A day out in London thanks to Matalan

I was really excited to be invited to the Matalan Movie Club event on Saturday in London. It sounded perfect - a private cinema viewing of Finding Nemo for the children, followed by a chance to meet some other bloggers and an opportunity to view the new Matalan Autumn/Winter collection over drinks and canapés.

This was definitely a trip which was just for me and Harry. London is a bit of a trek for us on the train, so I knew that I wanted to make a full day of it. We set off bright and early, and headed straight to the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge. The Bulgari Hotel has its own cinema, and we congregated in the foyer before heading inside to watch the film, greeted with a platter of delicious cookies and popcorn. I'm really bad at recognising the people that I talk to on-line, but fortunately a couple of lovely bloggers recognised me, and we were able to have a chat before the film started!

We've watched Finding Nemo a number of times before, although I'm not sure that I've actually ever sat down and watched it all in one go! It's a great film, and was really enjoyable in such comfortable surroundings. Harry was as good as gold and was completely absorbed.

During the film it was funny to see that while the children were watching the film, the bloggers were busy tweeting away! After the film we had a chance to browse through some new pieces from the Matalan range. In my goody bag I received a check shawl from The Statements range of key staples which is keeping me warm while I write this post, and I was most impressed to look it up and find that it's only £10, a bargain!

After the event I took Harry just around the corner for his first visit to Harrods. We found the toy department and he was happily entertained here for quite a while, exclaiming loudly over all the large Playmobil and Lego sets on display and trying out some magic snow.

Then we walked down the road to the Science Museum, where he's spent many happy hours in the past. Unfortunately his favourite area, the Garden in the basement, was closed for refurbishment, but he absolutely loves the 'Big Machine' in Launchpad where children can spent ages pouring white plastic chips in and out of tubes and lifting them up with pulleys. We must have spent an hour there before heading next door to the Natural History Museum to see our favourite areas - the dinosaurs, the blue whale and the escalator up through the centre of the Earth.

It was nearly closing time, but I just couldn't drag Harry away, he kept seeing new things which caught his eye and asking me what they were, and what each display was telling us. Eventually he began to flag, but he managed to recover enough energy for some pizza and ice cream, before a quick march back to Victoria Station and the long train journey home.

We had such a great day, and I'm so grateful to Matalan for the invite and giving me the opportunity to spend some fantastic quality time with Harry.

We visited London for the #matalanmovieclub event and we received a goody bag.