I wasn’t sure what to call this post that wasn’t a long waffly one but this is the last post from me that will land in your inbox because I am turning email notifications off. Not my last ever post (don’t be ridiculous) but I won’t be sending them out automatically and landing in your inbox anymore. For all sorts of reasons I have decided the time has come for
Exploring
The one about the yoga retreat
This is the one about the yoga retreat. About how a middle aged overweight woman who has never done yoga before went off to the South of France for a four day yoga retreat. I don’t actually know where to start with this one if I am honest. To such an extent that I haven’t been able to get my head around the angle I want to come at this
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Musings
Custom Star Maps – A review
Custom Star Maps I had no idea what to get my daughter Caity, and her new husband Dan as a wedding present. They had been living together for a couple of years and had most of the things you would expect to buy for a newly wed. Then I was asked if I wanted to review a custom star maps and you could say that the “stars aligned” (did
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A visit to a Ronald McDonald Charity House
It might be Ramadam and several hours into today’s fast but Abdullah is cooking waffles for anybody who wanders along to the day room on the first floor. Whilst Abdullah might be observing the ritual of not eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset he is more than happy to cook waffles because it is something he does every week. On a recent visit to a Ronald McDonald Charity
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Musings
The Goblet of Fire, a new exhibition at the Harry Potter studio
There are lots of reasons to love the Warner Bros studio Harry Potter tour. Many. But one of them has got to be how it is constantly changing. Yes the major attractions will always be there: The Great Hall / a model of Hogwarts / the wand room but along side those there are ever changing exhibitions that focus on a part of the films. The Goblet of Fire was
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Top Tips for choosing a villa holiday — AD
Top Tips for choosing a villa holiday I don’t know about you but choosing a villa to stay in can be an absolute minefield, with no guarantee you are actually going to find the villa as described in the glossy brochure, or ad on the internet. We have stayed in some shockers over the years, and have had varying degrees of success in remedying the situation. Problems with the accommodation can really
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HomeLife
We all need a Samsung QuickDrive Washing Machine in our lives — AD
Samsung QuickDrive Washing Machine May is always a really exciting month for us. Not only my dad’s birthday, but also Caity’s and Mr B’s. This year though something else very exciting happened, and I don’t just mean Caity’s wedding that is happening right at the end of May. Nope, we got a new washing machine! Samsung, in collaboration with Mumsnet, chose our pitch out of all who applied, to be
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Musings
Top Tips for being Mother of the Bride
Top Tips for being Mother of the Bride Have a daughter Wait for her to get engaged Until earlier this year I thought that was pretty much it but since Caity has started planning her wedding in earnest over the past six months I have had more of an insight into what the role of Mother of the Bride actually entails. Or doesn’t. The temptation is to get heavily involved
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The Gin Parlour
How to make an A to Z of Gin!
What to know how to make an A to Z of Gin! No, you probably don’t in all honesty, but on the off chance you DO want to know how to make an A to Z of gin, here is how to do it. Four years ago I visited my first gin distillery, more out of curiosity than anything else. I drank the occasional gin but I still wasn’t sure
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Did you know 8th June is Ronald McDonald House Charity’s PJ Day
Well it is. And isn’t that photo the greatest result for “PJs” typed into the search box on Unsplash? This year, on June 8th, Ronald McDonald House Charity is inviting us all to go to work in our PJ’s and to donate £1 to the charity. As you know, I became involved with the charity when I was invited to their Gala dinner earlier this year and have followed them
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HDYGG — 27th May
Gosh it feels like such a long time since I sat down and wrote a blog post I am not sure I even remember how these days. Seems that life is rushing past me faster than ever and I find myself approaching the middle of the year without really knowing what has happened to the previous few months. Life has happened. Lots of it. Real life that has kept me
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Musings
Should guests be charged to attend a wedding?
This weekend was my future son in law’s stag do, and next weekend is my daughter’s hen do which means one thing: their wedding is imminent. This time next month in fact. They have been engaged for almost two years and saving hard from the minute the ring hit Caity’s finger at the Trevi fountain in Rome. All the plans are in place now (except for bridesmaid’s dresses, don’t mention









