& all things nice summer 2014
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Magazine from Sugar & Spice childcare recruitment agency. Find out 'What's on' in London this summer and we also have interview with the founders of Siren Training and a day in the life of a baby proofing specialist. Our regular columnist regales us this time with tales of potty training and we have another delicious recipe from Alfredo's tableTRANSCRIPT
THE magazinE FROm SUgaR & SPiCE CHiLDCaRE RECRUiTmEnT agEnCY
in THiS iSSUE...
Coffee with Siren Training
Slugs and Snails and babyhood tales – musings from a new mum
A day in the life of .....
What’s on this summer
Recipes from Alfredo’s table
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& all things nice
Childcare Recruitment Agency
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If you read my intro in the last
magazine, you will know that we had
exam season looming for all our children
- well, I’m pleased to say that we all
made it out the other side,
battered and bruised a little,
but still in one piece, at least
for another year! I’m
looking forward to the calm
before the results arrive
and hope to enjoy the
summer and whatever it
may bring...
This issue we have a
slight safety theme
running through it, as we
speak with the lovely guys
from Siren Triaining
about their First Aid
company and find out
how a baby proofing specialist spends
his day, ensuring our homes are safe for
the little ones!
Whilst not safety themed (unless you
take into account avoiding puddles!),
Kathryn’s column in this issue touches
on the dreaded ‘potty training’ which fills
most first time parents with a sense of
dread. I can certainly sympathise with
her, remembering all too well this stage
with our first born! It’s truly odd how as a
parent for the second time +, you’re just
so much more laid back about
everything and a puddle on the floor in a
high street is not quite as mortifying as
it was with your first!
Love her or loathe her, I’m sure
Gwyneth Paltrow never had to deal with
such an embarrassing situation! She did
however manage to stir up a whole can
of worms recently, when ‘mommy wars’
launched online following a comment
she made in an interview which was
misinterpreted and people took this to
mean that she was implying a ‘normal’
working mother (if such a thing exists!)
has life easier than she does. I do
sympathise; when I had our children, I
was running a busy company, and the
luxury of maternity leave was something
that just didn’t exist for me. I remember
all too well the ‘judgement’ passed by
others, automatically assuming that I
was a bad mum for going back to work
so early. Although not quite in the same
league as Gwyneth, why do people feel it
is okay to pass such judgement on
others when they don’t even know
them? In the words of a very wise 5 year
old, ‘people shouldn’t be mean to each
other’, I couldn’t have said it better
myself!
Sticking with Gwyneth, I genuinely
don’t know why so many people seem to
despise her. After all, were it not for her
‘other’ career as a lifestyle guru as the
head of GOOP, I may never have known
the joy of finding a sleep mask which has
hollow space for your eyes to blink, so,
thank you Gwyneth! As a show of
solidarity to this belagured Hollywood
mom, we review her latest cookbook this
issue, which is surprisingly good.
Apologies to anyone who finds Gwyneth
unpalatable (pardon the pun!), but
sometimes you have to put yourself out
there, after all, if Vogue can have Kimye
on the cover…
‘Mommy wars’.....
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Coffee with Siren training...
it’s not much fun when you’re faced
with a toddler who has fallen over or
suffered a burn; trying to keep them
calm, while accessing the injury can be
challenging for anyone, but imagine if
you don’t have any first aid training. As
an agency, we insist that all our nannies
have current first aid training and we
2. What were you doing before you launched the company?Before we launched the company both
Mat and I were Firefighters, We are still
in the fire service and divide our time
between rescuing cats from trees and
saving training manikins from cardiac
arrest. Mat’s background is in construction,
and I served in the Army for 8 years.
3. What makes your company so unique? Siren Training are different because we
have used the bad points of other training
companies and turned this to our
advantage. We believe that although
First Aid Emergencies are serious, the
training doesn’t have to be. Our courses
are fun, relaxed and informative. If you’re
calm during training then hopefully you
will be calm in an emergency. We only
use Firefighters or registered Nurses to
teach our courses. This way the students
are being taught by people that have
actually used these skills. We don’t borrow
our stories from a text book, we bring a
real life element to every training course.
encourage them all to refresh this on a
yearly basis. Here we speak with Steve
and Mat, founders of Siren Training, a
brilliant, London based First Aid
company, set up by 2 Firefighters.
