Hex Bugs Are Back

Hex Bugs Are Back

After an absence of some months, we had them at Christmas, Hex Bugs are back.

We now have in store the amazing gravity defying Hex Bug V2 at £7

HexBug Nano V2 MAZE challenge – Can any V2 bug find the end winning Hex cell from Mamaboo.in on Vimeo.

HEX BUGS

Hex Bugs

As well as the V2 we have the very collectible Hex Bug Nano’s at £4 and the amazing Aquabot Jellyfish at £15

The V2 can climb up vertical surfaces and there is a video on the Nano V2 above .The Nano V2 product line features an evolved Nano, sporting a new look, with three rubber spines on its back, as well as a new system of tubular tracks that highlight the Nano V2’s unique multi-level climbing abilities.

The AquaBot™ collection is about to get a tropical transformation! Introducing the HEXBUG AquaBot™ Jellyfish with Bowl! Watch as the HEXBUG AquaBot Jellyfish with Bowl uses its 18 tentacles, powerful ducted impeller and customized swimming patterns to spin and slide gracefully through the water as it explores its new home.

The AquaBot™ Jellyfish is available in up to 5 translucent colors.

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Teeny TY

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Teeny TY

Just in at Silly Billy’s Toy Shop is TY’s all new Teeny Ty range, buy TY here today.
The Teeny Ty range include:

  • Candy the Pug
  • Jack the Terrier
  • Nellie the Owl
  • Slippery the seal
  • Jelly the Leopard
  • Gus the Penguin
  • Spangle the Bear
  • Pocket the Penguin
  • Finley the Fox
  • Mimi the alternate Owl
  • Gypsy
  • Miles the Leopard
Teeny Tys

Teeny Tys Only £3.99

Ty introduced the Teeny Tys product line in January 2016. The initial release included 12 plush animals. The Teeny Tys were released first in the UK. They appeared on UK retailer shelves in late January.

The first 12 Teeny Tys have birthdays, but no poems or sayings inside the swing tag. The bottoms of the Teeny Tys appear to be made of the same fabric used on the bottom of the Peek-A-Boos.

Silly Billy’s is the best Independent Toy Store in Yorkshire from which to buy TY.
See here for another Silly Billy’s TY Post

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Schleich – Week 10

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Week 10 at Silly Billy’s and a New Schleich Delivery, buy Schleich here today !

Silly Billy’s is the best Independent Toy Store in which to buy Schleich in Yorkshire
We have now been open in Old Gate House, Old Gate, Hebden Bridge for ten whole weeks and we are loving the positive comments everyone has been giving us about our new shop.

In our recent Shleich Delivery we received the following Schleich Animals and Figures:

  • Holstein Bull – £5.99
  • Simmenthal Calf – £4.49
  • Rooster – £2.99
  • Hen – £2.99
  • Rabbit, sitting – £2.99
  • Shropshire Lamb – £2.99
  • Sheep – £4.49
  • Lamb – £2.99
  • Lamb, lying – £2.99
  • Piglet, standing – £2.99
  • Zebra, Foal – £2.99
  • Velociraptor – £9.99
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex – £14.99
  • Theriznosaurus – £14.99
  • Gigantosaurus, orange – £14.99
  • Asian Elephant, male – £6.99
  • Asian Elephant, calf – £4.49
  • Hippopotamus – £5.99
  • Lioness – £4.99
  • Lion, roaring – £4.99
  • Tiger – £5.99
  • Tiger cub – £4.49
  • Panda cub, playing – £2.99
  • Cheetah, female – £4.99
  • Giraffe Calf – £4.49
  • Sperm whale – £7.99
  • Tiger Shark – £4.99
  • Octopus – £5.99
  • Dragon Fighter – £14.99
  • Dragon Battering Ram – £14.99
  • Dragon Warrior – £14.99
  • Dragon Diver – £14.99
Schleich Horses

Schleich Horses

Silly Billy’s has been stocking Schleich for a long time now and it is one of our core lines, it is one of the best places to buy Schleich in Yorkshire. We have written about Schleich before and it is a very popular product in our Toy Shop. After the floods of Boxing Day 2015 and during Silly Billy’s Start-Up we were given a new Schleich Stand and it is illuminated.

We have the lighting on a timer and you can clearly see the stand at night-time in our new shop location.

