Tried & Tested
My shoulders ached, I was waking up through the night with pins and needles all down my arms, and feeling just as exhausted when I got up as I as when I went to bed.
I felt what I needed was a massage. So after some research and a great review in The Scotsman (http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/scotland/health-no-hands-massage-an-unusual-but-powerful-technique-1-2098456) I decided to pop down to The Whole Works and have a no hands massage.
Walking into the Whole Works is a relaxing experience in itself, the waiting room has sink into chairs which you could happily curl up in and nod off in!
Kate Schaeffer took me of into another cosy room and took a detailed history of my aches and pains and then concocted an aromatherapy mixture of oils that would deal with my various complaints.
Kate work slowly relaxing me, no kneading and pummelling, just stroking, rocking and pushing, but , wow, it works! In fact at some stage I nodded off.
At the end of my first session I felt more flexible than I had done for years. My neck felt released and for the first time in months I slept soundly.
I have followed up with two further visits and the transformation in how I feel is incredible. My sinus issues have gone, which in turn has helped my hearing. My shoulders, neck and back feel released and the heavy feeling that had followed my around for months has disappeared.
I will be popping back for a few more sessions as I never want this feeling to go..
(Linda Russell Director Skootkidz www.skootkidz.com)
NO HANDS Massage is a dynamic new form of Massage that is sweeping across the world as one of the most powerful new therapeutic Massage treatments available.
Conceived and developed by UK therapist Gerry Pyves after 20 years of clinical testing, it is being hailed as "The Gentle Giant" of healing therapies
The National Museum of Scotland
The Museum of Scotland beckoned it was beautiful sunny day and my son was promising to take me out for a belated mother's day outing,.
Parking was surprisingly easy (but expensive best part of £5.00 for two hours)
The entrance into the museum did not disappoint, in fact breath-taking would not be an understatement.
The displays were magnificent. My favourite were the wild life sections and for my son (aged 24!) the technology areas were a hit. We did laugh at the old telephones and computers, at one stage comparing my iPhone to the old red telephone box for size!
The displays were great and there were plenty of them, with lots of space between them so we never felt crowded, even around the more popular features. However for me my main criticism was how small all the numbers were that related to each of the individual exhibits. At one stage I was on my knees desperately trying to see what number a strange looking bird was so I could find out exactly what it was..(at that stage my son did move away from me )!
We were disappointed in the café, my scone was crumbly and dry, my son's cake tired and tasteless. We both had cool drink and there was not much change from £10.00. There are picnic areas so do take sustenance with you as you could easily spend a whole day in the museum.
We ran out of time to see the Fascinating Mummies exhibition…my son's wallet heaved a sigh of relief as he would have had to fork out £18.00 to take us in. (£26.00 for a family ticket).
Do go, the museum is amazing, do go with the idea of spending a long time there. Cut down costs go by bus, take a picnic and if you are a group of more than four think about taking out membership with the museum as in the long run that could save you lots of money.
Reveiw by Linda Russell Director of Skootkidz www.skootkidz.com
I love Cloudberry ! Based in Barton, with a shop full of lovely gifts suitable for any occasion. Julie (the owner) and her team also have a great eye for fantastic unique greeting cards; I spend hours chorteling over them.At the back of the shop Julie has set up a lovely café area, with what, I rate as the best scones in town. Rosie from Rosie’s kitchen brings fresh scones in every morning and Anne of Anne Waller Bakery supplies a range of mouth watering cakes! The drive out of town is well worth the visit !
You can spend a lot of time at Craigies ! plan to go for the whole morning or afternoon if you have the kids with you.
There is a fun nature trail to complete, often some farm animals will be needing attention, lambs to feed or a chicken to shoo away.
The café is amazing with a menu full of home cooked foods, which can be eaten while looking over the fabulous views of the Forth river, whether you are sitting inside next to a big picture window or outside on the decking.
The kids can run around the play area just outside the café , and climb over a ‘ real’ tractor and balance their way round the stepping stones.
Pets too are catered for with a large safe kennel area supplied with water and shade.
The shop and deli are well stocked, full of scummy delicacies like home made fudge or locally sourced cheeses. I am a regular customer to their meat counter, the quality and choice of their meat is outstanding!
The staff are friendly and welcoming to everyone especially families !
