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THE magazinE FROm SUgaR & SPiCE CHiLDCaRE RECRUiTmEnT agEnCY
in THiS iSSUE...
Dress your ‘bump’ in style
Christmas traditions
Slugs and Snails and babyhood tales – musings from a new mum
Dark Ice Project
Get pampered from the comfort of your own home!
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& all things nice
As I write this, I am wrapped up
warm in my cashmere sweater,
safe in the comfort of my home,
surrounded by Christmas presents
waiting to be wrapped. The
same cannot be said for two
intrepid explorers, who are
currently embarking on phase
one of a project to conquer
the North Pole in Winter.
Facing complete darkness,
temperatures of -50 degrees
and over 900 miles to cover
in this phase alone, Alex
Hibbert and Justin Miles are
attempting to reach the
North Pole unsupported in
2014, something which has
never been achieved! You
can read more about the
Dark Ice Project in this issue and due to
this wonderful age of modern
technology, you can even keep up to
date with the project on Twitter!
I love this time of year, it’s a time to
behave like a big kid and enjoy all the
decorations, lights, cheesy Christmas
films and to spend time with loved ones.
Each year, I like to make an advent
calendar for the family, where each day
has a ‘question’ about Christmas, with
the answer being on a strip of paper
with some chocolate and a cringeworthy
Christmas related joke! Now that my
children are grown up, I did wonder if I
should bother this year, but I’m happy to
say the Christmas spirit lives on and the
advent calendar was created again this
year and there’s even a picture to prove it!
As always, we have had great support
for the magazine and we would like to
thank everyone for their help, in
particular, Sara at Madderson London,
Alex Hibbert from the Dark Ice Project,
and our regular columnist Kathryn and
her little man, William (who is getting so
big now!).
Don’t forget, if you want to book a
Nanny or Maternity Nurse, then please
get in touch, we would love to help you
find that special person for your family
and we have some fantastic candidates
to choose from. For a limited time, we
are also pleased to offer a special
15% discount off any of our bespoke
childcare packages featured on our
website, if booked before the end of
January 2013. Just quote WinT01 when
registering online, or when speaking to
one of our friendly consultants.
Baby, it’s cold outside....
if the thought of a christmas advent, is too much for you to
contemplate, but you’d still like to have a
Christmas tradition, what about starting
a Christmas yearbook? This wonderful
product I’ve just found named,
appropriately ‘The Christmas
Yearbook’ does it all for you - basically,
it’s a glorified photo album, but this
takes it a little further and lines up all
your Christmas family pictures so you
can see how everyone changes over the
years (and how many new additions
come along too!). You could create your
own from scrap, or you can cheat and
buy one! I’ve recently come across a
fantastic product called ‘The Christmas
Yearbook’ that does it all for you. It’s
basically a book of templates to fill in
each year.
There is room for the year, a photo,
the names of everyone you are spending
Christmas with, a brief description
(things like where you were, what you
played/watched, who cooked etc) and
then on one of the sides, a place for
everyone (family and friends) to write
christmas traditions....
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a short message mentioning anything
momentous that has happened that
year or something being planned for
the forthcoming year.
It’s kind of where you’d say, ‘Ruth
& James are over from Oz with the
dynamic duo!’ ‘It’s the puppy’s first
Christmas and he likes to eat all the
paper’.....you get the general idea...
You can get a copy of the Christmas
Yearbook from
www.darlinganddarling.co.uk
With our Winter being more soggy than crisp White snoW, here are some tips to help you create the Wonderful feel of a perfect Winter....
l You can make some lovely simple melting snowman cookies,
basically follow your favourite recipe, then decorate with white
icing, topped off with a slightly gooey marshmallow and
decorate with some black icing to make the snowman look
as if it’s melting!
l Instead of a gingerbread house, why not make a sugar cube
castle - use empty kitchen roll holders for the frames for the
turrets, and ‘build’ the castle with sugar cubes and icing. In past
years, I’ve decorated the castle with creeping ivy using green
icing and I usually drape mini fairy lights/decorations around it
for extra special touch of ‘bling’!
l If you want to make simple inexpensive gifts for friends, why
not make a hot chocolate snowman tower? Get 3 small empty
jars (baby food jars are perfect) and sterilise them. Then fill the
bottom two with chocolate powder, the top one with mini
marshmallows and then draw a couple of ‘buttons’ on the
middle one and a snowman face on the top one. Create a hat
for the top with some black card, and tie a little bit of material
around the ‘neck’ of the second jar for the scarf et voilà
“snowman tower”!
winter fun....
