Over the last couple of weeks I’ve done drinks with Luke Evans, WineTime with Kat (and a church full of brilliant women!) and sung carols with Cliff Richard. Honestly, I couldn’t feel more Christmassy if I rolled myself in glitter. However, I haven’t done anything to make me feel even remotely organised on the home …
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 …
Much as I love chocolate at Easter I’m more about the wines on the table, tbh. And this year it looks like we’ll be able to finally get together in the garden with people other than the ones we live with! To celebrate I’ve got a case of wine to give away so that your …
How are you? I know, me too. But the end of January is in sight and publication day for my debut novel This Changes Everything is just two weeks away! So, a little more about it. The story revolves around Julia, her two grown up daughters Annie and Jess and what happens when Julia receives …
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 …
So, I have news. I’ve been desperate to share this with you before now but had to keep it secret – and I’m terrible at keeping secrets. Which is somewhat ironic given that I’ve written a novel that contains a really big secret in the plot line. Anyway, here it is: This Changes Everything. It’s …
We’re back in big jumper season again and honestly, I’m thrilled. Much as I love the feel of sun on skin give me a polo neck, roaring fire and a glass of red any day. Or rather, evening. And when it comes to what’s in my glass I want something properly interesting and delicious. Step …
No, I’m not talking about breakfast (although wine at breakfast was an entirely acceptable notion during lockdown). It’s English Wine Week and I got to taste my way through a selection of brilliant wines (with Jack Whitehall!) on last weekend’s Saturday Kitchen. Details are on the programme’s website here and I’ve added a couple of …
It appears lockdown has changed me. First, there was the baking. So. Much. Banana. Bread. Then there was the Pilates. It used to be a once a week habit but I’ve been doing it almost every morning before home-schooling starts. Which is probably a good thing because a) all that banana bread and b) my …
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 …
Okay, not exactly a watermelon. It was a jackfruit. No, me neither but apparently they’re the ‘meat’ of the vegetable world and you can make curries and stews out of them and it feels a bit like eating pulled pork. Anyway, I got to carry one this weekend on Saturday Kitchen before heading to the …
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 …
It’s here! My new (old) book The Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide is out now in paperback! When I first wrote it eight – EIGHT! – years ago I wanted the book to be like a (funny) Highway Code for wine, covering all the stuff you really need to know when it comes to choosing a …
I’m definitely feeling festive and that’s not just the trifle-flavoured cream liqueur talking. The tree is up, mince pies have been made (and eaten in front of The Holiday) and I’ve even managed to buy a few presents, albeit online and maybe a little wine-fluenced. Anyway, some of you have been asking for fizz recommendations …
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 …
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 …
I had lunch with Rob Lowe last week. OK, ‘had lunch with’ might be pushing it. I was in a restaurant and he was on the next door table. Still, close enough to see that he looked pretty much as he did in St Elmo’s Fire but with slightly better hair. And to think I …
OK, January. You’ve had your ‘fun’. Case in point: I went to a HIIT class at the gym today. Or SHIIT as I like to call it. Now I can hardly walk. And even though I haven’t managed a dry January (once was enough; this one’s had a few damp patches) it’s still been relatively …
You know that thing I mentioned last week but couldn’t tell you about? I’ve been asked to be one of the judges for the 2019 Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards. I won the Online Drinks Writer Award in their inaugural year back in 2013 and, ohmigod, the party was one of the most celebrity-strewn …
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 …
Happy New Year! Yes, I know I’m a little late but we came crashing into 2018 with lost luggage, sick bugs and sizeable hangovers. Anyway, I’ve included a 0% wine and beer in the reviews below this week just in case you need a change from drinking tonic with a dash of bitters (and assuming …
So, here we are. As promised, there’s a bumper selection of suitably christmassy wines this week including the bargain champagne featured on last week’s This Morning. Yes, I did ACTUAL This Morning on the telly on Friday! A festive fizz tasting on ice with skating polar bears in the background. The clip’s on the KMWC …
Thank you for all my lovely birthday messages, especially the one that reminded me I’m now old enough to know what really matters. On that note, I’m off to Menorca with a couple of BFFs for a long weekend. I’ve made a lasagne and left it in the freezer at home (for some reason I …
