Saturdads, 7 February, Norton Children's Centre

This month, Saturdads is on Saturday 7 February, from  and will be held at Norton Children's Centre (just off St Nicholas Road, Norton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 8JW).  Events at the Children's Centres are always good - the baby-change and toilet facilities are excellent, and the activities are always fully set up for young children (particularly aged 3-10).

This month's Saturdads is a fabulous session planned with ‘Soundpots’ called ‘Build it, hit it, bash it and build it some more!!’ They'll be having fun making a large junk instrument, as they have done before last September in Burslem Park, which went very well, and everyone who attended loved it.  This should be a great opportunity to have lots of noisy fun with your child or children!

Saturdads is always recommended; provided by Stoke City Council (and it's free)... and breakfast is included too!  What's not to like? :-)

 

Library Bargain Book Sales 2015

Books are a great alternative to a day out, especially if the weather's bad and there's nothing really exciting going on (which can often be the case in January and February).  I would always recommend the local library for a wander, a browse, or a borrow, and I try to feature any special child-friendly events that local libraries host (Newcastle and the Stoke libraries regularly have events around storytime or craft).

Better still are the book sales, and Stoke Council have just released the 2015 book sale dates on their website.  The great news is that we haven't got long to wait until the first sales:  Hanley library have already started the first sale of the year, with a sale of reference books, along with Meir and Longton.  Check with your local library for opening times, but doors open at 9:00 and there's usually plenty on sale - including children's books, CDs and DVDs.

The first few sales:

Monday 26 January - Saturday 7 February - City Central Library 

Monday 26 January - Saturday 7 February - Meir Library 

Monday 26 January - Saturday 7 February - Longton Library 

Monday 2 February - Saturday 14 February - Bentilee Library 

Monday 9 February - Saturday 21 February - Stoke Library

And while you're there - have a look at what's available to borrow ;-)

North Staffs Traction Engine Club Events for 2015

This club have planned ahead, and have already decided their 2015 diary.  They've planned three events this year, at their club house located at Klondyke Mill Preservation Centre in Draycott in the Clay.

6-7 June 2015
June Steam Party
10:00 - 4:00
Adults £4.50
Children £1.00

This will have all the usual items for the steam rallies:
Engines in steam; workshop; open tractors; stalls; hot and cold refreshments - basically, something for the whole family, and with prices held at 2014 levels.

17-18 October 2015
October Steam Party
10am - 4pm -
Adults £6.00
Children £1.50
It's likely that you'll get slightly more for the increased cost - so it's the same as the June party, plus:
Vintage tractors; Stationary engines; Cars; Bikes; Lorries and miniatures

I would mention the November bonfire party but that just seems way too far ahead!  More information is on the Traction Engine Club website.

Location:  Klondyke Mill Preservation Centre, Draycott in the Clay, DE6 5GZ

Approximate Location Map - the North Staffs and Cheshire Traction Engine Club are a little vague with their map.

Saturdads, Dimensions Leisure Centre, 10 January

Saturdads
Swimming at Dimensions Leisure Centre, Burslem
10 January, 10:00 start

Limited places!

 This Saturday sees the start of Saturdads for 2015.  This is a regular Stoke City Council event (first Saturday of the month) which typically moves around the various Children's Centres in Stoke.  This month, it's at Dimensions Leisure Centre, in Burslem.

It will be on a first come first served basis on the day due to tickets being allocated last year and not used.  Alison Shelley, the co-ordinator, will be arriving at 10am to issue the tickets to the first arrivals.  Breakfast (which is usually provided at Saturdads events) will not be provided for this because you will be able to stay swimming for as long as you wish.If you're thinking of going, please contact Alison on 01782 236655 or by email : alison.shelley@stoke.gov.uk

Recommended - especially as it's free!

Dads 2 - Father and Child Event

"Dads 2"
The Crescent Children's Centre
Pinewood Crescent, Meir, ST3 6HZ
Saturday 31 January 10:00 - 12:00

Provided by Stoke City Council, this is a new fun session for children aged 0 - 11 years.  Take along your dad, step-dad, uncles, brothers and granddads. Go and spend some time with your children to explore, play and gain new early years experiences, and take part in games and craft activities.                          

This looks very similar to the Saturdads scheme which is run on the first Saturday of the month in the northern half of Stoke on Trent (typically Tunstall, Burslem, Chell), and it's highly recommended. There's usually plenty to do - cutting, sticking, gluing, painting - and there's minimal cleaning up afterwards!

EM Con - Nottingham Sci Fi Convention

Sunday 15 March 2015
Nottingham Capital FM Arena

Nottingham EM Con

This is some distance outside the usual catchment area for Days Out With Daddy, but it's worth mentioning if you're a science fiction fan.

The 501st Garrison will be there - full uniform Stormtroopers, Star Wars characters and so on, along with a large number of science fiction actors (Red Dwarf, Atlantis, Doctor Who, Torchwood etc).  There'll be merchandise, opportunities for photos and autographs and all that sort of thing.

As a special feature (for this Daddy), the Transformers Bumblebee and Barricade will be attending too, in their vehicle mode! 

Tickets are £8-£12 each for the standard day tickets, but you'll probably see a lot on the car park outside if you don't want to pay to go in :-)

Stoke City Big Motor Show

6-7 September, Britannia Stadium.  Free entry.

The Stoke City Big Motor Show returns this September, after a good show last year.  I highly recommend this - there's lots to see and some stuff to do as well.  There'll be cars - new, used and vintage - as well as some emergency vehicles (last year, the fire service and police force attended); there were various sideshows and a funfair, and various stands with freebies - mugs, pens, hats, and all that stuff.  Yes, there may be a few attempts to sell you a new car, but if you're pushing a pushchair or holding your child's hand, you're unlikely to get too much of a hard sell.  The car park at Britannia Stadium is huge, and most of it was filled with cars of one type or another.  There's also plenty of visitor parking, and access is easy.

According to the Stoke City FC website, Staffordshire University have also confirmed their attendance at the event, commenting, "Staffordshire University Racing will be in attendance at the Big Motor Show held at the Britannia Stadium on the 6th and 7th of September.  On display will be several students prepared race cars and the stunning Mosler GT900 currently heading the championship in Britcar. Come along to the race truck and pit garage display where you can talk to staff and current students about our activities, discuss career aspirations, University courses or just have a look at the stunning cars on display."




The Stoke Sentinel website also has an article on the motor show.