The Cat Lounge Coventry review

Hey readers, 

The other day, my eldest and I went to check out The Cat Café Lounge in Coventry, which is easy to get to as it is in the city centre. 

The address is 26 Market Way, Coventry, and CV1 1DL.

The opening times of the Cat Cafe are: 

Monday - 11am until 6pm. 

Tuesday - 11am until 6pm. 

Wednesday - 11am until 6pm. 

Thursday - 11am until 6pm. 

Friday 11 am until 6pm. 

Saturday10am until 6pm. 

Sunday  11am until 5pm. 

Remember that kids under 10 are not allowed in, and if children do not look their age, they must provide ID. 

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, which was fairly busy, so we had to wait a few minutes, which was fine. 

You must make sure when you enter to close the doors for obvious reasons.

You do not need to book tickets to come here; you can just  turn up. You can, though, mind, sometimes be busier than others. 

We were then greeted at the reception desk and given instructions on what we could and couldn't do, such:

* Couldn't pick up the cats.

* If a cat comes near you when you drink or eat cake, stand up as a couple of cats will try to steal your food and drink your drink.

* No flash photography. 

* No chasing cats. 

* Not allowed to feed the cats. 

After reading the instructions (most of them are common sense), you need to sign your name and time in, as it is a record that

 You are paying per minute. 

Once that is done, you can go further to the end of the café to order drinks and food or can still go down at your allocated number to your sitting area. 

The cost of visiting the café is  £1.10 for 5 minutes and £2.20 for 10 minutes. 

If you use a card, payments must be a minimum of £3.30.

 Just outside the opposite is a Tesco with a free cash point to get cash if needed. 

If you stay after 15 minutes, you get free drinks. They accept card and cardless payments.

See the below picture regarding the prices of the extra time. 

The cakes and drinks are £3.00. The cakes are really lovely. The hot chocolate is also nice and comes in a big mug with marshmallows and cream. 

The Cat Café Lounge, if you couldn't tell by its name, is a café where you can sit down for coffee and cake and get to pet cats. 

There are various cats, and they are all pedigree cats. They have short-haired British cats, lynx dolls, persons, and calico main, to name a few. 

Some cats are timid; well, other cars love a fuss and are happy to jump up and greet you. 

You can walk up to them and fuss with them, and they even have cat toys if you want to play with the cat. 

They have comfortable sofas and tables and lots of room for the cats to walk about explore, scratch posts and areas to climb up on.

 It has a chilled vibe with low music and soft lighting to create a calm ambience. 

Overall, I enjoyed the experience as it was something different to do with my son. 

We both have autism but found the atmosphere relaxing and calming.

 I highly recommend it if you're around Coventry City centre you won't regret it ☺ 

Cheers for reading X

Review of Best Before Its Gone.

Hey readers, 

Want a cheap way to reduce food bills then one suggestion is to check out this website called Best Before Its Gone. The site sells food at a lower price due to the products being close or past the end of the best before date. With this in mind, you can save a whopping 50% off retail price and there are many branded items from Walkers, Pepsi, Astonish, Cadbury, Special K, Kellogs for example. 

The idea is to one obviously get a bargain but also what is important is to reduce the amount of wasted food that gets chucked in the bin and then on landfills. So not only are you saving money but also helping the environment at the same time, win-win in my eyes. 

On the website, it states the best before date as some items have got a few months still left and other items can have a best before item from 2020. 

The cost of postage is £6 which is quite a lot but I brought a lot and when I make the next purchase I will wait till I need a load more stuff to help compensate for the cost of delivery. 

The type of products you can get range from crisps, chocolate, cupboard food, condiments, cooking sauces, cleaning items, soft drinks, coffee, tea, squash, and the list goes on.

With the fact that different items get added on to the site frequently stock changes so you never know what will be there from one week to the next, so always good to keep an eye open and a bit of excitement to have a surprise on the new things that come into stock. 

I just want to point out due to current situations with coronavirus delivery was delayed, which is to be expected and they do highlight this. What I really liked is that the company emailed me to explain this and said if I wasn't happy with the delay I could get a refund. I obviously took into consideration extra time in length so was happy to wait for my parcel because I didn't need anything desperately anyway. 

My parcel delivery ran smoothly. They send me emails to confirm on the day of the delivery. They gave me a tracking number so could see when the courier was on the way. I also had a second email to tell me the time slot of the delivery. You could also leave the parcel with a neighbour, or a collection place or a safe place if you weren't in, which I think was really good. 

