About us
Hi, we are three mums from south Manchester who felt there was a gap in the market for parents to share their experiences of local venues with others. We were tired of not being able to get our pushchairs through restaurant doors, not knowing where to breastfeed, stuck for ideas on a rainy day, driving miles to a supposedly fantastic child-friendly venue to find that it’s rubbish, so we came up with Babies in the City.
Unlike any other guide on the market, every entry in Babies in the City has been road-tested anonymously by ourselves and other local mums and dads. We have written the book based on our experiences. A lot depends on your child’s mood and their likes and dislikes. Places do change and a great place can get worse and likewise, places can get better.
If your experience differs wildly from ours, please let us know. It is by no means an exhaustive list and we’re always updating our reviews. We hope it inspires you to get out and try something different!
Jo Maxwell
Originally from Hayling Island, near Portsmouth, Jo left school at 16 and, for now unknown and clearly insane reasons, she was desperate to get out to the world of work! (She only realised later that Uni involved excess drinking and four hours a week of lectures.)
She started work at local business magazine Monitor making the tea and learning the ropes, Monitor gave her an exceptional insight into the entire magazine process from invoicing to selling advertising. She found her niche on the production side and designed and produced the magazine and various offshoots, this also included moving the magazine over to the then new concept of apple macs.
After a number of years she sought the bright lights of the city and moved to London to work as Production Manager for national business magazine BusinessAge. After this was sold to a large publishing group she stayed working for the Editor through various publications including EuroBusiness, Sunday Business, F1 Magazine and BusinessF1. All were a massive learning curve of start-ups and hard work, a bonus being she got to visit various Formula One races throughout Europe.
A keen traveller, she also took a couple of years out to do the ‘travelling thing’ in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
She met her husband Edward in a dodgy club in London and moved up to Manchester when he invited her for a weekend! Two children later and with a third on the way, it looks like she is in no hurry to leave.
Vanessa Redmond
Born in Bury, after leaving school she first set her sights on illustration and undertook an art foundation course at Manchester Metropolitan University. After a change of heart she switched career paths and Vanessa headed north to Newcastle Upon Tyne to do a law degree.
It was whilst in Newcastle that she met her partner Andrew, from Lancaster. After a fun filled four years at university she was drawn back to Manchester, and together with Andrew she crossed the border from North to South Manchester and set up home initially in Withington and then Chorlton. She completed a training contract at a Manchester law firm and qualified as a lawyer in 2000 choosing property law as her speciality. Vanessa continues to practice part-time at a Manchester law firm today.
Vanessa has always maintained her love of art and illustration, and has been involved in everything from designing wedding stationary, to life classes, from running a children’s art club in Chorlton, to plaguing her family and friends with her paintings and cards.
Now a mother of two energetic boys, not as much time can be spent strolling round art galleries or painting landscapes. Helping produce Babies in the City has been the perfect antidote, enabling her to get out and have fun with the children in the daytime and then write up and illustrate in the evenings when they are safely tucked up in bed.
Vanessa, enjoys holidaying and exploring new places and isn’t afraid to give anything a go with the boys, in fact she has been seen driving round New Zealand in a campervan with a three year old and a 10 month old, on top of a mountain with a three month old in a papoose and at the top of an astro slide at a soft play centre the day before giving birth to her youngest son.
Louise Taylor
Louise was born and brought up in Bolton. She read history at the University of London before returning home to work in the family jewellers shop by day and as a DJ by night on the short-lived Radio Bolton.
Following this, she landed a role as researcher on cult TV (translate as pretty bawdy and bad!) dating show God’s Gift. And so began a diverse ten years with Granada Television where Louise worked across drama and entertainment programmes before joining the factuals department. The job was to take her to Canada, India and even Lapland as she produced and directed documentary series and singles for all the major networks in the UK amongst them, Britain’s Youngest Mums and Dads, Builders from Hell and Real Crime: Murder in Mind.
Children and the job didn’t quite mix, so three years ago, Louise packed away her film camera for good. Together with her then new baby boy, she threw herself into local classes and toddler groups, even helping to running one herself (which she still does). Becoming friends at these groups with Jo and Vanessa led to the birth of Babies in the City – a wonderful opportunity for Louise to dust down her journalistic skills as well as the impetus to explore the many brilliant places right on the doorstep. Louise lives in Didsbury with partner Tony and two children Will aged three and Eleanor 12 weeks.
