5 Reasons the School Run Drives us Round the Bend

Whether you‘re doing the school drop off before you make the mad dash to work or you are on school run duty and then back home for another manic day – the school run is, according to our most recent survey the most stressful part of the day for 3 out of 4 mums.

Presumably 1 in 4 are scooting their way serenely and smoothly to the school gates -clever eh? (even if we do say so ourselves).

We do the school run every day and can vividly remember the onslaught of difficulties we faced every morning before we discovered our Micro Scooters… the pantomime of dressing, eating breakfast, packing school bag, finding keys etc to bundling the troop into the car, battling traffic and trying to find a parking space even remotely close to the school…. it soon becomes clear why 77% of our parents surveyed said they find the school run more stressful than grocery shopping or working!

So without further ado here are our: Top 5 reasons the school run drives us round the bend.

1. Slow Coaches: It is a fact that you just cannot, however hard you try, make a child eat his or her breakfast any quicker than they are going to eat it. You are therefore in effect late before you’ve even poured the cereal into the bowl.

2. Phantom Shoe Stealer: In a crime sweeping the country the shoe thief (usually left footed) takes the precious school run time to swoop in and “hide” our kids’ school shoes. A crime of national importance that must be dealt with tout-de-suite we think.

3. Traffic Light Lottery: We would, really we would, swap a winning lottery ticket for a ticket that would automatically change red traffic lights to green as we approach. Or even stop them going red as we get closer. We envy those who have been blessed with the gift of traffic light colour changing abilities. It must save them at least 10 minutes on the school run.

4. Tweed and Glasses: With the school in sight and choruses of “Hallelujah” playing in our heads the final part of the school run is nearly over.  As we miraculously spot a space close to the school gates and start to unload the troops, it is in our experience, when the opportunity is taken by “certain individuals” of school staff to pop up from behind a bush and inform us officiously that we can’t park where we are, we are causing a hazard, we are putting children’s lives at risk etc etc..  We do not grab said person by the throat and scream “Give me a break – I am just trying to save a couple of minutes” but instead bow meekly, apologise profusely and promise never to do it again.

5. We have to do it all again at 3.30

We could probably write a “Top 100” list of school run travails but quite frankly we are too busy locating shoes and/or book bags….

We would however love to hear your school run stories – the good and the bad. Please do keep in touch with us; it is after all, mums that make the world go round

All A Bit Of A Ding Dong

It must be Christmas – The X Factor song is at No 1 after all!

We’re still running around like Santa’s little helpers on a sugar rush here at Micro Scooters. It’s been an exhausting few weeks and we’ve had to eat all the chocolates from our advent calendar to keep our energy levels up (well, that’s our excuse).

How’s everyone else doing with Christmas preparations? We can already see ourselves burning the midnight oil on the 24^th December facing a last-minute present wrapping marathon. Then we’ll be up at the crack of dawn to get the wretched turkey into the oven in time – Joy To The World and all that.

Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth

The Festive theme extends to our ho-ho-hospital scheme this month. We’re donating scooters to the Queen Alexandra Hospital and they’re being delivered to the children’s ward by the cast of Cinderella – the pantomime at the theatre in Portsmouth. Just as long as no-one wears a glass slipper to ride on them.

Matilda

We seem to have gone all theatrical this month. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda has a host of Micro Scooters incorporated within their West End performance. We won’t give away too much as it’s part of a big reveal in the show and has a massive WOW factor.

Festive Facebook

Bells have been jingling on our Facebook page for weeks now. As well as our hugely popular 12 Days Of Xmas competition which is still running if you hurry, we asked people to send us their seasonal stories. We’ve been touched by the themes of these stories ranging from the arrival of babies to helping an old people’s home to celebrate the day when it was struck by a power cut – lovely to get a sense of the real spirit of Xmas.

Anyway, we’d like to thank you all for your amazing support throughout 2011 and here’s to brilliant new year for everyone.

Happy Micro Christmas

Anna and Philippa

Christmas Countdown

It’s madness at Micro Towers as our busiest time of year approaches. You cannot avoid Christmas even if you wanted to. Shops are blaring out the usual festive mix of Slade and Cliff Richard. TV advertising is wall-to-wall saccharin sweet images including M&S who have the X Factor finalists crooning away on theirs – what’s that all about then?

But it’s things like watching the school nativity play or the swim in the sea that we do as a family in aid of the RNLI that remind me of the true spirit of Christmas (even if it’s bl**dy freezing). We’d love to hear your favorite thing about this time of year – drop us a comment below.

Brighton Children’s Hospital

There are plenty of people who won’t be spending Christmas at home with their family including children in hospitals up and down the country. The Micro Scooter’s Hospital Scheme aims to bring a sense of fun and normality to young patients who have to spend months at a time away from home. By providing hospitals with a fleet of scooters, children can scoot to the operating theatre, use them in their remedial treatment or simply enjoy playing with them.

