I know, I can’t believe it either. But yes, I did Celebrity Mastermind and it airs on BBC1 this Saturday. My specialist subject is Jackie Collins (natch) and no spoilers but remember it’s all about the taking part! And despite it being one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done it was also one …
Happy New Year to you! A bit late but I had a busy start to the year hanging out (literally) in my swimwear doing a wine tasting in a hot tub halfway up a Swiss mountain ON NATIONAL TELEVISION. I know, I can’t believe it either but if you missed it and want to see …
So they’re finally back at school (pumps fist) and I’m very much back to work after a few weeks off. Well, I say work. I was lucky enough to be invited to stay at the newly opened Pig Hotel in the South Downs and to say I was excited to be out is understating it …
As you know, I spend a lot of time tasting wine. (Yes, I know. My job is ridiculous). But over the next few weeks I’ll be tasting more wines than usual. Around 300 a day, in fact. It’s the International Wine Challenge and as one of the judges I’m lucky enough to get to taste …
Time’s hardly flying by at the moment (seriously, a single home-school day feels like a week right now) but one thing that’s come around really quickly is *drum roll* publication day for my debut novel, This Changes Everything. Out on the 9th February, it’s available to pre-order here in paperback, e-book and audiobook (btw, if …
Last week I had a proper break. Sadly it didn’t involve a tropical island for obvious reasons but we did escape to Cornwall for a few days to stay in one of my favourite pubs on the planet. Called The Gurnard’s Head, it sits above a stunning stretch of Cornish coastline, all crashing waves, jagged …
I’ve been drinking quite a bit in the mornings lately. For work obviously, most recently with Holly & Phil on This Morning. And one of my favourite wines in the line up was an organic red blend from Puglia that comes in what looks like a giant paint tin. It’s basically bag-in-box reimagined, holding three …
Not entirely sure what day it is but with two out of three kids now back at (home) school, we’re back to some sort of routine. Namely, arguing about who’s hogging the kitchen table/using all the broadband/moved the charger. Such fun! Anyway, hoping you and yours are well and that you haven’t run out of …
First things first: sending love to you and yours. Uncertain times but one thing I can do here is provide free wine advice on tap. Not as good as providing actual free wine on tap. Still, I’ve doubled up on the wine recommendations this week. All are available for home delivery and one’s from one …
Firstly, an enormous thank you to anyone who bought a(nother) copy of The Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide. I didn’t think publication day would feel quite like it did second time around but it was a really joyful day full of messages, flowers and a few happy tears. And then it was half term. I seem …
I spent pretty much all of Saturday in the kitchen. But unlike my own (messy, overrun with dogs/kids) this one was full of talented chefs and a celebrity guest. It was the Saturday Kitchen studio and I ate ridiculously good food for breakfast and talked wine with chefs Ollie Dabbous and Ellis Barrie, along with presenter …
We’re into the second week of half term (the boys have two weeks off. TWO WEEKS! ) and we’re all still talking to each other. Maybe with the odd shout thrown in but mostly talking, thanks in part to a brilliant new book called How To Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids by Carla …
As ever, I’m slightly late to the party but why didn’t anyone tell me about Samin Nosrat? My stepmother kindly bought me her book – Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – for my birthday last year and it sat on the bookshelf for a while because, if I’m honest, I didn’t really get it. No pictures, …
One of the best bits about being in a TV studio is you never know who you might see. I did a wine tasting on This Morning earlier this week and saw the back of Jason Donovan’s head and the woman from Tenko. And Phil & Holly of course (she really does smell like unicorns). …
Remember I hurt my knee doing The Nutcracker at Christmas? (We take charades very seriously in this house). Turns out I’ve got to have surgery later this week so I’ll be sofa-bound for a couple of days post-op. For obvious reasons, I’m thrilled at the prospect of being forced to put my feet up for …
I spent much of last week tasting wine in a professional capacity and therefore, sadly, having to spit it out. But there was one particular event that didn’t require any spitting. In fact, I pretty much gawped open-mouthed throughout (thank god I wasn’t tasting wine; could’ve been messy). As you know – because I’ve gone …
Last week, I was on Radio 4’s You & Yours programme talking about organic wines. The presenter, Peter White (it was Winifred’s day off), asked me if KMWC readers (that’s you!) were interested in organic wines and I said yes, actually. Lots of you are. Which is great: no chemicals used in the vineyard is …