This week, I hit 45. I know age is just a number blah blah blah but honestly, when I woke up on the morning of my 45th birthday it was the first time I’ve not been that excited about it being my birthday. The only way to describe it is feeling like I was at the …
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. …
So I won’t go on about it but I went to New York. For the weekend. With no kids. I know. I walked in Central Park desperately hoping to bump into Tom Hanks (I didn’t), window-shopped in Soho, stayed out late in Brooklyn and drank Old Fashioned like it was going out of…you know what I mean. We …
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 that’s January almost over and done with. Thank goodness; it’s been exhausting. But I have JUST the thing for anyone in need of a little r&r. Lime Wood, in the New Forest, is one of the most gorgeous hotels I know and their Herb House Spa is positively d-r-e-a-m-y. There’s a spa day for two up for grabs …
A couple of weeks into the new year and I still feel like staying under a blanket until February, preferably with a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and a glass of red within reach. I have managed to get to one Pilates class so far this year. I know, hardly Joe Wicks but still. (I did read …
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 …
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 …
I have Camp Bestival news: I’m doing a wine tasting on the Saturday night with the wee-inducinginly funny, gold catsuit-rocking comedy duo The Scummy Mummies. And our host for the evening is DJ Sara Cox. I know! And, if you fancy doing another (smaller) pop-up tasting on the Friday, with just me and a load of lovely …
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 …
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 …
Last weekend went by in a haze of lamb, rioja and gold Lindt bunnies. Now we’re well into the school holidays and I’m mostly running on leftover eggs (chocolate, not chicken). That and wine, obviously. Talking of which, I’ve gone for more wine recommendations than usual this week given the circumstances. You know, just in case the chocolate runs out.
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 …
January is over. I repeat: o-vah. And man, am I glad to see the back of it. Not just because I was wasn’t drinking. Really. But I’m happy to report I’ve had my first glass of wine of the year. It was chilled, sparkling and perfect. We had it with fish & chips, with my in-laws (on the …
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 …
Last week, I was given a couple of pheasants. We’re surrounded by them at the moment: every morning on the school run they saunter across the road looking so very now with their glorious autumnal colours, their white neck collars giving them a faintly religious air. I wasn’t sure how to cook the ones I was …
So, this time last week I’d just filed a story for the paper. It was a bit of a deviation for me because it wasn’t about wine. Rather, it was about how I met my husband. And though I realised a fair few people would read it, nothing prepared me for the response to the piece. …
This is me, at the Knackered Mother’s Wine Club tasting at Camp Bestival last Saturday. We had a brilliant crowd, including a gorgeous lady who’d got married that day at Camp Bestival’s inflatable church (not making this up) and another on her hen night. There was a performance by the brilliant Scummy Mummies, Ellie & …
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? …
Last Saturday, we went to a local fete in the grounds of a nearby stately. It’s one of my favourites, complete with dog show (including a dogs-who-look-like-their-owners round), a Punch & Judy show and a myriad of stalls including cake, plant and bottle. I won a bottle of Amaretto on the latter, which was a …
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 …
Yesterday, I spent the day at the London Wine Fair. It’s an annual trade fair that I’ve been to almost every year since I began working in the wine industry 20 years ago. Obviously things have changed enormously in that time, not least the fact that I now no longer have the energy to go …
Laughter is the best medicine, or so they say. Clearly they forgot wine, carbs and Codeine but I know what they were getting at. Anyway, one of the biggest successes of the Easter holidays so far has been the comedy workshop that Middle Boy went to last week. Run by my old friend Laura, she’s …
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 …
Last week, when everyone went Fifty Shades of mad about a certain film, I tweeted that my abiding memory of the book was the wine descriptions. Specifically, how delicious they sounded (there was definitely a cool, crisp Chablis at some point; and I think there was a Sancerre and a Pouilly Fume too, always perfectly …
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 …
Every year, on or around the 25th January, we do Burns Night. I’m married to a sort-of-Scot (my father-in-law was born and brought up in Edinburgh; the Husband’s more of a Hampshire Highlander) so Burns is big in his family. One year, my sister-in-law and I took on the cooking with the help of Pippa …
