The Lumiere Festival To Bring A Winter World of Light to Derry City.

Following two successful Lumiere festivals in Durham, England, producers Artichoke have been invited to bring Lumiere to Derry by the Culture Company, bringing an incredible year of arts and culture in the city to a close with a four day celebration of light.

Local and international artists, lighting designers, and community groups will breathe new light into the city with a breathtaking series of lightworks. The festival is expected to be a popular family event with artworks sprawling right across the city in a sprinkle of winter magic.

The light creations will range from large-scale projections, to neons, to installations using the latest LEDs, created by artists and lighting designers from near and far including pieces created by artists from the Northern Ireland as part of the successful Brilliant competition.

The festival runs from 28th Nov to 1st Dec. Full details on the Lumiere Festival website.

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Win a Curious Candy Hamper

I hope you guys realise the sacrifice I am going through, by letting you know about this competition I'm pretty sure it means I can't win, BUT, maybe one of my lovely readers will win. Curious Candy is our local, proper, old fashioned sweet shop, here in Bangor Northern Ireland. As well as the classics, they import American candy, chocolate and sodas for us grown ups. To win their hamper, it's a simple Facebook like & share competition which you can find here. Good luck. 

Eating Out Review- The Ruddy Duck, Holywood

I don't do a great deal of restaurant reviews, maybe it's something I should look into. A chronicle of Northern Ireland's quirkiest eateries might be a nice project, not to mention getting a free lunch.  

So I will start with The Ruddy Duck, Holywood, this time paid by from my own pocket! School was closed today, so my son & I with nothing to do, took the train to the nearest town to Bangor, for a wander round the charity shops and some grub.

 The gourmet fish & chip spot is the little sister of Holywood's famous Dirty Duck Ale House, renowned for its delicious food. This shop has been a chippy since forever. I remember grabbing chips there after school when I went to Sullivan Upper School in the town in the 90s. It wasn't quite a 'greasy spoon' as such, but it definitely has had an upgrade with the new owners taking the reins.

The Ruddy Duck is quaintly decorated with seaside postcards & Cath Kidstonesque table clothes & shabby chic-ed chairs.  

There are your straight forward chip shop treasures, all cooked to perfection. My son had the £3.50 kids' meal, sausage & chip option, the latter of which came in a newspaper cone. This tickled him no end, and he even brought the cone home. For that price you also got a drink.

I chose one of the unusual options, the seafood chowder with wheaten bread, £4. It was really filling, and chunky. The was even a crab claw in there!  

So if you're looking for somewhere to grab food in Holywood, try Hibernian Street and The Ruddy Duck. 

We're Going on the Johnny Cash Cruise

Earlier in the year you saw our super duper day cruise with Stena Line, the Pirates and Princesses' trip, which we loved. This autumn Stena are treating  Northern Irish Sea lovers to a selection of evening cruises, departing and returning to Belfast. With entertainment and a meal on board, you can literally get away from your little darlings for the evening. 

We are trying out the Johnny Cash cruise, with tribute band Keep It Cash. There are also cruise nights with country music, an ABBA tribute and Elvis impersonators. Each night is only £25, with food, so it's a surprisingly cheap night out. I'll maybe see you on board.

Caves & Boats & Monopoly & Ice Cream- Our Fermanagh Lakeland Lodges Weekend Getaway

This is going to be incredibly clichéd, but if you are looking to get away from it all, the piece of paradise to escape to is the Fermanagh Lakeland area. I'd stayed in our family touring caravan in Castle Archdale in the early 90s, but had little memory of the holiday, and visiting as an adult with more perspective on the beauty of nature, I felt like it was part of my county I'd never explored before. 

Lough Erne is situated in the very far west of Northern Ireland, almost on the border. Fermanagh Lakeland Lodges had invited us to stay with them for the weekend in one of their lakeside houses, and with the summer drawing to a close, we welcomed one last adventure before school started back.

The drive from Belfast took just over two hours, but with the majority of the journey being the M1, it's very smooth sailing. If you enjoy driving, as I do, it's a pleasant trip, even as you reach the rural areas the roads are an easy drive. 

The Lodge reception will email you directions the week before your stay, and we found the location using those with no problems, and without a Satnav. Check in is quick, easy and friendly. We arrived at our lodge and got unpacked. As its self catering, I suggest picking up bread, milk etc in one of the towns before you get too far out, as the nearest petrol station is a fifteen minute drive or so.

There was a lovely welcome hamper for us, with local produce, the finest being Tickety-Moo ice cream, made just down the road. The lodge itself has everything a family would need for a self catering stay. The kitchen has a freezer, fridge, dishwasher, oven, microwave, and a bread bin which my son seemed to find absolutely intriguing. The house is on several levels, with an entrance hall, downstairs lounge area and two twin bedrooms with a bathroom. Up one level is the kitchen and dining area, and balcony with the beautiful view you see above. The top level has the double bedroom and another bathroom, plus a storage room.  