1. What inspired you to start Siren Training? We were inspired to start the company
after the riots in Tottenham. Following
the riots, a friend of ours decided to
start a charity teaching troubled
teenagers First Aid skills. Our friend is
huge in spirit but quite slight in stature
and asked Mat and I to help. The
response was amazing, the experience
even more so. We learnt so much. At
one point I was teaching a group of
young men how to deal with knife
injuries and was so shocked to find out
that just under half of the group had
received injuries due to knives. We
continue to help the charity, and
because of our enjoyment sharing our
skills and experiences of working in the
fire service, Mat and I decided to start
Siren Training in 2012.
4. Favourite things in life?Family and friends, beer garden weather,
watching Wales beat England in Rugby
(both Mat and I are proud Welshmen!)
We also like to put ourselves through
various pain barriers raising money for
charities. Last year Mat and I had our
chest shaved in front of a packed
audience. This was surprisingly more
painful than the adventure race we
finished last summer, which included an
electrical crawling fence!
5. guilty pleasure?Steve’s is definitely One Direction or 1Dee
as he likes to call them, I often catch him
humming away to them in the office. He’s
surprisingly hid this from the guys at the
fire station (although maybe not for
much longer!). I can’t believe I’m going
to admit this but I enjoy watching reality
TV like the Kardashians, I don’t know
why. A dysfunctional family with endless
money, dealing with life on worldwide TV
- great relaxation!
6. Favourite things to do with friends/family?Mat and I love going back home to
Wales, he is from South wales and I’m
from the more picturesque North.
Nothing beats my mums cooking, and in
return I happily leave a big bag of
clothes washing (nothing I do can make
my clothes smell the way she does!). Mat
is currently planning a wedding to his
long term girlfriend. Weddings are hard
to plan in the first place, so in typical Mat
style he’s decided to make it even more
difficult and get married in Italy. I’m
happy though, as I love italian food.
7. Do you have a favourite fail safe dinner party recipe to share?I do and its so easy and delicious. Italian
food is all about regionally sourced
ingredients, the pasta fredda (fresh
pasta) will change depending on where
you are in Italy and what ingredients are
grown there. Its great for a summers day
or BBQ’s .
What you need (remember its about
quality. I’m not sure about quantities, I
make it off the cuff)-
Fresh pasta - any will do, i like fusilliolive oil2 cloves of garlicbaby tomatoesFresh basil leavesmozzarella ball
1Boil the water,add a pinch of salt and
add pasta- whichever kind you prefer,
and continue to boil for 1 min less than the
time it says on the packet. Drain the pasta.
2Add a tablespoon of good olive oil, a
good helping of ground pepper, chop
2 cloves of garlic and add to the pan,
add fresh baby tomatoes (or sun dried),
a few fresh picked leaves of basil and
finally add the mozzarella chopped in
delicious bite sized chunks. Mix together.
Serve warm or cold with a nice glass of
Italian wine.
8. advice for parents of young children in respect of first aid/fire safety?Accidents happen, especially when
children are involved, I know my mother
was constantly wrapping me in bandages
and plasters as I curiously ventured to
badge myself in as many wounds and
bruises as I could. My advice would be to
be prepared. I would advise anyone to sit
a first aid course especially for children,
even a basic course. It not only covers
the main emergencies children may find
themselves in but it also covers signs
and symptoms and how to deal with
many illnesses such as choking,
meningitis and febrile convulsions. In
terms of fire safety, I would advise that
parents practise safe evacuation in the
event of a fire. This could easily be made
into a little game, start with everyone
pretending to be asleep, press the fire
alarm using the test button. Then, each
parent will be responsible for one child
(or more depending on individual
situation), each child will be responsible
for their favourite toy (the toy should be
close to the child’s bed). Together take
them out of their beds and crawling
along like any 4 legged animal you can
imagine, (snakes and snails are too
slow!) move along the floor to the top of
the stairs. Then safely together, move
down the stairs keeping low and close to
the wall side. Once at the bottom
everyone leaves the house through the
safest exit. If it’s too dangerous to leave
the house, get together in the room with
the least amount of smoke, stay low, call
the fire service and tell them what room
you are in.
