Are your kids massive Doctor Who fans? Are they begging to go to Doctor Who Experience but the ticket price is making you think twice? Well great news – Doctor Who Experience is having a fun Halloween promotion. On Friday 28th October children dressed as Doctor Who characters go free!

We took DSD on Saturday so I could honestly recommend the show to you – and I think it’s pretty cool. But I think the most important opinion is DSD’s. I asked her to type up a few sentences about her favourite parts so here you go:

I liked the bit when the wall opened and it was 3D. I liked the bit when the floor moved. I liked the bit when Doctor said to hold your adult’s hand because he said that they might be scared. I liked the exhibition bit and I liked being a Dalek.

She was pretty excited to go and even more excited to recount the experience – she’s a huge Doctor Who fan so this was a VERY BIG DEAL! I’m glad she’ll remember it so fondly. The Experience includes a fantastic exhibition with costumes, props and characters throughout the show’s history and an interactive journey that makes you feel like you’re part of the show!

The floor moves in this room!

So anyway, back to the promotion! Doctor Who Experience has a whole host of Monster-themed activities planned for October half term.  On Friday 28^th October children aged 5 – 16 dressed head-to-toe as Doctor Who characters and monsters will be given free entry to the Experience when accompanied by a full-paying adult. To get ready for Halloween, Doctor Who choreographer Ailsa Berk will be at the Doctor Who Experience in person on Friday 28^th October giving visitors a chance to perfect their monster impersonation skills with special lessons on how to walk like real Doctor Who monsters.

If you can’t go Friday 28th, you won’t be able to take advantage of the kids-go-free promotion, but there are still loads of extra-special activities. On Saturday 29^th face painters will be onsite to give visitors Doctor Who makeovers so kids can be turned into their favourite scary monster! On Sunday 30^th October live monsters will enter the Doctor Who Experience for the first time. Visitors will have a rare opportunity to come face- to -face with the Doctor’s terrifying adversaries the Cybermen and the Scarecrows.

To buy tickets (you need to get them in advance) or for more information, go to www.doctorwhoexperience.com.

We almost never go to the movies anymore unless it’s Orange Wednesday because it’s just so insanely expensive. So it’s exciting that Odeon has a great offer on at the moment – 40% off tickets until 13th October.

You have two ways to get the discount – either print this voucher and take it to the box office or redeem it when booking online with voucher code Film40.

I had a quick peek at the T&Cs and there isn’t anything to really hold you back apart from the fact that you can’t use the voucher in conjunction with other offers (to be expected). You also can’t use it on Johnny English Reborn.

Right – so go see a movie! And tell me what you saw. I still haven’t seen One Day but I’m DYING to. And I Don’t Know How She Does It even though I’m really annoyed that they’ve set it in the States.

This amazing news just in! Trafalgar Square will be painted red tomorrow (not literally) and renamed Tomato Square as 100,000 free tomato plants are given away to the public. The Tomato Flash Grow is part of the Capital Growth project which supports community food growing projects in London. Plus one lucky plant will be hiding a ticket to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The giveaway starts at 6.30am so swing by on your way to work to bag yourself a very special green shoot to start your veg patch.

Massive thanks to Time Out for the scoop and @tbex for bringing it to my attention. For more info, see capitalgrowth.org.

I absolutely love pancakes so Pancake Day is one of my favourite traditions. Usually I cook big fluffy American-style pancakes (always using this recipe from Jamie Oliver) but last night I decided to try Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s sweet potato pancakes from last weekend’s Guardian magazine. These are not healthy. But they are amaaaazing!

You can find the recipe here and I’ve handily pasted it below. All credit to Hugh (and those are his pancakes in the picture – not mine!):

Sweet potato pancakes

A delicious way to start the day. To make a more indulgent weekend breakfast, add a few rashers of crisp bacon. Makes about 12 pancakes.

180g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
300g cooked sweet potato, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
60g butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus a little more for frying
Butter, honey and toasted walnuts (optional; bake a handful or two of shelled nuts at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for six to eight minutes), for serving

Sift the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, ginger and salt into a bowl. Beat together the sweet potato, eggs and butter in a separate bowl, then fold in the flour mixture, stirring just until combined – the batter will be quite stiff. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a small knob of butter. Rub off any excess with a wad of kitchen paper. Drop the mixture into the pan in large tablespoonfuls, pressing them down gently with the back of the spoon to form a nice round. Fry for about four minutes a side, until browned on both sides. Serve spread with butter, trickled with honey and with the toasted walnuts scattered on top, if you’re using them.

