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IT may seem that normal life has been put on hold at the moment.

But when you’re a mum, you still have kids who want to go out to experience new things and explore.

After six months behind closed doors, options may seem limited, but it’s always good to have a look at things which take you outdoors while allowing you and the little ones to stay safe.

We recently enjoyed a trip to Vauxhall City Farm and I was impressed by the measures being taken to ensure social distancing and general post lockdown safety.

The space is small but perfectly formed and the kids absolutely loved the chance to feed the animals. I thought we would be in and out in ten minutes, but I simply could not drag both my three and ten-year-old away.

Entry to the site is free with a voluntary donation and food for the animals is just £1 a bag.

The kids also loved the chance to walk around the farm’s community garden following our own recent endeavours into growing fruit and veg at home.

Staff are constantly communicating to ensure there are only a certain number of visitors inside the farm at any one time, which means that entry numbers are limited and queues can form when busy.

There are also lots of handwashing stations and a one-way system in place to help with social distancing.

www.vauxhallcityfarm.org

Hackney Empire pantos are renowned for being one of the best on offer each year. ‘Oh, no they’re not’ – Oh yes they most definitely are!

And while taking my two (nearly three!) year old daughter to her first pantomime, I couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to the theatre.

This year the east London theatre welcomed Joanna Riding to star in Dick Whittington and his Cat. The show was full of laughs, especially with Steve Elias in the role of the panto dame and Tony Whittle as Alderman Fitzgerald – they were the perfect comedy duo – and while my daughter definitely did not warm to the King Rat played by Kat B, he was also hilarious; playing up to the audience’s boos and hisses.

I must admit, even I was scared when a giant gorilla/king kong type character clambered on stage using some sort of puppetry/stilt walkers inside (although I still haven’t quite got my head round how they did that!), but my little one took it fairly well and didn’t bat an eyelid.

Vocally it was Dick Whittington’s love interest Alexia Khadime who stole the show alongside Elias who could more than hold a note or two.

All in all a great show and what better excuse to support your local theatre? Go check it out.

www.hackneyempire.co.uk

I WOULDN’T say I’ve subscribed to the whole ‘new year, new me’ mentality, I’m just working on being even better than usual!

Jokes aside, I’ve been trying out the new Boots Good Gut range which put simply helps to create a ‘healthy gut environment’.

There’s something for everyone in the range – my nine-year-old daughter has happily been taking the Live Bacteria for Kids edition which comes in a chewable strawberry flavoured tablet. And with an added vitamin C boost it’s also good for the immune system (you know these kids pick up everything going at school).

Meanwhile I’m sold on the Live Friendly Bacteria with Skin & Hair Support which comes in a handy size tablet. I’m not great with taking tablets, but I found the size of this one reasonable and not unnecessarily huge like some supplements.

Another plus is that the range is vegan and does not have to be kept in the fridge. So basically, smiles all round #winning.

With no big names or celebrity performers, the real draw of Soul Sister at the Savoy Theatre is its telling of the Ike and Turner story against the backdrop of her legendary and extremely stageworthy songs.

Starring Emi Wokoma and Chris Tummings in the lead roles, the production which transferred from Hackney Empire, has a lot going for it.

A talented cast, the singing was top class, but with songs like Private Dancer, Simply the Best and River Deep, Mountain High hitting the audience hard and fast, a slight lack of development in the script meant the play was in danger of becoming a Tina Turner tribute concert.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but myself and my friend who joined me on the night, would have loved to have seen some further – and deeper – development in the script.

Wokoma who works hard to take on the characteristics of Tina, while still managing to make the songs her own, is undoubtedly the star of the show and ultimately keeps it from being the feared tribute concert. She’s definitely one to look out for in the future.

Soul Sister is at the Savoy Theatre until September 29, before touring the UK.

Media Mummy rating: 3 out of 5 stars.