Manchester Blog

Circus Funtasia at Wythenshawe Park

★★★★★


Imagine a world without no internet.. Circus Funtasia have created just that indeed. They are back with their UK tour, showcasing a family friendly circus, featuring top talented performances and even dangerous world class stunts. A circus with a modern twist which is suitable for all family members, whether you are 3 years old or 103 years old.. and let’s face it who doesn’t love the circus? When Rosie at Circus Funtasia contacted me to invite* me to the show at Wythenshawe Park (thanks Rosie!), I just couldn’t say no and with the invite accepted I was ready to check out my first circus of the year and Circus Funtasia’s first UK destination of their 2020 tour. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Going to the circus is a treat for anybody and when entering the Big Top, I was just as excited as the little kids running around getting their faces painted ahead of the big event. Inside the circus tent, it was very clean and tidy and had the usual ringside and tier seating areas, along with a candy floss stand, face painting and another stand for popcorn, hot food and hot and cold drinks. It was also great to see how friendly the team are and they do all really work so hard. Not only to welcome guests and get the set ready but some were also part of the actual cast, taking on two performances each day.

THE GEEK
Not your typical clown, Circus Funtasia is modern, sleek and is definitely ‘down with the kids’, with their very own ‘Geek’ frontman. He kept the crowd entertained throughout the show and at some point took part in juggling with fire batons and other stunts himself. He was a great alternative to a traditional clown, very funny for all ages and was very much a part of the overall show.
GLOBE OF DEATH
As scary as ever, the death-defying globe of death took centre stage and not only two but three motorbikes took the plunge inside the metal caged globe, with members of the cast actually stood in the middle.. terrifying but you can’t actually stop watching. Travelling at up to 30-40mph, around and over each other and at one point in the dark, it is definitely an act not to be missed.

AERIAL AND ACROBAT ACTS
There were various acrobatic acts throughout the show, taking place at the highest point of the circus tent, including silks, aerial ropes and even walking upside down across monkey bar hoops. Each act really did showcase the talent of the Circus Funtasia cast and shows how hard they work.

WHEEL OF DEATH
Bringing Peaky Blinders to the Big Top and keeping with the modern circus theme was the Wheel of Death. Taking on the Wheel of Death at terrifying speeds, skipping, swinging in and out of the wheel single handed and at one point blind folded, had not only me but most of the audience watching in shock and at one point, the poor little boy sat near me was shouting for them to stop.



KNIVES, FIRE, MAGIC AND.. HARLEY QUINN
Danger seemed to be top of the list at Circus Funtasia and the level of danger was taken to the next level. Not only was there a fire eater, taking on dangerous fire eating stunts, but also their very own Harley Quinn (yes Harley Quinn was there!) juggling with hoops, fire batons and even with knives whilst riding around on a segway.. danger alert! The genie performed some amazing magic and there was even a foot juggler on a bike, not only juggling footballs but also fire!

OVERALL
A circus not just for kids but for adults too.. I throughly enjoyed Circus Funtasia and so did my family. There is something for everybody to see and enjoy and the cast all work very hard. The show is not only modern and contemporary but at some points it has you on the edge of your seat. I would definitely recommend, whatever your age,  booking tickets to visit Circus Funtasia when they arrive at a venue near you. Be prepared for an epic and family fun, actioned pack afternoon.

You can catch the show at Wythenshawe Park until 01 March 2020 or follow where Circus Funtasia will be performing next here. 


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This isn’t a long blog post but just a quick update as to what I’ve been up to recently!

Unfortunately my blog and Twitter are not apart of my full time job and I very rarely get time off from where I actually work. The very rare occasion where I did have a few days off work was a few weeks ago and I took the opportunity to travel to and spend the day in York. The weather was lovely, it was part of my mums long birthday weekend and overall it was a lovely day out and if you're a Harry Potter fan.. which most of my family are.. then York is a must see place for you to visit.

Tucked away in a side street of York is an 'oldie worldie' street known as 'The Shambles'. It has won awards for its picturesque views and it known as one of the best preserved medieval streets, where many of the buildings date back to the late fourteenth and fifteenth Century. Before The Shambles became more of a destination for tourists, it was originally a street where local butchers used to gather and sell their cuts of meat to the locals. Some of the buildings also had slaughterhouses at the back and you can still see some of the hooks where they would display and hang their meats to sell.

The street itself is a very narrow street, with cobbles and little shops on either side. The Shambles is one of the UK’s most popular visited streets which attracts tourists, shoppers and a quite a lot of school trips and now consists of souvenir shops, cafes, a bakery and a few Harry Potter themed shops. There is also an all year round Christmas shop! There is also a local market, street performers and little cafes, bars, shops and eateries close by.