The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton is the latest one we visited and they love using them as this wonderful photo goes to show.

Micro Seat

By now many of you will have seen our new Mini Micro Seat which means toddlers can now join in the scooting fun. The Micro Seat starts life as a ride on and grows into a Mini Micro once your child is ready to scoot properly.

We’ve also got a host of other great goodies if you’re looking for the perfect stocking filler or a present for that ‘difficult to please’ teenager on www.micro-scooters.co.uk

Bluewater

Why not pop down and visit us for a bit of festive cheer? We’ll be at Bluewater’s Christmas extravaganza from 30^th November to 4^th December. Come and say hello.

Happy Micro Christmas

Anna

Trick Or Treat

Here at Micro Towers we’ve just finished the shoot for our next brochure. When it lands on your doormat, the children will all look like little angels and everything will be just so. That’s what marketing is all about.

But the truth is each photo captures a single moment in time. In the next frame, you’re just as likely to see someone inadvertently scooting through the shot being chased by a red-faced mum. In other words, a real snapshot of life filled with comedy moments.

How many times have you spotted an idyllic magazine spread featuring the perfect picnic or a gorgeous afternoon tea table? And how many times has any attempt at recreating said scene been ruined by wasps or one child having a tantrum whilst another spills juice everywhere?

With Halloween a couple of weeks away, it’s true to say that life is filled with tricks and treats. It’s impossible to live in a picture perfect world. Most children have the devil in them sometimes – often when you least expect it – but those are the moments you’re most likely to remember with a smile on your face.

Early years scooting

Keep your eyes peeled for the launch of a cracking new product. Very much a Micro Scooter but one that will open up the world of scooting to toddlers. Exciting stuff!

Micro Chef

We took the staff to a local cookery school for a bit of team building recently. We were split into two teams with each having to prepare the following identical menu:

~ Crab Tart with Tomato and Herb Salad ~

~ Seasonal Vegetable Risotto served with Roasted Coley and Parma Ham ~

~ Chocolate and Pear Upside Down Cake ~

 It was a real hoot and interesting to discover that the most attractive plate of food doesn’t necessarily taste the best. Another little life lesson.  :)

Happy scooting

Anna

Each to their own

If, like me, you’ve got several children, all with very different personalities no doubt you find juggling their various demands slightly mindboggling. I was talking about this to a friend of mine who has teenagers. She pointed out that, once they reach ‘that age’, all they want to do is look, think and act the same in a bid to conform. So perhaps I should celebrate my children’s differences whilst I can.

After all, that’s what we do at Micro Scooters. We’ve made it possible for youngsters to personalize their scooters and stamp their own character on them. Be it choosing a different coloured deck or changing the handle bar grips. Then there are Scoobits, lights, ribbons and bells – the choice is endless.

The holidays will go by in a flash and it will soon be time to start thinking about the new school term. We know from feedback we’ve had from both parents and teachers that giving a scooter a personal touch has a number of benefits.

Not only is it a great way for a child to express themselves, it’s also a godsend when trying to identify your child’s scooter in the playground at the end of the day.

Happy scooting

Anna

In Praise Of British Beaches

There’s something very special about spending the summer at a British seaside resort – even if it’s blowing a hooley.

Don’t get me wrong, I love jetting off with the best of them to sunnier climes where hot weather can be guaranteed 24/7. But summer doesn’t seem like summer without at least one picnic on the beach complete with a wind gusting sand into your face. It is one of our favorite activities as a family.

But perhaps the most essential item for a traditional British holiday has to be a bucket and spade. So when a couple of friends showed us a Pack-Away Bucket they’d invented, I couldn’t wait to try it out on holiday. Sturdy enough for building sand castles or to take crabbing, it folds completely flat making it delightfully portable.

We’ve a bit of a thing for buckets at the moment – the Scrunch Bucket is another great invention of theirs. Squidgy, packable and just the right size for little hands to carry.

Talking of holidays and getting away, don’t forget to enter our latest competition on Facebook. We want to know where you and your family take your scooters. It doesn’t need to be anywhere exotic, it can be your local take-away or the Farmer’s Market –we’d just like to see some fun pictures.

Dublin

Once again we’ve been on the road with Micro Scooters and visited not one but two children’s hospitals on our recent trip to Dublin. Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin and The National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght. We donated lots of scooters to both hospitals – the former gave a couple to two young patients who had both had extra-long stays on the wards and remained positive and cheery. The National Children’s Hospital is using them for children who are well enough to scoot to the operating theatre to make the prospect of surgery less daunting.

Anyway, we’ve got some busy months ahead at Micro Scooters. As well as the school holidays, we’ve got lots of new products we’ll be launching throughout the rest of the year as well as more initiatives involving scooters and schools.