Follow your dreams and never give up, goes the saying (and Cara D on Instagram). So I’m going to do exactly that and not give up wine in January. Obviously I will be drinking less owing to the mince pie & madeira madness of last month but otherwise I hope to be sipping something delicious …
Ah, the school Show & Tell letter. Normally, it goes on the fridge, stuck on with the only remaining magnet with less than three pieces of paper already underneath it. Finding out which magnet to pick involves a game of fridge magnet russian roulette: one wrong move and you’ve got papers all over the kitchen …
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 …
Hooray for half term. Sort of. As we crawl towards it, I’m half-excited, half-panicking. Excited about not having to set the alarm quite so early. Panicking about fitting in some work. The children are most excited about Halloween, obviously. Which has turned into a monster (pun intended). They usually come back from Trick or Treating …
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, …
Tomorrow morning, things might just get a bit stress-y round here. After six weeks of not having to say shout ‘I’M LEAVING IN FIVE MINUTES AND IF YOU’RE NOT IN THE CAR YOU’RE WALKING TO SCHOOL’, we’re back to the old routine. Alarm clocks, rushed breakfasts and the obligatory last minute missing shoe searches (sometimes …
Our holiday shoes. This time last week, we were on holiday. Highlights include: 1. Going barefoot, wearing nothing but a swimming costume and kaftan until the sun dipped. 2. Having to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the lady in the village shop in an effort to check it was indeed caster sugar, rather than salt, that …
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 …
Tents and festivals are not my usual habitat but this weekend I’m doing both, at Camp Bestival. My sister and I are yet to do Paper, Scissors, Rock to decide who has to share a tent with my mother (she’s a terrible snorer) but apart from that, it’s excitement all round. People have been asking …
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 …
So, we’ve done Sports Day. Now we’ve just got the School Fete (cue calls for homemade cakes) and a School Play (cue more calls for homemade cakes) to go. As you may know, I sometimes resort to the fake bake at this stage. But one thing I can do is Teachers’ Presents. Now, some of …
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 …
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 …
I’ve had an idea. Each month, we’ll hold a wine surgery. More sit-down-and-grab-a-glass than walk-in, but it’s open to all wine questions. I’ve started it off with something someone asked me last week, about the difference between blends and single varietal wines. So if you have a question about wine, simply post it here in …
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 …
Look! KMWC at Camp Bestival! I’m so excited. You must ALL come. Details here. Current white in the fridge: Tesco Finest Picpoul de Pinet 2012, £7.99, Tesco Earlier this evening, someone on Twitter asked me for an emergency wine recommendation. She needing something crisp and cool, and she needed it pronto. I suggested this, knowing …
I like to think I keep up with the trends OH MY GOD I SOUND LIKE MY MOTHER. Anyway, as I was saying, I read the fashion pages in the paper, follow a few blogs, feel like I have a rough idea of what’s hot and what’s not (as they say). So when I decided …
Last week, a reader emailed to ask if I could help with some wine recommendations for her wedding in June this year. Something lovely but not too pricey. And in return, being the beauty editor of a really famous women’s magazine, she offered tailor-made beauty tips. Genius. Kate’s top three tips for Knackered Mothers everywhere: …
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 …
Pamela Vandyke Price Last week, a lady called Pamela Vandyke Price died, aged 90. The reason I know this is because she was a rather famous name in the wine world. In fact, she was one of our first female wine writers, with a column in The Times back in the 1970s and with a …
“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 …
The following exhaustive (and exhausting) list of wines appeared in Saturday’s Daily Mail, here’s a link if you want pictures of the bottles too. There’s 10 whites, 10 reds, 10 sparkling and 10 pudding/after dinner drinks. And this gorgeous picture was taken by the very lovely Juliette Neel. Sadly, it wasn’t used in the piece but …
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 …
OK, this isn’t mine. It’s Nigella’s. So, volunteering to make the school’s monthly birthday cake was a good idea at the time. But last night as I took the 5-egg cake out of the oven approaching midnight? Not so much. And this morning, as I iced the cake before school, Eldest Boy suggested that I …
No, not a reference to the catalogue that might give me house envy but whose clothes always make my arse look the size of a small country. (And yes, I am blaming the clothes. It’s easier that way). I’m talking about Toast, the foodie crew who organise events (I believe they are called happenings, nowadays) …
