Dino Spotting at Jurassic Kingdom in Osterley Park

Jurassic Kingdom has arrived in London!

A temporary exhibition (Pop-Up) of animatronic dinosaurs at Osterley Park, is what is on offer from the 1st to 17th of April in London, before it goes on tour across the country.

Thanks to Joanne at Love Pop-Ups London, I got 2 tickets to visit this show. When I took a look at their website, it seemed mostly geared towards kids and I was wondering if the trip would make sense for 2 adults. Having being there, I have to say a resounding "Yes!"

While this is Easter Break and the park was filled with kids, the path is very well laid out over a much larger space and was more relaxed than our visits to the Magic Lantern Festival in Chiswick or the Christmas lights at Kew which conceptually had a similar set up. However at Jurassic Kingdom we were able to amble at our own pace.

There was plenty of technical information about each dinosaur. So what you take away from each exhibit is up to you. The sound and movement would appeal to younger kids, but the descriptive details would be of more interest to adults and kids with passion for dinosaurs. We met an 8 year old kid who was rattling off facts that weren't printed out there. She definitely knew her stuff.

While the main exhibits are supposed to be hands off, (there were a few rule breakers), there are smaller size dinosaurs that the younger ones can sit on and push around the park for a bit. There was also an educational video playing under a tent around the half way mark.

There's even an excavation pit where you can let them get their hands dirty in the sand while uncovering dino fossils.

There are plenty of food and drink options on site. Osterley Park has its own Stables Cafe and the Jurassic Kingdom had food options at the start and midway through the circuit. We tried the hot dogs and milk shake at the half way point, for about three Pounds each. 

There are washrooms at each of these points too.

While you are here, do take a look at all the other wonders in the area. There is also a seperate Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt trail at the moment.

Osterley Park is a Georgian country estate managed by the National Trust. The House itself is worth a visit (we didn't have the time on this occasion). The grounds are extensive and throw up surprises like this nesting swan. We also spent time marveling at the antics of the fluffy white calves and the gorgeous horses.

We were lucky to be able to visit the Farm shop which sells produce from the Park. The vegetables were so reasonable and absolutely fresh and yummilicious when I cooked them at home. So much tastier than supermarket veg. We even picked up some fresh free range eggs and all at amazing prices.

If you are taking the tube, its a bit of a walk to the location (1 mile from Osterley Park station), but you can take a break at the lovely second hand Bookshop after the bridge.

Definitely wear comfortable shoes as it is a walk to the park and once you get on the trail, the ground is uneven and definitely not conducive to push chairs.

Culinary Genius at ITV London Studios

Headed to ITV London Studios to watch a taping of a new show by Gordon Ramsay - "Culinary Genius"

When we applied, we weren't told how long it would go on, but they did recommend that audience : "bring in a packed lunch to get into the spirit of things"

1st point to note : entry to this building is not on the river bank, but at the opposite end of the building (parallel road)

Quick security and bag check at the gate and we were let in. Security again recommended that we pick up a bagged lunch before heading in. Good advice as there's nothing you can pick up inside, even if you are watching a cooking show.

It was quite interesting to watch how a cooking competition actually gets filmed. I'd love to have that army of assistants following me about in my kitchen and cleaning up after me, while I cook. Lol.

Bottled water was provided and loos were adequate.

As mentioned before, there is no place to pick up any food on the inside.

Also no photography inside the building. They are quite strict about cell phone usage too. So if you cant turn your phone to airplane mode, don't bother visiting.

They took a 45 min lunch break around 1:15, before shooting a second episode, but a lot of the audience kept leaving in between and most of them left during lunch.

Didn't get to see Gordon Ramsay, but an interesting experience for sure. Would love to see the show when it comes out, to truly appreciate an editors job.

Chambers of Flavour V2 - The Gingerline Experience

So excited to finally get a chance to do this.

I'd heard about the Gingerline experience before, but their tickets are so darn hard to lay hands on. So, when Alex gave a couple of yelpers the opportunity to try them out, I threw as many hats in the ring as I could and was chosen for a 6pm slot on Tuesday. So much excitement to get into Version 2 of the Chambers of Flavour.

When they send you your ticket, they ask you if you have any food allergies / intolerance. A friend with me had a shellfish allergy and she was well catered for during the experience.

Now everything is kept super secret until the very end, including the location, until 4pm on the evening of. I received my text message at 4:30 and I just about managed to reach in time for my 6pm time slot. Thanks to the wonderful chaos of Oxford Street Station during evening rush hour in the midst of Christmas Shopping mania, making it a herculean effort to change lines.

You have to reach on time, given their format, if you reach late, they won't be able to accommodate you in the next lot. This is not the WB studio and they only take a maximum of 16 people in at a time. So plan to be around the Liverpool Street / Islington area by 5pm, if you have an early slot.

We were served a welcome alcoholic drink on arrival that was appreciated after the biting cold outside. A lovely machinist explained the concept to me and ran through a few rules (no photographs inside etc)

The pre-experience space includes:
- The bar which opens at 5pm.
- A complimentary coat check where you can leave all bags and purses (recommended to leave your hands free during the experience)
- Washrooms (best to use them here. There is one more opportunity mid way through the experience, but you will miss out a bit on the banter)
- Seating space with tables.

