Autumn for me isn’t necessarily about leaves. Though one of my earliest memories is scrunching through fallen leaves. And although I love seeing the changing colours of leaves on trees it isn’t what I get really excited about. No It’s the light. The light in the autumn is often stunning. You get that really bright sunlight that peeps through trees. That blinds you when you drive
Welcome to MummyBarrow. I am a slightly bonkers mum of three, wife to one. Never really sitting still as there is always so much to do! This is my bit of the web to get things out of my head and where I hope to make you laugh or think. I don't really talk about my children too much as they can Google themselves but I do talk about family life. And juggling. Oh and food and drink. I talk about those a lot. So do pull up a chair, grab a biscuit and have a rummage.
Musings
Childhood stories
I read this lovely post by Chelle McCann yesterday: Memories and it reminded me of a rhyme that mum made up for me. A rhyme just for me. That my mum used to recite whilst tracing circles on my upturned palm and then she would tickle me under the armpit. I loved that I had my very own rhyme. It was special. It was mine and my mum’s. Nobody
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Musings
I just want to talk to somebody — Friday Rant
When did it become so difficult to talk to somebody? Call any organisation and you get through to an automated “press one for billing” / “press two for new orders” nonsense. For the past few weeks we have been having a nightmare with our broadband. This saga will probably fill many a blog post in the future but right now I am so angry with them I can’t
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Musings
New police commissioner vote
Have you received your voting cards yet? We got ours recently and I didn’t pay much attention to be honest. I know the vote is later this month but up until now I have had no idea who I want to vote for. What do I know about policing? Other than I call 999 and somebody arrives. Or I watch a programme on Channel 4 about people dialling
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Musings
The Gallery — Frightful
My heart sank just a little bit when I saw this was the theme for this week’s Gallery posts. It sank because…. well…. I just knew I didn’t really have any suitable photos in the archives (and I like use old photos for these posts, rather than take one specifically for the theme). Which meant I had to take one from a very limited list of options. All equally
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Nurturing
Foxtrot Oscar Restaurant, a review
You know how this is slang for …. well….. you know. …. take the initials of the two words and think of another phrase that has the same initials. Well I always thought it was a strange name for a restaurant, even one owned by Gordon Ramsay. But having eaten there it does feel as though that is actually what they would like their customers to do. Mr B
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Musings
Ranty Friday — Ridiculous Compound adjectives For Food
You know the ones. These Drive Me Insane And whenever I hear them they make me want to do serious injury to the speaker. The following are the worst offenders Pan Fried What is wrong with a simple “fried”. What else are they supposed to use? The bonnet of my car? A dust bin lid? Hand Torn I heard this used to describe the chicken on a Pizza Express
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Musings
My alternative Christmas wish list
It is around this time of year that people start to ask me what I might like for Christmas. And since the big day is two months today I thought I would let you see my wish list for this year. I generally draw a blank or come up with a list in my head of a load of luxury items that I would never dream of asking
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Musings
The Gallery — Books
This is another one of those blog posts that I wrote and scheduled and then decided to change my mind because I saw a picture after that made me say “ooooh ooooh oooh I have to use that for the Gallery”. The theme of books this week made me leap. You know how much I love books. Reading them, choosing, holding them, staring a piles of them unread
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Musings
We don’t want your sort
This was basically the gist of the email that was sent to a couple this week, in error, after they did a tour of Stoke Park. They were thinking of having their wedding there and had fallen in love with it, having rejected 30 other venues. Stoke Park doesn’t come cheap at £230 a head and their intimate wedding of just 30 guests was going to cost £10,000. Until
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Musings
Henley Literary Festival
You have probably guessed by now that I love books. And reading. Spending hours in book shops. Listening to authors talk about their books. And, well, just generally anything vaguely book related. Last year I got wind of the fact that there was a Literary Festival just up the road in Henley. Emma Freud was going to be interviewing Sarah Brown and via Twitter Emma said that I should come