Photo: Annie @ Mammasaurus A few weeks ago, I spoke at the Henley Literary Festival, along with fellow blogger Maggy from Red Ted Art about our experiences of blogs becoming books. Someone asked what made us start a blog on the first place. I burbled away but thinking about it afterwards, I’m hoping the following …
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. …
Last week saw my first appearance as the new wine expert on The Alan Titchmarsh Show. And honestly? I loved it. It was possibly one of the most surreal days of my life, and I must learn to not always say what I’m thinking out loud. Telling Kerry Katona that my friends and I used to …
So, deep breaths required when taking Youngest Girl to school for her first day last week. She was fine of course, looking tiny in her uniform, with a sweet but nervous smile on her face. And she loved it. Then, on Friday, she was knocked to the ground by the dogs, cutting her lip. Cue …
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. …
So, my comfortable sandals have drawn a mix of responses, not all of them entirely complimentary. And the more I look at them, the more they do look a bit, well, comfortable. So I am redressing the balance, with these. And as Marilyn Monroe once said: “Give a girl the right shoes and she can …
Love her. Look at her. I mean, really. Yasmin Le Bon looks GORGEOUS. Once, my most prized possession was my Duran Duran ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ t-shirt which sported her husband Simon on the front. Unsurprisingly, my days of wearing rock band t-shirts are over but I have been wearing some clothes from Winser …
Last Friday & Saturday I was at BritMums Live, an event that brings together 500 bloggers under one London roof to talk, listen, laugh, cry (well, you try listening to Katie Piper’s story and not end up in a sobbing heap on the floor). One of the best discussion groups I attended was run by …
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 …
I won another award this week and this time I swear I didn’t even know it was coming. Well, I knew I might win something at Monday’s Harpers Wine & Spirit Awards because I’d been shortlisted. Indeed my name was called out and I stood up. In front of more than 200 people. Only for …
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 …
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 …
An article celebrating 15 years of Red magazine in the latest issue looks at changes in society, technology, fashion and culture among other things during that time. And as someone who loves a celebrity – a friend of mine lovingly refers to me as her favourite star f*cker, such is my appetite for entertaining tales …
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 …
Still on me but I have made something I think some of you might find useful. Ahead of this Friday’s twitter wine tasting with Mumsnet (I KNOW!) at 8.30pm – all details here – here’s a short video about how to taste wine. Do excuse the sweatshirt and slippers and the fact that my face is …
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 …
So, tomorrow is publishing day for the KMWC and my book will be in shops. My family pinched all the free ones I was sent (I’ve had to write ‘My Copy’ in my copy). I know some of you have already received pre-ordered copies. Last night we had a little party to celebrate the launch. …
Apparently, it is still January. Remember that wonderful wedding I mentioned a few weeks ago? Feels like it was months ago. But, I have developed a coping strategy to get me through and it seems to be working. It goes like this: 1. Make risotto. Spend half an hour at the stove one evening, glass of …
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 …
It was Middle Boy’s first ever nativity play today. As always, we were asked to bring mince pies to be handed out to parents & grandparents afterwards. And for once, instead of resorting to my usual bribery accepting of donations from my mother/mother-in-law I thought I’d make my own. Bad decision: pastry went wrong, pastry cutters …
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 …
Funny how things turn out sometimes. Yesterday, I got a flat tyre on the way to school. I had to kill an hour in town whilst waiting for a lift home: cue blissful time in the local bookshop, followed by a coffee and browse in my very favourite clothes shop, leaving in a pair of …
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 …
No, this is not about Bond. But it is about secrets and at the moment I’ve got – count them – three. That’s three things that people have told me and then said I’m not to tell anyone (yet). And they are all really good secrets, which makes it even harder, because when I’ve got …
I made jam last night for Youngest Girl’s nursery cake & chutney sale on Saturday. Actually, I didn’t make jam. A group of us got together and I chopped a few peppers and chillies, whilst mostly chatting over a glass of wine and a bowl of crisps. Here’s what Jules did with the results: Wine-free …
