September 2014

Twins & Multiples Club Newsletter
December 2013
Hi my name is Diane Cole and I am the Clubs and Memberships Officer at TAMBA. I am your first
point of contact with any issues or questions you may have. I also welcome any news or information
from clubs to share in this newsletter, or with families via our Multiple Matters Magazine (circulation
12,000 families) or on our website (over 20,000 visitors each month). You can email me directly at
[email protected]
CLUB MEMBERSHIP
DON’T LET YOUR MEMBERSHIP LAPSE (IT’S FREE)
If you need to renew, there is no charge, just confirm your details using this form and
return it to me at [email protected]
Each club page on our website receives over 200 visitors a month and we refer
interested families from the information we hold on our database, so please renew
now!
We also ask that all our registered clubs sign up to our ‘Best Practice Principles’ so
that we can ensure that all clubs are running to the same standards and practices.
Please complete this form to show your agreement to these principles.
Clubs logo
Make sure potential supporters know you are part of the Tamba family and run
according to the latest best practice principles by using the new logo on your
websites and literature.
IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING WORDING FOR CLUBS
Registered/Affiliated
Could you make sure that on your literature, websites etc you say that you are
registered with TAMBA and not affiliated to as this has certain legal rules and
regulations surrounding it.
Charity/Charitable
The use of the term ‘charitable’ has a legal connotation in England and Wales and
means that you are registered with the charity commission and they can take action
against groups that use it but aren’t registered. To avoid this, you might be wise to
change it to ‘not for profit’. Alternatively, you could register as a charity but while
there are some benefits of doing this it can time consuming and onerous for very
limited reward
Clubs Insurance
We have had a few clubs contact us regarding their own insurance for their venues
and for one off events that they hold
Have any of you managed to get insurance or have you found a way to not need
insurance for your venue??
Would you be happy to share your experiences and any companies you have used
with us?? Please email me [email protected] if you have anything you can
share
Tamba Courses – Club members very welcome
Preparing for Parenthood/Ante-Natal Courses
We run 2 hour Practical Preparing for Parenthood Survival Classes in partnership with
parenting expert Dr Carol Cooper in central London (Cost: £5 per person - open to all). We
also run many more classes with trained facilitators throughout the rest of the UK at a cost
of £5 per person.
We also deliver unique Multiple Pregnancy Ante-Natal Classes (Cost: £139 per couple/2
people).
We are looking for further facilitators to deliver 2 hour seminars to expectant parents
of multiples on a voluntary basis. There will be training in November time in Central
London.
I’m specifically looking for people in Yorkshire, Guildford, Brighton, North West,
Lincoln and Bournemouth.
Please email [email protected] for further details.
Further information and dates can be found on the Tamba website www.tamba.org.uk .
Breastfeeding Peer Supporter Scheme
Tamba (in conjunction with the NCT) has trained a team of twelve breastfeeding peer supporters
who are all mothers of multiples who have breastfed their twins. They have all completed the NCT’s
accredited peer support training and are available to offer mother to mother support and information
to families who wish to breastfeed their multiples.
If you would like to have contact with a Peer Supporter, please e-mail
[email protected] and one of the team will contact you as soon as they are able to.
They are happy to contact you by phone, email or text. Please let them know what you would prefer.
This is a free service.
Please note that the Peer Supporters are all volunteers and may not be able to get back to you
immediately. You can also call Twinline on (freephone) 0800 138 0509, which is open every day from
10am-1pm and 7-10pm
https://www.tamba.org.uk/support/Breastfeeding-Peer-Supporter-Scheme
If you have used the scheme we’d love to have your feed back on how it went and what you
got out of it!
If you are willing to fill in a short questionnaire on your experiences please go to
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FVJRKXF - we appreciate your help!
TAMBA LOTTERY
Win £25,000 on Tamba’s lottery
We’re pooling resources with other charities to
give you a 1 in 63 chance of winning a cash prize!
For the first time ever Tamba will be running its very own lottery via the nation’s charity lottery, Unity.
