Parents across the land are pulling their hair out at the moment trying to think of activities to do with their children or having the nightmare of sorting childcare for six weeks. For those of us negotiating life in a blended family, summer holidays can mean exactly the opposite when are faced with spending long… Read More Coping when your children are away
Let’s face it, when your child reaches anywhere the near the teenage years the very last person they want to spend time with is you. Not only are you outrageously embarrassing (without actually doing very much at all) this coincides with them discovering the joys of social media so really, you’ve no chance.Teenage years can be tough,… Read More 10 ways to spend time with your teen
Happy Step Father’s Day today (yep it’s a thing I just made it up) to all the step dads doing a fine job of bringing up children and negotiated life in a blended family I met Stuart when Harry was five years old and it’s been a big old learning curve not least because five… Read More Happy Step-Dad’s Day
Having long had my own addiction to self-help books I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Marianne Power’s Help Me, which sounded like the self help book to end all self help books. Marketed as ‘one woman’s quest to find out if self-help really can change your life’ each chapter is a canter through famous… Read More Book Review: Help Me by Marianne Powers
AD The 1990s were a pretty special time for me, I left school, went to university and started my first ever job as a newspaper reporter. I have some really happy memories from the decade and look back fondly of school, leaving home and finding my independence. So I’ve put together five things that I loved most… Read More How great were the 1990s?
I feel like I really should like camping, I love the outdoors and being in the open countryside, but no; I definitely hate it. Unfortunately the boy and husband rather enjoy it but after one awful holiday in North Yorkshire I vowed never to go again.Queue glamping, this offers the joys of an outdoorsy holiday… Read More Glamping tips and top spots for luxury camping
Dorset is never a place I had thought of visiting. It’s a very long way from Yorkshire and I had never had a reason to go. Until now. With a tank-mad 13 year old it suddenly became the centre of the universe (it’s home to the only tank museum in the country) so after much… Read More Five things to do in Dorset
It is testament to how good The Tank Museum is that I’m actually writing this while in the cafe of the Museum on our second visit of the week. Now most people do not eat, drink and sleep tanks in the same way as my teenager. For him it has been an experience of religious… Read More A day out at The Tank Museum
Thirteen years ago a hefty bundle of joy landed on my lap and turned my world upside down. Bringing up Harry has been challenging at times but hugely rewarding. I don’t profess to have all the answers, but here are a few things I wish I had known as a new mum. The guiltDon’t… Read More Advice to a new Mum from an old-ish Mum
Many of us have thought, at one time or another, how great it would be to leave the shackles of the day job and make a living from what truly makes us happy. But is it really possible? The lure of a regular income keeps many of us in jobs we otherwise may have left.… Read More Book review: Ruth Kudzi Is This It?
