Thanks to lovely Ben Shaws, who have lavished us with fizzy drinks this month. When they asked me to try them out, I remembered having seen the name in my youth. Turns out that even my grandmother could have been slurping back some of their flavours, as they’ve been carbonating away for 140 years. The …
Dear Nice Man at Blockbuster (I’m sorry, I don’t know your name), Ten days ago I stood in your shop with my daughters, choosing a couple of DVDs to watch before we went on holiday to Sweden. As usual, we faffed around a lot, with my daughters laughing at ‘inappropriate’ DVDs when they thought I …
Hello lovely Book Club people! As you know, we set off on our merry literary path together way back last month with Kate Atkinson’s Started Early, Took My Dog. Here’s my take on it, but what I’m really looking forward to is hearing your views. I found the book a really enjoyable read. I must admit …
Well, I’m very sorry, but it’s just not on. There is nothing on telly in the evenings. Nothing. Not One Thing. Outrageous. Like many hard-pushed intellectuals *hmmm* I find it essential to wind down of a soiree with a bit of TV before I retire to my boudoir. But last night I was reduced to …
Well, it’s been busy so far, this summer holiday. I had visions of relaxing weeks unrolling in front of me, with only the distant, very veeeery distant, text pings of the teenagers’ phones interrupting the calm …… but so far we have driven to Wales and France, had one high-speed tyre blow out, seen two West End …
I’ve always had a soft spot for alpaca. It’s my firm belief that an alpaca jumper saved my life at university. I was at St Andrews, dangling on the edge of Scotland, in a setting which could not have been more beautiful. I took a daily constitutional by the sea. I admired the ruined cathedral. …
For us, the holidays began last Thursday and we’ve already been to France and back. In fact, we may have peaked too soon … there are an unfeasibly large number of weeks looming ahead with only the occasional half-baked plan wobbling around in them. If you, too, are now looking down the barrel of the …
Sponsored post I’ve done a few odd things in the name of mummy blogging – hiding round the back of a hotel in Barcelona cackling with laughter at 3am and eating a top chef’s tomato ketchup gateau spring to mind – but Sunday’s was probably up there with the most unusual. I was a stunt taster …
I’ve been glued to the News of the World scandal as it has unravelled. I admit I only became sucked in when the horrific news came out that murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone had been hacked. When it was just the likes of Hugh Grant, I’m afraid I just shrugged. Having worked for nearly seven …
I feel rather sad that it’s the last Harry Potter premiere tonight. So much of the girls’ childhood has been caught up with the boy wizard. When they were very small, a friend gave them a bubble bath bottle with a plastic Harry on the top, flying. That was our first encounter with Pottermania. At …