Mother’s Day soon and to celebrate I’ve got some prizes I’m hoping might appeal to anyone who’s either knackered, a mother or both. First up, sleep. Sadly not a week’s uninterrupted sleep in a kingsize bed but I do have a box of Spacemasks (thank you, Harriet) and they’re basically the next best thing. Next, wine. …
A few years ago I bought a jumpsuit. We were off to New York for a long weekend and clearly thought a jumpsuit would elevate me from knackered mother to potential extra in Gossip Girl in one outfit. Instead, I remember feeling like a giant toddler. Except with wine. And going to the loo was …
So, how was it for you? Aside from doing my knee in (again) whilst trying to act out The Nutcracker in a family game of charades on Christmas Eve, mine was great. But the kids went back to school yesterday (fist bump) and much as I’ve loved lying on the sofa sipping Brandy Alexanders whilst …
Last week was a bit of a monster. Work (so to speak) included hosting a cocktail tasting at a local Singles Night, speaking at a literary festival lunch for book clubs and doing a wine tasting for a great/thirsty bunch in London. Play (so to speak) included a Halloween Party for 14 kids and a …
I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know that I’m not doing Sober October because a) life’s too short and b) life’s too short. But I saw a friend of mine who is doing it recently and man, their skin looked good. Given that I want to have my cake/glass and eat/drink it, I realised …
Just as the change of season requires a change of clothing strategy (so long kaftans, hello jumpers AT LAST) so does the wine rack. I mean, it’s not like I won’t drink rosé in colder months but it just doesn’t taste as good without sun on skin. Anyway, a box of wine appeared on my …
I love a fancy dress party. So I went all out on Saturday at an 80’s themed party (the decade, not the age). I’m talking zebra print dress, black leggings, gold boots, candy pink leg warmers, arms covered in plastic bangles, lots of pink and blue eyeshadow and half a can of backcomb spray in …
When it comes to Mother’s Day, I don’t ask for much. Which is just as well because the Husband would pass out if he knew how much my favourite bubble bath cost (Elemis Muscle Soak, as it happens). But I do insist on bubbles of another kind on Mother’s Day. In a glass bottle, preferably …
Well, the Menorcan mini-break with gorgeous girlfriends was a boon and I came back truly refreshed. A little too refreshed, to be honest – there was a lot of rosé. And crisps. But we swam in the sea every morning (glorious!), shopped and sunbathed a little, walked, talked and laughed until we cried a lot. …
Oh, how I love this time of year. I’m back in jumpers. I’ve picked blackberries. I’m drinking red wine in front of the fire. Truly: my comfort zone. But I saw a quote on Instagram the other day (bear with me) and it said that outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens. …
Well, wasn’t that fun? Six weeks filled with sun and fun. Apart from the bits when it p*ssed with rain (quite a lot) and we all drove each other mad (quite a lot). But now it’s all over and the children are back at school. For the first time in months the house is quiet. An …
This weekend I’m off to Camp Bestival for one of my favourite gigs of the year, the Secret Mummies Wine Club. Together with the brilliant catsuit-wearing goddesses of comedy The Scummy Mummies, we’ll be doing a pop-up wine tasting for around 50 fellow knackered mothers/wine lovers (and a few brave fathers) in a tent. If …
What a week. Met a deadline on Tuesday, another on Wednesday, had a flat tyre on Thursday (sorry, this is sounding like the worst Craig David song ever). But – hooray! – it’s Friday and the weekend is almost ours. It’s been quite a week so when I did get that flat tyre yesterday, I made the most …
Last week was mostly fuelled by codeine following knee surgery so I didn’t get to post. Instead I shared something on the KMWC Facebook page I’d prepared earlier: me flying on a trapeze. Filmed months before I did my knee in, obviously. Anyway more on that here next week but for now, given that it’s been …
I’m being forced to put my feet up. Or at least one of them because I’m having that knee operation tomorrow. So, this morning I went for one last walk on the forest with five friends and nine dogs and it was gorgeous. And funny: one friend turned up with a burst blood vessel in her …
Yes, that is a pea in my drink. And it was delicious, sipped in the Seedlip bar at the Chelsea Flower Show where I spent yesterday afternoon enjoying a slice of horticultural heaven. The gardens on show were beautiful, giving me serious garden envy. I mean, I can just about manage a few herbs, even the odd pot …
Currently, my kitchen table looks like some kind of crazy lady tiki bar. Turns out writing a book about homemade cocktails is a lot of fun. And messy. I did have a slightly awkward moment yesterday when buying a 1.5l bottle of vodka straight after the school run – I don’t think me saying “this isn’t …