Overall, I had a really nice day and the weather was amazing. It was very busy as it was nearing the end of the school summer holidays but I would definitely recommend a visit to The Shambles, or even to York itself. It’s a really nice place and a great family day out.

Raise your hand if you think last year flew by.. it literally whizzed by me and Christmas and New Year came and went within seconds. At the start of this year, I published a mini 2018 goals post which you can read here and as part of my goals for this year I want to not only work on posting more content to my blog but I also want to try and do a few giveaways. So it’s the beginning of January, people are hating being back at school, work and generally have the winter blues.. I thought now would be the perfect time to run a little giveaway on my blog.. everybody loves a mug right?!

I was kindly given a selection of goodies from Scribbler and thought it would be a great idea to pass some of their generosity onto one of my followers. Firstly though I would like to tell you a little bit about Scribbler and what they do.


Scribbler offers a large range of personalised cards, stationary and gifts that you can order online or purchase from your nearest Scribbler store. The cards they have to offer cover one of the largest ranges I’ve seen online and the range that they offer is unique, innovative and bang on trend. There are some really funny cards and gifts available on the website (see the photo above and you will understand the humour Scribbler brings). I definitely recommend giving their website a look by clicking here.

Anyway let’s cut to the chase.. I want to give this lovely (but funny!) mug to one of my followers. If any of you mugs would like to enter my giveaway, it's easy peasy. There are a few terms and conditions at the bottom of this blog post which you should read but other than that it's simple... the winner will be picked at random and the mug in the picture above will be posted out.

To enter this giveaway you must:
1. Be following on at least one of the following - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or BlogLovin'.
2. This giveaway is open to the UK only.
3. The mug will be posted out as secure as possible but any damage in transit will not be my fault.
4. Giveaway will run for 3 weeks from 13th January 2018 until 3rd February 2018. 
5. The winner of the giveaway will be picked randomly by Rafflecopter.
6. Winner to be emailed. If no reply within 48 hours than another winner will be chosen at random.

You can enter the giveaway below using Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and keep an eye out for future giveaways!

The blogging community comes in all shapes and sizes.. some are female, some are male, the age range of a blogger can vary, the niche area that a blogger focuses on can also be different and some blog full time and some during their spare time. I am wanting to increase the amount of blogs that I post but blogging doesn't just mean writing and posting, it involves a lot more.. brainstorming, planning, writing, editing, scheduling for social media, speaking with companies and brands etc..



With a full time job it can often make it extremely difficult dedicating time to not only developing my blog but also creating read-worthy content on a regular basis. I've noticed that many people are in the same boat and are asking how do you blog whilst working a full time job?! 

Also the fact that last week was actually National Work Life Week (2nd October - 6th October 2017) it's time to ask the blogging community what tips they have for blogging whilst working a full time job and I've found some amazing bloggers willing to offer their top tips and invaluable advice..

VirtualWombat.com launched in January 2017 so I'm still very new by some standards. I cover pretty much anything depending on what's tickled my fancy. I like to write a good comedy post and have a laugh, as well as covering nerdy stuff, gaming, tech and parenting topics. There are usually 3 or more new posts and articles a week.

What difficulties have you faced blogging and working full time?
It can be hard finding the time to get everything you'd like to do done. Especially when the inevitable pressures of a profession are at their highest. So far I've managed to keep a relative balance between working, blogging and family life with a bit of leisure thrown in for good measure.

What strategies do you use to help with blogging / planning / scheduling? 
I just use the notes app on my iPhone to record ideas. I write when I feel like it and don't force a specific schedule on myself. I also use an app called social oomph to help with scheduling content for Twitter.

How do you make time away from both work and blogging?
I like to game a bit and I'm a pretty accomplished digital artist. I don't share my pictures very often though which is something I'm working on changing at the moment (Keep an eye on the site late October). When we have spare time at the weekends I like to try and get out for some fresh air and photography too!

What are your top tips for maintaining a successful work-life-blog balance?
Don't feel pressured into a fixed schedule. If your content is good enough people will read whether it's once a week or five times a week. If you push too hard you'll burn out. ALWAYS make time for your hobbies as more often than not that's where I find my inspiration.

Would you ever take the plunge and take up blogging full time?
That's a really difficult question! I'd love to be my own boss. It really depends on whether I could match the level of income I get from my job, which would be a big ask. We'll see how things develop in the future!