My son is very shy about joining new things. I knew he would love enjoy-a-ball by the pure nature of what is on offer. After perserverance from the coach, he joined in after a few weeks and absolutely thrives from it. It is a great club especially for little boys who have very few male teachers in their lives- it’s great. Thanks to enjoy-a-ball for advertising with Skootkidz so that we could find out about you.
What a performance- every child that attends the drama classes was invited to be in a stage performance and what a show they put on. There were kids destined for Broadway, as well as children that just standing on the stage was their own personal achievement. I was looking for something for my child that would help develop their confidence and found Helen O'Grady through Skootkidz. My child’s confidence has been enhance by going to drama and long may that continue.
We were looking for little pressies for the ladies of the family (that weren’t to costly), to our delight we found out about Honeypot Ceramics and made the most wonderful bath bombs- the kids had a ball making them, they were a personal gift for family members and it didn’t cost the earth! Thank you Skootkidz
A very clever way of using recycled paper- we made the most beautiful photo frames- adding paper, glue and paint. They were fabulous, unique and in some instances cheaper than a photo frame. There were lots of other crafts that we will have to go back and try another day.
I was invited to meet Orla and Ollie the Oobicoos at HQ Totseat. As soon as walked through the door little Orla was handed to me. She was dressed in a hand me down stripy baby grow and looked gorgeous. With a friendly face a mouldable body that seemed to blend into mine, I immediately took up a pose I thought I had left a good 17 years ago..I had a baby on my hip, before I knew it I was swaying Orla the Oobicoo gently from side to side as if trying to soothe her to sleep !
Oobicos are very light, soft to touch and the ideal size for a toddler to drag around by the hair or arm ,or to be picked up and hugged.
I like the idea of Oobicoos being the right size for getting dressed up in hand me down clothes, I also like the idea that should something sticky (or worst) get spilt onto an Oobicoo they can be popped into the washing machine. They are made out of a soft plush fabric making them soft and cuddly ,perfect for children with eczema for not catching on their dry itchy skin.
I can see an invasion of ooobicoos joining families sitting in hand me down totseat highchairs in cafes across Edinburgh ..
A beautiful rural farm setting, you are relaxed just arriving at Potter Around. We would never have found it if we hadn’t seen it advertised with Skootkidz. There were loads of ceramics for the children to choose from- a very relaxed, productive afternoon.
The Sleeplady
Children’s sleep Clinics available every Friday at The Ceramic experience Ocean Terminal Leith. Reflux, bedtime battles, night terrors, night feeding, early morning wakers are all isssues I can help you with. Booking Essential. Many years ago you helped me out in Edinburgh with my boy's sleeping patterns. I've recommended you to lots of friends since. Now I'm a fortnight away from having my second child so I'm experiencing flashbacks to the first time round and the 9 months of terrible sleeplessness I endured (don't worry - I know each one is different so I'm not dreading this!) and I thought I would drop you a line. "I contacted Linda after nine months of sleepless nights and zombie days to try and resolve my son's sleep patterns. Nothing else had worked. Within a few days she helped to change our lives forever. Her methods weren't stressful or upsetting and suddenly I had the energy to be a better Mum. She also gave me a great deal of support and reassurance that we hadn't damaged our boy forever and shouldn't feel guilty about the small things we hadn't got quite right for him. My son is now 7 and still sleeps for 11 hours a night - a gift that Linda helped us to give him. And she was right: he wasn't scarred by our uselessness at all. He's a very affectionate, bright, happy and confident boy who is very articulate about his needs." Many thanks again for everything you did for ‘H’ and for me.
Sue Light Travel Counsellor
Linda Russell (Director of Skootkidz) I have used Sue personally on a number of occasions. I asked her to arrange flights to go and visit my husband who was working in Macedonia. Sue was very quick to get back tome and when I told everyone in Macedonia what I had paid for my ticket they could not believe it, so one worry that using in independent travel counsellor means you pay more is wrong.
I then asked Sue to arrange my daughter’s tickets when she went on her gap year to Australia I wanted the security of having someone I could speak to who would arrange flights, visas, baggage etc so there would be no hiccups in Australia. Indeed we had to call Sue to ask her to rearrange dates, my daughter wanted to extend her stay and again Sue came up trumps.
I have passed Sue’s details onto a lot of friends and clients and each time she has been highly commended for her services
My daughter has been going to West Lothian Dance World for 4 years, she absolutely loves it. She loves being exposed to different genres of dance, she loves doing routines with her friends, she loves the dance shows, she even loves the dancing exams- most of all she has fun.
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