What’s the Story — July 22nd

I love a linky.  I love the idea of joining blog posts together and really bringing the “community” into blogging.   I was, therefore, quite excited when I heard last week that Charly from Podcast was starting a new linky this week because I knew it was one that I would like to join in with.  Not sure I will be able to do it every week but certainly will as

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Hair chalking

What? No you shut up Hair chalking.  Actual chalk in hair.  Yes, it really is a thing.  And how do I know this?  Well because yesterday I got to try it out. No not on my hair you mad crazy fool.  I am 43. And, well, I say I got to try it out…. What I actually did was order it on Amazon (other, possibly more tax compliant, websites are

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The Gallery — Archives

It seems kind of appropriate that I chose the picture above for this week’s the theme of “from the archives” for this week’s post on The Gallery. A photo I found recently whilst rummaging through a drawer.   A picture of Jonnie taken when he was about 18 months old.    It is poignant for a couple of reasons. One because this week he set off with a bunch of other teenagers

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When do we stop thinking of our children as our babies?

I have three teenagers and generally speaking I don’t worry about them.  They are grown ups in my head.  But today I have been pondering “When do we stop thinking of our children as our babies” C has just started her new job, one that is part of her long term career objective and one that will challenge her on a daily basis working in a busy A&E Department.  Doesn’t

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Perfect — July

I am really sorry the book for Mummy Barrow’s Book Club  is so late this month and didn’t happen at all last month.  But it has been a bit crazy around here.   I hope my choice of book will make up for it though. This book is, quite simply, Perfect. It comes from Rachel Joyce, author of quite possibly my most favourit-ist book of all times ever, The Unlikely Pilgrimage

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Ranty Friday — Labelling children in the press

I don’t mean putting name stickers on them, that is a good idea when you need to know a child’s name at a glance. What I am talking about is when  journalists write stories about their children, I am assuming for cash, with headlines that scream “My demon daughter”.   Labelling children with a tag, a name that is less than complimentary. Now that particular child is six.   Is she really

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The Gallery — Sun

Sometimes the theme for the Gallery needs just photos and not many words. This week’s theme of sun is one such week.   These are photos from our garden last night.  The last glimpses of sunlight leaving for the evening.   And of the sun as it comes up in our garden in the morning. It is one of my favourite views from anywhere in the world.  We have lived in

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Ranty Friday — Katie Hopkins

You may wonder a) who Katie Hopkins is and why she is appearing on Ranty Friday; and b) why the picture of a lemon and not a picture of her. Well pull up a chair and let me tell you.    Katie Hopkins first appeared on the Apprentice, in 2007.  Nothing wrong with that.   Except she seemed to have a bit of a bee in her bonnet from the off.  She

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Why I love blogging

People often ask me “why do you love blogging?”.  Or sometimes they don’t ask it but just roll their eyes and give that look of “whatever” when I mention that I have a blog and I feel I need to tell them why I love blogging.  And increasingly I hear “I really want to start a blog, you get so much free shit amazing stuff”.  Which I get very defensive

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There is no Gallery Post this week

So I thought I would share with you a pic I took recently of something that makes me smile. Okay so it is a bit egotistical but when you have spent your life looking for personalised things and NEVER found any, you get a bit excited when a company says “we can put whatever you like on our product”. Therefore, in light of there being no gallery from Tara this

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The Gallery — Green

Ah green.   Green on The Gallery this week. Makes you think of lush green fields, doesn’t it at this time of year.    Hedgerows springing forth.   The sound of cricket being played on the village green. The view above was my view of a green this morning.   Speech day at J’s school.  The end of term.  The beginning of the long luxurious holidays.  They always finish before Henley Regatta so this

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