Holiday madness.

Hi all.

It's been a strange week. I received a phone call from the in laws to say they want to borrow the smalls over the school holidays and take them away. Woohoo! Then they dropped the ball. "Our internet is down, could you look on the net for some good deals?" Of course I can… Well if I knew what I was looking for that it! So my challenge for the day was set!

I Panicked going straight went online clueless. Thankfully I searched for holiday comparison sites and found my way to Icelolly.com, a holiday comparison site with many choices and options including Disney holidays, Ski Breaks, Hen and stag weekenders, cruises and much more too. Everyone could find a holiday easily here. While browsing the site you are presented with a simple interface with many options which were complimented by country and region, dates and flexibility, the duration of the holiday even down to the most convenient or local airport available is listed.

Depending on your choice you will find multiple deals available for you and your holiday needs, suitable for families on a budget, party goers looking for the latest rave up to couples wanting to spend a quiet weekend away from the kids. All options, including Disney can be covered in a no nonsense layout with clear information you receive on you've searched.

How does it work?
I knew you were going to ask this. IceLolly scours the web hunting out a good deal for you and your requirements finding licensed and approved travel agents so you can work out what is the best choice for your needs. In some cases you may receive multiple results for the same resort but from different providers. This could bring more substantial savings to you.

Once you find the holiday package you are happy with, call the agents on a dedicated phone number to discuss the package with them, quoting the reference provided with the package.

I don’t have internet on a computer. Can I use my phone to look?
Yes indeed. On testing with an ipad, android phone and basic nokia it opened up a perfectly scaled mobile page. It’s safe to say if you only have a mobile you’re very well covered.  

I need a car. Can they help me?
That’s already covered. Just click the link at the top of each Ice Lolly page for quotes on car hire around the many resorts available.

How do I tell what the resort will look like?
Each resort has a ‘Hotel information’ link has specific information services and facilities available on each resort. Including: the star rating, food provided facilities within the hotels, Pools information and entertainment for families.

I'm happy to say the site is easy to use with all information presented in a clear and concise manner to help you choose the perfect holiday for you, no matter the location. Tell me what you think of Icelolly. 

Paul 

Disclosure This post is brought to you in association with Icelolly.com 

#HarmanDads Fathers day goodness

Hi all.

Last Wednesday I was invited to the Harman Dads event to play with some epic audio gear from Harman Kardon, AKG and JBL.

On arriving I met with A warm welcome from many fantastic Dads who blog, the staff from Bite and locally based Harman Kardon who supplied pizza and beer. Oh, and they let us run riot with the abundance of audio gear they bought for us to play with. I would like to offer no apologies for playing some god awful happy hardcore as I'm sure Black Lace's Agadoo is much worse. But for now, let's not go there!

If you look at the video Here you can see what took my attention on the night.

We were first shown the range of portable Bluetooth speakers.

JBL Micro Wireless.
This colourful speaker is amazing for it's small profile, audio quality and bang for buck. Trust me the bang for buck is good in my eyes. £50 for an amazingly loud setup with huge compatibility from Bluetooth and non Bluetooth devices, with the inclusion of a hidden 3.5mm headphone jack and charging via micro USB port.
I extensively tested the Mini Wireless speaker in some awful sound settings and not once did we get any distortion, even changing audio settings manually in Djay for ipod/phone caused no considerable difference.






JBL Flip.
This is another Bluetooth speaker with inclusion of a microphone, which makes it a perfect choice for both music and calling services, from the traditional phone call to the online voice services like Skype and others. With a 5 and a half hour battery life and crisp clear audio, as well as the same standard features of micro USB and 3.5mm jack options it's a good choice for those who work hard and play hard.

JBL Charge
The JBL Charge is another wireless speaker with the same options as the two above bar one very interesting feature, the ability to charge standard devices (phones, mp3 players) at the same time as playing. Again the audio is really good, equaling the Flip and Micro Wireless.











I know what you're thinking. Why do they all sound fabulous?

Well. All of these devices have fantastic sound quality thanks to Harman's Proprietary Truestream system which improves the sound of your music no matter the quality of the music being played. On being tested with 64Kbps Windows Media files they sounded similar to apple iTunes AAC files. The Truesound system ensures that all your music will sound great. No matter the audio quality.

Now onto the home audio side of things.

JBL Soundfly BT
I'm very thankful to own one of these bad boys. The Soundfly BT comes as a Bluetooth speaker or an Apple Airplay compatible speaker setup. (airplay costing £10 more)  It's designed for home use to be directly plugged into the mains socket. Meaning no external adapter or messing about with cables. When fired up it tells you it's awake, in paring mode and it's connection status.
I won't tell you much here as I promised to review it. But It's already a hit in our madhouse!

JBL Go+Play
The Go+Play is a Bluetooth speaker which has progressed from an Apple Only product to a Bluetooth device so everyone can use it. The design being in it's fifth year now. Apparently it's hugely popular with dance studios and schools. I can understand why with it's beautiful sound and how it boomed over us while being demonstrated which would be perfect for some schools and dance academies. The Go+Play is also battery powered, with 8 C cells giving off 15 hours battery life. As fantastic 15 hours battery life is I only hope they implement removable lithium ion batteries in the future.