There’s one thing better than a perfect glass of wine – and that’s a perfect glass of wine with exactly the right kind of food. Seriously, when you get the flavour combination right, everything tastes better. A simple omelette is anything but when put with a glass of chilled Chablis. Fish and chips and a …
So this is me, holding a copy of my new book – Teetotal Tipples – in my hand. Obviously, I have a glass of wine in the other. It’s now exactly a month until the book is out but you can pre-order it here! I wrote it because, having done a dry January earlier this year, I realised …
I’m often late to the party. I don’t mean an actual party. Just, you know, the “party”. Take parkas: only just ordered one and they’ve been around since, like, forever. Or box sets. By the time we sit down to watch something I’ve usually heard or read so much about it I feel like I’ve already seen it. Then there’s spiralising, although …
Last Saturday night, we had our biennial School Ball. It might be a tiny village school but when it comes to parties, it goes large. We’re talking black tie, dinner, dancing. For the last ten years I’ve had a go-to dress for such occasions: jade green, very Studio 54 (in my head). Minus the horse, obviously. Problem …
Remember when I did a dry January? I do, all too clearly. Anyway, the thing I found tough was not the not drinking so much as finding something non-alcoholic and interesting to drink in the evenings. Given that we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a glass of wine, it’s surprisingly difficult to …
Another week in London for me this week, working at the International Wine Challenge. And in the evenings, I’ve gone crazy. Sort of. On Monday, an old wine friend treated me to dinner at Noble Rot, a new restaurant in Bloomsbury. Nothing rotten about it at all, rather it’s the most fabulous place for wine along with …
For my sister’s birthday, I ordered her the most fantastic sweatshirt from Selfish Mother’s (uh-mazing) website. It’s this one, grey with the word SISTA emblazoned across the front. Anyway, I sent it on to her, all wrapped up. But after about a week, she still hadn’t received it. Turns out, I’d sent it to her …
Yesterday was One Of Those Days. Came back from the school run to find the puppies had escaped from the kitchen, tearing through the bins on their way out before moving on to Youngest Girl’s cuddly toy stash. Opened the front door to utter carnage, like a horror version of The Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Stuffing everywhere. …
According to new alcohol consumption guidelines issued last week, drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week is bad for us. From now on we’re advised to drink no more than seven glasses of wine a week. If pregnant, it’s nothing at all. And you know that thing about wine being good for you in moderation? …
Ah, new year’s resolutions. Mine remain pretty much as they did last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. Basically, be healthy-ish and only shout when absolutely necessary. Usually, I’m an everything-in-moderation-including-moderation kinda girl. Except this year, for the first time ever, I’m going dry for January. No booze will pass my lips until …
Went to watch Middle Boy and Youngest Girl in their Harvest Festival show earlier today. And it really was a show, including a song called ‘Rock & Roll Harvest’. My favourite Neil Young song is Harvest Moon, but this came pretty close as harvest-themed songs go. Funnily enough, one of the first posts I ever …
You already know about my granola habit. Tonight – I blame Bake Off – I decided to move on to bread. Now, I love my carbs (how can you not love carbs?) and so when I saw the recipe for protein bread in Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook Super Food (a recent birthday present), I thought …
Me & my sister at Camp Bestival. It might be pissing down with rain now but here’s proof that we did have blue skies this summer. Gone in a flash, though. Well, it might have seemed ENDLESS sometime in the middle but we’re now less than a week away before they go back to school. …
The Scummy Mummies perform their song – for us! I’ve got all three for you this week. First up, listen to this podcast by the Scummy Mummies. Recorded at Camp Bestival last month, we talk about wine, stalking Cheryl and play Celebrity Wines (clue: Cava Delevigne was one of the answers). At the end of …
So, I went to Lake Como last week. I won’t go on about it (much) but SERIOUSLY. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. And we had a Very Famous Person on our flight out. I realised something was up when one of the air stewards practically exploded with excitement and mouthed to …
I went to a big blogging conference in London last Friday, BritMums Live, to speak on a panel. Along with English Mum and Honest Mum, we were asked to talk to an audience of bloggers about our stories and how we’ve gone about building our blogs. And I got to meet Ella Woodward from Deliciously …