The bar had a nice variety of cocktails. Some could be consumed in the waiting area and there were 4 options that could be bottled for takeaway during the experience. (No other opportunity to buy drinks inside) They pack it in cooling bags and you can even choose a bottle of wine instead of cocktails. These drinks have to be paid for and are not covered in the ticket price. Prices are around 8-9 Pounds a glass. Mocktails too are available.

The experience flows through a story, each phase takes you into a new space where you meet new characters, enjoy a nibble or a drink. Each room was equipped with water bottles, glasses and napkins.

The performers were lovely, having so much fun. There's a lot of audience involvement at every stage. The food was much better than I expected (supper theater doesn't always have the best food, but ginger line has designed the experience around the food and that makes all the difference)

Tips:
1. Leave everything at the coat check and leave your hands free.
2. Buy drinks at the bar, before you handover everything to the coat check.
3. Use washrooms at the start to maximise your experience inside.
4. Arrive early if you can.
5. Flat shoes and comfortable trousers/jeans make it easier to move around.
6. When you finally arrive, you may not be certain that you have found the right door and there's no one outside that you can check with. Just read the instructions carefully and you will know when you are at the right place. As you walk closer to the doors, you will hear some muted chatter.

Have fun.

I did love the experience and if I'm lucky enough to get tickets for the next one, I'd definitely return.

Attending a Debate at the House of Lords

A friend of mine (a scholar) was one of the panel at a debate due to take place at the House of Lords. She invited me to come watch & I obviously jumped at the chance to view how things work behind the scenes. I had to register and "buy" a free pass for the visit, just so I was given a ticket of sorts.

The entry for debates in the House of Lords, is at the far end (almost at the park next door). So its at least a 5-10 minute walk from the station depending on how you catch the traffic signals.

Do budget at least 10 minutes for a security scanning. The staff are all very polite and helpful, but taking off jackets and belts and putting them on again takes time and there is normally a rush of people before a scheduled debate.

The room we were in was beautiful and cosy. Good acoustics, so as long as the speakers enunciated clearly at slightly louder than conversation volume, it was easy to follow the proceedings.

Most of the speakers and the audience seemed to be in agreement in general, it was the particulars that needed working out. But the debate was conducted so politely and articulately. I wish some other governments could take a cue from this style of functioning and debating.

This was an amazing experience and I feel privileged to have been able to witness it.

Adult Lates at Kidzania

I was one of the lucky few who received a complimentary ticket for one of the Adult lates at Kidzania.(Normally costs around 30pounds a person)

My name was on the list, so I gained entry at the mezzanine floor quite quickly. But by the time I reached the top of the escalators, there was a humongous crowd at the checkin counter and it was not until I reached almost the front of the line, that I saw a sign saying that this line was only if you wanted to deposit your bags and coats (1pound fee per item) - waste of time / unclear signage

A glass of bubbly was next and that was a good thing to calm my irritation down. There were enough staff on the inside to keep clearing the empties.

As I passed through a metal detector, I was handed a map and 40 kidzos (currency) The map did not have too much info on it and there was no explanation as such as to how things would operate. It wasn't until after 2 hours or so, when I realised that I could also earn kidzos, not just spend them.

 There were lots of fun activities to do and once I met my friends inside, it was even more fun. Every individual shop/activity had a queue, so like Disneyland a lot of time is spent just waiting in line.

I tried the
Face painting - costs 15 kidzos - awesome!
Tattoo - costs 15 kidzos - its just a sticker - not worth the cost, unless you have money to burn in the end.
Police Station - earn 8 kidzos - fun
Reporters - earn 8 kidzos - good fun - you even get a printed news sheet with your story (and name if you like) on it.
Recycling paper - earn 8 kidzos - very good
Cadbury's chocolate - costs 12 / 15 kidzos - you just get to fill the tempered chocolate in a mold - not worth the queuing time for me - you get a voucher for 2 tiny bits of chocolate to be collected at exit.
Tour bus - costs 1 kidzo for a ride - earn 8 kidzos if you become the official tour guide and do a good job.
Magic show - free to watch in a lovely theatre - you get to perform if you head to the auditions next door.

The airplane / hospital / dentist / radio show / al jazeera tv show / Kwality Ice cream / firemen booths were all terribly overcrowded. so they seemed like the most fun.

4-5 hours aren't enough to explore even half the place.

I don't see how kids would be able to manage on their own on the inside. They do need an adult with them I would think, unless they are teenagers or maybe tweens. There are a few eating options inside - GBK, The Diner, a juice and coffee bar etc, but they all need genuine cash.

I did eat a burger at GBK, as I wasn't sure if I would get anything at Shake Shack or the main GBK after 10:30pm. But if I had the time, I would have eaten outside in one of the mall eateries.

If you have more than 70 kidzos left at the end, you can open a bank account with kidzania bank (or so I was told), but I just had 30 left and I was told to take it back and use it on another visit or give it to a child who was visiting.

Its fun to visit if you want to feel like a kid again. But I wish there was at least a 5-10 minute video at entry to outline the concept of how the place works. They have instruction videos playing at a lot of the shops - the police station, the fire station and others. Should not be too hard to include a video at the start