For just £1 per week you will have the chance to win up to £25,000 and support Tamba’s work at the
same time – 50p from every £1 will come directly to Tamba to help improve the lives of families with
multiples.
Start playing today! Go to www.unitylottery.co.uk/tamba
To take part you must be 16 or over and reside in Great Britain..
The promoter of this Lottery is Keith Reed, Twins & Multiple Births Association, Lower Ground Floor Offices, Hitherbury House, 97
Portsmouth Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 4DL. Lottery Registration Number SL 152. Registered with Guildford Borough Council .
Tamba Twinline
Tamba Twinline our Freephone Helpline 0800 138 0509 is open everyday from 10am – 1pm and
7pm to 10pm
All our listeners have had a multiple birth and are happy to take calls on anything from sleeping,
feeding to school issues or if you are just having a bad day.
Earn ££££££s for your Club by taking part in our fundraising activities
If a member of your club would like to take part then we will complete all the paperwork and split the proceeds
(50:50) they raise with your club. We’ll even set them up with a fundraising website. Please contact
[email protected] as soon as possible to secure your places!
As a club, you’ve nothing to do other then publicise it.
Earn ££££££s for your Club by submitting joint fundraising bids with Tamba
Would you like us to deliver parenting classes to your families covering topics like, behaviour, good enough
parenting, speech and language development, play school and starting primary school? Or would you prefer to
help us provide new services and resources for families in need. Well we can help by writing fundraising bids for
you to submit. We then also liaise with you on what support your families would like and organise the speakers
or additional resources. It’s really very simple – we do all the hard work and your families get all the benefits.
We’ve already raised £1,000s for other clubs this year. Due to high demand we can only process these on a first
come, first served basis so contact us asap if you are interested! Email [email protected] for more
information or to register your club interest!
Tamba’s Helping Hands Appeal
At Helping Hands we often get requests from health professionals asking
for equipment and clothing for families of multiples who are unable to
buy the items themselves.
Currently we have two requests for two families one family have 5 month
old triplets and one is a mother to one month old twins in the Lewisham
and Greenwich area. The family of the triplets would benefit hugely from
a twin or triplet pushchair and clothing suitable for the time of year, the
mother to twins would also benefit from a twin pushchair, a buggy board
and clothing for her baby twin boys.
If you are able to help by providing anything that you think would be of
use to the families and you would be able drop the items at a Sure Start
centre located in the Lewisham area please email
[email protected] with the item details and your contact
number.
Having a Halloween Party?
Why not use it to fundraise for Tamba? Halloween parties for toddlers are great fun and you
could raise funds for Tamba at the same time. You could charge a small entry fee for the
party; sell spooky cakes; guess the number of sweets in a jar; have a pumpkin competition
and of course a best costume competition! Think of all those great photos you could get,
which your local newspaper could be interested in – lots of twins in spooky fancy dress – it
would be great publicity and might help recruit more members to your club.
If you are planning to fundraise for Tamba please let us know or if you simply want to find out
more please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. We would
love to hear from you and see your fabulous photos.
TWINS, TRIPLETS & MORE WEEK
Telford Twins or More
Telford held a teddy bears picnic for Twins triplets and more week and got media coverage!
Read the article here!!
http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/07/08/double-delight-at-telford-teddy-bears-picnicfor-twins/
Thame Twins Club
Thame Twins Club had a picnic to celebrate National twins and multiples week, on Sunday 6th
July.
Durham Twins & Multiples
On the 30th of June 9 local families came together for our annual open day and to celebrate
twins and more week.
We had a Julia Donaldson theme. We hunted for our favourite characters, made our own stick
men and ate Gruffalo cakes.
A good time was had by all including the two families who were attending for the first time.
TWINS, TRIPLETS & MORE WEEK
Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre
Toy Library Twins Group has a double celebration
To mark World Twin day (Thursday 3rd July) and Twins, Multiples and More Awareness
week (July 1st to 7th), Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre (WTLPC) hosted a
party with their twins club to celebrate. The event was attended by 15 families, the
youngest twins being just 2 weeks old.