Last night was Book Club and no, I hadn’t read the book (it was a medical-themed book with really tiny print – double whammy). I took a bottle of English white wine in the hope it would act as a diversion – it sort of worked – and as ever the chat was 10% book, …
In the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to do wine tastings at festivals all over the place. And one of the highlights was at Camp Bestival last year, a pop-up tasting for fifty fellow knackered mothers and wine lovers. So I’m really happy to have been asked back again this year as part …
We’ve just returned from a few days staying with old mates in Scotland and joining us on our long journey home were a couple of new additions to our household. Meet Yankee & Zulu, our eight week old cocker spaniel puppies. Half term just got a whole lot more hectic, in a good way. Like …
‘Where’s your wee wine gone?’ asked Eldest Boy earlier today. He was referring to the wine I’ve just made. As a wine buyer I spent much of my time in cold cellars tasting wine samples from tanks but until now, I’d never made my own wine from start to finish. Granted, the grapes came in …
I know it’s what’s on the inside that counts but when it comes to wine labels, I’m a sucker for a good looking label. Whether it’s wine, a book or something in Anthropologie (make that anything in Anthropologie), liking the look of something is what makes me pick it up in the first place. And …
I love a good handbag. And given that most of the armful I own are old vintage, I especially love the ones built to last. No mean feat when it’s not uncommon to have a bottle of wine stashed inside (for work purposes, obviously) along with the usual wallet/keys/sunglasses combo and any number of squashed …
So, this is a really big picture of me. It’s in the latest Waitrose Kitchen magazine and is the first of my monthly wine course features. I’m sitting on my kitchen table (I don’t usually do that) with a glass of wine in my hand (that one more so). I have been dying to tell …
L-R: Hugh, Michel Roux Jr (chair) & Jancis Last night, a friend and I went to a brilliant event in London that brought together two of the world’s best wine writers, Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson. If you only ever buy one wine book in your life (once you’ve bought mine, of course *best smile*), make …
I’m supposed to be in the cinema as I type this, watching Fifty Shades of Grey with friends (I live in the sticks, it took a while to get here). But I just didn’t have the energy: too tired. Oh, the irony! In my defence, I was out last night – Book Club – and …
Last Friday, I went to the Bath Literary Festival and my session was at 7.30pm. Turned out so was Kazuo Ishiguro’s, in the room next door. He might have won the Booker Prize but I had free wine (very kindly donated by wine merchant Averys of Bristol – thank you, Mimi). And afterwards, as I …
Photo: Annie Spratt My friend Annie took this beautiful photo when she visited the project Mothers2Mothers in Kenya just a few weeks ago as part of Team Honk’s work to highlight projects being supported by Comic Relief. In Kenya, more than a million children have been orphaned after losing one or both parents to HIV. Mothers2Mothers …
This week, I’ve been mostly fuelled by tea and chocolate brownies. One day I will have a tin of ready-made healthy snacks to tuck into. That, and a pre-made tiffin box of quinoa salad on hand for lunch on-the-go. Just not this week. But today, with deadlines met, I dropped in to see my mum …
Friday night fizz. Small things. You know my feelings about January. I don’t much like it. Which is why it’s important to have things to look forward to, however small. As I type, the Husband is on his way back from a week in Taiwan. And he’s just texted from Duty Free to ask if I …
On a shoot last week, hat at jaunty angle. This last week has been a blur of school music concerts, nativity plays (the cowboy theme totally worked, by the way), panic baking and just-about-making work deadlines. The children are so ready for the end of term and so excited about Christmas. Me too, not least …
Best party trick ever. So, today a space probe landed on a comet for the first time. And Kim Kardashian balanced a champagne glass on her bum. Guess which one broke the internet? But here’s the tragic part. All I could think when I saw the photo of KK was goodness, what spillage! Still, she looks …
Every year, when the temperature drops, I do the jumper swap. Away go the 286 breton-stripped tops that I own (I’ve been buying them since 1988; never got the memo about horizontal stripes and big boobs). Out come the chunky knits and in them I stay until at least March. Except, when I sorted through …
Guess where I went last week? No, not to market. But neither did I stay at home. Rather, I had a night away in a hotel called The Pig – on the beach. It’s in Studland Bay and I was asked to join a party for dinner and then stay the night. In a bed, …
