Tag Archives: Spice Time Credits

Museums & heritage

Castle Coch Visit by Sian Thomas

1 Comment

Today I was fortunate enough to finally find a use that interested me for my amassing amounts of Spice Time Credits. Castle Coch: somewhere I haven’t been for, I’m relatively sure, at least ten years? Either way, last I recall of the circularly patterned cobblestones and the cubbyholes and tiny doors was when I was definitely more of a child than I am now. I remember loving it there, and I know I loved it this time, too. Seeing it when driving along the motorway had always been one thing – on your way to somewhere else and gazing up at is wondering how it fit there and why it was always such a friendly presence – but going there again was a nice change, and it felt good to traipse up and down and around the staircases and all along its little balconies, finding tiny doors to go through and seeing all the different rooms.

My favourite one was the kitchen. Roped off, of course, but still full of things I wanted to put my hands on: tiny appliances, teeny kettles, the smallest and thinnest baby highchair I’ve certainly ever seen. I think mostly, though, that I enjoy the way the rooms look: round, with small dewy windows, occasionally a lovely arc that I would find immense pleasure in cuddling down into with a book or a mug or something to watch. I wish that was something I could’ve done in that castle the most: find myself a nook to nestle in and stay there from then on.

Also, the cafe was great. Cute little tables arranged in one of the more dim castle rooms; my one slightly elevated and under a window. The cafe was full of ladybugs – which in all honesty, I thought was lovely. I was having tea and enjoying having one or two scuttle over my hand and on to the little flowers on the tables.

Visiting the castle was good, honest fun; and had me in a lot of feelings by the time I was done. Like largely appreciative, hugely valuing aestheticism (I know the castle had a purpose whatever time that may have been – but now I just think it’s so lovely to look at and wander through and if that’s the most fun I have and I’m not hurting anyone, I can’t see much bad in that).
Overall a really nice day out! Definitely a good time for any age

Film & TV

Review The Red Turtle by Jonathan Evans

1 Comment


Young Critic Jonathan Evans used Spice Time Credits to access this performance at Chapter cinema. He earned the Time Credits reviewing for Get the Chance.
“What is a man? If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet.
out of 5 stars (4 / 5)
The Red Turtle is the kind of movie that doesn’t get made often. A movie that exists, sure of what it is and never attempts to explain itself.
I couldn’t even tell you what the “target demographic” for the movie is. It’s an animated movie, typically for children, but there’s nothing cute or funny happening, nothing scary or brutal either so not specifically for adults. Could this just be a movie for people?
The plot for this movie is so minimal. Man wakes on a shore and finds that he is stranded on an island. What does he do then? Survive and try to get back to civilisation. He tries building a raft but it keeps getting destroyed by a large red turtle (hence the title). This leads to other things and eventually he is joined by a woman and then a son comes along.

This movie exists without any spoken words of dialogue, only movements and images. The lead gives off the occasional huff and puff and a scream here and there, but no full words. This means that the visuals have to ring with absolute clarity, whatever the Man is doing or where he is has to be immediately obvious. Without the dialogue it must fall on the sound and music to keep us engaged on the audio level. Every swish of the waves, footsteps on sand or rock is perfectly clear and adjusted to the right level. Laurent Perez Del Mar delivers an emotional and at other times ethereal score that infuses itself so well with the images onscreen that the two harmonise in the most beautiful way.
The drawing style, particularly with the people, is more European. Like the works of Herge, thick, clear lines with black dots for eyes and vivid colours. The animation is constantly smooth and on-model. It is the backgrounds that have sharpest rendering to them, we are able to see every leaf on the trees and plants that grow on the ground as well as seeing way into the background.
This movie, I admit, a challenge to write for. It is so simple, to experience the product is the most thrilling part but to deeply describe it is indeed the challenge. It simply operates at such a minimal, smooth passe.
Who is this movie for? What was it’s purpose? Well it was beautiful and technically very impressive. But who exactly do I think the marked for it is and how to promote it? But maybe we don’t always need that from this medium that can deliver us so much. Maybe sometimes we are allowed to sit back and see and hear a journey and simply be moved by it.

Uncategorized

Spice Time Credits- The day I went from Londoner to Tourist

Leave a comment


As some of you may or may not know, Get The Chance Wales has a lovely relationship with Spice Time Credits.

As reviewers we earn our credits from our reviews and they can be used for pretty much anything.

Today is my last day in London for a while as I traipse off to America for a bit. As a self confessed Londoner of 2 1/2 years I thought I’d be a tourist for the day and use my Time Credits.

I previously took my parents to the Tower of London – astounded at the money saved and value of experience we got from this.

getthechance.wales/2016/08/17/spending-time-credits-tower-london-hannah-goslin/

Today I saw parts of London I had never seen- views from the MBNA clipper that floated us down the Thames, going crazy fast when water seemed more open – which was tonnes of fun.

The famous Tower Bridge- looking down at the small ant like people below through the glass floor. Queasy feeling this experience but ever so cool none the less.