Some of you might remember the last time we went to a ‘do’, with an auction, we returned home with a painting. Two years on and it is still sitting in our garage. And so it was that on Saturday night we headed off to our boys’ school bi-annual fundraising Ball, with no intention of …
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 …
Turning 40, that is. Yes, in a couple of weeks I will be passing that particular milestone with the music up and the windows down. I’m either absolutely fine about it or in complete denial. Not sure which. Whatever, here’s what I’ve learnt so far: 1. Face creams don’t make you look younger. They can …
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 …
If ever there was a place to rival the gates of Hades surely it is Peppa Pig World, as discovered today. I went with four children in tow (my three and a complimentary niece) and my mother (aka Granny La La) and it was heaving. We spent most of the time in queues, punctuated by …
Opening Ceremony? I cried. Lizzie Armitstead’s cycling Silver? Cried again. Rebecca Adlington’s 400m freestyle Bronze? More waterworks. Men’s team gymnastics? Equestrian team? FFS, that too. And then there’s the GB women’s football team…the whole thing is quite amazing. Best of all, it is happening here. Lordy, seems I have been possessed by the Olympic spirit. Just …
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 …
So I didn’t win the blogging award as mentioned last week but I did win a Wii at the same event, thereby making me the most popular parent in our house by quite some margin. The week’s other cheering news is that according to a new report, drinking wine (in moderation, of course) improves your …
It was my friend’s 40th on Saturday night and the theme was Caribbean. So I had a spray tan. The idea was to look slightly less knackered bronzed. As it turned out, I got caught on the eyebrow by an empty wine bottle being used as a microphone by a friend (old university habits die …
Make-up wise I favour the natural look, but nowadays this requires a certain degree of pre-planning. Sadly, I can’t seem to carry off the salt ‘n’ pepper look as well as Clooney so have a bit of help with my hair colour. And when out in public with real grown ups in attendance I turn to …
“Please can you tell me if there are any good lower alcohol wines I should try?” so asked the lovely Reluctant Launderer (she’s up the duff, and slightly in shock). Until recently I’ve found most lower-alcohol-than-normal wines (I’m talking less than 9% alcohol by volume, the legal limit for most wine to be called wine) about …
After watching last week’s episode of The Apprentice, I couldn’t help feeling that English Sparkling Wine had been put in a horrible dress and made to look silly. In fact, the good stuff is really good nowadays. We’ve got vineyards on the South Downs that share a similar climate and soil profile to the Champagne …
Read more “English Sparkling Wine: no longer the apprentice?”
24 years ago today, at 6.05pm, I met a boy in the fields behind our respective houses. We walked to a nearby lake, where he smoked a Turkish cigarette and I tried not to appear too keen. As we climbed the gate that led back home, I could bear it no longer. Me: “So, are …
This weekend, I sat down and started work on the book. We’ve got a plan: I’ve now just got to write it. From now on, Unbearded Husband will be taking the children off for usual Saturday morning stuff (Eldest Boy’s football, walk the dog with the other two) giving me a few hours’ peace to …
“We’re looking for a female drinks expert for our new TV show…” said the email. Would I be interested? First reaction was YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. Closely followed by well, you know, I suppose I could. Nothing to lose. How hard can it be? Turns out, really f*cking hard. All I had to …
The first time Bearded Husband and I spent Valentine’s Day together, we’d actually been together for seven years. Different schools (we were fifteen when started ‘going out’, not that we went anywhere then) followed by different universities meant we weren’t in the same place on Valentine’s Day until then. And when we finally were, go …
Glorious, under-rated and often misunderstood: that’s Sherry. Well, not all of it – there’s lots of sweetened stuff that tends to cast an unfashionable shadow over the rest – but the good stuff is really, really good. So when my friend Hannah asked for some Sherry recommendations I vowed to do a post on them. …
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 …
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 …
We moved into a new house earlier this year. It is a 1970s-built bungalow in the woods. It has a whiff of The Ice Storm about it, but without the swinging. A few of the houses do have pampas grass outside but as yet, no evidence of keys in glass bowls. So it was with …
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 never did see the Kevin film. Turns out The Help started at the same time so we chose schmaltz over shootings. Cried on and off for two hours and loved it. What we do need to talk about, however, is how to broach the subject of booze with our children. How young is too …