I was going to settle down to write this hours ago. But then I started reading other blogs, some SO bloody brilliant, I couldn’t stop reading them. Like this post from Reluctant Launderer, in which she makes bread and drinks cocktails. Or this one from Claire at Crumbs (warning, it’s sad but there is cake). …
“Blimey, are they still at school?” remarked my husband as Eldest Boy scooted past in his school uniform. That was yesterday and yes, they were still at school. Today, happily, they are not. Instead, the weeks stretch ahead and – especially with this glorious weather – there’s much to look forward to. We’re off to …
A bucket. Of chips. I love a list. But I don’t have a bucket list. So I thought I’d write one for this summer. Not the usual climb-a-mountain-run-a-marathon kind of list though. Rather, a wine bucket list: 10 wines I aim to find and buy and drink over the summer. Here it is: 1. Alpine …
I’m starting to think about writing another book. One of my oldest friends wants me to write one about bubbles: Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, English Sparkling Wine and anything else that fits the bill and should be in your glass at some point. I love the idea, but secretly think she just wants an excuse for …
I was at the Borders Book Festival this weekend. And it was brilliant fun. Here’s my selfie at the start of the session (rude not to). And not only was the crowd simply lovely, I got to meet up with my blogging mate Harriet and drink wine in the Green Room with her whilst Emma Thompson’s mother discussed …
Credit: id-iom The funny thing about wine is that, despite being one of the perks of life, it’s often treated very seriously indeed. Which is why things like this (points to the picture) really make me laugh. And if you’ve ever wondered just how to pronounce Chateauneuf-du-Pape properly, watch this*. But if I can be serious for a …
Today, I have mostly been drinking from the bottle. Of Pholcodine, that is. What started as a sore throat is now a cold which, seeing as I taste wines for a living, is a bit of a bugger. So I’m throwing linctus (horrible word, almost as bad as moist) at the problem. That and a …
In the song, it’s a dirty story of a dirty man. And it took him years to write. Mine took six months of Saturdays and it’s all about wine. Much more useful, IMHO. Described as ‘useful, interesting and very funny’ by Victoria Moore (I especially like funny). And India Knight said it doesn’t just simplify …
Look! It’s the new cover for the KMWC paperback, out next month. I’m rather hoping you’ve bought a copy by now *looks you all in the eye* but if you need a present for a friend for under a tenner? Voila. Also, I’m back on The Alan Titchmarsh Show every Friday from tomorrow and, it …
“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.” So said a friend, or rather so said her shared photo on Facebook. My immediate response was lovely idea, but if I do that nowadays I slightly wee. Then I thought some more and given the …
Being married to Mr Christmas (not his real name, obviously) means the tree is up and the Christmas playlist is on repeat. Has been since Sunday. It also means that we’ve made a start on the presents which, given that there are three children, twelve nieces and nephews and a number of godchildren to think …
“Are we going to run out of wine?” someone asked me last week. At first I thought they were referring to me personally, you know, at home. Which, frankly, just wouldn’t happen. We might frequently run out of milk, bread and bin liners but I have never, ever knowingly run out of wine. In fact, …
Nothing to do with time at the bar (if you want to know just how bad I am at bar work, read this). Rather, at Book Club earlier this week the proposed next book was being passed round the table. And when I start a new book, I check two things. 1) The number of …
Not even a broken down car on the school run (luckily just after I’d dropped them at school) and an hour’s wait in the rain could dampen my spirits this morning. Because yesterday, I did a wine tasting with Sooty & Sweep. It was hilarious, a real Tena Lady moment as my sister would say. …
This time next week I’ll have finished recording my first ever bit of telly for The Alan Titchmarsh Show. I’m so excited. And just a little bit nervous. But with any luck, I’ll be as happy in front of the camera as my mother apparently is, announcing the winner of the Corkcicle competition: Current white …
The last few weeks have been filled with days spent on various beaches. First in Brittany, where there was also a fair bit of time spent imbibing bread, cheese and wine. And then in Cornwall, with obligatory cream teas. And more wine, obviously. So after pulling on a pair of slightly-too-tight jeans this morning I …
So, tonight’s supper wasn’t my finest. The Husband’s away and I’ve got work to do before we go on holiday, so a packet of crisps and a glass of Soave it was. At five to eight. OK, not that funny but seriously, I’m not what you’d call a ‘natural’ dieter mostly due to my ‘natural’ …
