Month: November 2012

Posted in blog, events

Dig deep

Posted on by chickenandfrog

Good morning one and all. I know that it is bitterly cold out there today and that there’s a recession on, but today I’m asking you to put all of that aside for the sake of one amazingly brave little boy. Sky Harrington-Ellis is just two years old, yet he and his family have already been through more than most of us will experience in a life time.

skyTonight we will be staying open until 21.30 to help raise much needed funds for Sky and his loving parents, Paul and Marie. So, wrap up and dig deep people. Chicken and Frog and Beautiful Things will be donating a percentage of our takings from this evening to Sky’s fund, as well as holding a raffle full of lovely prizes, all kindly donated by members of the community.

And to show you how much we appreciate your support, there’ll be mince pies and mulled wine waiting for you.

To donate directly, you can follow this link: http://www.gofundme.com/SkysFund#description

To keep updated with Sky’s progress, you can read this touching blog: http://friendsofsky.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-2

Posted in blog, events

The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming…

Posted on by chickenandfrog

…as if you hadn’t guessed it, Christmas is almost upon us and I have finally succumbed. The shop is decorated and I have listened to ‘Fairytale of New York‘ enough to make me come to terms with the fact that even though it is not quite December, Santa Claus is most certainly in town. As I have said before, I do love Christmas, I just don’t love the fact that it has turned into a two month extravaganza.

1914 Santa Claus in japan

Enough of my bah-humbugging, I shall now sprinkle good cheer wherever I may be. People are starting to ask us what we’re up to at Chicken and Frog during the hols, so I have updated our events page with the various activities that we are putting on. Please also check out Claire’s website for all of the wonderful crafty activities that she will be running.

There will be plenty to do to keep your angels occupied , as well as a huge range of gorgeous books and crafts just waiting to be given to a loved one as a present!

Posted in blog, sessions

Chicken and Frog to the Rescue

Posted on by chickenandfrog

Here at Chicken and Frog we always like to provide our customers with whatever they need, from books about lighthouses to a reprinted classic from years gone by. So, when a young man (who aspires to become a firefighter) came in and asked if we could help him brush up for his basic skills test, who was I to say no?

I know what you’re thinking; a young firefighter eh, no wonder she said yes. Well, how very dare you! It won’t be me (sadly) who will be delivering the tuition, so you can stop that right now. However, if he chooses to let his fellow colleagues know about us and they happen to visit Chicken and Frog, I will be my usual, hospitable self.

There is a serious edge to this blog post dear reader, and that is to let you know in my rambling manner, that as well as 11+, English and Maths (KS1-‘A’ Level) and French Conversation, we now offer basic skills sessions for in adults in English and Maths. Our main time slot will be Thursdays 18.00-19.00, but we can run sessions during the day too if that would suit your needs. The cost is just £15 per hour and all sessions must be pre-booked, as we guarantee no more than four students in a group.

I appreciate that it can be difficult as an adult to ask for help when it comes to numeracy and literacy skills, but once you have made that first step there’ll be no looking back. You don’t need to commit to a long costly course and each session will be tailored to support you. All we ask is that after the first session, you book and pay in advance for following sessions.

tuition@chickenandfrog.co.uk

01277 230068

 

Posted in blog

Peter Rabbit is Hopping to Town!

Posted on by chickenandfrog

Just a quick piece of cheery news on this rather wet, dreary day. Chicken and Frog are proud to announce that we now sell tickets on behalf of the Brentwood Theatre, for the up and coming performance of Peter Rabbit. The show runs (or should I say hops?), from the 8th-30th December.

It is an honour to support our local theatre and we hope that this is the beginning of an enduring partnership. Tickets are £13.50 (£11.50 for concessions) and can be purchased either at the theatre box office on 01277 200305 or here at Chicken and Frog.

N.B. We can only accept cash or cheque in-store.

Posted in blog

Ho Ho Ho!

Posted on by chickenandfrog

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the world’s number one Christmas fan. It’s not that I don’t love the time we get together as a family, or the food (lots of food), or the pressies (giving in particular). All of that is wonderful. And of course, ‘Fairytale of New York‘ is played, so that’s got to be good. It’s the fact that it starts in October that gets me twitchy.

However, now that I am a ‘shopkeeper’, I have had to give in slightly to the commercialism of the season, so the decorations are now up at Chicken and Frog. Poor Mr Frog was sent back to the Christmas shop with the bag of highly-colourful foil selection that he had so carefully chosen, but other than that it’s gone without a hitch.