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 …
Fancy Dress parties and me do not have a happy history. There was the time Bearded Husband decided we should go as Derek & Clive to a New Year’s Eve party. As other girls glowed in beautiful dresses, I sweated profusely in a Mac, flat cap and men’s shoes. I even had a ham sandwich …
I love this time of year. Yes, of course I love the falling leaves, scrumping, resulting apple cakes and all that. But what I really love is the fact that the weather demands a fairly generous glass of red. A close second is the TV schedule and the fact that leaving the sofa on a Saturday night is …
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 …
When I was six I stepped on Mickey Mouse’s tail accidentally (on purpose) to increase my fancy dress chances at the local village fete, only to come second. From that day, I resigned myself to the fact that I am just not one of those competition-winning type people. Until now, that is. Since I started …
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 …
Shortly after 12am this morning, at the International Wine Challenge Awards Dinner in London (click here for results), I was on the dance floor in high heels and Westwood. And I was actually Shakira. In bed by 2am, awake by 6am, back home from town by 8am ready for the school run. For just a little …
Actually, gone fishing, crabbing, shell-seeking, rock-pooling, sand-in-sandwiches picnicking and all that. We’ll send you a virtual postcard, but can’t promise to post it before we get home. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve just packed in the food box: Current white in the fridge: Maurel Vedeau Sauvignon Blanc/Grenache, £4.74, Tesco.com Uncomplicated Southern French blend of …
Watching the news this week has been shocking, depressing, awful. People’s lives and livelihoods have been wrecked. It felt just a little bit wrong but I was glued to the TV, distracted only by twitter. Last night found me bingeing on opinion pieces, with a Newsnight chaser. Tonight there is a Question Time Special. Cue …
I’ve been blogging away for the last few years, recommending a couple of wines every week, whatever I happen to be drinking that I think you might like too. I’m now wondering whether you might want to buy wine from the site. You tell me what you want and I’ll source it exclusively for the …
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 …
Every other week there is an alcohol-related story in the news – mostly the Daily Mail and their obsession with wine and the middle classes – but the last few days have seen a positive binge on bad booze stories. First, a major drinks company got slammed for funding midwives to educate pregnant women about …
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 …
Tonight, the 6yo Boy had his school disco. It was a 5.45pm drop off, £1 entry, all drinks & snacks included and an hour of wall to wall dance floor fillers. He really did dance like no-one was watching. He and his friends went BONKERS; they busted moves, laughed their heads off and generally had …
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’m a born worrier. I’m the eldest sibling, a Virgo and a mother. Triple whammy. But there is a huge difference in my BC (before childbirth) and AD (after delivery) worries. BC was mostly me: namely money, weight, clothes, job, social & love life. There was a dalliance with existentialism vs. rationalism during the university …
Today has been a bit of a rush, as in time-poor rather than adrenaline. School run, work, school run (already?!) swimming lessons, more work. But this evening has been a joy. I poured a glass of red and SLOWED. DOWN. I made a little vlog about tasting wine ahead of a twitter tasting I am …
My sister and I found my mother’s latest boyfriend on the internet. Background: post first marriage, she’s not been a great picker. After a string of unsuitables, we decided to take action. Following a particularly jolly wedding (not hers), we got home and signed her up on a dating website. We added her profile, a picture (in retrospect, using …
I’m not a huge sports fan. I once asked Andrew Strauss if he was following the Ashes. I was making polite conversation, the Ashes was in the news at the time and I had no idea who he was. Obviously. But tonight, I watched The Arse whoop Barca’s backside and it was great fun. It was just …
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 …
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 …
I was talking to a friend last week about how the loss of someone you love puts everything in perspective. We were driving along a forest road, the snow blanket still tucked neatly over the landscape. The silence that followed our pondering was loaded. Up until the point when she said: “a bit like that guy in Spinal Tap.” Me: huh? …
We arrived back from the eldest boy’s swimming lesson tonight to see the house looking like this: No doubt tomorrow, bearded husband will put on the Christmas play list and that will be that. Until January. This week’s white in the fridge: Jean Claude Fromont Chablis Premier Cru 2008, £8, currently half price, Tesco Wine Club …