As most Londoners know – most things are within walking distance. So I trotted up to The Monument. An almost non recognisable statue in a city of architecture, The Monument is to commemorate the Great Fire of London.  Inside are 311 steps – and boy does it feel it! While I’m hardly fit, even the fittest struggled but it’s well worth it for the beautiful view at the top and the certificate you get at the end for climbing it.

Finally a short distance away is St Paul’s Cathedral. Well recognised and providing cameos in plenty of TV and films, it is a highlight of London. Inside is ornate and rich, the ceilings phenomenal and gold, with beautiful imagery. To reach the very high up whispering gallery in the main dome, it’s another never ending staircase but very much worth it for what you see.

Time Credits have allowed me to experience parts of London I do not think I ever would have chosen to see on my own and felt like a wonderful reward.

http://www.justaddspice.org/get-involved/get-started-with-time-credits

Uncategorized

Review Zone Play Centre by Kate Richards

Leave a comment


Get the Chance has a broad definition of cultural provision. Some of our team are parents or carers and may access theatre, soft play, cinema and leisure facilities. We are also part of the Spice Time Credits network. The Zone play centre supports Spice Time Credit spend.
Out of my Comfort Zone
I have to be honest, when I opened the door of Zone Play Centre on a drizzly Sunday afternoon my heart sank. I’m not a huge fan of indoor soft play centres at the best of times, so the noise that assaulted me and the orange-tinged glow of the artificial lights combined with the total lack of windows, was almost enough to make me turn back…..but breaking a promise to my 3 year old was not an option.
However, first impressions can be wrong. The first positive was the cost – Zone is considerably cheaper than some other options in Cardiff (£4.00 for under 4s compared to £10.50 for the same time in another well-known venue near the city centre).
Zone is also part of the Spice Time Credits Network,costing  2 Time Credits per child.

There is a link to the South East Wales Time Credits Spend brochure below
http://www.justaddspice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/SE-Wales-Spend-Issue-2-2016-Digital-update.pdf
The second positive was the amount of seating and its proximity to the play areas; yes it makes it louder and a bit more cramped, but the grown-ups in our party were able to sit fairly comfortably with a drink, whilst maintaining sight of the children as they played, and this even though it was very busy and had two private parties going on simultaneously.
Our party consisted of 3 adults, two 3 year olds and an 11 month old (who got in for free with his paying older sibling), and I have to say that this was one of the best suited play centres for children of those ages that I have been to. The frames are not so high and so big that the 3 year olds couldn’t cope on their own, or were at risk of going too high and getting stuck out of reach. Even better was the dedicated area for the babies. Most soft plays I have been to have an area for little ones, but often these consist of a ball pit, and some moveable soft blocks or shapes – most of which tend to be still too big or heavy for them to do anything with. Zone however had a basket of small toys (which if necessary you can take back to your table to amuse them whilst you deal with your other little one and supervise snack time or whatever). There was also a play kitchen and wendy house for them to explore as well as the usual soft balls and blocks that you would expect to find in a soft play centre. This section for the very youngest children is located in the middle of the larger frames, so you can sit comfortably in there with the baby, and still see (or be seen) by the pre-schoolers playing on the main frame – ideal for parents coping with two or more children of different ages. Again, whilst at first it seemed a bit cramped and noisy for the little ones to be in the middle of the space – it turned out to be very practical for us.
The other positive for my son, were the cars and bikes. He’s happy to clamber up a play frame and dive down some slides for a period of time, but he will spend hours riding around on a little trike or sitting in a ‘Cosy Coupe’ car, so he was absolutely delighted at the number of those available – even at a peak time on a very busy weekend.
We only bought cold drinks, so I can’t really comment on the refreshments on offer at Zone, but one facility we did make plenty of use of were the toilets. It’s not a pleasant topic, but it’s an important factor for any parent like me, with a recently potty-trained toddler who struggles to prioritise trips to the toilet over playing with his friends, and like most kids of this age can easily misjudge the time it takes to get from the top of a play frame, to Mummy and then on to the toilet, so we were frequent visitors. Again I was pleasantly surprised. Whilst not the most modern facilities I’ve seen, the baby changer had a clean, soft mat on it – and I think there were even wipes available (though those could have been left by another customer I suppose), and in the ladies, there was actually enough space within the cubicles to attend to my 3 year old without me having to train as a contortionist beforehand.
By the end of our visit, whilst pleased to step into daylight and give my ringing ears a rest from the cacophony within, I had to admit, that the kids had a great time, and for young children like ours Zone play centre is very well suited to their needs.
Zone Playcentre
http://zoneplaycentre.co.uk/
Entry prices
Under 8 months Free
9 – 11 Months £1 (Free if accompanied by an older paying child)
1 – 4 Years – £4.00
5 – 12 Years – £5.00
Time restrictions of 2 hours play will apply on busy periods.
Opening Times
Open 7 days a week
Open from 9:15 am to 6pm Monday to Friday
Saturdays 10am to 6pm
Sundays 11am to 5pm from 1st February 2017
No admittance an hour before closing from 1st February 2017
Kitchen Opening Times
Open 7 days a week
Open from 11:00am – 5:00pm Monday to Saturday
Last orders 4.45pm
Sundays from 11.00am – 4.00pm from 1st February
Last orders 3.45pm