After our long drive, we had an early night. After a great night's sleep, we headed off on Saturday morning to Enniskillen, one of the nearest towns, to pick up food for the rest of the weekend. It's a bustling town with plenty of charity shops, which pleased me, and a great deli butcher where we bought burgers for Saturday night.  

Our chosen activity for the day was a visit to the Marble Arch Caves, a Geopark with a tour of an underground cave system. It's well worth the visit if you are in the area. 

After our underground adventure we travelled back to the lodges, to explore the grounds a bit. There's a lovely walk along the lakeside and back through the woods. After such a busy day our son was worn out and almost dozed off getting a piggyback! 

He soon perked up when we stopped at the playground though. 

 We picked up Northern Ireland Monopoly from reception, much to my husband's delight. I hate Monopoly and refuse to play it at home, but I was suckered in by the novelty of buying local properties so agreed to a game, which he won. So I now hate Monopoly again! 

Sunday morning brought the highlight for my husband, the Lodges' boat rental. As well as canoes, rowing boats, bikes and other activities, you can rent a motor boat to take out on the lough. We life jacketed up, got our instructions and off we went. 

A huge thanks to the  staff at Fermanagh Lakeland Lodges for a superb weekend. We were already talking about coming back next summer on our drive home. If you fancy a getaway yourselves, check out their website for excellent deals. 

They've out together a Relax and Rewind package for autumn which includes your stay, use of a boat, a welcome hamper and waterside picnic. World of Kitsch readers can get an exclusive 15% off with the code  

76980 

Time to treat yourself and your family before the winter. 

My Time Travel Hairdressing Parlour: Vintage Rocks, Belfast, Northern Ireland

When I want my barnet chopped, I step back in time, to Belfast's Vintage Rocks Hair Parlour, owned by the talented Clare Afshar. If you prefer to discuss future tattoo plans, rather than prospective holidays, Vintage Rocks is for you. 

Catering for far out hair styles and colours, but also glamorous, timeless updos for formals and weddings, you're in safe hands with these girls. 

Clare is the only one I trust with my son's hair, and earlier in the year he starred in their sassy promo video, shot by Jennifer Atcheson, which you can watch here. The photos used in this post are stills from the video.

Vintage Rocks is open Tuesday through until Saturday, and is a wonderful place to pick for wedding parties. 

My son

Siobhan from Fingerpricks.com

Me! With red hair a while back, getting it chopped 

children get their own seat and a special Vintage Rocks gown

beautifully detailed up do

the parlour says, 'goodnight'

prices as of August 2013. phone Vintage Rocks to book a consultation, appointment, or to chat about any hair creations you have in mind that regular salons wouldn't dare do!

Tesco Magazine Sent Us on A Great Family Road Trip

At the beginning of the summer, Tesco Magazine asked me to take my family on a Great Family Roadtrip, a campaign they are promoting all summer to encourage families to explore their surroundings, and further afield. 

I already shared with you here our stay in the Bushmills Inn, but you can read my blog for Tesco Magazine on their site here. 

I'll be sharing more photos from our adventures in the next few weeks, now that the blog is live over there. 

You can also use their Roadtrip planner, wherever you are in the UK. 

Our Stay at The Bushmills Inn, Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland

Holidaying 'at home' has become the done thing for families these days & we were lucky enough to be sent on a special mission by Tesco Magazine, to spend three days exploring Northern Ireland's North Coast.  

Tesco Magazine are encouraging families all over the UK to hit the road and explore what's on their doorsteps in The Great Family Road Trip. 

My tales of adventure will be on the Tesco blog very soon, but in the meantime I'd love to share with you some pictures of the hotel we called home that weekend. 

The Bushmills Inn, situated a stone's throw from the world famous distillery of the same name, is a four star luxury home-from-home. 

The two storey rooms offer everything you need, and more, with Nespresso Machines and complimentary Elemis toiletries. The staff even left a little Bushmills Inn teddy on my son's bed for him arriving, which pleased him no end. He carried it around all weekend. 

The room was the height of luxury, with a shower room and dressing room downstairs, off the sitting area, and a separate bathroom with bath upstairs, and the double bed for us. This was super in the evenings as our tired out five year old could doze off in his bed on the ground floor, and we could sit and watch television without disturbing him, upstairs. 

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The hotel restaurant was outstanding, both for breakfast and our evening meal. The staff make you feel like royalty, and are knowledgable of the local area and attractions, useful as most of the other guests seemed to be those on golfing holidays. The Causeway Coast has a number of world famous golf courses, as well as world famous natural attractions such as the Giant's Causeway.

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I would recommend a stay at The Bushmills Inn in a heartbeat. One of the best hotels I've ever stayed in on my travels. If you are visiting Northern Ireland from another land, make sure you look it up.

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