BBC Something Special

I have been trying to get hold of the BBC Something Special DVDs since April this year; I am so pleased to announce that we now have stock!

There are five titles currently available, we are still awaiting the Pets and Other Animals DVD, please email us if you would like to be notified when we receive copies of this title.

We also have two pocket books to accompany the DVDs, Makaton Favourite Things and the Pets and Other Animals.

Tag your Tots

All week GMTV are urging parents to make sure their young are safe this summer. The week runs from the 9-13th July and this year they are giving away 900,000 wristbands that work as identity bracelets (with two alternative parent/family contact numbers on).

I have Reusable IdentiBands™ for both my children.

A few months ago we visited Woburn Safari park. Since it was a bank holiday weekend the park was mobbed. I was worried sick that I would lose the children. It wasn’t the ideal solution but I put one of my business cards in their pocket. I told them that if they got lost then they were to show an adult my card so that they could phone me. This was fine for my son but I don’t think my daughter would have been old enough to remember what I had told her.

When we got home that evening I ordered some ID bands from www.icegems.co.uk

'IdentiBands are not only perfect identification for youngsters, but also an excellent solution for those with the need to alert others to medical conditions such as diabetes or allergies.'

They are ideal for a child who has a communication problem as all they need to do is show the band to someone rather than try to relay their details. The bands come with a pen so you can write what you like inside, I’ve just written, ‘Mum Tel: …………………. ‘

Justin Fletcher - Cbeebies 'Something Special'

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned Justin Fletcher on the blog. Justin is Mr Tumble in the BBC children’s show, ‘Something Special’.


Something Special has been a huge success and has raised awareness about children with different needs. In the programme Justin uses Makaton sign language. It features children in special schools who use Makaton to communicate. Makaton gives them a voice and relieves the frustration when they can't speak vocally. Justin is now a patron of Makaton.
When Justin was first asked to present the show he didn’t know any Makaton signs. He learnt in the region of about 3 - 400 in about a week, week and a half. His trainers and sign language experts, they continued throughout the filming to be on set the whole time, so if he had done anything wrong, they would have corrected him straight away.
Before working on ‘Something Special’, Justin worked with Dave Benson Phillips on a UK Playdays tour, starred in Fun Song Factory, Tikkabilla and Higgledy House (kind of slapstick, Laurel and Hardy situation). Justin also stars in the Big Party Live Show and Let's Sing Nursery Rhymes DVDs.

Recently there was an online petition asking that Justin be awarded an OBE, unfortunately he wasn’t on the Queens Birthday list. You’ll find quite a few news articles and posts about Justin on the site forum.

I’ve waffled on and just remembered what prompted me to post about Something Special! This morning my daughter sat watching it while I was getting things ready for us to go out. I took a couple of pictures of her signing rabbit (excuse the floppy ears, LOL) and dog. She was also copying him signing hamster, this isn’t a sign that I have used with her before.





We have a couple of Justin Flecther DVDs available at www.Chelltune.co.uk, see here. Please note that Justin doesn't sign in these DVDs.

At the end of Something Special, Justin sings:

‘Good bye, goodbye.
It's time to run,
Good bye, goodbye,
I hope you had good fun.
I say goodbye,
I'm happy that you came.
I say goodbye,
please come back, please come back, please come back again.
Goodbye!’

It seemed appropriate to end blogging in a Justin Fletcher style!