Arts & Culture Round-up: TV, Gruffalos & a bit of cheese

High culture it isn’t. But you can’t beat a bit of children’s telly for generating some quality entertainment, and a good time had by all.

These were sentiments shared by a few bloggers this month. Emily at A Mummy Too posted her 12 Reasons why you should take the family to CBeebies Live! The Big Band. None of them to do with the edification of our youth; and everything to do with a romping and rollicking good show. And Sarah from Boo Roo and Tigger Too caught a performance inspired by a TV favourite: Scooby Doo Live! The Mystery of the Pyramid

Sarah’s gang were also to be seen at the Feathers and Flight event at the Harry Potter studios, showcasing magical animals from the books and films. Overall, it’s been a big month for posts inspired by the big screen: you can check out a whole load of Disney-themed posts at the 100 Days of Disney link party over at Michelle’s Purple Pumpkin blog. In fact, Disney seems to have pretty much colonised the blogosphere recently: a couple of posts that stand out are Learnermother‘s review of Disney Worlds of Fantasy on Ice and Alison from Not Another Mummy Blog‘s confession that she secretly loves that her daughter loves Frozen.

Book-themed cultural experiences were, as usual, very much in evidence. Joy at The Sensory Seeker wrote about how her son – who has Asperger’s Syndrome – enjoyed a relaxed performance of the Gruffalo Live, and explained exactly why this performance worked for her family. The Gruffalo celebrates its 15th birthday this year and to celebrate, the Forestry Commission has set up Gruffalo Trails in several woods across the country. Red Rose Mummy and All You Need is Love and Cake were lucky enough to catch author Julia Donaldson herself on one of these trails, at Whinlatter in the Lake District.

Culture Baby took the theme of walking-the-book one stage further, using Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year) to inspire all the walks and rambles her family took over their holidays in Wales and the Lake District. Away from nature and back among the grime of the capital city, A Family Day Out took a Great Fire of London walk, stopping in at key places of interest.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a culture round-up if I didn’t include a few posts written about arty goings-on in the big cities. Favourites this month include a piece by HPMcQ about the Sensing Spaces exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts; a review of Maudie’s Rooms at Cardiff’s Sherman Cymru by Johnson Babies; and my own post about Rubbish (by Theatre-Rites) at London’s Southbank, over at the Pigeon Pair and Me.

Finally: my award for envy-inducing experience of the month goes to Stephanie from I’m Counting UFOs. Not only did she see The Cure (one of the all-time faves of my teenage years) on Mother’s Day. As part of the trip, she also managed to eat a load of delicious cheese.

Bloody lovely.

About Nell Heshram

Nell Heshram is a writer who blogs at the Pigeon Pair and Me. On her blog she shares tips on arts and culture for kids; family travel; and what's new in her home town of London.