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 …
I went out on Monday night. It doesn’t happen often so I made the most. I wore an adored emerald green dress (Ghost), nail varnish (Rouge Noir), matching underwear (old vintage Myla) and really high heels. On Tuesday, I wore track suit bottoms, couldn’t walk properly and had two mouth ulcers. My body has decided to slope about doing everything at half-speed ever since, leaving …
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, …
India Allsopp (or was it Kirstie Knight?) recently wrote about putting one’s relationship with husband/partner first, followed by that with the children: the couple are the cornerstone and unless that relationship comes first, the edifice will crumble. In short, adult time is essential to keep everything together. For me, the idea of eating tea with my 1, 2 and 6yo is not …
Life is too short for lots of things. Stuffing a mushroom, for one (Delia). Too short to be livin’ with stress, for another (Dizzee Rascal). Agree with both Delia and Dizzee but my own personal favourite, unsurprisingly, is that life’s too short to drink bad wine. Someone I know, let’s call her Josie, went to buy emergency wine …
There has been a lot of talk about wine talk recently. Among wine writers, that is. From what I can gather, they are arguing that one wine drinker’s blackberries are another wine drinker’s raspberries. Should we really be so aroma and flavour-descriptive when tasting wine is so subjective? Well, when I’m buying something that I haven’t tried before …
I had to work last Saturday at a wine fair, leaving bearded husband with the three children from 8 in the morning until 8 at night. When I got home, the children were all in bed, the (ready made) fish pie was in the oven and the house surprisingly tidy. There was even a glass of wine with my name on it. I …
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 …
My 6yo boy’s favourite current pastime is writing secret agent-type notes, folding them into paper aeroplanes and pinging them round the door of the kitchen. They land softly at my feet and he scampers back up the stairs, shrieking with laughter. Recent notes include baddies are poo heads and – my personal favourite – i love you big bum that …
I don’t get big festivals. There was a massive festival on the Isle of Wight at the weekend and a friend came back complaining of feeling old. That’s because you are twice as old as most people there! I said. To myself. Of course, we go to Glastonbury every year and watch all the bands’ best bits without getting …
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 …
Half-watching How To Look Good Naked whilst slowly sewing name tapes to school uniform sweatshirts/trousers/polo shirts before eldest boy goes back next week, I started thinking about my own failsafe rules. So here it is, the KMWC guide to how to look good naked: 1. Dim lighting Er, that’s it. Perhaps not enough mileage for a TV show, granted. Current white …
Following two weeks away on holiday (we did a Bromsgroves, Mrs T), I feel somewhat restored by my break from the norm. A bit of sun – tans fade, wrinkles don’t blah blah – and a couple of snatched half-hours with my book and I’m happy. Determined to not fall back to pre-holiday ways including 1) talking to my children …
I used to travel abroad alot in my old, full-time, pre-children job. In fact, so often I had a bag that remained permanently half-packed, ready to be topped up last minute. Nowadays, I don’t get out much and honestly don’t miss it. (Currently non-bearded) husband rarely has to go away for work but tonight he left for somewhere 12 hours away by plane with …
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 …
“Ohmigod, that’s a headache wine” said a friend the other day after sipping a Spanish white wine. Then Ladybird World Mother said that she too got wretched headaches when drinking wine and doesn’t even throw it back like the old days (her words, not mine). What might cause these headaches, other than having three too many? The usual suspect is sulphur, which …
Or so my mother used to say to me when hurrying me out of the door to get to school on time. But that is exactly what it was. The length of our skirts, the carefully picked holes in our jumpers…we might have all been in school uniform but there were ways to mark ourselves out, or rather blend in. Now I’m doing …
Someone once said – probably Germaine – that beyond a certain age, women become invisible. I’d always assumed that referred to women my mother’s age* but a funny thing happened last week that made me think it might happen sooner than anticipated. As I walked out of Topshop on Oxford Street (see how I’m fighting it?) a young hipster stood with a microphone doing …
Someone once said – probably Germaine – that beyond a certain age, women become invisible. I’d always assumed that referred to women my mother’s age* but a funny thing happened last week that made me think it might happen sooner than anticipated. As I walked out of Topshop on Oxford Street (see how I’m fighting it?) a young hipster stood with a microphone doing …
