had good fun at the Street Performance World Championship last year and are hoping to head into Cork en famille to enjoy it again this year.

Breakdancers, clowns, jugglers, comedians, dancers, magicans, contortionists, games, face painting. a playground and much much more. There is also an extensive range and variety of food stalls so you won’t go hungry. Our older kids were particularly enthralled by one of the magicans last year, a captivating and entertaining show.

Looks like the weather’s going to be sunny, so really looking forward to this family fun day out tomorrow. If you’re not near Cork, you can also catch it in Dublin’s Merrion Square next week. Well worth a visit, would recommend.

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