Madderson London creates beautiful
statement pieces for women who want
to celebrate their pregnant curves while
retaining a fabulous sense of style. We
caught up with founder of the brand,
Sara Madderson to find out what
inspired her to launch the luxury brand...
What was the inspiration behind madderson?I love clothes, and there have been many
times when I’ve seen an item of clothing
and thought ‘I HAVE to have that!’. When
I was pregnant, there were very limited
choices available to working women who
wanted to look stylish and professional,
and all of my maternity purchases were
based on practicality rather than that
‘must-have’ feeling. It didn’t seem fair that
we should miss out on that excitement
for nine months and so I set about trying
to recreate it in maternity wear.
What were you doing before you launched the brand?I was a banker. I joined an American
bank right out of university and stayed
there until I had my son, Paddy. The
trading floor was a bit of a catwalk and
my job (and business trips to New York)
did great things for my wardrobe and
shoe collection! On a less shallow note,
it gave me the chance to meet and
analyse hundreds of businesses and
gave me a great commercial grounding.
What makes your product stand out from other maternity Wear?There are many companies out there
that make great maternity basics at
varied price-points. Madderson London
seeks to hunt down and use gorgeous
embellishments and striking prints for
style-conscious women who are used
to wearing beautiful statement clothes
pre-pregnancy. Rather than play it safe,
we start with the special: luxe details
that transform the perception of
maternity wear.
Describe your fashion style.Elegant; classic with a twist; style over
fashion; invest in great pieces and wear,
wear, wear them.
coffee with sara madderson
We are delighted to
introduce Bridget, one of our wonderful Nannies,
who you can book directly
through Sugar & Spice.
Originally from South Africa,
Bridget is 26 years old, Level 3
qualified and has been
working with children and
their families since 2004.
Bridget has a wonderful, warm
personality, and is a huge fan of the
outdoors. As well as being Level 3
qualified, Bridget is also qualified as a
Post Natal Carer and has trained in
breast-feeding and sleep training too.
Bridget runs her own Baby Massage
class one day weekly, so is looking to
work for 4 days a week as a Nanny,
based in South West London. If you
would like to book Bridget for your
nanny vacancy, then email us at [email protected] and let us
know your requirements.
CandidateProfile
4 favourite things in life.My family & friends, good wine
(especially claret), fashion, and nice
hotels (without the kids!).
What would your ideal weekend consist of?Hanging out with my husband and children,
preferably outdoors. A low-key dinner with
my husband (and friends) and a good
bottle of wine, and curling up with a box-
set, or Downton Abbey on Sunday night!
guilty pleasure?Chocolate. Always. And chic-lit. Since my
banker days of having to read dry financial
reports for work, I’m afraid my taste in
books has become very low-brow…!
Favourite book?The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
(from my more literary days).
Favourite film/DVD?The Age of Innocence again … and The
Sound of Music. My poor 21 month old
son is now obsessed with the latter too!
Fail safe dinner party dish?Anything that can be stuck in the oven
for hours and withstand the inevitable
delay in serving up as everyone gets
tipsy. Boeuf bourguignon is a particular
favourite.
any tips for working parents?I was going to ask the same question!
For me, it’s been helpful to
compartmentalise family and work
where possible. Get as much help as you
can afford – not just childcare but
support like housekeeping, so chores
don’t erode all your family time. And
most important, try not to feel guilty all
the time (almost impossible).
www.maddersonlondon.com
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It’s good fun being one. Every day is
an adventure, every place is a new
frontier, every new object is full of
possibilities. A whole year has spun by in
a whirlwind, and as William approached
his first birthday, I reflected on how
many firsts there had been, and just how
many were still to come. But there
wasn’t too much time to languidly
philosophise over such things; I had a
birthday party to organise!
There’s nothing like party planning to
put the pressure on. “Oh, we’re just
going to have a small family tea party,” I
told people, but from somewhere deep
inside me, the expectations were
building. It was probably spurred on by a
free catalogue I received through the
post a few months before the big day.
