WE'RE HAVING A HEAT WAVE AND ITS ONLY MARCH

I hope you are all enjoying the glorious weather. The lambs are having a whale of a time skipping and scampering across the fields and running races. The shepherd isn't looking quite as exhausted. I think he must have caught up on some of his sleep, regardless of having an hour less in bed on Sunday

What a week it has been! The sunshine has prompted us to do a spot of spring cleaning, trying to get the stores organised before new products come in. Enabling us to find what we want quicker. At the moment there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Spares orders continue to come in at a rate of knots and we are managing to process them and get them out within two to three days, the rest is in the hands of the Post Office. The rise in stamp prices did make us flinch as it did everyone else.

This week on Facebook we launched our Easter competition. Win a John Crane Tag Along Wagon a fantastic prize. We managed to persuade a couple of lambs to sit in it long enough for us to take a photograph. All you have to do to win is come up with a name for the lambs who are hitching a lift. One of the lambs is a breed you may not recognise, called a Zwartble.

Visit Facebook, you can access it from our home page and have a guess or three, until next week when we will announce our winner, keep enjoying the sunshine. Julie

SPRING

The glorious weather has encouraged us to keep building toys for the display. Bobby has assembled the TP slides and is putting together a challenger frame as I write this. Meanwhile Rob is trying to keep up with the demand for cars. I'm not sure that he is up to the speed of a formula one engineer yet, but he's heading in the right direction, either that or he is going round in circles.

Some spare parts have come in and we are trying to process them as quickly as possible as well as keep up with orders. You have also been caught by the Spring clean bug and are wanting to sort your own toys ready for your little ones to play on, so are keeping us on our toes.

Lambing is in full flow, and some of the pets have taken up residence in a Little Tikes playhouse. Who said toys could not be multi purpose!!! There are a few bleary eyes and weary expressions. Not surprising considering there have been some very late finishes as the sheep continue lambing through the night and going to bed blurs with getting up again.

Spring is officially here and this weekend sees the clocks go forward, I won't remind them they will get an hour less in bed, they maybe won't notice! Till next week, Julie.

READY STEADY BUILD

It does not seem five minutes since we were preparing for the sale. The outside display has been cleared, baring a few items. We still have a Little Tikes 8 in 1 Adjustable playground if anyone is able to come along for a bargain. The flip side of clearing the field is we are now in the process of building more climbing frames and houses. In a short time we have managed to erect quite a few houses, so the field is no longer bare. It won't be long before we have a street of houses, all shapes and sizes.

When you get your new toy home. First ensure you have all the pieces required, checking them off against your instructions. It does help to spread them out across the floor, the wider the better. Preferably in or near a doorway so no one can get through. Collect all the tools you may need, screwdriver, rubber mallet, chock of wood and a cup of tea. You are now ready to proceed to follow the instructions step by step in the order it recommends. Congratulations in no time at all you will have it built. As you can see that is exactly what we do!!

I hope all you Mums get a cup of tea in bed on Sunday. Enjoy your day, Julie.

OUR FIRST LAMBS!

Meet our new additions.

Yes, we have started lambing, and steady away is probably a good description. So far we have a couple of pet lambs that are on the bottle, little diddy dots.

Last week we were very busy. The outdoor display had to be washed and everything checked. The shop was rearranged to put all the sale items together, and when we all went home on Friday night the prices were worked out for the following morning.

Saturday 9.00am arrived and the car park was full! Sale day was here. Our annual event was a great success, only a few items remain from the display outside. Bargains were enjoyed by one and all. It was a very busy day and the staff were on the go all the time. We had boxes of sale items that had to be got in when it rained so there were some very tired legs by night. This year we are supporting the Friarage Hospital and donations will be given in the form of toys to the value raised.

For the first time we have had an Internet sale, reducing end of lines even further. So if you have not got your little ones a treat, now's the time to have a look.

Till next time, Julie