MY COOK’S NOTES:

1. I peeled and cut the sweet potato into inch-size chunks and boiled it before mashing it – I think this is the fastest way.

2. If you can get your hands on good maple syrup, the kind they are so proud of in Canada, it’s even nicer on these pancakes than honey.

3. The batter is super-thick so I kept playing with the temperature – it was tricky to get them not to cook too fast on the outside and not all the way through.

4. He says the recipe makes 12 pancakes. I only made seven. 12 would have been very small pancakes. Plan accordingly for the size of the group you are feeding.

5. I didn’t serve with nuts but I most definitely did serve with crisp, streaky bacon. Mmmm!

On Sunday I finally got back to working on DSD’s quilt and as I was sitting there sewing while streaming an episode of Glee at the kitchen table I realised that I should share my free TV tips with all of you.

This post is for you if you want to watch telly while you’re cooking, folding laundry, getting ready for work, in bed or anywhere you don’t have a TV. Or if you want to catch up on old episodes or old series of shows you missed. Or if you want to watch particularly crap American telly that hasn’t made it’s way over here (or American shows one series ahead of where it is here!)

This is also for you if you’re not that bothered about quality. There are clever ways to download pirated video and other methods I haven’t figured out yet – but this is about watching online and sometimes there’s awful quality out there. But if you’re only half watching while you do dishes, do you care? I don’t.

The free TV revelation started when a friend turned me on to SurftheChannel.com. She was living in France and now she lives in Spain – places where it is pretty hard to find Glee and 30 Rock, I would imagine. Now I have a few go-to sites when I can’t find the links I need! Here is the cheat sheet:

SurftheChannel.com – Good site, very community driven – which I like – but sometimes poorly organised as a result. I tend to head here now more for films.

Sidereel.com – My latest favourite for telly, although they seem desperate to monetise so you’ve got some annoying videos and adverts popping up. Well organised. A bit crap for films but great for telly.

Yidio.com – Similar to Sidereel but seem to have fewer links. Also a bit crap for films (I think this is because they don’t want to annoy studios.)

Blinkx.com – Great for finding films but I can’t work out how to find telly on here.

Now before you go trying this I have a few more words of advice. These sites basically aggregate links to the shows that are around the web. Some you pay for, some are free. I always look for links from Megavideo. Why can’t I just search on Megavideo? I don’t know, but you can’t, search is rubbish on the site. Megavideo only lets you watch something like 120 minutes at a time before they ask you to buy a subscription or wait an hour. Sometimes I buy a subscription.

The companies that make these shows have caught on to this stuff and now pull a lot of links down so you may get some “removed due to copyright infringement” messages but don’t be discouraged – keep clicking the next few links and you’ll almost always find one they’ve missed.

So what should you watch? Check out Amy Poehler’s Parks & Recreation if you want to fall of your chair laughing or Hellcats with HSM’s Ashley Tisdale playing captain of her university cheer squad for a seriously guilty pleasure.

Any sites I’ve missed? TELL ME NOW!!

Fun contest alert! Vertbaudet is giving seven children between the age of five and twelve the chance to design a waterproof raincoat set and wellies that will be turned into a finished product and sold in Vertbaudet’s Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection.

Winners will also receive a Nintendo DSI XL Console and a New Mario Brothers Game as well as £300 to spend with Vertbaudet, so they can give their wardrobe or their bedroom a makeover.

To enter, children can either draw their design on a plain piece of A4 paper or download a template from Vertbaudet’s website: http://www.vertbaudet.co.uk/page/design-competition-SS11.htm (note as of this moment the site seems to be down). They can use felt tips, crayons, paint, collage or whatever else they like to create their designs.

Entries must be received by 18^th March 2011.

Lemsip are running a fun promotion I think you’ll like, given that you’ll probably get sick and need some Lemsip this season anyway (just saying!) They are promoting the launch of hte new Lemsip Max Lemon Flavour Tablets – “the first and only dual format cold and flu tablets” – by giving away free film downloads from LoveFilm.com.