In April the Toy Library was asked to run a session by parents when a local Children’s
Centre cut their twins club from its programme. Centre Manager Helen Crockford said;
“There is clearly a need for such a group, we currently have 26 families registered with
us. Over the last few months I have seen the benefits that an exclusive group has for
families with twins, the peer support is incredible”.
Having twins or other multiple births is particularly challenging: mothers of twins are
more likely to suffer from post natal depression; parents of twins are more likely to
divorce; and families face significant financial pressures raising two or more babies at
once. The Toy Library has joined the national charity TAMBA, Twins and Multiple Births
Association, who provide advice and support to families and groups.
Chair of the Toy Library Management Committee, Terri Harris is a mother of 3-year-old
twins herself, and says "When our twins were born our eldest son had just turned two.
The first 6 months were the toughest but I was lucky. I had Walthamstow Toy Library
and our local twins groups to support me. They were beacons. I always knew that if I
could get there then a friendly welcome, someone to hold a baby and lots of stimulation
for my eldest would be waiting.
Twin parents are very special; no one can put you at ease like a mother with older
multiples. The encouragement I received from other twin mums helped me to get
through the tough bits and really enjoy my boys”.
The Walthamstow Toy Library twins club is held at the Comely Bank Community Clinic,
46 Ravenswood Road, E17 9LY on the first, second and third Friday of the month from
1-3pm. Visit www.walthamstowtoylibrary.org for more information or TAMBA
www.tamba.org.uk for advice.
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/11326808.Double_trouble_at__twins_club__c
elebration/
SHARING INFORMATION
Cheltenham Twins Group
On Bank holiday Monday, May 5th the Cheltenham Twins Group did a Mayday
March at Pittville Park in Cheltenham in aid of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Scoo-B-Doo neo-natal unit for special care babies.
This was then followed by a Teddy Bears Picnic.
The weather stayed really nice and everyone had a lovely day.
The reason we did this is lots of our babies were in there as soon as they were
born and it was to give something back to the hospital staff and say thank you.
SHARING INFORMATION
PeaPods
An article was written in the local paper about how they’ve set up their club.
Read it here!
http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/news/crewe-south-cheshire-news/crewenantwich-playgroup-help-bring-7319275
Nottingham and Trent Twins and Multiple Birth Club
An article was written in the local paper about the club and their 1000 member.
Read it here!
http://www.nottinghampost.com/Support-network-parents-twins-tripletscelebrates/story-21305750-detail/story.html
Thame Twins Club
Six twin mums from Thame Twins Club in Buckinghamshire took part in the
Race for Life in Oxford on Sunday 13 July. Following a fellow twin mum's recent
cancer diagnosis, they were looking for a way to do something positive to show
their support and raise money for Cancer Research UK. Donations on their
team's Just Giving page currently stand at over £700, with money still coming in.
So while their husbands were on duty at home looking after their children, the
mums headed into Oxford for the 10am race start. The atmosphere was
fantastic and helped everyone to walk, jog or run the 5km course.
Claire Harris, who runs Thame Twins Club, said "We all enjoyed ourselves
today and felt proud to be doing something so worthwhile. Several twin mums
have offered practical support while our friend has her cancer treatment, such
as cooking meals and looking after her children, and it's at times like these when
having a support network is so important."
Thame Twins Club meets every other Thursday morning from 9.30 - 11.30 at
the Baptist Church in Long Crendon. They offer a play and coffee morning for
parents and expectant parents of twins and more.
For further information, please contact:
[email protected] or find Thame Twin Mums on Facebook
SHARING INFORMATION
Durham Twins & Multiples
….had a sports day planned to coincide with the Commonwealth games. Eight
families joined in with egg and spoon races, sack races and beanbag toss. Then
we made our own medals so all the kids had something to take home.
Maidstone & Malling Twins Club
….had their summer party on Friday 25th July.
Over 40 children attended an afternoon of fun and games with a ‘Sports Day’
theme. It was held at our home venue, Beechwood Community Hall, Barming,
Maidstone, ME16 0NG
The party included face painting, party food, sports day games and races, a
craft and colouring corner and climbing, crawling and ride on toys.