The delivery arrived with no problem, signed for, and I was happy. The items came in a massive box ( I did order 24 cans of Pepsi Max and about I think 24 cans of sentiments elderflower water plus many more items). 

The packaging was really well wrapped as I did have glass bottles in the order and that was really well wrapped with bubble wrap. Other large items were in individual boxes to keep them all together, with no issues with any leaks or damage to the items, so that was positive news.

Below are pictures of my order.

Total spend on the items: £21.67.

Delivery: £6.00.

total cost: £27.67. 

You can make a payment with your bank card or there is the option of Paypal as well. 

I think it is a good value and definitely, be making another order in the future. 

Cheers for reading X

Go Puff magic bag from Too Good To Go App

 Hey readers,

The other day I purchased my second ever magic bag from the app too good to go. 

I bet you're wondering what a magic bag is? Well, let's start with the app Too Good To Go app which you can download too good to go app on Google Play and the Apple Store. 

The idea behind Too Good To Go is to reduce food waste by allowing you to buy surplus food at a reduced rate from shops and restaurants. 

The items have a short life but you do get good value for a magic bag (which is what it is called on the app). 

The type of places that offer magic bags are Greggs, Go Puff, Costa, Starbucks, Morrisons, Auntie Anne's, Tony Carvery to name a few. The cost of the magic bags ranges between £2.66 -£5.00. 

There are a variety of products on offer from sweet treats, to grocery items, and some now even offer magic pints where it is just alcohol-based. 

The idea around the magic bag is you don't know what you are getting, it really depends on what is not sold on the day that needs to be gotten rid of. 

So, that moves nicely on to my own experience of the Go Puff magic bag I purchased and it cost me £4.00. 

With my local Go Puff store on the Too Good To Go app they offer three choices which are a mixed bag, a vegetarian bag, and a magic pint bag. I chose a mixed bag this time.

Now Go Puff is a fairly new service that is internet-based. It is an online grocery shop that offers everything you can think of really from toiletries to meat, to vegetables, drinks etc. 

You download the app called Go Puff and click the items you need and they will deliver in minutes regardless of the time of day.  

Now when you purchase a magic bag from the Too Good to go app you can purchase your order using Google Play, card payment, and PayPal. 

You do have to pay for the bag straight away and it will be reserved for you.

 Depending on the store it can fluctuate with the times. My time location was between 11:00am and 5pm.

 I got to the location around 3:30 pm. It is straightforward to get their location using the directions from Google map which is automatically done in the app click on the location and then it will transfer over to Google maps. 

At the place I just rang the bell, went to reception, and said that I was here to collect a magic bag from Too Good To Go. 

They asked how many so assume there were others who also were coming to collect a magic bag.

 I said 1 and they were really friendly and it took two minutes for them to get the bag and hand it over.  

Once you have received your bag you should click on the app and scroll the bar across to confirm that you have received your magic bag. 

Below is the details of the items I got in the bag. I will state how much the items cost normally on the Go Puff app so you get the feel of how much money you are saving and see what good value it is. 

I have also previously done a Auntie Anne's magic bag a few months ago if your interested check it out here.

I always say make sure you have your bags as I didn't know that Go Puff provided bags free of charge. 

Though it is a big bag I did transferred it into my own bags as it was quite heavy with the foodstuff inside. 

I was a bit conscious of travelling on the bus and the bag breaking and all the food rolling on the floor, that would be a bit embarrassing. 

These are all the items I got in my Go Puff magic bag which cost £4.00. 

The Curators Biltong sticks, 28g - £1.99.

Yeo Valley organic skimmed milk, 1 litre - £1.30. 

1 aubergine - £0.94. 

MuscleFood beef burgers, 4 x113g - £3.99. 

BOL Korean chilli posh noodles, 1 pot, 345g - £3.00. 

Bertagni aubergine parmigiana grandi girasoli, 250g - £3.99. 

Rocket leaves, 60g - £0.99. 

Butternut squash, 1 pcs - £1.52. 

I added up the cost to see how much I saved by buying a Go Puff magic bag and in total it cost £17.72 which I got for £4.00. 

Obviously the food does have a short date however for £4.00 it is good value. One point to make is that when examining the food the aubergine was a tiny bit ripe. 

But for the value saving, I can't complain and save food that would of most likely gone in the bin. 

I would like to try others obviously though do have to have the money and also get transport but yeah can't fault the app. 

I definitely would recommend the app if you want to save some money. One final point is that you get to try food that you wouldn't normally. 

Have you experienced Too Good To Go app? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X

The MAD museum review

Hey readers,

The other day we went to the MAD museum in Stratford-Upon-Avon for a family day out. I thought I would do a review of what the museum is all about. 