Wherever you’re going, happy holidays and happy scooting.

Philippa

FIT & FUN

If you’re like me and start to panic at the prospect of donning your swimsuit this summer, revealing your ‘far from perfect beach body’, we’ve got just the thing for you.

You might have read something about our new fitness scheme we’re launching on our website in July – www.micro-scooters.co.uk. The Mail On Sunday’s You Magazine wrote about it on 5th June and also made us their website of the week. We’re chuffed to pieces.

It all began when we heard about the scooting Mums of Eastbourne – you might remember we mentioned them in a previous blog. We were so inspired, we decided to make it easy for everyone to set up their own Scooter Fitness Club.

The site will feature a range of different programmes, perfect for post-natal fitness, scooting with the family or for those of us who want to shed a few pounds before the summer.

All the exercises are going to have photos showing you the do’s and don’ts for each one. We had fun putting it together and hope you enjoy it too. We’d love to hear how you get on with it when it goes live.

Micro Luggage

Although our focus at Micro Scooters is predominantly on children, we’ve just introduced a scooter which is definitely one for the grown-ups. Our new Micro Luggage combines a suitcase and a scooter to make commuting quicker, more convenient and loads of fun.

It’s the perfect way to avoid the rush hour mayhem. The case has a 26L capacity so there’s plenty of room for everything including folders, iPads, laptops and your sandwiches too.

Wim Ouboter, the Swiss inventor of the original Micro Scooter, was stopped several times on a recent trip to the UK as he whizzed through Gatwick on his Micro Luggage. We’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of them on city streets throughout the UK soon.

Bristol Children’s Hospital

We were delighted to get involved in Bristol Children Hospital’s 10th anniversary celebrations a couple of weeks ago. We went along with Minis and Maxis for their play department which were really well received.

Facebook Competition

We’re always being asked about how we select the models for our brochure. To date, we’ve been fortunate enough to rope in friends and family as Philippa talked about in last month’s blog.

However, now’s your chance to get involved. We’re running a competition on our Facebook site in a search to find two models for our next brochure. So if you think your children are models in the making, you have until the end of this month to enter.

Enjoy June – whether it’s flaming or not.

Happy scooting

Anna

ON LOCATION

We’ve been buzzing around like proverbial blue-bottomed flies at Micro Scooters lately, trying to get everything sorted out for our latest brochure.

When it lands on your doorstep, we’re hoping it comes across as a slick, finished production. But this belies the behind-the-scenes bedlam, and the desire to tear your hair out in handfuls, that being on location inspires.

Having always relied on friends and family to rope in their children to act as our models, we decided that we’d bring in a professional this time to show our lot how it’s done.

Our motley crew could hardly contain themselves on the day at the prospect of meeting a Kate Moss in the making.

OK, so our lot might break down in fits of giggles and not be able to pout on demand but we think they did a terrific job. So, we’d like to thank the following, in true Oscar style, for making our latest brochure possible.

West Mersea

Lulu Fuller

Ferg Sprott

Belli Mayer

Gus Sprott

Ollie Gozzett

Harry Gozzett

Hope Gozzett

Dom Gozzett

Leafy Dumas

Nick Berale

Ellie Trollop

Jack Trollop

Finty Willis

Kistine Dizon

Libby Watkins

Isobel Burns

London

Theo Stewart

Teebo Black

Estelle Schwartz

Lorenza Schwartz 
Lucas Fattal

And stars of both shoots

William Gibson

Jack Gibson

Edward Gibson

Thomas Gogarty

Bish Gogarty

Our major new introduction this month is our eye-popping Limited Edition Neon Mini Micros. Believe it or not, the inspiration for these came from my lifelong love of Stabilo highlighters.

Passing by Marc Jacobs’ shop in London last November, I was struck by a giant neon cow on display in the window. It put me in mind of fresh, bright and cheerful highlighters – how wonderful it would be to reproduce these colours as Mini Micros, I thought. And so we did.

What’s more, neon is all-the-rage again for summer, so I’m told. That said, most of our customers with their sticky fingers and dripping ice creams are unlikely to remain immaculate style icons for very long, thank goodness.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on our new Neon range so please post away!

Happy scooting

Philippa

Royal Riot

What a wonderful day everyone seemed to have celebrating the Royal Wedding. Whether you were a spectator on The Mall or taking part in a street party somewhere, the atmosphere was electric. Pictured taking the red, white and blue theme seriously is Micro Scooter’s Anna together with all three of her sons. Philippa found this picture of a Royal Wedding street party which goes to show just how ubiquitous Micro Scooters are.

We’d love to see any shots you might have of your Royal Wedding celebrations so please feel free to post them or send them to us to post at microscooters@live.com