For several years now we’ve deliberated between  moving home or doing some pretty major home renovations.  The boys’ schools played a major part in this and when my middle son got the school he wanted, it meant my 3 boys’ schools were now in two totally different directions over 8.5 miles apart! That, in itself, is a story for another time. With this great news, we decided it was time to take the plunge and start to think about how we would best use the space available to us, to get one of those “must have” family/dinning/living/everything spaces, that we all hanker after these days. Several builders/designers came round to have a look; we toyed with the idea of a utility area in the cellar to free up kitchen space, but that was crazy money, so it was back to the drawing board. My father in law had spent many years as a property developer, and whilst now retired, had lots of good ideas and also some great contacts. We duly booked for ” John – Steels” (not his real name but how he was later referred to!) to look at the structural side of what we were proposing. […]

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Skiing with school – what to think about Four out of the five of us are fortunate enough to be going skiing this February. Packing for a ski trip, for school or otherwise, can be quite a minefield so I thought I’d write a quick blog post on it and my top tips! A skiing holiday is quite a big thing to prepare for and I am by no means an expert! Both my older boys went skiing with their school whilst in year 6 and my youngest is heading off in year 5 this year. All the schools have been great with meetings and advice, but I think it’s those little tips that us parents share with each other that make things a little bit easier. I posted out to my facebook friends and have had a few tips come back, so along with my own ideas I’m sharing them with you in the hope they will help. Packing – Yikes! Something we all dread with any school trip! I pride myself in being able to travel light, and pack for a family of 5’s summer holiday into two large holdalls – yes for 2 weeks! This isn’t going […]

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As I’m getting older I’ve had a total change in my mind set. It’s a combination of things that have got me to this point to be honest, most of which are way too personal for a blog post like this! However, more recently I have had a “grab life with both hands” approach to my days and a “you only live once so make it count” attitude. I am really fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends. One bunch in particular – my holiday crowd – a bunch of adults that met over the years on holiday, all with similar aged children and the same outlook on life – are a bunch I really look forward to spending time with. I don’t think I can imagine going on holiday without them again. If you’re reading this you lot take note!! Up until this year, we’ve all headed off to Greece for two weeks in the summer to spend our days sailing, playing tennis, sunbathing, drinking and to be honest, just being one crazy big family and I absolutely love it. This lot put the biggest smile on my face, with our crazy tables for 24 (or just […]

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  The past three days have been spent travelling up to London, in a bit of a “start of the Christmas holidays extravaganza!”. We’ve had a great time and I know how people are always looking for recommendations and reviews on places to go. We’ve been to Somerset House for ice-skating, The Ned for Sunday brunch (in a group of 24), Covent Garden, Wagamamas for lunch, London Zoo and their Christmas light trail, and finally today, BreadAhead, a Christmas cooking school for children. I thought I’d write a few words on each, in case anyone was looking for something to do! Somerset House  As we are a large group, we booked this back in September and couldn’t wait to skate on their famous ice rink. It really is beautiful and very Christmassy. The outfit there is very efficient and the kids had a blast. A quick turnaround time sees people and machines getting the ice ready for the next session, while numerous hands-on-deck mean that people can easily exchange their skates for their shoes before heading on their way. Skate sessions last an hour and we paid £10.50 for children under 13 and £17.50 for children over 13. To book please click here. There […]

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A half term trip to Ichiba – Europe’s largest Japanese food hall Half term – a time to put the school run behind you, for lazy starts to your day and no more packed lunches to make! Yes, there maybe no homework to be done but let’s face it – half term is not always plain sailing (that’s a blog for another time!) I was delighted to be invited to check out Ichiba – a huge Japanese food hall on a department store scale – at one of their biggest stores in Westfield, London for a guided tour followed by lunch. Me and J together with my friend Amanda and her son H, took the train into London and the tube across town and were soon just standing staring up at this pretty incredible shopping centre, as shopping centres go!! Having never been here before, I was blown away by this place. The stores reminded me of the great big shopping malls in America and the architecture and design of the place is something else. The boys soon noticed an interactive shopping map, which they really enjoyed (boys and their tech eh!) as we wanded through a tiny fraction of the […]

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Film is not dead – it’s the name of a forum I tag into when I share images taken on film on my Instagram account. I have an absolute love for film, as many photographers do. I love the feel of it; it takes a totally different image to that of a digital camera and whilst I love my digital camera just as much, the results from the two are very different. When I was completing my photographic training in London, I spent 6 weeks learning from a guy called Bill Ling, an amazing tutor who I learned so much from. Bill is a photographer who grew up on film and inspired me to buy my first film camera. I loved spending time in the dark room learning this craft at Holborn Studios and also seeing frame after frame of polaroids of the artists of years gone by.  Bill told me that photographers used to get a Polaroid back for their film cameras to test their settings and these were usually signed by the artist being photographed and these now adorn the walls of the studio creating a piece of history that’s so exciting! Of course, these cameras are only available […]

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