Happy Easter! Whether you are celebrating it or not I hope the bank holidays provide some opportunity for rest, rejuvenation and quality time with family or friends. May I also wish a warm Ramadan Mubarak and Chag Sameach (Happy Passover) to my Muslim and Jewish friends and constituents respectively.

Like many parents I am juggling work with childcare over the Easter holidays, so glad there is so much to do locally to entertain them. When the weather holds up we are big fans of Cheetham and Stamford Parks, and we also enjoy a dog walk round Stalybridge Country Park or down the canal (feed the ducks peas -not bread- please, as my eight-year-old environmentalist reminds me!).

Outdoorsy families will also be pleased to know the boating lake at Stamford Park will be open on Easter Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There’s also the Tulip Sunday family fun day coming up in Stamford Park from noon on 23^rd April, with fairground rides, community stalls and the flower beds in fine fettle (and the St George’s day parade in Stalybridge later that day). We’re also keen to visit the new Mayfield urban park in Manchester, which looks fab.

This Easter there’s also craft activities on at play-based local history museum Portland Basin, with Easter themed weaving on Thursday 6^th, bunny puppet making on Easter Monday and pop-up chick card making on Tuesday 11^th. Or Old Mill Farm Shop in Mottram are selling affordable Easter activity boxes, which can be enjoyed in their onsite play barn or taken home for rainy day entertainment.

If Easter treats are your thing, I’ve seen some highly tempting homemade cheesecake-filled Easter eggs advertised at Bee’s Coffee Shop, Lymefield and Old Mill Farm all in Longdendale, some special breakfast muffins at Gracie’s in Hyde, lovely spring soups at Emmaus Mossley, and traditional simnel cake and Easter cupcakes available at Magpie’s Nest café in Staly. Plus of course there are egg hunts aplenty, including at the Joshua Bradley on Good Friday and Werneth Low on Easter Day courtesy of The Pick Me Up Truck mobile coffee shop.

If you need to get out the house to work while someone else takes over childcare duty, Industry Stalybridge have a great coworking offer on now, with free coffee throughout the day for a tenner- perfect for meetings or just getting through the to do list in peace!

Our top two family moments of the Easter holidays so far though have been our youngest child Seth getting to ride a real donkey down the aisle at Mottram church during the Palm Sunday service, and my daughter Bess spotting a lovely hedgehog in the garden last night. Simple pleasures! Happy Easter, everybody.