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!

How to make your own cutout paper vertical sundial.

This page is about Sundials. Sundials are instruments that tell you the time with the shadow of the sun. To design a sundial you need to know exactly where you are going to put it, i.e. you need to know the longitude, the latitude and the orientation of the wall with respect to North.
I have designed this page and integrated Google Maps. It helps you to easily find all the parameters needed and finally produces a printable page with a cut-out paper sundial, that can be cut and folded to give you a vertical sundial.
This page allows you to make your own Cut Out Paper Vertical Sundial customized to your place on earth and the declination of the wall you are going to put it on.

All the instructions appear to be straightforward and easy to follow. Alas, we stumbled at the first hurdle as Google maps couldn’t see our house. Will try it again next week when we’re at a relative’s house and fingers crossed it’ll work.

Would love to hear if anyone else has tried it and been successful.

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.

]]> https://manicmammy.com/2010/06/12/fun-in-the-sun-in-cork/feed/ 0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ https://manicmammy.com/2009/12/01/aaaaand-were-off/ https://manicmammy.com/2009/12/01/aaaaand-were-off/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:19:02 +0000 Manic Mammy https://manicmammy.com/?p=1081 Yup, the Christmas shopping has just begun. As I’m averse to trawling around the shops, I started my search online.  I do want to keep my dosh relatively local so was particularly interested in Irish online shops. Our eldest is mad into skateboarding at the moment. So his Santy request was for a new skateboard, helmet and protective gear.

photo credit: Manu – mars

A google search later and we happened upon Wreckless. Based in Gorey, Wexford they have a brilliant selection of skateboarding, inline skating and BMX equipment. The range of skateboarding supplies was a smidge baffling for mere beginners like us, but our email queries regarding size and suitability were answered very promptly. A follow up phone call making sure all was satisfactory was also received.

I have it on good authority too that Santy accepted the order delivered by courier and packaged discreetly within a day.

So top marks for efficient, friendly customer service and a fabulous range of products. If you’ve a budding skateboarder in your family would thoroughly recommend.

We had a wonderful time. Rita’s clay house is located approximately 10 mins or so from Clonakilty.  Sibéal and 9 of her friends spent the first part of the afternoon painting glazes on premade ceramic statues. The kids chose fairies, horses, cars and dolphins to paint. These were then dipped in transparent glaze and fired in the kiln and shall be ready to collect in a couple of days.

I brought the birthday cake and drinks. Rita provided chips, nuggets and sausages for the children to eat. As the weather was dry a brief interlude of running around Rita’s garden like nutters ensued.

Then it was back to the fun of the potter’s wheel. Each child had a turn of sitting at the wheel and producing their own creation from scratch under the tuition of Rita.  Without exception, all the kids loved this part of the party. You could see the concentration on their faces and they were chuffed with themselves when they finished their masterpiece. It was great fun.

Each child brought home their own showpiece. Rita also provided the usual treat party bags. Would definitely recommend Rita’s for your child’s party if they are at all interested in arts and crafts. This birthday celebration was something different from the normal playcentre party and suited Sibéal perfectly for this birthday.

]]> https://manicmammy.com/2009/11/03/perfect-pottery-party/feed/ 0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ https://manicmammy.com/2007/08/20/review-of-vhi-culcamps-gaa-summer-camp/ https://manicmammy.com/2007/08/20/review-of-vhi-culcamps-gaa-summer-camp/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:16:06 +0000 Manic Mammy https://manicmammy.com/?p=54
VHI Cúlcamps GAA summer camp

Slightly disorganised but enjoyable hurling and football summer camp for 7 to 13 year olds.

This was the second summer camp our 8 year old son did recently. It ran from 10am till 2.30pm Monday to Friday.

He enjoyed the week despite a days rain where outdoor activities were suspended and all kids just stayed indoors in the GAA hall and watched a GAA training recording, which didn’t sound too exciting and did restricted training. As approximately 70 children were particpating in the local camp, it definitely wasn’t suited to being held indoors. Perhaps more forethought should have been given to what to do as an alternative to outdoor training given the dreadful weather we’ve had this summer.

On the days where they were outdoors they did a variety of hurling and football training and matches. This was fun and he arrived home tired but happy with the day. The camp cost €55. This, unlike the FAI camp, was not paid in advance, but on the day, which lead to a confused and rushed start, as parents queued up to pay, having enroled by post months earlier. The cost of the camp included a jersey, shorts, socks and a knapsack. Unfortunately the knapsacks didn’t arrive at our local GAA club so we didn’t receive them.

UPDATE: The missing knapsack and water bottle were delivered to our home yesterday (30/08/07). Hurray and thanks. The knapsack is excellent and the 8 year old has already decided he wants to use it as his school bag this year. 

 There was great excitement on the Thursday as three local GAA heroes attended the camp and signed jerseys, hurleys and helmets. The boys and girls were chuffed.

Overall, this camp was good value for money and most importantly the kids enjoyed it. With a little more pre-organisation, I’m sure the small niggles mentioned above could have been avoided.

We look forward to next year’s one.

Rated 4/5 on Aug 20 2007 by ManicMammy

LouderVoice Review Tags: activities, children, football, fun, gaa, hurling, sport, summer, summer camp, what to do

Vote on this review or write your own at LouderVoice