9. any plans to expand Siren training in the future? Siren Training and the team are growing
from month to month, we recently won
the #sbs (small business sunday) award
from Theo Papitiis on Twitter. At the turn
of the year we also added 4 smiling
registered Nurses to our team of
trainers. All highly qualified and happy to
continue the Siren ethos, informative,
accredited FUN training. We have also
recently moved into a brand new
training studio near Old Street Station,
Islington. Its great for our scenario based
training which everyone enjoys. The
future looks bright for us and very soon
we will be taking Siren Nationwide.
For more information go to
www.sirentraining.co.uk
a Baby Proofing specialist
So, your little bundle of joy has arrived in
the world and you need to make your
home a safe place for tiny people. You
could run out to the local DIY store and
stock up with all the necessary tools and
baby proof your home yourself...or you
could call in the professionals.
Here, Chris Jones from Baby Safe
Homes, gives us an insight into the day
of a baby proofing specialist...
M y day generally starts with
the sound of one child or
another waking up between 5:30 and
6:00. Once I get them back to sleep, I
grab my iPad and try to catch up on
e-mails until 7:00. My wife and I trade
off responsibility for the children’s
breakfast and getting them dressed whilst
trying to fit in enough time for our own
showers and occasionally a bite to eat.
By 8:00 we’re all ready to go and I head
off to drop my eldest son at school as
soon as the nanny shows up to look
after the baby. Once the children are
taken care of I can turn my attention to
someone else’s baby.
We generally schedule our first
appointment between 9:00 and 10:00
depending on where they are. I’ll meet
one of our installers close to the client’s
home, and head in with a tape measure
and notebook. Our safety assessments
take between 30 minutes and an hour.
After going through the house with the
client, I can offer our recommendations
A day in the life of ....freSh Cooked home mealS
We know how important it is to spend the first few
days really bonding with your new baby. we also know how exhausting it can be and how difficult it is to ensure that you are eating the right foods, as the last thing you feel like doing is preparing food in the early days. well, worry no more, as one of our ‘bespoke extras’ for our clients, we have teamed up with ‘the food stork’ to ensure that you can spend time bonding with your baby and receive delicious ready prepared home cooked food, direct to your door, ready to be heated at your convenience. . For further information, email [email protected] quoting food delivery in subject line.
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13Suzanne Ferreira Physiotherapy, is a Physiotherapy, Pilates and Fitness studio specialising in the
diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of all musculoskeletal disorders. All their practitioners are dedicated to health and fitness, and are highly qualified and expert in their fields, so you can be certain you are in good hands.
located in a truly unique location (that many of their regular clients refer to as their ‘health haven’). The studios overlook the hampstead heath Ponds, a tranquil and beautiful setting that provides an ideal backdrop for healing and relaxing, both physically and mentally.
The fabulous team at suzanne Ferreira really understand the vital role of a healthy nanny to a family and in recognition of this, for the spring, they are offering a discount of 15% if you are a nanny, or want to treat your nanny. Just quote “healthy nanny/sugar&spice” to receive 15% discount at suzanne Ferreira Physiotherapy.
+44 (0)20 7209 491296c south hill Park, london nw3 2sn
a healthier nanny
now
and an estimate. In most cases our
clients go ahead with all of our
recommendations, but we’ll install just
what they feel they require to keep their
babies safe at home. The next 2 or 3
hours are spent assembling and
installing stair gates, cabinet locks,
furniture anchors, oven guards and all
the other bits and bobs necessary to
limit risk in a baby’s home.
