I’m too friendly for my own good. I might meet someone I only half know and before I can even remember their name, my face has rounded up the parts to make a big welcoming smile and give off signals that I’m up for a chat. I’ve tried to command myself to just nod, but …
Being a huge fan of musical theatre, I have had to defend it many times over the years from those who see it as low-brow and cheesy. But, I put it to you, my learned friends, that there are a lot of life lessons to be taken from this art form. Let me take you …
It all started with the mixer. It had been a wedding present 20 years ago and over those years it turned out countless buns and birthday cakes. I was not its only user, my daughter has the baking bug too and likes to whip up traybakes when she should be studying. Her cousin is the …
I was a young person once. But talk about youth being wasted on the young. My membership of the Cool Young People's Association was torn up many times for breaching their principal rules. I was both a goody-goody and a scaredy-cat, neither of these are tolerated by the CYPA. I applied to re-join, but they …
Well, have you been watching Marie Kondo's Tidying Up show? I wasn't sure I was hearing right when a friend told me about a Netflix series dedicated to the art of clutter clearing. Really? It hardly sounds engaging viewing, but one episode in and I just had to give it a try myself. As I …
My lovely Aunt used to say ‘your hair is your crowning glory’. She was an inherently stylish woman and oozed effortless glamour all her life. People who had only met her once would ask me ‘how is your beautiful Aunt’. Her inner beauty was so rich that it spilled into her whole being and she …
We all had our separate seats at home. Mum by her bookcase, the brother on a chair beside her, me on the hearth rug, and Dad actually on top of the fire. He would pull his chair in so close to it that he could rest his feet on the mantelpiece, close to his preferred …
Now that we can safely turn on the TV without being showered in tips on how to cook your turkey this year, or 101 ways to have a stress-free Christmas, delivered in a style that insists you become stressed. Now that the green bin is stuffed with the debris of pulled crackers which brought a …
Not that long ago, I was a new mother, sleep deprived, social life deprived and desperate for a night out. Being a long-time member of the orphan club, babysitters were in very short supply, or more honestly non-existent. One day in work a colleague and friend offered to come over and babysit while we went …
I’m a sucker for noticeboards. You could say I’m just being nosey but I like to call it curiosity. That and having a very low boredom threshold, I am constantly looking to see what exciting thing is coming next. A fair, new Zumba classes, an interesting talk on urban hen keeping, things you could be …
Ordinary Plenty 