At the end of the party everyone received a medal for competing and a party
bag to take home.
SHARING INFORMATION
Cheltenham Twins Group
This summer Cheltenham Twins Group had a couple of outings the first was a
lovely picnic at Pittville Park, Cheltenham where fun was had by all.
We were also very lucky to have a lovely day out at Bredon School, Tewkesbury
where the children were able to use some of the school facilities and also get a
chance to visit the animals on the farm there.
A big thank you to all the staff at the school for organising this and helping us.
We hope to return again very soon.
To visit our Cheltenham Twins Group website go to www.cheltenhamtwins.org
To visit Bredon School's website go to www.bredonschool.org
Lichfield Twins & Multiples Club
We had a good turnout at our family BBQ and despite getting caught in a couple
of showers had a great afternoon! We raised £58 for Helping Hands through our
raffle!!!
SHARING INFORMATION
Telford Twins or More Group
Telford Twins or More Group weren't deterred by bad weather in August when
14 families met for a Picnic & Play Day at Telford Town Park.
Isle of Man Twins Club
The Isle of Man Twins Club have been fundraising recently in order to purchase
a twin cot for the neonatal unit at Nobles hospital. We reached our target
recently with a little help from a local charity Oskars Dreams and the cot is on
order...
We are continuing to fundraise in order to purchase a second twin cot for the
maternity ward so twins that are born not requiring special care also benefit from
this piece of equipment! This fundraising effort is the brain child of one of our
members Marion Taggart who has twins Oscar and Finlay age 4. Marion's
husband Neil completed a sponsored bike ride locally called the lighthouse
challenge and another member of our group, Sarah Elder organised a concert
tea party. The rest of the money was made up of personal and corporate
donations, with the rest having been made up by Oskars Dreams.
The neonatal cot will be officially presented to the hospital in the next few
weeks.
To see coverage of their fundraising efforts visit this link
http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/seeing-double-50-sets-oftwins-support-charity-s-cot-bid-1-6822238
SHARING INFORMATION
Salisbury Twins & More
It was double trouble and double the amount of fun at Penton Lodge, Penton
Mewsey when Salisbury Twins and More Club (S.T.A.M.C) had their first
summer party on Sunday 20th July. Penton Lodge was taken over by an
abundance of children from a few months old to 6 years. More than 25 families
of multiples from Salisbury and the surrounding area spent the afternoon in the
idyllic setting of Penton Lodge. The children were treated to a wonderful music
session run by Jayne from Music Bugs, where they sang, danced and had lots
of fun. Squeals of laughter came from the bouncy castle and paddling pool and
a barbecue was enjoyed by all. At the end of the afternoon a raffle was held with
great prizes kindly donated from various businesses around Salisbury. The aim
of the party was to give families an opportunity to come together and have fun
whilst also raising funds for S.T.A.M.C. The club provides valuable support to
families of multiples, holding bi-monthly coffee mornings, weekend outings and
ante-natal classes. Danielle and Guy Rolfe of Penton Lodge, are parents of
twins themselves. Danielle was a regular visitor to Salisbury Twins and More
Club in her girls early days and expressed how much support she had received
from the club. The whole family were delighted to offer us their home for our
summer fundraiser as a way of support and to give something back.
Stevenage & Knebworth Twins Club
Nearly New Sale – Sunday 19th October 2014
Chells Park Pavilion, Gresley Way, Stevenage,
Baby & Under 6 Clothes, Toys, Equipment & More
£1 Entrance (Free parking)
Cake Stall
For more info email [email protected]
http://www.stevenageandknebworthtwinsclub.com/
SHARING INFORMATION
SHARING INFORMATION
Stevenage and Knebworth Twins Club
This is the Stevenage and Knebworth twins club on our annual summer outting
at paradise wildlife park
Eastbourne Twins Club
….met up at Blackberry farm in August. They had a good turn out with 15
families coming along. Twins ranging from 2 weeks old to 7 years. Everyone
had a great time!