Every once in a while we finish the
installation with enough time to spare
for a quick lunch. We’ll usually grab
something on the way to the next
appointment, which is scheduled for
13:30 or 14:00. Same process as the
morning and then we’re headed to the
warehouse to pack for the following day.
Once we get everything packed and ready,
I can head home to relieve the nanny and
catch up with the children around 17:30.
On a good day I can return any missed
calls and schedule appointments
between 17:30 and 18:00, then get dinner
for the children and start bath time. My
wife relieves me around 18:00 and I can
sort out invoices and payments before
reading a book for the children and
getting them to bed at 19:00. We make
dinner together and sit down to eat
sometime between 20:00 and 21:00.
After dinner I return e-mails and check
our accounts to update everything for
the morning.
Running a business is an exercise in time
management. It’s pretty rare that any
hour of the day doesn’t include elements
of commitments with the children and
business responsibility. It almost makes
the business a fifth member of the
family…albeit a less demanding member
than the children!
Our particular line of work also gives me
the chance to meet so many people
from different walks of life facing similar
challenges. I learn something new every
day from our clients and hope we can
offer something in return.
www.babysafehomes.co.uk
A day in the life of ....
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It seems to be accepted that potty
training happens later these days so
at 2 years and 4 months, William was still
in nappies as were most of his little
friends.
We were playing with the idea of it,
he was used to using the potty at certain
times of the day and could pretty much
wee on demand so, looking back he was
more than ready, but I had a handful of
the usual excuses that meant I was
putting off the big push. His sister
Alexandra was still very little, it wasn’t
warm enough to be outside yet, etc, etc.
You may or may not remember the
mini heat wave in March this year. Well it
coincided with William’s great
grandmother coming to stay. In her
generation, babies were put on the potty
after a feed from a few months old in
order to ‘catch’ what came out the other
end so, unbeknownst to me, her visit had
a hidden agenda. The first morning of
her stay we went out
for coffee. William was
becoming tired,
Alexandra was ready
for a feed but instead
of heading back home
I found myself being
frog-marched across town to buy big
boy pants! I had not prepared for the
event, I hadn’t read up on what to do, I
just found myself later that afternoon
out in the garden with a potty and a half
naked boy thrown head first into potty
training. By the end of the day I was
feeling very smug and also wondering
why I had put it off for so long as we had
not one pair of wet pants. However, the
following few days the novelty wore thin
for William and I found myself each
evening tackling the pile of wet
undergarments!
My grandmother’s visit came to an
end, but potty training stretched on and
on for me... A few weeks of spending
copious time hanging out in the
downstairs loo, dashes to find the
nearest toilet when out and about, even
an emergency trip from the library to
Marks and Spencer’s as being a novice at
this, I had packed spare pants but not spare
trousers- and, note: these get wet too!
A few months on and we are pretty
much there although we get the odd
accident when tired or forgetful, and
that’s fine. I wish I had understood
before I started that there were going to
be lots of accidents and that was ok, as I
might then have been more willing just
to give it a go.
Slugs and snails and babyhood talesmusings from a new mum by Kathryn Pople
..”I found myself being frog-marched across town to buy big boy pants” .....
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from alfredo’S table
SalMOn aranCInI
Last week, I experimented
with fish cakes – this week I
woke up in the early hours
of the morning after
dreaming about making
this dish! Scary but true.
I had a notion to blend the classic idea of
the rice ball – arancini – with the fish
cake. Arancini are one of my favourite
Italian nibbles whenever I am over there.
They originated in Sicily as far back
as the 10th century – so these babies
deserve respect! Classically they are
filled with a ragu or mozzarella or peas.
Sometimes olives. They are diverse in
their nature.
For my take on them, you will need;
serves 4 4 small skinned salmon fillets2 tbsps of breadcrumbsgood pinch of dried chilli and dillsingle serving of cooked (and cooled) rice
1Pop the salmon in the blender with the
herbs and add a good grinding of
black pepper and sea salt. Blitz until
roughly chopped
2Add the blended ingredients to a
bowl and add the cooled cooked rice
and mix well.