To claim a free LoveFilm download, visit the official Lemsip Facebook page, choose from one of 15 films and download, watch it yourself or send it to a friend. Get cozy, watch a film, and make yourself feel better with a cup of steaming Lemsip (and maybe some cake). This offer is good until 31 December.

If you must leave the house when you’re feeling poorly, Lemsip Max Lemon Flavour Tablets can be taken on the go, helping to relieve headache, sore throat, a fever, body aches and pains and a blocked nose whilst you’re out and about. Then when you finally get the time to stop and give yourself a break, the tablets can also be added to hot water, dissolving to make a comforting drink, helping to relieve your aches and pains and providing Max strength relief from the symptoms of cold and flu. Just swallow or dissolve!

An organisation I’m quite fond of, the Junior League of London, is hosting their annual Boutique de Noel fundraiser tomorrow and Thursday. This is a really fun event with shopping, cocktails, music and live and silent auctions for the grown ups, plus a Winter Wonderland and photos with Santa for the kids. There are loads of stalls for shopping in the Christmas market (see snap), with great unique gift ideas in all price ranges for everyone on your list. You can find a list of participating vendors here.

Tickets for Thursday’s shopping day and Jingle Bells Happy Hour are only £5 and kids under 10 years old are free. If you’d like to attend Wednesday evening’s Gala Shopping Evening tickets are £35 and £20 for each additional ticket when purchased in advance. Patron tickets which include a private wine tasting are £100.

The entire event will be held on 10 November 6 – 10 p.m. and 11 November 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. at  Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX. All tickets can be purchased via JLL’s website.

Loads of sample sales on in London this month!

Reiss are having a sale until 6 November (started Weds) with clothing and accessories for men and women from £10. The sale is held at The Music Room, 26 S. Molton Ln., W1K 5AB.

Update: London date added!

I am sooooo excited to run this competition! I have one family ticket (that’s four seats) to give away for each Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic show in England during the 2010 tour.

Join the celebration as 65 of Disney’s unforgettable characters from 18 beloved stories come to life in Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic! You’ll be captivated by the one and only Mickey Mouse, the irresistible Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, and all the Disney Princesses.  Experience a skating spectacular you’ll remember forever as Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic! See clips of the show here.

TO ENTER: Please post a comment and tell me a) the name of the character in the picture below and b) what show your family would like to go to.

Here is a list of the shows and drawing dates – Nottingham and Newcastle are up VERY soon so enter quickly!

Nottingham Trent FM Arena – Friday 1 October @ 7:00 p.m.
Drawing on Tuesday 28 September
The drawing for this event is over and the winner is Emma!

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena – Tuesday 5 October @ 7:00 p.m.
Drawing on Thursday 30 September
The drawing for this event is over and the winner is dawnlouise millmoor!

Manchester Evening News Arena – Wednesday 13 October @ 7:00 p.m.
Drawing on Monday 4 October
The drawing for this event is over and the winner is Lisa Evans!

O2 Arena London – Wednesday 20 October @ 7:00 p.m.
Drawing on Wednesday 13 October
The drawing for this event is over and the winner is Amanda!

Birmingham National Indoor Arena – Wednesday 3 November @ 7:00 p.m.
Drawing on Friday 15 October
The drawing for this event is over and the winner is Jenny O’Brien!

Sheffield Arena – Tuesday 16 November @ 6:30
Drawing on Monday 1 November
The drawing for this event is over and the winner is Jenny Price!

T&Cs
1. One winner will be selected for each date of the show to receive the family ticket
2. The drawing for each show has a unique closing date; please see above for dates
3. Winners will be contacted via the email the leave with their blog comment
4. Winners will be contacted on the date of the drawing so postal delivery can be made
5. Winners’ information will not be shared
6. Tickets are for 1st and 2nd price tickets only
7. A family ticket consists of 4 tickets
8. There are 6 family tickets available (one per venue)
9. There are no cash alternatives and no correspondence shall be entered into
10. Tickets are subject to availability, cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount and do not apply to tickets already booked
11. Accompanying paid tickets will incur a service charge per ticket and a processing fee