 What is the mad museum?

The Mad museum which stands for mechanical art and design is museum is the only mechanical type museum in the UK. The museum showcases 60 interactive pieces of kinetic art and automatic. It is definitely something a bit unusual and worth checking out as it is interactive and you can see the amazing designs that people have come up with work in real life.

  The main goal of the museum is to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and they have done this by using the different types of contraptions on display from robotic birds, 3d pictures, and extravagant marble run displays. It is all visual which is great to encourage people to get excited about design and having fun. 

In the museum, there are some interactive displays where you can wave your hand to start the display or press the button to get the display to start. 

There is an area where kids can make their own marble wall so lovely to see them work out a formula to get the marbles to roll down smoothly from the top to the bottom. Some of the best learning I think it is from experimenting and giving it a go yourself. 

There are many displays of pictures of the designs before the actual display was made, so good to see how the minds of the creatures work and the process that they have to go through. 

There are some good optical illusions as well on display to mess up your mind haha!

Above is one of the intrinsic displays where you press the button on the side to start it up and you can watch in action the way the ball moves around through the design not reach the bottom. 

Where is the mad museum?

The MAD Museum is located in Stratford upon Avon and the address for the location is:

4-5 Henley Street,

Stratford-Upon-Avon, 

Warwickshire,

CV37 6PT. 

Telephone number is - 01789 269356

When does it open?

opening times are:

Monday to Friday - 10:30 - 4:30 pm. 

Weekends and holidays - 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.

You do have to prebook tickets beforehand and you can do this by going on their website here.

parking 

What are the prices of the tickets?

The cost of tickets is listed below. 

Adult: £7.80.

Concession: £6.30.

Child (6-15yrs): £5.20.

Child 5yrs & under: Free.

Family (2 Adults & 2 Children): £22.00.

Extra Child with Family: £3.50.

What is the recommended age to go to the MAD museum?

Normally about 3 onwards though nothing stopping you at any age as children under 5 years of age are free anyway.

I would say to go around the museum would be about 45mins to an hour, it is quite small but there are a lot of interactive features that kids can enjoy.

They also have a little museum where it shows small videos on ideas such as a marble run which kids can enjoy. That is free and I like the fact that the videos are not too long so kids won't get bored watching them. 

Other things to do in Stratford. 

As well as the MAD museum there are other things you can do in Stratford. There is the Stratford theatre where you can go for free to check out the displays based on theatre themes. 

There is a lovely green park where you can walk around and is nice when the sun is out.  

Of course, there are many different types of water transport you can go to. We took the manual boat to get across the other side of the river. That was a fun experience for the kids and only cost £1 each so didn't break the bank.

Cheers for reading X 

**AD** Review of Wallace & Gromit Live Concert.

Hey readers,

It is the summer holiday at the moment and if you're looking for something to do then you need to consider watching Wallace & Gromit In concert at the Edinburgh Festival online. 

Carrot production has teamed up with the award-winning Aardman to bring you Wallace & Gromit In Concert. This is perfect for all the family to enjoy and having an orchestra adds something a bit different to the normal cartoon format. 

Did you know that Wallace & Gromit 30 minute animation film is one of the most successful films ever! Not only that but Aardman also created brilliant shows such as creature comforts, chicken run, and Shaun the Sheep. 

My boys love Wallace & Gromit cartoons and we watched a recorded version of the show and they were really interested in it. I say it is perfect for a late afternoon evening time as it is 1 hour and 18 minutes. It is lively but it is relaxing at the same time if that makes sense. 

Another good thing about watching the show at home is you can break anytime and have toilet breaks which are important when you have children. 

Not only is there an amazing live orchestra they play fun classics such as Bohemian Rhapsody which both my boys love Queen so they really enjoyed hearing that. 

I would say it is suited for 5 upwards mainly cause of the association. I liked the fact that orchestra members dressed up in Wallace & Gromit costumes where it is cheese, Shaun the sheep, or Lady Campanula to name a few. 

Not only is the show orchestra music there are classic clips in between the music making it fun with the story and coming together as a live performance.

 Matthew Sharp is an internationally renowned musician, actor, and performer and he really helps bring the show to life with musical performances and humour to get all the family smiling. 

In 2019 a the popular Snow Man live orchestra show produced by Carrot Production also brought the Wallace & Gromit The Wrong Trousers production as well which was successful up and down the country. 

Sadly due to the show being cancelled during 2020 due to the pandemic, it means that a lot of people missed out on the performance, including different countries. 

