Mama in Brighton

Fab 5 Parks! The Top 5 Parks in Brighton! When we first got to Brighton, we were surprised to find it hilly and windy. We thought it'd be a flat and expansive city, near the beach. Of course, modern, hip, trendy and multi-cultural as well as diverse was also other things we saw in looking at moving here. So we were also pleasantly surprised when we discovered some very cool parks in Brighton, not far and ones with a lot of park area, even though it is hilly and mountainous. 1. Queen's Park - Undoubtedly in our opinion the best park, quite hilly but very nice and pleasant for families with kids. What makes this a perfect park for parents is that while your kids play in the play area, you can get a birds' eye view of where they are by overlooking them from the hill near it. Even though there are a number of bushes and shrubs where they can hide, they can still be visible. What I like about this park is the fact that the council cleans it all the time and there are signs preve...

Washbrooks Farm -  a great way to spend a Saturday! We discovered a hidden gem, Washbrooks farm that had farm animals and some fantastic play spaces for the kids. The park is not as big as other places but still fun all the same! We managed to go by noon for an afternoon and thankfully, the sun was shining! The boys loved playing in the sand, on some of the tractor and farm-themed rides and even enjoyed watching the baby pigs with their Mama pig grunting. The boys love pigs!  Due to Covid restrictions, we were supposed to maintain social distancing and sanitise our hands everywhere but it was no problem. The highlight of our day was taking a mini train ride (attached to a large tractor) through the farm where we saw the fields where the animals like cows and sheep were grazing. There are no parties being held there at the moment due to the rules and restrictions but sure they will open that later. It was fun!

  A fun world of toys, trains and more! While K is at Nursery, I always try to do something different with J. We generally go for our outings during the weekends when K is at home during the weekends so J and I haven't doing much in the weekdays except for food shopping, running errands and going to the Level and Saunders park for some outdoor time. And a post-pandemic Brighton isn't easy because I always have to look at websites, email or call and check if places are open or it'll be a wasted journey. One fun way we have gotten around was taking the bus. On a weekday morning it isn't as busy as taking it in the evenings. And we managed to get a special kids BusID for J in which his ticket fare to anywhere is just 50p. So that helped a lot in us getting to places and also helps the bus companies run. One outing I saw was the Brighton Toy and Model museum. Honestly, it isn't a big museum and quite a hold in the wall, being right under the station. But it is a fun and...

A wonderful time at Arundel Castle! Just before Daddy returned, we went to Arundel Castle, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk. Apparently the Duchess herself was at the Gardens before we arrived so sadly we missed her! It is a lovely castle and the views of it are absolutely stunning from when you take the train from Brighton to Arundel (with a quick change at Ford). With COVID-19, there is a timed group entry and we did have to wear masks inside the Castle. However, the Gardens and exploring them were fab! The boys and I gasped at the huge magnificent rooms and stunning masterpieces inside. The wooden interiors of the library were shipped from the Dominican Republic and it also contained some rare books. The rooms are adorned with portraits of former Dukes and Duchesses of the Norfolk and what amazed me were the realistic-looking taxidermy animals - that were scary! There aren't restaurants of eating places inside the Castle but Arundel town centre has a lot of interestin...

Drusillas! Being a newbie to Brighton and in the midst of a pandemic, obviously there weren't many things I thought I could do with the kids or take them out anywhere. So I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across a website (dayoutwiththekids.co.uk) linking to the places that were now open post-Covid. It was really helpful because with summer holidays and two bored kids at home, it was important to get them out. The weather was also sunny and bright in June, July and at the beginning of August so it would have been sad if we didn't make the most of this great (and rare) British weather!  Another reason was that K, my younger one was going to turn 3 years and that would mean us having to pay another child ticket. So I wanted to just get in there, while he was still old enough to do activities but also something that I didn't have to break the bank with. It hasn't been easy to take them out and keep them occupied but Brighton has been so community-minded, and peopl...

ME ! I am a Diplowife, Mum to two lovely children and an adventurous being! I also dabble in a lot of interesting past-times and hobbies! I have a very multicultural background (I am of Sri Lankan Malaysian ethnicity as well as Bengali) and I am honoured to have lived in many countries (5 to be exact!). I was born in the sunny island country of Sri Lanka but moved to the UAE when I was a baby (due to civil unrest and JVP Marxist riots). After moving within the UAE and attending 2 different nurseries and 3 different schools, we finally moved back to Sri Lanka just when I became a teenager. My father worked in Sales and my mother was a loans officer at a reputed bank in the UAE, being one of the first non-white female middle managers at a very male-dominated Muslim-managed bank. She was a lovely example and role model to my sister and I and sadly passed away in April 2020 which still saddens me to this day. I have an Australian IT degree and I worked at Sri Lanka's leading weekly new...