Microsoft XBox 360

I've never really gotten on with games consoles, more specifically, their controllers.  That was until the Nintendo Wii came along which changed things for me and I became an avid gamer for several years until the games became tiresome and the Wii's popularity slowly dwindled.

Give me a keyboard and a mouse and I can cope - give me a controller with fewer buttons/keys and I just don't get on with them.  That was until I got hold an XBox 360 controller that I used on my laptop to play Duke Nukem Forever (yeah I know, it's not a great game but I only paid £5 for it secondhand).

I found I got on quite well with the controller so I finally bit the bullet and last month I purchased an XBox 360 console along with a couple of games - GTA IV, NCIS and Flatout Ultimate Carnage.

The NCIS game is a lot weaker than I expected and it's a bit of a 'no brainer' so I'll keep it for when I just want to play a game without having to think too much.  Flatout Ultimate Carnage is a fantastic game with lots of cars, tracks and crashing to have fun with.  GTA IV is just as good as the previous versions but I haven't done many of the actual missions as of yet as I just keep driving around trying out the different vehicles I come across.

All-in-all I'm having fun with my XBox and the next game I will be getting will be one of the Raving Rabbids games, one works on the standard console but the other requires the Kinect Sensor which I don't have yet, but looks like a great way of playing games!

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Casio LK-120 Key Lighting Keyboard

I've always wanted to learn to play a musical instrument but I've never gotten around to it, that was until today!  I am now the proud owner of a Casio LK-120 digital keyboard.

The reason I went for this keyboard is because it has full-size keys, was in my price range and has light-up keys to help you learn any of the built-in songs.

I want to learn how to play properly so I've picked up a book and found some good videos on YouTube.  I plan to do things properly so I'll be starting by learning all the scales rather than just memorising how to play certain songs.

From reading the book that I have I have already learnt about pentatonic scales and what a piano score it.  Separate from the book I have also learnt how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star using the Casio keyboards built-in teaching method with the light-up keys so you know exactly what keys you should be pressing.   This way I get the best of both worlds, I'm learning to play properly but I'm also able to play a little tune so I can feel like I've achieved something as learning the scales properly is going to take some time...

  

I gave myself a budget of £100 so the Casio LK-120 was just what I was looking for and when I saw that it had light-up keys that help you learn to memorise songs I knew it was the keyboard for me!  It even has a small display telling you what fingers on what hand you should be using to play the different notes with.

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Wicksteed Park Recieves Grant To Restore Lake

Congratulations to the award winning Wicksteed Park on being awarded a £1m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the fantastic lake that it has.

It was created between 1919 and 1921 and has got to be the biggest and best attraction that Northamptonshire has to offer!  People from all over the UK come to this fantastic Park that is about to get even better thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund's grant.

It was a childhood favourite of mine and I still visit the park to this day - in fact I was there only 2 weeks ago!

One thing a lot of people don't realise it that Wicksteed Park is actually a charity.  No 'fat cats' here, as much money as possible (after wages etc) go straight back in to the upkeep of the park which offers a large Free play area, some great short walks and if you purchase some tickets you can even get a ride on the train that goes around the lake that is going to be restored!

A great day out for all the family.  More details here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-18739909

http://www.wicksteedpark.co.uk/

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