Page after page of party ideas for
babies; personalised balloons, high chair
bunting, high end party bags; it made for
a twitchy read. I’d only just got over
organising his
Christening! But
nevertheless, the urge
to be an ‘exemplary’
mum, who threw the
perfect, yet ‘effortless’
first birthday party,
drove me on.
First, invitations – how to find some
that were cute, but not twee, bright but
not tacky. Apply the same dilemmas to
the decorations. You’ll be pleased to
hear I steered away from highchair
bunting – one step too far?! Party games
then, yes William wouldn’t have much of
an idea, but the extended family would.
Then, of course, the cake. Oh the cake! A
friend nonchalantly stated that it’s got to
be something that could be looked back
on in 18/21 years time without cringing.
What a helpful friend!
So the big day arrived, and somehow
juggling baby groups, work and an
impending house move, I managed to
get everything ready. William went down
for a nap. All the guests arrived. William
woke up. I brought him downstairs. He
saw all the familiar faces looking at him
expectantly. He burst into tears.
Some people just can’t take the
pressure.....
Slugs and snails and babyhood talesmusings from a new mum by Kathryn Pople
He burst into tears. Some people just can’t take the pressure.....
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With our exclusive links with two of london’s premium mobile
sPAs, you can experience the benefit of some ultimate pampering beauty, lifestyle and massage services in the privacy and comfort of your own home, wherever you live in london. whether you are a mum to be who wants to be spoilt before the arrival of your baby (or before the party season!), or an existing mum (or dad) who is just too busy to make it to the spa, you can book one of our unique pamper packages direct. Prices start as low as £65 for pregnancy massage (or general massage), facials, or individual yoga sessions. For more information, please call us on 020 8906 4383 or email us directly at [email protected] quoting ‘bespoke spa services’
be pampered in the comfort of your own home
feeling the cold at the moment? Spare a thought for Alex Hibbert and
Justin Miles who are currently trekking
up to 900 miles across the North Pole
unsupported in Winter, in darkness with
temperatures of -50 degrees! Not
surprising then that this has never been
achieved before! Before they headed off
on the first part of their epic journey,
Alex very kindly spared some time to give
us a bit more insight into the project.
is the project fully funded by the sponsors?No, this expedition has a trio of major
sponsors plus a few supporting suppliers
but Justin and I have made personal
contributions too. It’s a tough
sponsorship market at the moment and
in this case it’s been necessary to have a
combined fund.
How many calories will you have to consume daily during this first phase of the expedition?We’ll be working on around 5,500kcal as
this is an amount which balances the
dark ice project
need to have a sledge which is haul-able
(aiming for 1kg per day of food) and the
need to feel strong. I have previously felt
a massive difference in strength when
comparing 4,500kcal and 5,500kcal
per day.
What kind of food will you be eating and leaving behind at the depots for the next phase?At the beginning and end of each day,
we will have freeze-dried packet meals
with added butter and then through the
day, five flapjacks and then chocolate,
nuts and other high calorie snacks
are there any concerns about the food (and other items) that you are leaving behind in this phase being damaged by Polar bears for instance?There is a very major risk that the
depots will be disturbed. They will have
to survive a whole year, including the
summer when the snow recedes. I’ve
had experience with lost depots before
on the 2008 Long Haul expedition and
so have reacted to the errors made. The
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with vitamins but we’ll certainly pay the
price to a certain extent due to the lack
of natural light.
as it will be permanently night, how will this affect your schedule for trekking - will you be walking during what would be your usual ‘daylight’ hours for example?We will base our days to take advantage
of any glimmer of twilight in the sky and
so simply make that moment in the day
our ‘midday’. As we approach the end of
February there will be a lot more light in
the sky, although temperatures can
actually drop further at that point!
Warmer temperatures do not return
until April.
Out of the dangers that you encounter, what holds the most fear for you?The difficult ice conditions and the cold
will always be stressful but they are
something we can plan and train for. The
biggest unknown for us will be bears in
the dark. We’ll be in a bear-heavy area
and will be very attractive to them with
depots will be in sealed plastic kegs and
then buried beneath rocks on the
shoreline of Greenland. Bears tend to
search for food by smell and so our
hope is that they won’t be found. To
mark the positions will be a carbon-fibre
flagpole and a GPS coordinate.
