I loved New York as soon as I first stepped out of a yellow taxi in 1990. So it was a huge joy to take Child One and Child Two and share my passion. For me it’s all about the architecture, the huge wide avenues, the vertiginous cliff faces of the office blocks, and the …
Just before I whisked the girls off to New York (and more of that another time), a nice PR asked me to try Comfort’s new ultra-swish scenty range of fabric conditioners. Of course I said yes, though I didn’t let on that I have a little secret these days about laundry. I make my own …
Thank goodness, we are entering calmer waters. The exams are over, my stomach seems to have stopped burbling, and the summer unfolds. But, naturally, it’s complicated. As well as four adults who seldom agree on anything, we now have two trainee grown-ups in our midst who have Made Their Own Travel Plans. So, no sooner …
Sorry, sorry. Every time I resolve to blog more often, something happens to prevent me. This time …. acute gastritis. My stomach has been misbehaving for a while, but I’ve put it down to the various horrors of the menopause. This time, though, a couple of handfuls of peanuts led to a sleepless night and …
I was lucky enough to see a View from the Bridge last night at the Young Vic. What a play! I feel as though I am only just recovering. It was a frighteningly good production, pared down to the minimum. There was almost no set, the characters prowled an empty cube, clothes were drab, there …
Great fun at the weekend at the Dulwich Open House. The idea is basically that artists throw open their homes and let you have a look at their artworks – and hope to sell you some. The reality is that a lot of nosy people (like me) potter around other people’s houses making loud comments …
Child Two’s theme for her school’s muck-up day (the last day before the GCSE exams begin) was Fairy Tales. But, after a few hours of larking about in tutus draping fairy lights and loo paper all over the school, two of her friends found their own story growing decidedly darker. On the way home, they …
Back when I was having babies, the two-year gap was the aspiration. You’d recovered enough from the first for it to be a slightly less blood-spattered memory, while still having all the babygros, tiny mittens, changing stations and other baby gear that is highly expensive and only useful for a couple of months. My girls …
I have a confession to make – there’s something new in my life. Tall, dark and handsome, brooding in the kitchen, dominating meal times and, to be honest, my every waking thought … it’s my new Vitamix mixer. We met, of all places, at a demonstration at the Ideal Home exhibition. I never go to …
1. Woken at 7am by Child Two yelling in my ear: ‘it’s 7 o’clock!’ Damn. The alarm clock hasn’t gone off. She is the only child in the world not already on her Easter holidays and she is going to be late. I am a bad mother. I stumble out of bed to have a …