Some History Of Schleich

Schleich was founded by Friedrich Schleich in 1935 in Schwäbisch Gmünd . Its figurines were first released in the 1950s with the development, production and marketing of comic figurines such as Snoopy and The Smurfs, the Schleich Smurfs are still manufactured today and we have tried stocking them here at Silly Billy’s, although they did not prove too popular, so we stopped!
In the early 1980s Schleich added animal figurines and Muppet characters to their range of products. Until the end of 2006, Schleich was a family-owned business. It was then taken over by the British investment company HgCapital, who paid 165 million euro for an 80% share.

Design, Production and Materials
The design of products and the creation of tooling is mostly in-house. Production is at the German headquarters and in production facilities in foreign countries, with the figures being hand-painted in China. In 2006, Schleich had about 250 employees and a yearly sales figure of around 80 million Euro.

Thanks to Wikipedia for some of the content above

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Teachers fear computing GCSE is ‘compromised’ – BBC News

Image copyright Thinkstock
Image caption This year’s OCR GCSE in computing is “blatantly compromised”, say teachers

Teachers fear a GCSE exam in computing has been “blatantly compromised” after students found answers to a controlled assessment task in a course textbook.

One teacher said his class had produced almost identical answers to a practical investigation task in this year’s OCR computing GCSE.

The students told him the answers were in a 2012 course textbook co-authored by a senior OCR computing examiner.

But OCR says it is confident the task is not compromised.

The teacher, who asked not to be named, said that when he checked the textbook, written by Sean O’Byrne and George Rouse and published jointly by OCR and Hodder Education, he realised an example problem, with the answers, was almost identical to a task in this year’s practical investigation controlled assessment.

Image caption The textbook example is the same one used in the controlled assessment for this year’s OCR GCSE in computing

The controlled assessment is an investigative piece of work for students, taking approximately 20 hours of their time.

Students are expected to work independently according to OCR guidance which states: “It should be remembered that candidates are required to reach their own judgements and conclusions without any guidance or assistance.”

The work is graded by teachers who must submit marks for moderation by mid-May.

“It’s really irritating to me as a teacher,” one commented.

“The students have spent two years learning and now I want to see the results of what they have learned. I want to see a fair distribution of marks for them.

“This disadvantages pupils at those schools which can’t afford textbooks.

“Also, weaker kids are going to do better than they should have done while the good kids might think this is too obvious and may mess up because they get confused and will do more poorly than they should do.

“They have to show they can plan, understand the technology and tackle practical skills – but now they have found this is published in a textbook they don’t have to.”

Copied answers

The teacher added that it would be impossible to know which students had worked completely independently and which had copied answers from the textbook.

Reducing the marks available for this task would disadvantage schools which had opted for this task rather than either of the other two options, said the teacher.

On an online forum another called it “a very serious matter”.

“I need to know there is a level playing field for my students who have slogged their guts out over the past year to do each of the 20-hour controlled assessment tasks without any direction from me as dictated by the exam board.”

Image caption Textbook co-author George Rouse was OCR’s chief computing examiner in 2013

A teacher also questioned the advisability of senior examiners writing textbooks in the subject they are examining.

Co-author George Rouse gave a talk to the BETT education technology fair in 2013 as OCR’s chief examiner for computing GCSE.

‘No advantage’

In a statement, OCR said it took the standard of assessments very seriously.

“After investigation, we are confident that this controlled assessment task is not compromised.

“OCR would like to reassure schools and students that candidates will not gain an advantage from copying from a textbook as part of an assessment task.”

A spokesman later clarified that students would need to do more than just copy from the textbook to gain good marks – as the task depended on understanding and tackling practical problems.

The exams regulator Ofqual said OCR had notified them of the problem and was investigating.

In July 2014, two controlled assessment units in OCR’s computing GCSE had to be replaced after the answers appeared online. OCR says there are no similarities to the most recent incident.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36227884

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GB Eye Posters New In

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GB Eye Posters New In

New Posters Just in at Silly Billy’s Toy Shop from GB Eye, all posters at £3.99

GB Eye EURO-WALL-CHART

As well as the Fantastic Euro 2016 Wall Chart from GB Eye we have:

  • Doctor Who Red Dalek Comic
  • Fallout 4 Key Art
  • Pokemon Pikachu
  • Real Madrid Ronaldo 15/16
  • Star Wars Episode 7
  • Paw Patrol – All Paws on Deck
  • Angry Birds Attack
  • Marvel Heroes Attack
  • WWE Roman Reigns
  • Captain America Civil War
  • Pokemon partner Pokemon
  • Despicable Me 2 – Take Over the World
  • Barcelona Messi Action 15/16
  • Justin Bieber * Crouch
  • Batman Comic Stalker
  • Star Wars Episode 7 Storm Trooper
  • Harry Potter Crests
  • Call of Duty Black Ops 3
  • My Little Pony – Friendship is Magic
  • Minecraft World
  • Gaming Keep Out
  • Spongebob Cast
  • Bob Langrish Waterfall
  • Dolphins Leap
  • Wild Word Group
  • World Map 2015
  • Tiger Cubs
  • Star Wars Episode 7 Montage
  • Deadpool Panels
  • Yu gi Oh Yugi and Monsters
  • Justin Bieber * Hair
  • Deadpool Bang
  • Barcelona Star Players

Another GB Eye Posters Post from Silly Billy’s Toy Shop

We always have GB Eye Posters in stock here at Silly Billy’s Toy Shop in Hebden Bridge and they are part of our wide range of toys and gifts.  Silly Billy’s is open 7 days a week, 363 Days a Year. We are the foremost Independent Toy Shop in the North of England.

 

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England Car Flags

England Car Flags

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You can buy England Car Flags at Silly Billy’s Toy Shop in Hebden Bridge.
We have England Car Flags for sale for only ONE GBP or £1 each. They are robust and sturdy Car Flags and below is a picture of one outside of our New Toy Shop in Hebden Bridge

England CAR Flags

£1 England CAR Flags £1

The First England Game coming up in UEFA 16 is in Marseille on Saturday 11th June 2016 and is the opening Match of the UEFA competition.

There will be an International Friendly match of England v Australia on Fri 27 May AT 19:45, get the tins of Fosters in for that one parents !

The last match played was yesterday when England beat Turkey 2-1 in Manchester, UK

Further Fixtures UEFA June 2016

 
Competition Fixture Date Kick-off
International Friendlies England Portugal Thu 2 Jun 19:45
European Championship –Group B England Russia Sat 11 Jun 20:00
European Championship –Group B England Wales Thu 16 Jun 14:00
European Championship –Group B Slovakia England Mon 20 Jun 20:00

Come in to Silly Billy’s Today to stock up on your Car Flags for the up and coming England Football Matches (and England Cricket matches for that matter)

All England Car flags only £1

england car flags one-pound

One English Pound

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Why New York Cops Spent Their Workday Playing With Kids

Fifth-graders at Public School 112 in Brooklyn, New York, were handed mock police badges Tuesday morning instead of name tags or gold stars. Rather than rattling off the Pledge of Allegiance, they followed New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton in reciting a pledge to “study hard, to work hard, to obey my parents, to work with my teachers and to always try to do good.”

They also took on the title of “junior New York City police officers for the day.”

NYPD officers visited 340 elementary schools across the city to participate in team-building exercises with children. The visits were part of Team Up Tuesday, a new initiative to encourage positive relationships between children and local law enforcement.

Dozens of police officers greeted students at P.S. 112 on Tuesday morning, as did Bratton and New York City Education Commissioner Carmen Fariña. The two leaders spent time reading stories to groups of kids, and other students participated in outdoor activities led by uniformed police officers.

Bratton told students that teachers and local police officers “need to work together to keep you safe so you can come to school and learn in a safe environment.”

“We need you working together with us, to keep the city safe, to keep your schools safe, to keep your neighborhood safe,” he added.

Bratton told reporters at P.S. 112 that local police officers often visited his school when he was a child, and that it helped inspire him to go into law enforcement.

Although there aren’t specific plans for future Team Up Tuesdays, Fariña said she expects to see more activities designed to foster strong relationships between students and law enforcement in the city.

New York police

Rebecca Klein
Police officers spent time at elementary schools around New York City onTuesday to helpencourage positive relationships betweenlaw enforcement and kids in the city.

The public’s confidence in police officers has declined following a number of high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of officers. New York City cops have been embroiled in some of these controversies. Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, died in July 2014 after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold. A grand jury’s decision a few month later to not indict the officer sparked protests across the nation.

Team Up Tuesday was meant to be a step toward fostering more trust in law enforcement.

Building meaningful community relationships from an early age is critical to ensure that New Yorkers across the city are aware of the many supports available to them,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in April, per The New York Daily News.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/05/17/team-up-tuesday-nypd_n_10013388.html

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Silly Billy’s Bargains

Silly Billy’s Bargains

Post the dramatic flooding of Boxing Day 2015 here in the Calder Valley and Silly Billy’s dramatic move from it’s 19 year home at Bridge Mill, we still have some cut-price toys and cards here at Silly Billy‘s BARGAINS.