Seven days into the school holidays and already it feels twice that. But, loving that we can have breakfast in pyjamas and I don’t have to shout say ‘Coat! Book bag!’ seventy billion times in the space of five minutes every morning before embarking on the school run. Now we’ve got a tent up in the garden, …
I am 40 years old, married with three children and I’m really tired. I probably should have washed my hair yesterday, I’ve just noticed there’s dried Weetabix on my t-shirt, the washing is threatening to burst out of the basket, we’ve run out of milk and I think we’ve got people coming at the weekend. …
Hot weather = less clothes. I’m not great at less clothes, unless you count wearing my dressing gown, which I can do for hours, with ease, every Sunday morning. No, I’m happier when jean-clad and wrapped in jumpers. But this heatwave has seen me, for the first time in years, wearing shorts and genuinely not …
My, how time flies. It’s School Fete time again and the ‘call to arms’ letter glares at me from beneath the fridge magnet, asking for cake & biscuit donations, scones for cream teas, unwanted toys for the toy stall, decorated jam jars filled with sweets and prizes for the tombola. Now, as some of you know, I have …
Last night I did a wine tasting for about 40 knackered mothers, organised by the very brilliant Hungerford Bookshop. Emma, who runs the bookshop, got the local independent wine shop to bring some wines for us to taste together and all I had to do was talk about my specialist subjects. Namely wine, me and …
Instead of kittens. Here’s me, standing next to the very lovely Claudia Winkleman (I know!). The occasion was the inaugural Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards and I was shortlisted in the Online Drinks Writer category. Anyway, thing is, I won. Yes, I did. And I’m holding a little F&M silver hamper with my name …
OK, it mostly is but bear with until the end of the post and if you’re in London over the bank holiday weekend, there’s a chance to grab some tickets for a big wine thing. So, me first. I has news. Firstly, hampers-and-loose-leaf-tea emporium Fortnum & Mason, on London’s Piccadilly, has announced the shortlist for …
Well, that was fun. Last Friday saw the first ever Mumsnet wine tasting on twitter, hosted by yours truly. I sat at the kitchen table wearing my *concentrating face* and prepared for an hour of tweeting all things wine. As it turned out, within minutes I was laughing out loud. Or lolzing. The tweets coming in …
So, we had a little party last night for friends who couldn’t make it to London for the official KMWC book launch a few weeks ago. And as you can see, my mum made herself useful. Yes, she is actually signing my book. And what’s more, no-one seemed to mind. In other news (back to …
Someone asked me today why I thought the wine industry was such a male-dominated one. When I went for my first ever job interview with a wine company almost 20 years ago, I was asked if I could type before they looked at my qualifications (I couldn’t). Actually, there are lots of brilliant women in …
No, not me, silly. Not that I would mind getting married again*, having gone to the most beautiful of second weddings last Friday. If ever there was a time to have a day of pure life-affirming joy with old friends, celebrating love, then early January is it. Most of us were in tears before the …
Last week was mad, in a very good way. I won Red’s Hot Women Award in the Blogger category. I met some amazing people. And I was in the room with CLARE BALDING. This is all anyone has asked me about, so for the record: 1. She looks super-friendly (but I didn’t get close enough to say …
Last week, at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) annual banquet at the Guildhall, I was named Blogger of the Year* along with the properly brilliant Jamie Goode from wineanorak.com. It was quite the do, and I would share the official photo with you but my lipstick was a horrible colour and my arm …
The proofs for my FORTHCOMING BOOK arrived last week (sorry, didn’t mean to shout), a final chance for me to read it through and make sure everything is as it should be. To be honest, I’ve still got my doubts. Not about the book, rather the fact that I might be, in fact, dreaming this …
There’s been a fair few reports in the last week, including one on how it is the mother, rather than the father’s drinking habits that shape how our children will drink in 20 years time (based largely on the fact that fathers drink in the pub, mothers at home). There was the one about baby boomers being …
A while ago, I made this little vlog about tasting wine. It explains the basics behind that rather ridiculous sniff/swirl/spit action, essential if you want to discover what’s really in your glass. But in fact, the best way to taste wine is to compare and contrast, with a number of different wines lined up in …
So, if you know that Gris is the name of a grape, that joke is funny-ish. Actually, the grape is better known as Pinot Grigio, but I digress. Point is, I’ll be discussing Fifty Shades this week at Book Club. Over the Summer we also read Nora Ephron’s Heartburn – a brilliantly funny/heartbreakingly sad book …
