Why did I turn to blogging? Well, I’ve always loved to write and I’m a total chatterbox so it was pretty easy to find my conversational flow in blogland. And there were many great surprises and new experiences in store. Incredibly, this story I am writing is post number 149 which means over the last [...]

I can’t quite believe that it’s just short of two weeks until my blog is a year old. Simply put, it’s been an incredulous and fabulous year. November 29 2008 was the day I clicked ‘publish’ on my first wordpress post. I was amazed I’d even managed to work out how to set up a [...]

Thanks to the Royal Mail strike, my review samples from Simple Human are still sitting in a depot somewhere but the company has kindly sent me an extra 2 of their stackable recycling units. From the photos on their web site which I’ve used above, they looked like they would fit nicely in my Ikea [...]

I love this photo – Miniminx running wild in the desert in her pyjamas after a brief sleep. We spent the evening before watching the shooting stars in the amazing night sky. It was so magical and felt so free and peaceful. And of course, we were queens of the desert for just one day [...]

Well Freddie de la Hay is not the only barking character in this collection of chapters I’ve just read. They are all nuts. James, he is not so much nutty as he confesses he is unable to get his to work. Berthea believes she should be placing a sign above her door ‘May Contain Nuts’. [...]

Ever have those bizarre conversations that verge on the complete abstract and sublime? I had one of those this morning with my daughter over the breakfast table. ‘Mummy?’ she said, one eyebrow raised to announce that she had a profound statement coming on. ‘Yeah’ I answered distractedly, somewhere between packing lunch, loading laundry, applying lippy. [...]

Trips to the doctor, dentist and getting my daughter to take medicine are a major event. I often feel like I’m entering the ring with an indefeatable opponent, with the willpower and strength of a Sumo and a banshee wail to match. I’m not one to admit defeat, so will investigate all options open to [...]

I’m a trifle bemused to see that all my friends on twitter are trending on the X Factor – I never watch the show in the later stages, I just catch the early ones, perhaps two at the most for the pure entertainment of the no hopers. Does that make me a bad person? I’m [...]

It’s been quite a week. Next week will also be quite a week. And the week after. I can feel the walls closing in a bit – the routine is starting to bite hard – the Summer evenings are long gone, the mornings are dark and while Autumn brings it’s own sweet and ruddy colours, [...]

I received these latest chapters on Friday for my sneak preview of Corduroy Mansions. In this tranche, we travel across town with Caroline, who discovers that her would be lover James bears all the hallmarks of OCD – so kissing is off the cards. While they begin a journey into a the West End to [...]

Just because I blog, doesn’t mean I’m a trainspotter but perhaps it’s seeping into my existence. Only a month ago I took a steam train up to Corfe Castle and loved it. And then we got invited to see Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. We popped in to see at the Vue Leicester Square [...]

This post of Susanna’s really made me think of times long gone and the games we used to play, so I’ve created my first meme and yes, it’s a nostalgia trip but it’s also a nod to invention and imagination. 1. The game I loved? British Bulldog – loud, brash, dangerous but great fun, knock [...]

Pre dinner drinks last night and I was having a conversation with one of my dearest and most entertaining friends, over delicious Lapsang Souchong Martinis (how very now) at High Road House, about how the big fear of the information superhighway, commonly known as the internet, would lead to the atomisation of our culture. As [...]

I’m having a rather large glass of wine after a shambolic episode. I’m sure everyone down my street heard, I’m sure they even heard me on the other side of the river. I’m quite jumpy so everyone in this neighbourhood is used to my occasional squawks but this was a corker. I saw a spider. [...]

A little trip down memory lane for me is always a jaunt around South Ken to see the museums. I love them dearly, and when we were kids, we went there all the time. My favourite was always the Natural History Museum. The Victorian architecture is, even now, quite scary but there are so many [...]

I’m surrounded by lovely flowers. It’s no special occasion but it does seem to mark a change of season. I bought these as a last ditch attempt at keeping the Summer spirit alive and these poor drooping sunflowers are really trying to hold their own aren’t they? What is it about them that’s so beautiful [...]

Sh*t what the hell is wrong with me? All weekend I’ve had sweaty palms, butterflies and insomnia. I’m sure I’ve developed a twitch under my left eye (people have been winking back at me all weekend – it’s unnerving). I’ve been clenching my jaws, chewing my nails and I’m so jumpy I feel like, like [...]

If you can’t quite get the slant on my little pun, well let me explain. I may be able to cook and sew, change a fuse and put up shelves but when it comes to day to day drudgery barefoot in the kitchen streamlined housekeeping I’m severely lacking. I think Nomestic is the new nom [...]