Forest Twins & Triplets Club
For anyone in or near East London / Essex ....
Forest Twins & Triplets Club are holding their Nearly New Sale on Saturday 4th
October 2014 from 10.30am-12.30pm at Wanstead Church Hall, Christ Church,
Wanstead Place, Wanstead, E11 2SW
£1 Entry
For more information or to register as a seller please contact
[email protected]
SHARING INFORMATION
TwinAbility
TwinAbilty Parent and toddler group Cardiff held their Twins Picnic in the park
on 31st August at Cosmeston lake. We were very lucky to have lovely weather
an about 15 parents showed up. It was the week of the NATO summit in Cardiff
so we had a lovely little Red Arrow display too. Everyone had a lovely time.
TwinAbility meets up every Tuesday at 10am in Mambos in Cardiff. Contact
Omera Khan for further info 07729200454 or join our fb page.
Matlock Multiples
Matlock Multiples had a small gathering for a picnic at Chatsworth on 23 August.
We had 6 sets of twins.
SHARING INFORMATION
Edinburgh & Lothians Twins & Multiples Club
The Edinburgh & Lothians Twins & Multiples Club held a summer BBQ at
Vogrie Country Park on 23rd August 2014. Apart from a brief hailstones
shower, the weather was kind to us and approximately 20 families braved a
typical Scottish summer day (with wellies and raincoats handy!) and joined in
the fun and games. After a few well done sausages and burgers, the kids
enjoyed playing games in the park with twins ranging from 6 months to 4 years
old and 12 month old triplets came along with their three older brothers! It was a
fun event and a great chance for the various ELTMC toddler groups to all get
together and catch up, as we have 8 groups spread across Edinburgh & the
Lothians. We are now planning our Halloween party before the big Christmas
event which tends to see over 90 twins wanting to sit on Santa's knee!
SHARING INFORMATION
Leighton Buzzard Twins and Multiples Club
Our summer party was held on Sunday 10th August.
It was planned to be a garden party in one of our members garden, but with
"Hurricane Bertha" threatening to drown us all out we had to book a hall the day
before.
We had a great turn out with a record two triplet familes joining us.
We had party games, and face painting, and plenty of naughty and nice food!!
A great time was had by all!!!
Twins at Totstime
Lots of fun was had by 29 of our Twins at Totstime families during the 3rd
Anniversary Party on 18th August, especially with our HUGE pass the parcel
game! Thanks to all who attended and helped throughout the session!!
SHARING INFORMATION
Dulwich and District Twins Club
Dulwich and District Twins Club Nearly New Sale
Saturday 27th September 2014
10am-12am at St Faiths Centre, bottom of Red Post Hill, Hern Hill/North
Dulwich,
Refreshments available.
Profits to King's College Hospital SCBU.
Eastbourne Twins Club
…..had a great walk at Abbots wood to celebrate National Twin Day
SHARING INFORMATION
Telford Twins or More
Mums from the Telford Twins or More Group left their little ones at home and headed out for a fun
night!!
CLUB NEWS
East Kilbride Twins and Triplets Club
Here at EK Twins and Triplets, the club has been going from strength to strength and
2014 looks to be a positive year for the club in many ways. There have been many
new mums and twins joining and regularly attending our weekly club. We have also
had the pleasure of having some younger and older siblings come along to the club,
which has been a positive experience for all and promotes the club’s ‘family friendly’
environment. Some of these mums have come along to the club as a result of the
information meetings that our members hold at Wishaw General Hospital for expectant
mums and dads. Our committee are in regular contact with the hospital and organise
the meetings as a means to support and help expectant parents with any anxieties they
have over the birth, what to buy, how to cope with multiples and any other questions
they may have.
We provide a fun and safe environment for all the kids to be able to explore and play at
an age appropriate for each child. We have introduced other fun activities for the
children and parents to enjoy together. Our organised ‘craft days’, where our kids get
great enjoyment getting really messy making valentines, mothers and fathers day
cards, have been a great success. Mums were very happy to see their children
participate in the activities which was great for the kid’s development in many ways
such as hand-eye coordination, working in a group environment, encouraging creativity
and confidence building.