3Using your hands, take a portion of
the mixture and roll into balls.
4Place the balls onto a plate and
sprinkle over the breadcrumbs,
rolling the balls around in the crumbs
until fully coated.
5Warm about 2 tbsps of olive oil in a
frying pan and add the salmon rice
balls when hot.
6Move them around gently every
couple of minutes until they are
nicely golden brown (around 14 mins).
A super summer dish that ticks all the
boxes.
William’s little friend Olivia was potty
training at the same time as him and,
being a girl, seemed to be far superior
in her abilities. When I asked her mum
after a week how potty training was
going, the answer was we’ve done it -
I cried into my washing pile that night.
But, just to show that with little
children everything is a long road with
many a detour, last week at a toddler
group Olivia just stood in the middle of
the room and without taking down any
clothes created the largest puddle ever
known, then waited for her mum to spot
it. I was half tempted to feel a little smug
but then I checked myself as no doubt
that will be us next week!
www.ilovealfredos.com
kids weekThis annual event promoting West End
theatre for children returns – although
for 2014 it is actually running for the
whole month of August, instead of just a
week. Participating shows offer one
child (under-16) per adult to see the
performance for free, and up to two
extra children can go for half price with
no booking fees. Various theatres will
also be organising free activities and
events on stage and backstage, including
puppet-making classes, storytelling,
young writers workshops and more.
Tickets are on sale at the participating
theatres from 10am on June 17.
Plantasia
Get your children outdoors and back to
nature with a visit to Kew Gardens and
the Plantasia Festival. Here, you can slip
off your shoes and wander along the
Barefoot Walk to experience the many
different textures that nature has to
offer, or if you’re feeling brave, you can
climb the pagoda and take a look at the
stunning views across London. Children
under 16 enter the festival for free.
Festival runs from 24th May - 7th
September.
Seaside funIf you fancy enjoying some time at the
seaside, without leaving London, slip on
your flip flops, pick up a towel and relax
on the sands of Camden Beach! Not as
wacky an idea as it sounds - they have
150 tonnes of the finest sand, end-of-
the-pier amusements, pop-up fish
restaurant, beach huts (which you can
book for your group), rooftop garden,
swimming pool, ping pong, live music,
tasty food, ice-cold drinks... From 12-11pm,
Monday-Sunday; until 23 August.
What’s on this summer...floating cinemaHere in London we have seen cinema
screens popping up on rooftops, inside
derelict car parks, and within the centre
of historic squares thanks to Nomad
cinema. Now it’s time to jump ship and
catch a flick on the Capital’s rivers. This
summer, the Floating Cinema, lets you
hop aboard a converted canal boat, grab
a drink, and take in an on-board
screening of your favourite film as you
cruise past the banks of East London.
Alongside single screenings, there will be
boat tours hosted by comedians,
broadcasters and authors, and
‘weekenders’ offering a programme of
food, motion pictures, and music. A truly
unique cinematic experience.
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it’s all good by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen
This time we take a step away from our
usual reviews, to bring you details of a
fab new cookbook out there for all of us
who would like to eat more healthily.
Sometimes with ‘healthy’ cookbooks,
they look fantastic, but then you look
closely at the recipes and figure that
maybe you’ll make around 10 - 15% of
the recipes, which renders the book
virtually redundant. ‘it’s all good’
though is a real inspiration, brought
about after Gwyneth had a health scare
and needed to eliminate certain foods
from her diet.
Don’t be put off by ‘elimination diet’
though, this book very cleverly shows
you how to adapt the recipes depending
on whether you want to follow an
elimination diet or not. Overall, I was
pleasantly surprised at how easy the
recipes were to make, not requiring too
many obscure ingredients.
Whilst I can’t see myself getting hot
under the collar anytime soon about
lettuce wraps, there are certainly plenty
of really good healthy recipes in this
book that I’d be happy to make. If it’s
good enough for Gwyneth...
Reading Corner
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Telephone: 020 8906 4383
Mobile: 07785 391 378
web: www.sugarandspiceagency.com
email: [email protected]
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