NENE VALLEY RAILWAY | SANTA EXPRESS This was our second trip on the Santa express based at Nene Valley Railway in Wansford, Peterborough. The last time we visited, Emily was only two years old and…
View PostLet me introduce you to the coolest new booster seat around, The CarGo Seat!!
Say goodbye to bulky boosters and Hello to this NEW lightweight, transportable booster seat that doubles up as a 10-litre suitcase on wheels in seconds.
Before I start on my review, you will need to know the most important bit of information when purchasing any type of car seat for a child. CarGo Seat meets Europe ECE R44/04 regulation safety standards and has been rigorously crash tested.
CarGo seat is specifically designed for children weighing 22kg to 36kg and a height of 125cm or taller so please bear this in mind before purchasing. The fitting instructions are very simple and while there is a booklet stored within the case, the side of the car seat has easy to follow picture instructions although I would recommend reading the booklet. Fitting the seat is really simple and can be done within a minute. I found the strap adjustment a little finicky the first time and when lifting or closing the handles, it is easiest to keep the yellow button pressed through the whole movement. Ensure the handle is fully lifted and clicked into top position.
The strap must be anchored to the side of the seat that is next to the seatbelt connector, measured to the top of the shoulder. We found it much easier to do this in the house rather than the car, as we could access the back much easier. In the car, the strap is then moved diagonally across to the opposite side where the belt comes over the shoulder before being secured into the connector. If done correctly, it should feel secure and there should be little movement in the strap. The seatbelt fits really easily into the strap connector, which is nice as I have had issues with similar connectors in the past, struggling to get the seatbelt into and out of the connector.
I absolutely love this car seat. So much thought and creativity have gone into making such a simple yet versatile product. The covering material on the seats gets grubby quickly and I find it such a chore having to take the car seats off to wash them, waiting for them to dry and then putting them back on, but with the New Cargo Seat, the body is fully plastic (no metal parts at all) which makes it a lot easier to keep clean and the small washable seat pad attached with strong velcro so it is much easier to wash and dry.
We run two cars in our household, with my car being the most used with the kids, so their car seats stay in there pretty much all the time. This often means that my car is used by my partner should he need to go out, rather than his own. The main reason for this is because it is such a hassle transporting the two large car seats from one car to the other. However, the Car Go seat is so much smaller, lighter and much easier to move between the two vehicles.
Our favourite feature has to be that you can turn it into an easily transportable suitcase on wheels within seconds. Lydia loves taking her favourite teddy Chuppy out with her as well as lip balm, colouring pencils and notepads. So now whenever she stays at Grandma’s or Auntie’s house, she can go, with her car seat, packed with all her things. For the adults, it also means she has a car seat they can use should they need to go out anywhere, rather than having to take one of our larger ones as well as a suitcase.
We are using this seat for Lydia and she chose her favourite colour, Purple. As you can see from the photo, it’s a nice vibrant colour and CarGo seats are also available in Blue, Green and Pink. Speaking to her the seat is comfortable and she now does not want to go back into her larger car seat and even Emily wants one now, although unfortunately, she is not tall enough to have one yet.
The seat retails at just under £55 (and comes with a 12-month warranty), which for its versatility, is well worth the price. It is ideal for anyone who runs multiple cars and has to swap seats or would prefer to swap seats rather than buy additional seats for each car that then need to be stored when not used. It is also ideal for kids who stay around family often that drive, as the seat doubles as a suitcase and car seat saving a lot of hassle. Having trialled this seat for two weeks now we love and highly recommend this seat.
***I was sent this product in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own***
Technology has been able to offer benefits in several sectors, and the insurance sectors are no different. Younger drivers are often met with excessive insurance premiums because of the information made available about drivers within a specific age range.
However, the use of telematics has ensured that younger drivers are given an advantage when it comes to showing showcasing how careful they are on the road.
The information is acquired by the attachment of a black box to the vehicle, but some may be worried about this due to some of the myths associated with black box insurance.
Online protection is a hot topic nowadays, so it’s understandable why some are concerned with how their data is used.
However, data acquired by insurance companies is also used for the calculation of premiums, and legally can’t be provided to a third party without the driver’s consent.
Another myth associated with black box insurance is that drivers can’t drive at night. There are no curfews associated with black box car insurance, but drivers do need to be mindful that travelling at night carries more risk than travelling in the day, so premiums could be slightly higher as a result.
Many people are worried that if they go over the speed limit then their information is sent to the police. However, instances of speeding will only be used for calculating insurance premiums, which will be more expensive if instances of speeding are constantly recorded.
Given how advanced the technology found in a vehicle these days, it’s understandable that some don’t want to add a device that could interfere with the inner working of the vehicle, but this isn’t the case.
The use of a black box simply uses electricity, like stereos and car alarms, and certainly don’t omit frequencies that can interfere with other devices in the vehicle such as Bluetooth.
Those new to the concept of black box car insurance may be concerned that that one mistake can lead to higher insurance premiums, but this is very rarely the case.
Insurance companies that make use of black boxes will be reviewing your driving habits over time, so while repeatedly driving at high speeds and braking urgently on a regular basis will affect insurance claims, a mistake made is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on the premium being paid.