Anything else that you think helps maintains a work-life-blog balance?
Get to know other bloggers and communicate with them. They're a great source of inspiration. Write what you love, it's easier and quicker than trying to write an article about something you couldn't give a damn about!




I started blogging back in December 2015 but started the blog about mental health. I work for a digital mental health service so I thought it'd be good to write about that but I quickly realised I wanted my blog to be a hobby and not connected to work so in February/March 2016 I switched tact and began writing about beauty and lifestyle. I'm not overly consistent with blogging and I definitely need to be, but typically I post about 3-4 times a month and one of the posts will be a video.

What difficulties have you faced blogging and working full time?
I find balancing FT work and my blog very challenging. Sometimes it's OK but when work gets busy or I'm travelling a lot, my blog and my social media pages suffer. It's finding the time and motivation after a long day at the office to turn the laptop on and get writing. I typically carve out at least one weekend a month where I'll just blog, take and edit photos and film videos. I'm currently finding that to work quite well for me.

What strategies do you use to help with blogging / planning / scheduling?
I like notebooks and tried a bullet journal but that wasn't for me. I now use a notebook for brainstorming and for tracking my scheduled tweets. My planning could be better but I often find I'll just end up spending too much time planning and not enough time actually 'doing'. I use my wordpress drafts section a lot of managing blog posts.

How do you make time away from both work and blogging? 
Having just a weekend a month when I really throw myself into blogging helps keep a balance, although I'd be lying if I say I don't blog during the week as well. I'm never far from my laptop or phone. Most nights, I'll always stop for dinner with my boyfriend and I try to turn everything off at 9pm for an hour and then I may work a bit more before bed.

What are your top tips for maintaining a successful work-life-blog balance? 
Don't be too hard on yourself. It's impossible to be 100% at work, blogging, social life, relationship etc all the time. It's OK to change focus from time to time. I realise that's not too helpful but I guess a lot of it is about gut instinct - if you feel like you're neglecting your work, ease off blogging for a bit and vice versa.

Would you ever take the plunge and take up blogging full time? 
I don't think so. I adore blogging and making videos but I'm a very small fish in a huge digital pond. I also blog because I enjoy it and I would worry that blogging full time would mean there's too much pressure on it as a source of income to really enjoy it in the same way. Never say never but at the moment it's not part of the plan.

Anything else that you think helps maintains a work-life-blog balance?
Chat to other bloggers in the same situation and share tips :)



I started blogging properly at the beginning of this year. I then took a long hiatus because college got really hectic. In August I started blogging again.

What difficulties have you faced blogging and working full time? I don’t always get the chance to take good quality photos or the time to keep to a schedule which sucks.

What strategies do you use to help with blogging / planning / scheduling?
I always keep a notebook on me to write notes or ideas down. I generally try and do all my work for the week on a Saturday or Sunday or write blogs on my phone and email it to myself when I am waiting for my host kids as I am an AuPair. I am trying to find a good scheduling app but I am not comfortable with that yet. I think it all comes down to baby steps. I will get there eventually.

How do you make time away from both work and blogging?
I do blogging stuff on the weekend and then work stuff during the week. I generally do my blog work either before or after I work on a Saturday or a Sunday morning as I am an early riser so it helps.

What are your top tips for maintaining a successful work-life-blog balance?
Sometimes your social life has to take a back seat when it comes to work. I always ask myself what is important. You should wake up early and try and do work stuff before you leave and do what you need to do that day. In my case, I wake up and go to a coffee shop. I enjoy working at coffee shops and I feel like I do my best work when I am around people. I also ask myself what will benefit me more? How can I further myself? What is best for my future. From that, I am able to distinguish what I should be doing.

Would you ever take the plunge and take up blogging full time?
That is the hope for the near future. My hope is to cut down on the amount of work that I do so I can focus more on my blogging and makeup.

Anything else that you think helps maintains a work-life-blog balance? I always tell people to do what they are passionate about. I also believe that you should fall in love with your blog. If your main goal is to monetize your blog and nothing more than I think you will burn out and end up hating what you do. Write what you love and you can guarantee that the money will eventually come around.



What strategies do you use to help with blogging / planning / scheduling?
I write a lot of my ideas in notes on my phone and also in a special notepad but more often than not, little scraps of paper can be where I jot down thoughts or things that come to me in the night or on the way home from work when I seem to be most creative.

How do you make time away from both work and blogging?
On the weekends and sometimes in the week I go for walks with my girlfriend around Richmond or go out for drinks with friends. Sometimes it could be checking out different restaurants as I love eating out when I can afford to, and I have a list of places I want to visit on the blog too http://bit.ly/lookdwn-places .