   Not in my shop!

We have some very pretty twinkly snow flakes and lots of gorgeous books and crafts in situ and that’s enough for me. I am holding off until the 30th November before we create and unveil our Christmas window display, so it will at least be nudging into the correct month. I can just about cope with that!

However, I am not a complete Grinch

and really do love the way that children get so engrossed in the magic of it all. So, in order to rid myself of this ‘bah humbug’ tendency, ‘The Jolly Christmas Postman’ will be shared during Discover a Book tomorrow morning.

As if that wasn’t enough (and quite frankly a morning surrounded by the genius of the Ahlberg’s is pretty close to perfection), the children will get to write to Santa (with a bit of help if needed). All of the children are guaranteed to receive a reply in time for Christmas Eve.

Ho, ho, ho!

Posted in blog, events

Author visit: 16th November

Posted on by chickenandfrog

Sue Pavey will be in-store tomorrow, sharing her shiny new book ‘The Alphabet Friends and Their Animals’. She’ll be with us from 11.00-12.30, telling stories and encouraging all to draw some wonderful animals.

Sue’s illustrations are bold, brightly coloured delights, sure to capture the interest and imagination of your pre-schooler! So come on down tomorrow, pull up a fluffy cushion and join in the fun!

Posted in blog, events

There are no words

Posted on by chickenandfrog

Usually my posts are full of terrible puns and light-hearted affairs. I make no apologies for this one being  different.

There is a very special little boy called Sky Harrington-Ellis who needs your help. In 2011 Sky was was diagnosed with a Grade 3 Anapalastic Ependymoma(Brain Tumour). Since then he has undergone surgery multiple times with partial success in removing the tumour. He has been having high dose chemotherapy for 9 months with all the side effects this entails.

Our goal is to support Sky’s loving family by raising as much money as we possibly can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you can’t attend, but would like to make a donation, please follow the link below:

http://www.gofundme.com/SkysFund#description

You can follow Sky’s progress here http://friendsofsky.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-2

Posted in blog, events, sessions

Eggciting news!

Posted on by chickenandfrog

This morning we had a lovely story-time session with some mummies and their little boys. It all went swimmingly; they listened, then they had a bit of a roam around, wandered back to me again and left smiling and waving. Job done! I love the fact that when children come in to see us they feel comfortable enough to choose books for me to share with them and that they can go off to have a good old nosey at the books.

But that’s not what I’m egg-cited about (I know how much you enjoy my egg-related quips). As they were going out of the door, one of the mummies said ‘Oh, you have French Rhythm and Rhyme, you should do a Romanian one…’ Now, she was half-joking, but I ignored that and swiftly replied, ‘Are you offering?’ To my mild surprise she did not run away at top speed, but said that she may well be interested.

This is egg-actly (see, they just keep on coming) what we wanted when we started (er-hem) hatching plans for the shop. We want to create a sense of community, providing services that the families want and need and after just a couple of weeks we are already fulfilling our promise to the people of Brentwood and beyond.

Who knows what the future holds…if anyone has any ideas that they would like to share, please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!

Posted in blog

The Phlunk

Posted on by chickenandfrog

‘The what?’ I hear you cry. ‘The Phlunk,’ I say. But what does that mean? Am I just making up odd words in a bid for attention? Well, no, I am not. But Lou Rhodes might be!

I shall explain. Yesterday we received an unexpected parcel. I am usually a fan of unexpected parcels, especially when they contain books that I have not read before. So, yesterday morning, whilst minding my own business, in came the postman bearing a gift of ‘The Phlunk’. 

He looks like this (the Phlunk, not our postie),

thanks to the creativity of illustrator, Tori Elliott. Pretty cute heh? He’s a sort of cat-alien creature, with enormous ears and striking green eyes.

I read the book to myself first and wasn’t completely sure. It is beautifully illustrated and has a gentle rhythm to it, but I thought that some of the images may be a little scary. So, I read it to a lovely bunch during one of our story-time sessions, to find out what children think. The verdict? I am very happy to say that it was a huge hit. The children loved the Phlunk himself and enjoyed the story too. It actually sparked a lovely discussion about dreams, which was a pleasant diversion.

Needless to say, we will be stocking ‘The Phlunk’ at Chicken and Frog as soon as it is available.