We’re back from holiday. Nothing terribly exciting to report; whilst Harry played strip billiards in Vegas, I was making another round of sandwiches for a trip to the beach. (Nb I didn’t see Harry naked on the internet. Not for any moral reason, rather there was no broadband where we were in Cornwall). Anyway, although …
I’m not going to complain about it being too hot. Really, I’m not. It’s glorious. This week Eldest Boy is learning to sail on our local river. Middle Boy has spent much of his time jumping, repeatedly, over a sprinkler in the garden. Even when it isn’t on. And Youngest Girl has mostly been saying: …
Last Saturday, I went to New York for work for a few days. I ate banana pancakes, sushi and steak. I drank a ginger mojito and glasses of German Riesling, Ribera del Duero and Albarino. I walked the Highline and shopped in the West Village. And for that time, it was bliss. But the best …
This week has been chaotic. Like, properly, stupidly, chaotic. Whoever thought it was a good idea to combine school holidays with a child’s bodyweight in chocolate clearly didn’t think it through. Same goes for holidays and working. Not a great match, as it goes. And then there was the sick bug. Two out of three …
If you fancy doing the same – combining cake and wine that is, not behaving badly in a tearoom – then here’s your chance! Enter English Mum’s Baked With Love Bakeoff and the winner gets pink fizz. I’ve heard that the judge is open to bribes and that my her favourite cake is coffee & …
Last night, as I shoved unsolicited advice about sparkling wines down your throats, Tara tweeted asking for some still wine recommendations, especially reds, for Christmas. So, since she asked, here’s what I’ve got in for next week: Whites in the fridge: Tesco Finest Argentinian Chardonnay 2010, £5 on offer, Tesco I shipped in some NZ …
No, I don’t mean whether K-Mid’s up the duff, or whether K-Kard’s wedding was a fake, or whether I’ve bought the right kick-ass winter boots (which I know I have, btw). No, what really matters this week is wearing a poppy, donating if possible and thinking about the people affected by war; past, present and …
Actually, I can’t talk about Kevin because I haven’t seen it yet but I am off to see it tonight, at the lovely cinema I told you about where you can take your wine glass in with you and the seats don’t make you feel like your head will be itching by the end of …
Next week, after 16 years of continuous employment (bar three maternity leaves), I am going freelance. It is either going to be the best thing I ever did, or a really, really silly thing to do. Let’s see, shall we? With huge thanks and a bear hug to Hugh MacLeod. Current white in the fridge: Porcupine …
I am 39 years old on Sunday. Totally fine with that. What I am not fine with is my birthday wish list. I wrote it down earlier this week. It looked like this: 1. A wheelbarrow 2. A new roasting dish That was it. Pathetic. I am sharing it with you now in the hope …
Rob is a wine trade expert, social media guru and knackered dad to boot. He talks and writes about wine for a living at Thirst For Wine, so I’m sure he was thrilled, really thrilled, when I asked him to write a post for us – which he’s done, beautifully – for nothing. Rob, you …
I do love a quiet night in. Tonight, I am mostly loving the sofa, my bowl of pasta, quite good telly (hurrah for Jo Frost! And Alan Sugar!) and a little glass of red. This is in stark contrast to last night, which saw me screaming like a banshee at a Take That concert, with …
Last night we had our latest Book Club meeting. Yet again, I failed to finish the book so had to ask a fellow BC member to fill me in on the details. I do try, really I do but in the evenings, once the children are done, food is cooked, a bit of telly is …
A recent study claimed that we couldn’t tell the difference between cheap wine and expensive wine. When asked to decide which was which, only 50% of respondents got it right. Weird, because in my experience, give someone a £5 bottle and a £10 bottle and most people can differentiate. We might not always prefer the …
Heroines, I’ve had a few: Nightingale (Florence & Annie), Nigella and any number of Jilly Cooper characters included (the ones who weren’t obviously pretty but then became ravishing once drenched in Diorissimo and tight on thunderous G&Ts). Another heroine is Jancis Robinson MW (Master of Wine), a walking wine authority. Jancis started Wine Relief in 1999 and has helped raise nearly …
According to Lorraine Candy, editor of Elle magazine, it’s easier to run an office of 40 than build a Lego fort. You don’t say. When I was on maternity leave after Eldest Boy was born it was obviously joyous, but it was also mind-numbingly monotonous at times. Engaging with little people against a backdrop of dirty washing and a toy-covered …
Maybe it is the harsh jute-like feel of January compared with the velvet comfort of December, but I am struggling to get going. It might be the extra weight I’m carrying (booze/food, not baby for once) but I think it is just January. I’ll go straight to the wines, that’ll cheer me up. This week’s white in the …
