Ents/Reviews…

Jill has provided book, theatre, cinema, video, product, restaurant, event and holiday reviews for a variety of publications.

She spent a year as compiler of the ‘Ents and Events’ section of a local weekly paper. Five half-pages to fill meant that her week was always busy. Content would include events, reviews, news and interviews. Since then, she has written reviews for the Time Out Guides, the Airtours Group (Airtours, Direct Holidays and MyTravel in particular), Gallop, and Hoofprint, amongst others.

Note – no restaurant critic worth his/her (sea) salt makes themselves known when they are working, so here are only very short extracts – just to give you a taster!

…was unfortunately chewy and the beans were in too thin a sauce, but both were full of flavour. The chips, I was pleased to see, were full of character, and not the sanitised french fries served all too often at burger restaurants. This is not just a burger place, though, and a menu boasting pasta, fajitas and Carribean style pork reflects that. Most of the desserts are huge, impressive and best for sharing…

…a fresh, crispy and hot whitebait starter on a bed of lightly pickled mixed veg - fennel, aubergine and courgettes - was almost a meal in itself. The lamb-shank casserole served with a subtle mint mash practically fell off the bone, but to me the meat tasted just a little rechauffé and was dry on top. Basically fair value…

What Your Horse is Thinking

Have you ever wished you could find out what’s going on in your pony’s brain?

Are you sure you can tell the difference between a natural reaction and misbehaviour?

Well, this well-illustrated book endeavours to show you – or at least, give you a tantalising glimpse.

Learn what a ‘flight distance’ is, find out why your horse curls his upper lip up, discover why ponies hate pigs, what makes foals leap about and how you can become an alpha horse.

This compact hardback boasts colour photographs on every page, and explains how natural horse-keeping and sympathetic schooling will give you the best results.

We can learn to read their signals just as they can read ours – they can pick up on the slightest body language – in nature, their lives depend on it.

The author covers, riding, training, travelling, and illness as well as your horse in the field and in the stable.

I have only one gripe about this book and that is I felt Lesley could have gone into so much more detail – in places I was left asking questions.

There was scope for lots more information and colour photographs to make a bigger book fit to grace any self-respecting coffee-table. Nevertheless, I reckon it’s certainly a book worth having.

Top Ten Toys-to-Take

We went to the Toyfair in London to find the ideal ‘kid-quieteners’ for the ‘plane journey. This is our fave ten.

1. Zoobookoo. Is it a cube? Is it a puzzle? Is it a book? It’s all three! Almost like modern worry beads, we found these soothing and unputdownable. They’re wipeable, and of sturdy construction. Choose from the seasons (in three languages!) planets, maps, anatomy dinosaurs, ABC, times tables and more.

2. Flair Leisure Products’ Feltkids. Classic felt play activities with a twist! Check out Decorate and Play House Playbook, Nursery Rhymes Story Book and Goldilocks Book. Eight colourful felt pages, over thirty play pieces (some even sparkle), an activity card and tote bag for storage and travel

3. Treasure Trove 10 in One travel game Ten magnetic games in a scrolling unit. The spinner can't be lost, and there’s a drawer in the underside where the magnetic game pieces can be safely stored.

4. Hazel Mill’s Make a Scene. Detailed background scenes and colourful vinyl re-usable ‘stickers’ let kids of all ages bring scenes to life time and time again. Huge range, including Tweenies, Thunderbirds, Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Hear'say, Monsters inc, 101 Dalmations, Dinosaurs, Action Man, Bob the Builder,Barbie, Bill & Ben and our favourite, funny faces.

5. Living and Learning’s ReadStart, WriteStart and NumberStart. Three number/word activity packs with write and wipe pens that can be used again and again. Will your child forgive you for getting them to ‘work’ while on holiday? Yes, ‘cos they’re having fun!

6. P & M Colour Workshop’s Vivid Velvet Postcard Kits. Not only will these user-friendly colour-ins keep the kids occupied on the flight, but you’ve got a major chore done before you get there - and relatives would much rather have something the youngster has made, too.

7. Britepower Game Pens. These are pens with a purpose. A ballpoint at one end, with a game at the other. Choose from Etch-a-Sketch, Yahtzee, Boggle, Operation and more.

8. Crayola Doodle Case. Pocket sized container with 8 crayons and a miniature doodle pad. We also liked the Click ‘em On washable markers - felt tips that you can snap together. You can build with them, or simply bundle them together so they don’t get lost. Great fun! Packs of 36 come in a special carry pack.

9. Tomy Roller Sketcher. We loved this. It’s a portable drawing unit with a roll-out screen that can be cleared time and time again. There’s a ‘thick or thin’ pen, some stamper shapes, and a chunky handle to carry it all around with and a cool price. Available from May. Even smaller is the pocket Megasketcher - great for under a fiver. Both from all good toy retailers.

10. Benjamin Toys Fun 4 All Key Rings. A range of pocket sized key-rings each attached to a fully-functioning miniature game. All the old favourites are there - from Othello and Mastermind to Uno. Brightly coloured and made to last, Benjamin's key-chains will fit in your pocket. Pocket money prices, too!