Another firm favourite was our ‘cookie decorating day’. Some mums brought
homemade cookies to the club for the kids to decorate. This presented some similar
developmental opportunities as the craft days. Both little and big kids enjoyed their time
getting messy and then eating their tasty ‘works of art’.
Our Easter party was a firm favorite with our twins and triplets, as they got to enjoy
some activities with their other siblings, who were on holiday from school. The kids got
creative making cards and decorating biscuits for their family. They got to join in an
easter egg hunt, followed by the much anticipated egg and spoon race. To finish the
day off, the little ones got to choose their favorite easter animal mask, from a bunny,
lamb and chick. It was the cutest thing ever, a little easter farm in our club hall and
everyone went home with a big bunny smile on their face.
The club continue to have family days out, which allows partners to come along and
meet the other mums, dads, multiples and siblings. We organise family days at the
Burnbank Centre, near Hamilton, which is a great, safe, play environment that's hired
just for the club, so is ideal for the little one’s first softplay experience. The play frame
is specifically aimed at pre-school and younger, with a ball-pit and other features
including sound effects to give an all-round excellent sensory experience. This is a big
hit with our members and is always a fun day for all; so great to see the dads,
grandparents and siblings come along and join in the family fun.
We recently had our ‘annual family day out’ at Heads of Ayr Farm. Thankfully, we took
the Scottish weather into consideration and selected the farm as it also had great
indoor activities, just in case. We were not blessed with great weather on the day, but it
did not dampen the fun for any of our families. The children got to meet and feed
animals such as goats, donkeys, camels, horses, before going inside to enjoy the
softplay.
CLUB NEWS
East Kilbride Twins and Triplets Club
Our mums are hard working and deserve a night off now and again, so we have
organised days and nights out which have been enjoyed by all who attended. These
nights out have given our mums a chance to chat to each other and relax, while having
some fun which does not include softplay! We organise these days/nights in Glasgow
City centre to ensure it is accessible for all mums who want to join in. Our nights out
have included afternoon tea at the Radisson Blu, dinner and dancing at Arta and more
casual meet ups in Merchant City for cocktails. We feel these events are important to
mums and we will continue to organise these events.
Fundraising was high on the agenda this year and we organised a sponsored walk,
buggy push, or scooter/bike ride. This took place at the James Hamilton Heritage park
in East Klibride. This year it was great to see the children being involved in the
fundraising along with their parents and it was a great family day. The parents and kids
enjoyed walking round the loch, stopping off to feed the swans and ducks along the
way, which helped make it more fun for the kids. The kids were rewarded with stickers
at the end and it boosted their self esteem by being involved. There was minimal
organising required for the event and no outlay, all funds raised went directly to the club
and it was highly successful in boosting our finances.
The club website is currently undergoing a makeover, with a slick new style topped off
with a new logo. The main consideration, when changing the site, was to ensure it was
child centred and that it would have areas for parents to get information and support.
We are including a photo gallery on the site, to display pictures of days out, activities,
parties and also to show off our kid’s achievements.
We are in the process of showcasing our ‘Class of 2014’ who have graduated from
nursery to school. We are going to display the photos of the kids graduating and in
their first day at school. This will be the first time the gallery will be used and what better
way to do this than by celebrating such a milestone for the twins and triplets.
We’re keen to evolve the website and, over time, we hope to introduce family profiles,
recipies, members of the month, breastfeeding info/support, top tips (potty training etc),
recommending books and a ‘for sale’ section. Built so that it’s easy to edit and update it
will be constantly reviewed and kept fresh by the committee, with contributions welcome
from the whole club.
The club’s Facebook page has received fantastic positive reviews from our mums too.
There are regular updates on what’s happening at the club, photos of activities and this
year we have introduced birthday messages for our kids on the page. As social media
goes from strength to strength, the activity on the Facebook page has soared and we
will continue to use this as a communication and advertising tool for the club.
