The Croods gala screening – film review

There’s nothing I hate more than not being able to see clearly – I’m the one who complains if I have to eat in the dark, or I’ll be the one muttering if I can’t see the performers on stage at a concert – I’m definitely a visual kinda gal!

But, this didn’t stop me from heading to the launch of the RNIB’s (Royal National Institute of Blind People’s) See Through Sound gigs, where music lovers are given ‘sim specs’ (glasses that simulate reduced vision) to wear to provide an insight into what it’s like living with sight loss.

With the fabulous Newton Faulkner and former Made In Chelsea alumni Andy Jordan taking to the stage at The Venue in Great Portland Street, while wearing the ‘sim specs’ I had the opportunity to simply focus on the music.

Grabbing a quick chat with Andy following his performance he explained he was supporting the cause as many of his family suffer from eye defects.

Happy to use his musical talents for the RNIB launch, he told me: “I’m just enjoying life. I think I’ve moved away from Made In Chelsea now – I’m just me! Enjoying doing my music – and surfing.”

He even admitted: “I don’t watch MIC – I never did even when I was on it.”

And his thoughts on the recent fallout between former MIC besties Stephanie Pratt and Lucy Watson?

“I didn’t know Stephanie and Lucy had fallen out but to be honest I don’t give a f***. They’ll do whatever they can to get more Twitter followers and Instagram likes.”

Ouch!

Well, concentrating on putting the days of MIC well and truly behind him, Andy will be among performers at the See Through Sound gig at Cadogan Hall on October 14.

Get your ticket at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or www.cadoganhall.com.

I guess as a mother I should find it easy to judge if my daughter is enjoying a film or not, but during the screening of Sammy’s Great Escape, she certainly had me guessing…

She alternated between loudly naming all the creatures she could see; to jumping out of her skin once or twice; pointing at the screen to say ‘I don’t like it, I want to go home’ and at any pause in dialogue or musical interlude shouting ‘yeah! It’s finished now – can we go home?’

So on this basis, I’ll have to give the film, a sequel to A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures, a mixed review. This time around we follow two turtles who end up stuck in a giant aquarium in Dubai and their young grandchildren who are faced with the task of setting them free.

The bright colours made the movie very appealing, but for my daughter’s age group (she’s just about to turn 3!) I thought at times it was a little too intense with its loud noises and things going wrong, which was made clear by the atmospheric music, so a child of any age would know something scary was about to happen.

I’m glad we stayed to see the film through – as that night I had to contend with her quoting from the film, repeating the words of a crazy fish stuck in an aquarium, ‘They’re all looking at me! I can see them all looking at me!’ (Let’s just ignore the fact that my little one found some sort of affinity with the film’s crazy character…) – but to be honest, if we’d been in a local cinema and not just trekked into Leicester Square, we’d probably have left about 20 minutes in.

So, overall verdict? Sammy’s Great Escape is probably better suited to slightly older kids – maybe 4 upwards – but that’s obviously for individual parents to judge.

It’s back to reality for me after a few weeks holidaying in the motherland, but despite having spent such a ‘concentrated’ amount of time with my parents, I’m here in London tapping my fingers and waiting in anticipation for the return of my mother.

Obviously in general I love my mum and all that, but I, like so many working parents out there, rely on the help of my own mother when it comes to extra childcare and all round support.

It got me thinking about some parenting advice I was given by none other than TV presenter Jeff Brazier – Jade Goody’s ex and father to their two sons, Bobby, nine, and Freddie, eight.

Chatting to Jeff at last month’s Gala Bingo launch party at London’s Delfina, where Peter Andre’s latest ad for the company was celebrated, I asked how he managed to combine his work schedule with looking about two young boys.

He was quick to respond, ‘My number one tip is not to take your mum for granted. My mum helps me out a lot, so I have a deal with her where I pay half her rent for which she gives me a certain amount of her time each week.

‘It sounds quite formal and regimented, but it’s not! It just means we each know where we stand and she doesn’t feel that I’m taking her for granted. But it doesn’t count if the boys just fancy spending Saturday night with their Nan – that’s separate from the deal! Each week I let her know my schedule and when I’ll need her, so she can also make her own plans’.

Sounds like good advice all round to me…

PS – Hurry home Mummy! x

So after much anticipation, the Bajan singer’s debut collection for high street brand River Island finally took to the catwalk for all to see.

And while there were no fireworks, the earth didn’t move and no major fashion boundaries were broken, I can safely say the controversial star, who is never out of the headlines, can rest assured she’s created a collection that stays true to her own personal style.

With streamlined silhouettes, both tight-fitting jersey and flowing summer dresses, jumpsuits and the obligatory midrift bearing tops – as well as a couple of see-through items – everything gracing the catwalk was something you could picture Rihanna wearing herself.

I’m not sure, being in my 30-something years, I’m the the target audience for the collection, but love or hate Rihanna (I’ve personally gone from loving her to finding her on/off situation with Chris Brown totally annoying) – even I would be happy to buy one or two pieces from the collection.

It was also nice to see Rihanna having some support from the ‘celebrity world’, with everyone from model-of-the-moment Cara Delevingne, Jaime Winstone, V V Brown, The Saturdays’ Rochelle Humes and Mollie King, sitting front row. And the likes of Made In Chelsea’s Rosie Fortescue and Proudlock having to stand with the regular people (slient snigger) to watch the show. But there were cheers all round when a shy-looking Rihanna took to the stage to stand with models wearing her designs.

The collection hits the stores next month in March and then it’ll be up to the public and the sound of the cash registers to decide on its success…