My children and I spend an inordinate amount of time at garden centres. If you were to follow our weekly round-up of nurseries you would be forgiven for labelling me an aficionado of horticulture, when in fact I don’t know my dahlias from my dandelions. The simple truth of the matter is that garden centres […]
Cradle to grave
The similarities between toddlers and old people never cease to astound me, whilst simultaneously making me cringe for my own future. Both my two year old and his grandfather break wind with impunity, have scant regard for the opinions of others, and can’t be left alone in the company of sharp knives. Neither has his […]
Accidental shoplifter
Cotswold towns do not lend themselves to pushchairs; they are filled with picturesque windy paths, cobbled streets and boutiques with narrow doorways and several sets of steps. Over the last year I have got to know my buggy’s limitations, and there are several well-worn circuitous paths we follow through town. We can never visit the […]
First Aid trauma
During The Big Snow I had one of those days when everything goes right. The weather rendered us house-bound once more; the car had been iced-in for days, and as my triple buggy weighs more than a baby elephant, I hadn’t even attempted to push it up the steep paths that wind through our Cotswold […]
The Work Wife
My office is tucked away in a little-used part of a long corridor on the second floor. It’s a bit shabby, but it’s all mine. And it has a key. I love it. It’s the first time I’ve had an office all to myself, and I revel in being able to do exactly what I […]
Going to Hell in a bath tub
I had lunch the other day with my father, who explained to me that he had discovered a sort of ‘cancer club’ of which he is now a member; “it’s not an official club, more of a wink wink, nudge nudge, sort of group” he said. “The worst thing about it is knowing that, sooner […]