It’s been a long (almost) six months but finally – finally! – the children have gone back to school. And just like that the house is quiet. Messy, but quiet. Obviously I’m really happy they’ve gone back but it does feel very weird not having them in the house after all this time. A bit …
Yup, still January. But there have been highlights: I got to hold a copy of my new (old) book, the updated Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide, in my hands for the first time. (There’s a cracking competition coming up to celebrate the book launching on the 6th February, more on that soon). And I did Saturday …
Right, two things. Firstly, thank you SO much for all the lovely comments on last week’s blog post. I know there was an incentive (free wine!) but seriously, they were a real joy to read. And enormously appreciated. The other thing is *tries to sound casual, fails* I’m joining BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen as a drinks …
Actually it was all morning, tasting a line up of rosé wines made by celebrities on This Morning. I had to really concentrate, not least because all I really wanted to ask was where presenter Rochelle Humes got her dress from (Ganni, I looked it up afterwards). But also because we had to speed-taste our …
And so finally – finally! – my kids have broken up for the summer holidays. After what felt like weeks of end of term celebrations, we headed to the beach after their last day. The kids all jumped into the sea in their uniforms as parents watched on, mainlining crisps and a glass of rosé. …
Grief is a funny thing. As in peculiar rather than ha ha, obviously. Seventeen years ago my brother died. I remember, a few years after, googling the five stages of grief. I just wanted to know when it would stop hurting so much. But the thing is grief doesn’t ever really go away. It does, …
Earlier this week I celebrated a birthday with a round of French 75s, a hot bath and an eye mask. I know, hardly rock & roll. But I liked it. In fact, the eye mask ( a present from my sister) was so good, I have to tell you about them. Called Space Masks, they …
Honestly, I never used to get the whole self-care thing. In my twenties, I was too busy. In my thirties, too tired. But now, in my forties, I’m getting the hang of it. One morning a week I go for a swim followed by a Pilates class. Two hours feels like four and I always …
So all my presents are bought, wrapped and ready to go. Cards have been written. Homemade mince pies are stashed in the freezer. In my dreams, obviously. Honestly, when it comes to Christmas planning I’m definitely not your woman. But when it comes to sorting out drinks, that I can do. If you’re on the lookout …
Not that we really need an excuse to open a bottle of something pink and sparkly but at least on Valentine’s Day we don’t even have to make one up. Very quickly, what makes wine pink? Answer: the skins of the grapes. You can’t make rose from white grapes; but add red grapes into the …
That whole bake with your kids thing? Lovely in theory, carnage in practice in my experience. Last week we spent an evening making cupcakes for a friend’s charity cake sale at school. Once the cakes were made, Middle Boy and Youngest Girl set about decorating them with everything they could find in the the cupboard. Silver …
You know how kids get a sticker if they’re brave/don’t cry when they visit the dentist? I think parents should get one of those for surviving the school shoe shop. Honestly, the seventh circle of hell is a more pleasant place to hang out than the John Lewis children’s shoe department in the last week of the …
Last Saturday night, I donned a gold lamé catsuit for a wine tasting. Of course I did, because it was Camp Bestival and I was doing the Secret Mummies Wine Club with the Scummy Mummies and DJ Sara Cox. And it was one of the funniest wine tastings I’ve ever done. The wines were fabulous, the crowd was gorgeous and …
Lots of you have been kind enough to tell me that you find the new wine search function on the website useful (‘THIS WILL CHANGE MY LIFE’, said one, brilliantly). Then, this morning, a friend showed me how she’s downloaded the Search Wine bit to her phone home screen, taking her straight to the wine reviews when she’s …
By George, wine duty is on the rise again. Delivering his latest Budget, the Chancellor froze duty on beer and spirits. But not wine, which will rise in line with inflation. We already pay £2.05 in tax on every bottle of wine we buy, and that’s before VAT. It’s enough to make you want to…well, you …
So, Mother’s Day on Sunday. Already looking forward to my cup of tea in bed, cards and a few hastily freshly picked daffodils from the garden. But given that I plan to be on the sofa, glass in hand whilst someone else does the washing up, I want something really lovely in my glass. So this week’s wines are freshly …
So, Half Term. I’ve loved not having to wake up to an alarm when it’s still dark outside. Eating breakfast in our pyjamas (which may or may not have been chocolate brownies one particular morning – please don’t look at me like that) has been a joy. We’ve caught up with old mates, walked the dogs, played football (actually I …
Last Saturday, I was front page news. Well, sort of. My face was on the front of the paper – in Spain. Here, I was slightly less in-your-face, tucked inside with a feature on, er, my face. Specifically, the effect a wine-free month had on my skin, along with some rather hideous close-ups of it pre- and post-January. …
So, I’ve had a nightmare this half term. The washing machine broke. Honestly, it was terrifying. Piles of washing everywhere. On top of that, there’s Saturday’s Trickle Treat (as Youngest Girl calls it) outing to think about. Our kids usually bring home enough sweets to open a shop, thanks to us being one of only …
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 …
If I ever get my arse into gear and write the fiction book that floats around in my head from time to time, this would be the title. But for now, with the nightmare juggle that is school holidays, work and trying to not let the house go to ruin, this just relates to my …
This has been a cracking week for your wine questions (one of the things I love about writing this blog is being able to help with them). Here are some of my favourites: 1. Which are the best wines to look for in a French supermarket? 2. Why is my glass of chablis so yellow? …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The last time we picked a winner on the blog, my mother wasn’t available to do the honours. She was on her way to the cinema ‘2 c When I wake up’. Not only does she text like a teen, she has a brilliant way of slightly re-wording things (she was actually seeing Before I …