Some of these Silly Billy‘s Bargains have been mentioned before and we do still have some half-price Style Me Up in Stock. As well as that there are still some Thunderbirds Figures left and some odds and ends of Playmobil, Schleich and much, much more.

Also we have some greetings cards that have been heavily discounted to only £1 each so come down to Silly Billy’s today and stock up on your cards for the rest of the year. High quality greetings cards at only £1
Bargain CardsSilly Billy’s has been trading at Old Gate House now for almost two months. Unfortunately we, or rather the building, still does not have a telephone line. We are very much hoping this issue will be resolved by the beginning of June 2016. If you need to get in touch in the interim then please either go to Silly Billy’s Facebook Page or send us an email via info at sillybillystoyshop.com

As well as the Silly Billy‘s Bargains mentioned in this post we have recently started stocking these funky flashing dragons, collectibles in varying colours, these Dragons have proved quite a hit and now our stocks are limited. Flashing Dragon’s are only £2.00 here at Silly Billy’s Toy shop and as such are another top Silly Billy’s Bargain.
Flashing Dragons Silly Billy's Bargains

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NSPCC Big Board Game Day

The Big Board Game Day is on Friday 27th May 2016

Silly Billy‘s is happy to be supporting Littleborough Library with their raffle prizes this year. The Big Board Game Day is both an opportunity to raise funds for the NSPCC and to become involved in the exciting games events at Littleborough Library.

NSPCC poster 2016 NSPCC Poster 2016 2

There will be games, a raffle and much much more, so get down to Littleborough library on Friday 27th May for a day of board gaming activity, there is no need to pre-book.

Funds raised will help children like Maisie* who was abused at a young age. This is her story, taken from the NSPCC website.

We all love to play, but for a child who’s recovering from abuse, play can mean so much.

We started working with Maisie when she was 5 years old. She had been sexually abused at an after-school club, and although the abuse was over, it became clear to Maisie’s parents that she needed help to recover. She had gone from being a happy, sociable child who excelled at school to being completely disengaged.

Maisie started coming to our Letting the Future in service, where NSPCC worker Amelia helped her to explore her feelings and what had happened to her in a safe way through play. Activities like playing with PlayDough helped Maisie express her anger about what had happened and regain a feeling of control.

Maisie is doing really well now – she’s much more able to talk about how she’s feeling, and is getting her self-esteem and confidence back.

*This is a real case but names and identifying details have been changed to protect identities.

The author of this post, Robert A Williams, has supported the NSPCC himself through sponsored runs when he used to be fitter than he is now !!

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Buy Playmobil UK

Silly Billy‘s is the Premier Independent Toy Shop to buy Playmobil UK Wide

As such in Week seven of Silly Billy‘s opening we have received our latest Playmobil order, and it is a fantastic order icnluding as a special offer Playmobil Aeroplanes, Summer Fun Jet 6081 at only £19.99.
Playmobil 6081

We also have in stock:

  • Police Copter 5916 at £9.99
  • Farm Animal Pen 6133 £14.99
  • Golden Retrievers with Toy 6134 £9.99
  • Woman with Cat Family 6139 £5.99
  • Rabbit Pen with Hutch 6140 £9.99
  • Ducks and Geese 6141 £6.99
  • Summer Camper 6671 £36.99
  • Baby pool with Slide 6673 £11.99
  • Soldiers’ Lookout with beacon 6680 £21.99
  • Pirate Captain 6684 £5.99
  • Girl with Dog  6796 1,2,3 £4.99
  • Forklift 6959 1,2,3 £9.99
  • Construction Truck 6960 1,2,3 £12.99

    Buy Playmobil UK

    1.2.3 Construction Truck

  • CARRY CASES all at £9.99

    Playmobil Carry Case

    Playmobil Carry Case

  • Shop 5611
  • Pony Farm 5893
  • Pirates 5894
  • Kinights 5972

Silly Billy‘s has been supplying Playmobil to Calderdale and the surrounding areas since 1997 and Playmobil is one of the shop’s biggest selling lines. It has been remarked by Customers that Silly Billy’s Playmobil Display is one of the best of any shop outside of London and as such is the best Independent Toy Retailer from which to buy Plamobil in the UK.

 

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