When compared to other forms of car insurance, the use of black box car insurance can be overwhelming at times, but it’s important to remember that insurance companies aren’t spying on customers or using their data for nefarious purposes, but rather collecting data to ensure that fairer premiums are offered to young drivers.
Irish number plates might seem pretty self-explanatory they’re the number plates found on vehicles manufactured/ sold in Ireland right? Well yes, they are but things are a little more confusing than you might first think. Irish number plates and different for those found in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
So, before we look at the Irish number plates in more detail it’s important that you know how Northern Ireland’s and the rest of the UK’s plates work. In the UK non-personalised number plates follow the same pattern.
They are laid out in the following order with two-letters which act as the location code, then the age identifier which is usually shown as two numbers and then there will be a combination of three letters or numbers to finish the plate.
In Northern Ireland the layout is similar but there are some differences to know about. When it comes to newer number plates in Northern Ireland they will always use select letters for the location code. These will typically begin with the letter I but they can also feature letters A – W as long as the second letter is I.
However, apart from this, the layout is the same as the number plates found in the rest of the UK. So, Northern Irish plates are for all intents and purposes quite similar but what about the republic of Ireland? When you’re looking at these Irish plates things are quite different.
Number Plates In The Republic of Ireland
Number plates in the Republic of Ireland may at first seem more complicated than those found in the UK and Northern Ireland but just like those alternatives, the plates are divided into three sections. They follow this basic layout YYY–CC–SSSSSS.
So, yes they are typically going to be longer than the plates found in the rest of the UK. To help you get a better understanding of each section and what they will usually look like read on below. Once you know how they are put together Irish number plates are easy to understand.
The Y Section
This section will always be numbers so it is the reverse of the layout found in the UK. Three digits are used in two groups one section covers January to June while another covers July to December. This new practice began in 2013 using 131 for the first 6 months and 132 for the latter half of the year.
The pattern has continued for the following years with 133, 134 and so on. Vehicles registered before 2013 use the older YY system for this section of the plates. Which is similar to the age identifier used in the UK. In this system, only two numbers were used to signal the registration of the vehicle.
For 2005 this would have been 05, for 2006 it would be 06 but this was changed to the three-digit YYY system in 2013. You may have already noticed that the YYY digits are based on the date the vehicle is first registered. So, it may differ from the actual year that the vehicle was manufactured, model numbers and the date of registration won’t always be the same after all.
The C Section
The second section of an Irish number plate is the two-character location identifier. This follows a similar system to the plates in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. While the location identifier will usually be two letters some locations in Ireland will only have one letter. Galway county and Dublin, for example, use the single-letters G and D.
The S Section
Finally, we have the S section this might at first seem quite random and erratic but this section does actually have a pattern to it. The S section will always be numbers on standard Irish plates and it can range from a single-digit to six numbers long.
The S section is based on the number of cars manufactured in a certain period in each location. For example, the first car registered in Dublin would be D 1, the second D 2 and so on. This number is usually reset back to 1 after each year but this might not always be the case.
So, that completes our look at Irish number plates. You can likely see now how they differ from the number plates found in the rest of the UK. To sum up the main points one last time the first section is based on when the vehicle was registered.
The second section is the location identifier which is based on where you live and the final section is based on the number of cars registered in your location during that specific time period. It’s also important to remember that Irish number plates are fixed which means they can’t be transferred to other vehicles. You can change your plates however you must first get your existing ones de-registered.
Christmas is such an amazing and magical part of childhood. I always remember getting so excited about taking my stocking up to bed with my milk and mince pie for Santa and Carrot for the reindeer on Christmas eve, knowing that when I woke up it would be filled with goodies.
Myself, my brothers and my sisters were always allowed to open our stockings before we woke up our parents and whoever woke up first would go wake the rest of us up and we would all sit on our beds to see what we had got. There would always be a Satsuma and a handful of loose quality streets at the bottom of our stockings which now all five of us have carried on the same tradition with our own children.
I have been so excited this year because I have collaborated with one of our favourite brands ‘Smiggle’ to see what goodies I can find online for the girls stocking fillers and this is what I have picked.
Lydia and Emily are going to love each and every item I have picked for them. They have been asking for walkie talkies for a long time and Emily has been wanting one of these snazzy swiss army pencil cases just like Lydia’s.
They both love drawing and colouring, so I have picked a selection of different scented gel pels, a pack of felt pens and a pack of glitter pencils for each of them.
I also picked up a new lunch box for Emily to match her new pencil case because we all know how much kids love matching accessories and I just know that she will love it.
I chose the Bluetooth wireless speaker for the girls to share as they both love playing music through their tablet but also moan as it’s never loud enough so they will be very happy with this one.
Lastly, these are my overall favourite. How could I not get them matching Unicorn ear muffs? Look at that gold unicorn horn and you can clearly see just how fluffy the headband is, they are perfect for this cold chilly weather. No more cold ears and earaches.
Check out Smiggle’s website by clicking here. Their sale is also very impressive so be sure to keep checking back.