What are your top tips for maintaining a successful work-life-blog balance?
Do find time for yourself - try reading as that can also inspire new ideas. I find it extremely difficult to juggle the three and would be lying if I said that the blog got all the attention it needs. However, days off and weekends are a great time to do blog posts and all the admin that comes with having your own blog - checking broken links, reformatting images and promoting it too.

Would you ever take the plunge and take up blogging full time?
I would love to do this and that would be the ultimate dream! However, I'd need to make sure that I have enough money in my savings to live on before taking such an important step. I'm not really in blogging just to make lots of money or to be famous, I just enjoy writing and always have. It would be great to get some recognition as a blogger but that's not why I do it!

Anything else that you think helps maintains a work-life-blog balance?
Getting a good night's sleep means you can work well in all three areas and function properly. Try and get into a routine and don't burn the candle at both ends as they say.

For more about Josh:
I also wrote a more detailed post on my blog about why I started blogging and why I still keep at it here: and a separate post on Integrity in Blogging here



I started blogging about 3 months ago, I blog about anything and everything hence my name all things blog it’s whatever i can relate too at that time. I blog once or twice a week depending how much spare time I have.

What difficulties have you faced blogging and working full time?
The most difficult thing I have found is time management, I work full time, bring up two children so finding time to blog can be difficult or switching off from everyday life to get into the blogging mindset.

What strategies do you use to help with blogging / planning / scheduling?
Whilst I'm at work, I keep notes/journal of things we all discuss as a morning programme is on in the background and try and gather ideas together. I use buffer for time management for Instagram.  Twitter is also fab for people retweeting my stuff to get it out there.

How do you make time away from both work and blogging?
I always set one specific night a week usually a Thursday for blogging and make sure I still socialise or spend time focusing on Just myself the other evenings. Time management is hard but if your enthusiastic about something you make it manage.

What are your top tips for maintaining a successful work-life-blog balance?
Understanding balance. You need to understand that it’s key. Be strict with yourself and set limits.

Would you ever take the plunge and take up blogging full time? 
I’m not I’m a position where I am able to do that with my following at the moment but if the opportunity was there completely at the end of the day we blog because we are enjoy it and it’s a passion and ideally that’s what everyone would want out of the job so if it pays the bills hell yeah!

Anything else that you think helps maintains a work-life-blog balance?
Relaxing, when you get in from work relax and have a bath and eat before you sit down to blog then there is less pressure because there is nothing to do after you writing. Make sure you blog for the right reasons and you only blog when you feel excited to write and not just for the sake of it because your due a post.

I started blogging at the beginning of February this year! I blog about beauty, makeup and skincare. I always post on Monday's and Thursday's and sometimes have an extra post or two if I've been to an event or have something I'm eager to talk about!

What difficulties have you faced blogging and working full time?
Managing my time and having the energy to blog!After a full day at work dealing with little kids I'm exhausted and just want to relax, not sit down to write posts or work on my social media. I also need to make sure I take pictures in advance at the weekends so I can make the most of the daylight so this means I have to schedule my time carefully!

What strategies do you use to help with blogging / planning / scheduling?
I have a gorgeous big planner from LoveGiveInk which has calendars and to do lists. Whenever I think of something I make sure to put it on my to do list so I don't forget. Lists are my best friend, there's nothing more satisfying than having everything on your 'to do' list ticked off!

How do you make time away from both work and blogging?
I'm pretty bad at this but my boyfriend always reminds me I need to take a break and have some me time whether it be a social media free evening or a Sunday to myself!

What are your top tips for maintaining a successful work-life-blog balance?
Plan a head! Running a blog and working full time is exhausting so you need to have a schedule. I like to plan my content for a whole month in advance, then I know exactly what I need to write and photograph and when. Obviously if collaborations come along then I can swap things around a bit but having a plan is the only thing that keeps me sane!

Would you ever take the plunge and take up blogging full time?
Honestly I don't think so! As much as I love my blog, I really enjoy my job, it's always been a passion of mine to work with kids so for now I'm happy doing both. Maybe when I become a mumma I might like to take my blog full time so I can spend more time with my children but we'll  see what the future holds!

Anything else that you think helps maintains a work-life-blog balance?
Having you time! Sometimes you just need to say no! Put down your phone/laptop and just relax. If your not rested your content isn't going to be at its best!

Thanks again to all the bloggers that agreed to take part in my Blog. You are all amazing and I'm sure many will agree inspiring and thank you for sharing your advice. Do you work full time whilst blogging? Let me know in the comments below.

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