And just for the apple users we have the JBL Onbeat Mini, specifically designed for the new Lightning connector Apple devices. But will work happily with legacy 30 pin converters. The audio quality was on par with most of the devices shown. rivaling the Soundfly BT












Now for the personal audio lovers! We have a treat for you.

Harman CL Bluetooth Headphones

The CL headphones are a beautifully designed set of headphones with all controls on one side, Acitive noise cancellation and the ability to be used wired, as with many bluetooth devices mentioned above. What's more they are designed to fit everyone. they come with interchangeable headbands being small - medium and medium - large and lavished with memory foam cushions. They are a dream to wear and listen to.




The AKG K551 Headphones
Audiophiles. Before you get all post orgasmic on me. Many of you know already these are high end but I'm not an audiophile. I'm a geek into chiptunes and synth and many headphones sound awfully rough with synth. including some "high end" brands which are popular with the youth, Compared to any I've tried the K551's are amazing and well worth the high cost. Fear not. There is a domestic variant coming soon too. I'll hopefully be comparing those soon too.



I want to thank all the team at Bite Global, Harmon Kardon and all the fantastic bloggers I met. I can;t wait to meet many of you again at Britmums Live!

Paul

The best ever driving song ever!

EhUp!
I was asked by the lovely people at Carcraft what I thought was the best song to drive happy to?

This was a difficult one to comment on as I currently do not have a driver’s license, which is very soon to change as we’re going to need a car very soon due to my partner’s medical conditions. (Thankfully she now qualifies for Motability. So I’ll be in touch with Carcraft soon about that.)
However I do cycle everywhere (boo). And when the kids are not attached to the back the music is on. But I will admit there is one song, which pricks the ears up, sends shivers down my spine and in certain situations can make me smile madly, loudly sing and in some situations has bought a tear (read: blubbed my eyes out) to my eyes. (My late nan bought me a tape with this song on it. Fell in love there and then with it. )

What makes this song more epic is how it fits perfectly to all driving situations. Last week coming over the Dunstable downs for this song to come on my media player as I turned onto the long stretch of the road to see a perfect sunset, us bathed in warm sunlight belting down the road at speed. It was a beautiful mix of everything from music, Pure euphoria for 5 minutes.

It's the epic. Waterboys – The whole of the moon.


Waterboys - The Whole of the Moon by Viridiana_mas

If you want to join in Visit the Carcraft post here and share your thoughts here, on twitter or on their post.
Paul


Disclaimer. This post is for Carcraft but is entirely based on my opinions and thoughts.

Silent Sunday

Tardis comes to school.

This week I've been busy building. Nope not computers, a Tardis. My daughters school runs a yearly bike parade. This year the theme was Time machines. The event ties in with the school's May event.

On discussing it with C, the caretaker the tardis came up and a challenge to mount one to the trailer. You know what that means people.

IT'S ON MOTHERLOVERS!!! 
I go home to be told I'm mad (and proud i admit that) and I begin.
On Saturday it's finally complete, still damp but attached to the bike just in time!

 Built with a wooden frame, wrapped in cardboard and paper mache. Like i said, still damp on attachment.

I will admit i've never cycled so slow to transport anything, But the end result was worth it.

The fete was a roaring success and many others bought amazing time machines and tardis' (or tardii?) including one completely made by two girls. It was awesome. I wish I'd taken photos of it now.

Sadly the day went and the heavy rain began.
After the third soaking the tardii began bleeding. Well, the paint began to run.  leaving a huge trail of blue everywhere and a sticky trailer for me to clean up. (i best do that soon)

I bear a challenge next year. Who wants to join in with me?

Paul

Love is

Building a tardis for your daughter's school fete. It's 4.25 and it has to be complete by 9AM. Gin Please!
(more on the blog when complete)
(for Limetree )

Fun in the woods

Wow this weather is awesome!

I took the midges on a trip up Dunstable Downs yesterday. After being hyped up this tweet and image from Jon,

#50things No. 4 Build a den - some one made a great den in Chute Wood today. twitpic.com/co8c2r
— Dunstable Downs (@DunstableDwnsNT) May 4, 2013

We we're determined to get to Chute wood and make our own den. And we pulled it off fantastically!

I will admit until Monday I didn't know about Chute wood. Shallowsrpings I ride an awful lot in the warmer parts of the year. It's a fun little place to go.  But Chute wood is perfect for the kids to play in. Especially as part of the 50 coolest outdoor things to do before you're 11 ¾ event. And before you say it. No I've not been asked to write this for the National trust. I've posted it as It's so much fun to do these things with the kids! There are also sheep in the adjacent field (be respectful with dogs or they could be shot

Also It's a rarity children put gadgets down and played with each other and helped build an awesome den of sticks. It was the most fun I've had in a long while. The kids have also demanded we do it again next week so I may see about getting friends to join us. (you have to be this epic to join us) ;)

More photos will be up soon on my flickr pages!
Paul