What will you be doing on Christmas day?My family and I are having an early
Christmas on 25th November - just a big
meal and family get-together. On the
real Christmas day hopefully we’ll be on
the sea ice in the Kane Basin and will
hope to have a treat or two! A white
Christmas guaranteed.
How will you cope without daylight? Will you have to take Vitamins to compensate for lack of sunlight?The darkness will be one of the major
challenges for us, both on a personal
and practical level. It will make
navigation, spotting polar bears and
spying poor quality ice difficult. On a
medical basis we’ll supplement heavily
all the food and smells we’re carrying.
Dave, our Greenlandic dog will hopefully
provide an early warning.
Obviously, the two of you must get on very well together, but are you concerned about being just the two of you for the majority of the time?I’ve done long trips as a duo before and I
think it’s the strongest team dynamic for
such an expedition. With a generous
dose of tolerance and good will, I hope
we’ll be ok and will still go out for beers
and ski together in years to come!
What inspired you to get into exploring in general?A few individuals have inspired me -
mostly people who have great talent and
breadth combined with a sense of
awareness and purpose. Nansen and
Peter Scott fit the bill for me. Otherwise,
it was a desire to not jump on a conveyor
belt in terms of my lifestyle - and have
the opportunity to be creative.
How do you adjust to coming back home after an expedition, is it difficult to be around people for instance?
It’s a very bizarre experience to return to
all the stimuli of civilisation - people, food,
cars, chairs, the web and all the rest.
Apparently I talk a lot when I return and
take a few weeks to settle back in again’.
How do your loved ones cope with you heading off into danger? (i know my heart is in my mouth whenever my son plays american Football for his University!)I suppose my long-suffering family have
simply had a while to get used to the
idea! They know I plan thoroughly and
will never do anything to put my likely
return in doubt and so that must help,
although there must be a sense of
helplessness and lack of control which
must be tough. I’m very lucky to have
a team around me who are willing to
support and get stuck in! I often need
to talk through ideas with others before
coming to a conclusion. I think, or rather
I hope, that the worrying is more than
compensated by the good things which
go along with what I do and am trying
to achieve long-term.
To find out more about the project, visit
www.darkiceproject.com
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The night Before Christmas by
Clement C Moore and
Christian Birmingham.
Clement C. Moore’s
beloved poem about
Santa’s arrival on
Christmas Eve has
been illustrated by
hundreds of artists
since its first
publication in 1823. In
our family we have a lovely old edition,
which has been going strong since 1989!
This particular edition was published in
2004 and has a variety of charming
pictures from Arthur Rackham, Jessie
Willcox Smith, Thomas Nast, and other
renowned children’s illustrators of the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most
of the images are from different
versions of the poem; a few are from
antique postcards or magazines. Santa is
dressed differently by each artist, but he
is always “chubby and plump--a right
jolly old elf” who brings joy
to all good little girls and
boys. Youngsters who are
already familiar with the
poem will delight in
comparing the different
old-fashioned Santas and
the children of long ago
“nestled all snug in their
beds.” A charming book to
give as a gift for anyone
who believes in the magic of Santa Claus
or to start your own tradition of reading
it on Christmas Eve.
Reading CornerCalm Down Boris! by Sam Lloyd.
Meet Boris - he’s a
very loving little
monster! Orange,
hairy and over-
enthusiastic, Boris is
very friendly to all
who meet him, but
he does get carried
away! In the brilliant “Calm Down, Boris!”,
the reader is asked to help Boris brush
his hair ready for his trip to the park -
and gets smothered in grateful kisses,
which usually results in a fit of giggles
from the recipient. The same happens
when we feed him, but when he gets to
the park none of the other little
monsters want to play with him because
he’s so loud and boisterous. But when a
big scary dog jumps over the fence,
Boris saves the day by scaring him away
with his big, friendly kisses. A truly
fantastic book, sure to put a smile on the
face of any young child and adult alike!
Telephone: 020 8906 4383
Mobile: 07785 391 378
web: www.sugarandspiceagency.com
email: [email protected]
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