Sunday, November 02, 2008

Chuggington...chugger chugger chugger chugger Chuggington

Well something had to drag me out of hiding! I've been spending far too long in the bins over at The Rubbish Diet, so it was about time I let my hair down and have a bit of fun.

And what fun indeed.

While Little J went off to a party yesterday, Little T and I excitedly boarded the train from Bury St Edmunds. Destination London, where we met up with the gorgeous Jo Beaufoix and her family for the very first time. Now that was exciting enough, but no sooner had we said our first "hellos", we all jumped on the Underground and headed off to a gathering of other bloggers at the Movieum of London in County Hall.

We'd been invited to a very special event, an all-expenses-paid private screening of Chuggington, where we were introduced to Wilson, Brewster and Koko, a really cute set of trainee engines called “Chuggers”.



Chuggington episodes are already being screened on BBC2 during the early morning Cbeebies schedule but in January they will hit the CBeebies digital channel, where the series is tipped to become the next big thing in children's entertainment.

And I can see why. Having watched two episodes yesterday, Little T became immersed in the adventures straight away and didn't even dare look away from the screen to eat his sandwiches. Even as an adult it was easy to fall in love with the adventurous spirit of Koko and the eagerness of Wilson balanced by the dependable nature of Brewster.

Ludorum, the show's creators have worked hard to create content that will appeal to both parents and children alike. As well as entertainment, it's the learning, sharing and enjoyment that are at the heart of Chuggington, and embedded within each story are important developmental messages centred on social-emotional development, reinforcing the life skills that are needed in today’s world.


Little T, already has his favourite character, the green and purple bullet train called Koko, who stopped to help others in a race during the first episode and who was proud to have the job of looking after a pregnant giraffe during the next story.

I must admit I like her too.

The other exciting part of the day was the chance to meet up with other bloggers during lunch. So while Little T munched on his sarnies, I managed a brief moment to say hello to the people behind A Modern Mother, Frog in the Field, The Potty Diaries and the Thames Valley Mums before going on a tour of the Movieum with Jo Beaufoix et famille.

So after a really fun day out, I'd like to thank Ludorum and Wolfstar for making the event possible. More of these please, especially if it involves a red carpet for bloggers in Leicester Square (nudge nudge, wink wink).

The only thing I would say is I now can't stop singing that song, you know, the Chuggington theme tune....

Chuggington, chugger, chugger, chugger, chugger, Chuggington

Chuggington, chugger, chugger, chugger, chugger, Chuggington

So, while I'm caught up in theme tune madness, why not discover the series for yourself. If you'd like to catch up with the adventures of the Chuggers, the great news is the new series start on Monday 3rd November and can be seen every week day on BBC2 at 8.45am. If you miss it, you can always check out BBC i-player or YouTube.

More information can also be found at www.chuggington.com.