However, 2021 brings the return of the multi-awarded Wallace & Gromit live show which will be on-demand from 6-30 August 2021. The show is available online and on-demand including in BSL and audio description format. 

To book tickets for the online show of Wallace & Gromit The Wrong Trousers live orchestra at Edinburgh Fringe Festival click here. The cost of the tickets is £15.00 full price or a concession at £13.00 and this is an online event meaning you can watch it from the comfort of your own home. 

Also if you are interested in The Snowman Live they are doing shows later in the year so you can book tickets now here. I was lucky enough to be gifted some tickets in 2019 for me and my family to check out The Snowman live and you can check out my review on my blog here.

Cheers for reading X

I was gifted tickets in exchange for a review of Wallace & Gromit Live Concert. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

What you need to know about visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Hey readers,

The other day we visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) in West Yorkshire. I thought it was really good so I decided to tell you all about it in this post.

Regarding Covid.

People were wearing masks (this was prior to the 19th of July so not sure about the new covid rule changes). There is social distancing in place and also plenty of sanitiser stations should you so wish to use them. 

As we went during the covid period it is important to note that you do have to pre-book tickets beforehand. 

YSP is where nature and commentary art come together. It is located over 500 acres of historical parkland. The parkland is situated on the grounds of Betton Hall dated from the 18th century.

 Checking out the reviews on Google it is rated in the top things to do in West Yorkshire. On the site, it actually says that it takes an estimate of more than 3 hours. Although that is also a decision can make though believe me there is a lot to explore at the YSP. 

Tickets.

The cost of the tickets is £6 for adults, carers and children go in for free. The cost of the ticket includes the car parking and also open-air galleries. 

Even though children are free they still need tickets. Blue badge holders need tickets and there are spaces at the front of the car park for blue badge holders.

 Make sure you have your tickets on you as they will be checked at times in the park either printed or on the phone. 

Make sure you wear suitable footwear as you could literally spend the whole day there. We went during the heatwave so spend 4 hours there which was a lot considering the temperatures.

 But that is ok because we took out time and left when it got too much for my boys. We didn't manage to see all the sculptures as there is an impressive 80 sculptures dotted about in the park (some are indoors). 

Damian Hurst - Myth. 

Henry Moore - Large Totam Head. 

Henry Moore - Two Large Forms.

Damian Hurst - The Virgin Mother (2005 - 2006). 

Damian Hurst - Charity (2002 - 2003). 

Sean Scully: Crate of Air. 

Damian Hurst - The Hat Makes the man (2004-2007).

Henry Moore - Upright Motives No.1 (Glenkiln Cross): No 2; No7. 

Lucy + Jorge Orta: Diana.

Lucy + Jorge Orta: Gazing Ball. 

Mark Di Suvero: The Cave.     

The park is perfect for picnic areas as plenty of grassy areas and also some benches. Yorkshire Post has listed YSP in the top list of places to have a picnic in Yorkshire.

There is also a cafe if you want to buy food though quite pricey but if you are fine with that then the option is there should you need it. 

It is fantastic for kids because they can run about, there is plenty of open spaces along with a foresty area and a lake where wildlife can be spotted. 

Also within the wooded area, there are highland cows and we went around to see the cow it was just casually sitting down on the ground eating grass and didn't seem bothered by the presence of humans, see below for photo evidence.

You can take photos of the sculptures but bear in mind that they ask you not to climb on them so that they are protected and looked after. 

The area is accessible for pushchairs and toddlers so makes a good day out for young children. 

Bloomberg Connects App. 

There is a free app called Bloomberg Connects so you can see all the sculptures and information about them. It is available on Andriod and IOS. 

On the app, there is a digital map although you can get free paper maps in the centers within the grounds. On the app, it has pinpoints on where the exact sculptures are and information about. 

Also on the app, it shows where your nearest toilets are to where on located which makes it a lot easy especially with children when you locate a toilet quickly. 

Toilets.

There are toilets at the top near the car park where the learning centre is and also further afield near The Weston Cafe are also toilets (included disabled and baby changing room). 

There is also a gallery you can visit as well if you are in the building. 

Disabled-friendly and if you require a mobility scooter you can hire one out at the YSP. 

Dog.

You can take your dog but it must be on a short lead at all times.

Address.

West Bretton, Wakefield, WF4 4LG. 

(SatNav) WF4 4JX. 

What 3 Words - hypnorist.stump.island. 

Tel - (01924) 832631.

Opening time. 

Apart from 24 - 25 December, YSP is open every day between 10am until 6pm. 

Cheers for reading X