A lifestyle blog
Ten years we have lived in this house. And for ten years I have wanted a new bathroom. We said we would do it as soon as we moved in. It was the one thing we new we wanted to change, despite it being brand new. To the untrained eye our bathroom ticks all the boxes: tiled floor / tiled walls / all white / big window /
It is easy to focus on the booze at Christmas, heck I am even doing a gin advent calendar. “Have we got dessert wine to go with the pudding?” “Is there enough fizz for breakfast?” “How many bottles of red wine do we need for the mulled wine on Christmas Eve?” It is all about the alcohol apparently. Which is not so great if you are the
Is a question that always makes me reply with a disclaimer first “well… I was born in London but I have lived all over the place”. I think my current home is my 18th, and between London and here there have been stints in Surrey, various other parts of London, the midlands and the middle east. I have often felt that I am not “from” anywhere. I am not
Every year, round about now I get tagged in pictures of a gin advent calendar that retails at around £100. A “wee dram” of gin in a tiny bottle between 24 little windows that looks cute but over the years has crept up in price and has never really struck me as being great value for money. Yes it looks amazing and would be a stunning gift for any gin
Potato topped sausage and Onion pie recipe As soon as the lights are on all day my thoughts turn to comfort food. In the absence of being able to hug a hot water all day I turn instead to warming comforting foods. Those hot dinners that say “a hug from within”. I had actually forgotten about this recipe until I was reminded of it at the weekend during a
The story of a 14 year old cancer victim being cryogenically frozen has troubled me this week. Not for the story itself, though that does trouble me on many levels. The false hope this girl has believed may one day bring her back. What happens if by some medical miracle she is brought back to life? She will remember nothing and know no-one in the US. She will still be 14
A NEW NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS They say that everybody has a book in them. That we all have a story to tell. For some people that book is still in their head. Or maybe hand written in pencil, as Dawn French does. Or maybe even typed out on sheets of paper that are then neatly stacked in a drawer. Never to really see the light of day because the author
Normally the gossip surrounding Strictly is about the so called “Curse of Strictly”. The idea that every year a happily married couple will split because one or other of them has fallen for their strictly partner. The tabloids are littered with proof this curse is an actual thing. This year however most of the gossip seems to relate to fighting behind the scenes between the producers and the
It’s a vivid memory for me, the first time I thought “this is how a holiday should be done”. Though to be honest I had been on holiday this way since I was a child. You know, the “Canvas Holidays Way” where you rock up at your campsite and move into a fully set up tent. We had done several when I was little but I hadn’t taken any of
Just when you think things can’t get any worse America elects that buffoon to be its President. A man who has previously stood for the other side. Who believes in whatever he thinks will get people talking about him. Who stands for everything every civilised person in the world disagrees with. A man who is nothing short of a bully. A man supported by the Klu Klux
I have just spent a weekend at a retreat learning that life is what you make it. That sometimes you have to make a bit of an effort to either take a much needed break or to have some fun. Or just to put the to do list to one side, put your feet up and spend time on the sofa with the kids watching a cheesy film or
Arriving at Middle Piccadilly in Dorset last weekend couldn’t have come at a better time. This little rural idyll prides itself on being the ideal place to switch off, kick back and recharge. Something I have needed for a while, something we could probably all do with. I find switching off virtually impossible, I feel I am always connected to an online world, and always doing or thinking