I. Am. Knackered. And I definitely can’t top my John Torode story from last week. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll go straight to the wines. Current rose in the fridge: Clos Clementine 2008, £10 Hot weather demands pale rose, preferably a really good one from the Cotes de Provence region. Rose wine is made from red grapes …
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 …
Last week, we got a new car. Second hand actually, but by far the most grown up car we’ve ever had. It’s the children and dog car, Bearded Husband said. We’ll have it forever, he said. You will be careful, won’t you? he said. He’s called me three times today to ask something about something – as they do – but mostly …
I love putting pretty hairclips in my daughter’s hair, sweeping her long fringe to one side and sweeping the enforced-genderism-at-such-a-tender-age argument to the other. It’s a hairclip, FFS. Anyway, point is with two boys I’d only really considered childrens’ haircuts in terms of nit prevention. Not so with the baby girl: she has lovely hair, long enough to need aforementioned hairclips to keep it out of her eyes. At …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Back from Bordeaux, a few pounds heavier but happy, very happy. Tasting the new vintage wines straight from the barrel with the winemaker is a pretty special experience. The 2009 wines are looking lovely; very ripe, full of sweet fruit and lots of alcohol. It will be a while before we’re drinking them, so in the meantime get thee to Tesco where its Spring …
My mother and I went to the cinema last night to see The Swedish Film With A Really Long Name, currently showing in cinemas (the type of cinema where you can take your glass of wine in with you, naturally). Now, I loved Wallander but TSFWARLN was a three hour version but without Kenneth Branagh. And the furniture wasn’t nearly as …
Much excitement all round: we’re off to Venice for a few days to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. The children seem to sense the highly indulgent grand-parenting that lies ahead. I thought I’d buy something new for the occasion and today I did just that. Underwear that actually matches? A Spring-tastic print scarf? Clogs to make it clear I still read Vogue and …
The five year old has a pair of enormous green Incredible Hulk hands. A Christmas present, rather than his actual hands, obviously. Anyway, you wear the Hulk hands over your real hands and then bash things, whereupon a voice from the glove shouts: “Don’t make me angry, you won’t like me when I’m angry!” The two year old has taken …
Wine is an excellent thing. Apologies for the inarticulate nature of this opening statement but with two out of three children currently running a temperature + a forgotten-about school closure day for the only one without a temperature + work day that culminated with middle boy wondering into the study half-way through a conference call dressed as a Power Ranger, I …
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 …
I was locked in a padded cell in a karaoke bar in Soho for two hours on Saturday night and learnt the following: 1. Girls Aloud is not as good karaoke material as you might think. 2. I Know Him So Well – with one playing Babs and the other Elaine – however, is very good indeed. 3. The end …
Last night we held a Knackered Mothers’ Wine Club tasting at a local restaurant (the amazing Graze) to raise a bit of cash for our local nursery. It was a heady mix: eight wines + inquisitive people up for trying different wines + company of friends both old and new. The result was delicious. Lots of laughter, slurping, a bit of spitting, far more …
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 …
A few days ago, a friend and I talked about how much we were loving the holidays: everyone at home, no school runs, even relative lie-ins thanks to later-than-usual bedtimes for the children. The holidays are too short! I said. I wish we had another week of this! I said. I must have been tipsy, or showing off. Probably both. Truth is, I am …
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, …
I measure all pain on the BC scale: before childbirth. Even using an epilator is a walk in the park nowadays. But there is a mother who has raised the bar when it comes to showing the love. This particular one has her babies, then lets them eat her. OK, so she’s a spider rather than an actual person …
Cats: never got them. Or rather, couldn’t quite connect with those referred to as ‘cat people’. Like you have to choose just one animal to love. A sweeping generalisation but I’ve always thought cat people smelt faintly of wee and were prone to preciousness. Then, a few weeks ago, the two year old was given a kitten for his …
So, we went to a gig the other night to see the very excellent Editors. Loved the music but the dancing and whooping felt ever-so-slightly self-conscious. Is it me? Anyway, my music-native friend who organised the tickets explained that the term gig is out. It is now called a ‘show’ apparently. Fine if you haven’t had children, but for anyone …
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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