I’ve been watching Nigellaah cook on telly this evening. I love her. And, I. Want. Her. Kitchen. I have kitchen envy! How did it come to this? Surely I want the never-ending supply of jewel-coloured cashmere short-sleeved jumpers? Or, at least, the multi-millionaire husband and his art collection. Actually, no. I just want that kitchen. Although, must be said, the faux dinner …
I’ve been to a Christmas Fair tonight in the local Stately. I drank warm white wine and discussed cushions. I bought socks and a magnetic dartboard as presents. This is what warm white wine does to you. Stay clear. This week’s white in the fridge: The Reach Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £6.49 on offer, Tesco A reader – a …
Here in the cyber-playground, I’ve been tagged by the Merlot-swilling loving Eh, Mummy? and asked to write about my Perfect Man. Actually, she says I’m allowed to write about my perfect wine, which is a great relief because I couldn’t top her description in which she references John Holmes, dirty cow. My perfect wine has been, at various times, …
The Knackered Mother (knackeredus maternius) is most commonly seen in her natural habitat, the kitchen. Here, she slaves away putting food on the table for her children to flick all over the floor, occasionally falling silent to actually eat some of it. She exists on a diet of sandwich crusts, leftover fish fingers and mint kitkats with the …
Three brave fellow British Mummy Bloggers have just returned from a visit to Bangladesh with Save The Children to raise awareness for the Press For Change campaign, one that aims to help prevent the deaths of children. 9 million a year, to be precise. I’ve been following their trip here and whooping (to myself) when reading about …
Picture the scene: drinks reception for work, unfamiliar surroundings, friend introduces you to another friend. You greet them with great familiarity, you know you’ve met them before. Conversation starts. Brain shouting where have you met him before? What is his name? Weird, he really looks like that bloke who does Masterchef. Oh f*ck. It is that bloke who does Masterchef. The one you’ve never met …
Saturday night was fun, if a little wierd. I returned from eldest son’s School Ball with a splinter in my foot from shoes-off dancing. My husband returned with a painting having bid for it in the auction. I think he had the fizz equivalent of beer goggles for art on with that one. Fart goggles, perhaps. We got home, navigated our way through …
Following two weeks of tasting hundreds of wines all day, every day here, my take on the current wine-scape is this: 1. New Zealand Pinot Noir is usually divine. 2. Cheap South African red usually isn’t. 3. Champagne with a bit of age is much more interesting than young stuff. 4. Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchagua region tastes a bit like chocolate. 5. The Nebbiolo grape (of …
Earlier this evening, I filled two enormous bags with maternity and baby clothes for yet another nursery fundraiser. What struck me – apart from my dependency on New Look size XL tops when pregnant – is how easy it was to part with these clothes. Not just because I have worn them again and again, rather I know that I’m done. Even here in …
There are few things more dull than being stuck with the man who talks to your boobs rather than face at dinner but there is someone who trumps him in my experience: The Wine Bore. The WB uses wine knowledge like a weapon, beating those around him into submission with presumed superior wine powers. I’d be mortified to be labelled as such but if you ever catch …
I’m not sure quite when it was that I turned into my mother, but I have spent the last hour making mince pies. I’ve been accompanied by a Christmas playlist – made by still-bearded husband – and a rather gorgeous glass of Chianti Classico. Nonetheless, no-one warned me middle-aged Christmas domesticity would come and slap me in the face in …
That is the question, as it turns out. My husband is sporting a beard (grown pre-Becks, he likes to remind me) and I just can’t decide if I like it or not. One minute he looks like a manly bearded man, beautiful like a grizzly bear. The next he’s more like a wierd looking vagrant who’s wandered into our kitchen, …
All I had to do was make something for the middle son’s nursery charity cake stall on Saturday. Good people made glorious cakes, chutneys and jam. I, however, made my step-mother an offer she couldn’t refuse: a bottle of robust red wine for a pile of fairy cakes. Sometimes the work/life balance doesn’t work and …
My husband says I’m not to mention him in this blog unless it is in a positive light. So, unless my devastingly good-looking, intelligent, witty, so-hands-on-with-the-children-I-don’t-know-how-lucky-I-am husband does anything to upset me, he won’t be featuring. And so to the wines. A girlfriend turned up tonight to drop her son off for a sleepover and …
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