Ordnance Survey are well known for their maps, but did you know that they have a range of outdoor garden games for all the family as well?

Whether you’re into croquet, quoits, skittles, hopscotch, rounders, badminton, tug of war or French boules, they’ve got garden games for you.

They’ve also got the horseshoe pitching game.  All hours of fun for all the family, starting at £9.99.

Get the kids outside and get them active – perfect for the lockdown period and beyond!

Have fun!

Head to Ordnance Survey to see their range of outdoor games!

While you're at home during the coronavirus crisis, this could be a great chance to boost your knowledge of a particular subject!

Hive.co.uk have books covering all sorts of subjects, from home and garden to health and lifestyle, food and drink to history and transport. There's books on art and photography, biographies, craft and sport.  And also there's thrillers, crime and mystery, comics and graphic novels as well as a good range of fiction.  And they've got lots of books for kids, too! 

Grow Food for Free : The easy, sustainable, zero-cost way to a plentiful harvest
by Huw Edwards

Many books are on special offer, and so far as the gardening books go, there's plenty on growing your own, allotments, garden design, and plants and flowers. 

~Marigolds, Myrtle and Moles : A Gardener's Bedside Book by Alan Titchmarsh

Head to Hive.co.uk to dig out some good books!

The Imitation Game is an incredible film;  it tells the story of Alan Turing, Bill Tutte and the people there, working flat out around the clock to break the Enigma code at Bletchley Park, in Buckinghamshire.

Bletchley Park was a top-secret location, vital to the Second World War effort.  Here the codebreakers helped to turn the tide of the Second World War. 

Visit to Bletchley Park and Afternoon Tea for Two
for £76 from Virgin Experience Days

This would be a great gift for anyone who is fascinated by the Second World War. 

It's a chance to visit the restored code-breaking huts, with hands-on displays in the blocks where the masterminds from the Government Code and Cypher School cracked enemy codes.  

And you can explore the grounds and historic buildings, with an interactive multi-media guide.   Take in the atmospheric soundscapes galleries and exhibitions.

Then there's the Afternoon Tea, served in the Mansion Tea Room with light finger sandwiches, dainty cakes and cream scones, together with tea or coffee - and time to reflect on what you've seen and what it must have been like working under such pressure. 

You can treat the history lover in your life to a Visit to Bletchley Park and Afternoon Tea for Two;  it's available from Virgin Experience Days.

The 27th February which means just one thing:  it's International Polar Bear Day!

The day hopes to raise awereness of the plight of polar bears and how we can all help them.     The polar bear is at the head of food chain in the Arctic and a good indicator of how species are faring.   The difficulty is that in a number of locations where polar bears live, the sea ice is disappearing as a result of global warming.  The picture is patchy:  in some areas, the polar bear populations is stable;  in one it is actually in increasing.  In others, it is declining.  You can find out about the most current status of polar bears here.

Polar bears face many threats, most particularly the loss of sea ice due to climate change. 

Give a polar bear lover an eco-adoption from from Polar Bears International 
©Polar Bears International

Adopt a polar bear from Polar Bears International

You have different options,including a Mom and Cub, or Twin Cubs Adoption.   There's also a Holiday Bear adoption, an Arctic Eco-Adoption and an Aurora Eco-Adoption.  They all support the work Polar Bears International are doing for polar bears. 

Polar Bears International is the world's leading polar bear organisation.  They consist of a small group of passionate conservationists, scientists and volunteers.  Their mission is  "to conserve polar bears and the sea ice they depend on."  They work to inspire people to care about the Arctic and the threats to its future.  Find out more about Polar Bears International here

If you can spare a moment, please take a quick look at ways you can help polar bears and the Arctic - all you need to do is to click here to see how you can help.

You could also send an e-card!

There are e-cards for all sorts of occasions!
Image © Polar Bears International.

If you're looking for a gift for somebody who loves donkeys, what about giving them a gift to support Safe Haven for Donkeys?

It's a charity which was set up in 2000 to help working donkeys in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.  And today, it has a sanctuary in Israel giving life-long care to about 200 donkeys who are unwanted or who have been abused. 

Give a virtual gift to help donkeys - here a donkey receives veterinary care

Not only that, its mobile clinic helps about 500 working donkeys, mules and horses every month across the Palestinian Territories and it's got a permanent clinic in Nablus.  Injuries they often see come from poor harnessing, overgrown hooves and bad teeth - all easily treated and in so doing, improving the lives of these animals. 

It doesn't stop there.  Safe Haven for Donkeys work hard to provide advice and education to owners and their children.  This is critical if working animals are to be treated with respect. 

Your gift could feed a donkey for a week

Your gift can help the charity look after working donkeys pulling carts and carrying loads, or care for those who are too old or injured to work. 

Gifts include donkey stationery, shopping bags, clothing, Christmas cards, soft donkey toys and gifts to help the donkeys themselves... Your virtual donkey gift could feed a donkey for a week, provide dental care, veterinary care or hoof trimming;  there's also foal milk replacement and a rest station.

Visit the Safe Haven for Donkeys here and change the life of a working animal with your gift

All images are copyright to the Safe Haven for Donkeys