Well, that was fun. My Camp Bestival highlights included the wine tasting I did for 50 fellow knackered mothers on Saturday evening; seeing the children race around the Kids’ Garden in their circus outfits (one elephant, two human cannonballs and a clown); and sitting outside our tent in the evening sun sipping bag in box …
I planned to do a KMWC wine surgery film tonight but, after Vegas, my eyes are like piss holes in the snow (to coin one of my mother’s favourite sayings). So we’ll leave that for next week. Instead, I have a rather excellent giveaway. As you know (unless you’re new here, in which case, welcome …
We’re back from our half term trip to Scotland. And I must say, the views were amazing. Especially this one. Current rose in the fridge: Guillerault Fargette Sancerre Rose 2012, £21.99, Costco Look closely at the bottle. It’s a magnum, A MAGNUM, of rose. From Sancerre, from a really great producer (I used to buy …
Like many of you I’m sure, this week mostly involves getting through half-term week without shouting too much or spending too much (£60 for us all to go and see The Lego Movie and that was before we got past the pick ‘n’ mix). Then there’s the work thing: the people on the other end …
At last night’s school concert, in which Eldest Boy was playing the guitar, I was on the mulled wine. As in my job was handing it out to people as they came into the school hall. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice that the urn containing the mulled wine was on its hotter-than-the-sun setting. Which caused it …
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 …
vb. pootle to move leisurely, with or without purpose Now, no great shakes but I’m usually in a hurry. Whether it is shouting getting the children into the car for the school run, racing to get a train on my work days or tearing round the supermarket at break-neck speed, the big Countdown clock looms. …
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 …
Mother’s Day is marked by the cup of tea in bed, a selection of home-made cards and a group hug. All at about 6am which is, you know, a bit annoying but lovely nonetheless. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Except for the present, maybe. Currently, we go home-made. But to be honest, I’d cope …
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 …
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 Monday, I hit send. I pressed the button and off went my book (or manuscript, apparently) to my editor. Thing is, I still can’t say manuscript without feeling like this shouldn’t happening to me, or for that matter say editor without wanting to actually hug her. But then Eldest Boy said to me “so, does …
Two booze-free days a week, that’s what we’ve been told by a group of MPs. I think that’s a sensible idea, not least because it gives us time to plan – on the wine-free days – exactly what we are going to enjoy a glass of on the non-wine-free days. In fact, a friend asked …
I know that advice is only appreciated if you ask for it in the first place. Take being pregnant, for example. A largely – literally – good experience bar the unsolicited advice thrown at you from the moment your up-the-duffness becomes public knowledge. But advice is usually given with your best interests at heart and …
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 …
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 …
Apparently 70% of all booze in the UK is bought when on offer. I was quite surprised by this. Until I thought about it, that is. I love a bargain. I can’t remember the last time I bought baby wipes that weren’t on a three-for-two offer. Crisps on buy-one-get-one-free? Ship ’em in. Washing powder, bags …
I’ve been away from home for a few nights, spending the days working on a wine stand at the annual London International Wine Fair. Cue much swirling, sipping and spitting whilst surrounded by hundreds of bottles of wine. Now I’m home and have been cobbling a vicar’s outfit together for my son to take to …
I am very excited about Friday for a number of reasons. We’ll be in our new house having moved the day before AND we have a Royal Wedding to watch. Best of all, my darling sister is coming over from Brussels for a few days just so she can watch it on TV with me …
I’ve always dismissed the Christmas round robin letter idea. Even worse, an e-Christmas card. But this evening I found myself replying via email to a group of old friends who are now placed all over the world and realised that summing up all the important news in one’s life is actually a very good exercise. Here’s mine: Eldest …
Dear Celebrity Masterchef, I thought I could do it. I thought I could go cold turkey, perhaps even use the time I used to spend with you doing something more productive. Perhaps take up the hem on the trousers I bought over a month ago, maybe finish the book I have been reading for the last two. Of course, I’d forgotten …
It’s eldest son’s school Annual Ball for parents on Saturday night and I am looking forward to it and dreading it in equal measure. The pros include meeting up with good friends for stiff drinks before we go and, later, being able to dance to live music then disco whilst slightly under the influence. I love dancing; proper hands in …
Last week, I was averaging 150 wines a day. In a professional capacity of course: I am one of the judges at this year’s International Wine Challenge held in London. Winning wines will boast a gold, silver or bronze medal – results released in May – hopefully making the (often hideously confusing) task of choosing …
There is a dance routine that I have perfected over the years. It is set to Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ and is performed in the kitchen at times of extreme stress or emotion to my favourite audience: my three children. The five year old laughs like a madman, the two year old looks bemused but laughs all the same …
There was a time when the Sunday Papers were read cover to cover all before our first glass of wine at lunchtime on a Sunday. No longer. Now, I might manage one article in short bursts over the course of the morning in between feeding/dressing/conversing with various small people in the house. By the time lunch has been …
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