Mum's heart skips beat at baby disco

IT'S almost a decade now since Lesley Woodall decided to do something to help parents spend more fun time with their young children.

Baby Loves Disco founder Lesley Woodall with Fatboy Slim

For the single mum of three who once enjoyed a succesful career promoting bands including U2, Oasis, Blur and Radiohead, it seemed only fitting that she fall in love with music all over again.

And so Baby Loves Disco arrived in Scotland, a fusion she describes as a “funky” toddler group with a twist.

Unlike other groups and children’s activity centres, it has real club DJs mixing retro favourites from the last 30 years, a licensed bar and even a chill-out zone.

The company has been running 50 events a year in the UK, including at Canterbury Festival, The Big Feastival, run by the former bass player from Blur, Brighton Fringe with Fatboy Slim and sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and Edinburgh Christmas Festival.

Which is why Edinburgh pulled the heart-strings of the 44-year-old for her latest edition – a Valentine’s Day special – exclusively for single mums and dads on Saturday, February 10, from 3pm-5pm at The Jam House in Edinburgh.

Lesley said: “Over the years we have had a lot of inquiries to run an event for single mums and dads.

“As a single parent myself I know first-hand how hard it is to meet single men, I decided to give it a shot and launch it on Valentine’s weekend when many single people, especially those with young kids, might be at a loose end.

“I’m really excited about the event, not just because a few romances might come out of it, but because it will give single parents a safe place to meet people in the same position as them without there being any pressure. It’s not always about finding love again but often more about companionship as parenting young children can be a very isolating experience, particularly for those going it alone.

“Music has always been a huge and important part of my life and Baby Loves Disco was a way to keep hold of it after the all-consuming event that is parenthood.”

“So many new parents lose sight of who they are and the things they enjoy when they become parents and I believe Baby Loves Disco helps them to remember. It’s not all nursery rhymes and just keeping kiddies happy while you watch on from the sidelines, it’s very much giving parents the equivalent of a night out, dancing to the soundtrack of their youth, music they listened to before parenthood struck, but now they get to share the experience with their kids and introduce them to the music.”

Rob Sneddon, 32, a single dad from Linlithgow, said: “It is not easy when I’m working, studying and looking after my little one to find time to meet women, but going to the singles disco together will provide me with a unique opportunity.”

Details are at http://www.babylovesdisco.co.uk