Positive experiences are made at East Kilbride Twins and Triplets Club, for all who
attend. We hope to continue the growth of our club, to ensure that families of multiples
are able to have access to information, support and the opportunity to learn from each
other while sharing and caring.
CLUB NEWS
East Kilbride Twins and Triplets Club
CLUB NEWS
Bath Multiples
Back in July, with all the usual groups and clubs pausing for the summer, I'm sure there were
plenty of mums, dads, grandparents and nannies looking at their diaries and wondering what to
do with energetic children to entertain. At least the multiples families of Bath could be sure of at
least one activity per week with Bath Multiples Group. Now it's September and we can look back
at a summer filled with fantastic adventures!
We started with a visit to Bath City Farm. This little gem of a place is perched on the side of a
steep hill overlooking our beautiful city. It's run by volunteers and there's no entrance fee, but
they ask for donations in an honesty box. There are pigs, goats, chickens and ducks that you
can feed, and two miniature horses, cows and sheep grazing in the field. There's also a great
sandpit and fort to play in if you've got any energy left. We had lovely weather and a lot of fun!
We were lucky with the weather at the beginning of August too as we met in the Botanical
Gardens at Royal Victoria Park for a picnic. It was a great turn out with lots of babies enjoying
the shade and toddlers running around making nature pictures.
Things didn't go quite so well the following week and our planned trip to Hope Nature Centre
near Bradford on Avon was a wash-out. We'll have to reschedule it for half-term as it's a great
place!
Thank goodness things were looking better for the following Saturday as we'd organised a big
picnic up at Dyrham Park, a National Trust house, park and garden just north of Bath. There's
plenty there for all ages and the children loved exploring the gardens and eating ice cream while
the babies relaxed on the lawn under a shady tree. We got a few puzzled looks from the other
visitors with so many twins and triplets around, and one man asked if it was some kind of
convention!
The following Thursday three (fool)hardy families met at Alexandra Park. This is a very
multiples-friendly play area as it's small and fenced with only one gate to guard and lots of
toddler sized play equipment - including four baby swings, so not too much waiting for your turn!
There's free parking all round the park which is a huge luxury in Bath. What a shame that the
August day we picked could have been November - brrrrr!
With the memory of our frozen toes fresh in our minds and a forecast of heavy showers for the
whole day we decided to cancel the next planned meet-up which was another park play and
picnic, this time in Keynsham Memorial Park. As it happened there was quite a bit of sun in
between the showers and we'd probably have been okay.
Our final meet up was back at Dyrham Park, making the most of the fact that their regular
Tuesday morning Toddler Trails started a week before our Tuesday morning bumps, babies and
toddler group. After a chilly, misty start - autumn is on the way - the sun came out and we had a
lovely time singing songs, following animal tracks, collecting seeds, spotting things and exploring
the orchard. We found the energy for the hill-climb from the house up to Old Lodge play area for
a picnic lunch and a play on the tractors, cart and hay-bale maze. Finally we hiked back towards
the car park to be rewarded with a sighting of the deer and an ice cream at the end of our
journey.
RESOURCES
If you require any of our Twinline cards, postcards, membership forms, posters or
publications catalogues, to pass to your members, please contact me
[email protected].
INFORMATION
Thank you for all the information you have sent in so far about your clubs and the
events you are having.
Please keep emailing me with any information, events or news that you have about
your club so that we can put it into our next magazine. Please send any information to
[email protected]
INFORMATION ON WEBSITE
If any of your club details change, please e-mail [email protected] in order that
we can amend our website and paper records. You may want to check your club’s
details on our website to ensure that they are current.
Newsletters
I wanted to say a huge thank you to all the clubs that have sent me their newsletters over the past few
months – its great to see what you are getting up and seeing articles from your members!!! Please
keep them coming in!
Please do add in our registered club logo and our contact details in your newsletter so we can get our
resources to as many people as possible.
Our contact details are: Tamba, Lower Ground Floor, Hitherbury House, 97 Portsmouth Road,
Guildford, GU2 4DL, 01483 304442, www.tamba.org.uk and twinline is 0800 138 0509