Majority Homerton 2 Music System Review
24/03/2024 - In the ever-evolving landscape of audio entertainment, finding a device that seamlessly blends Expand
24/03/2024 - In the ever-evolving landscape of audio entertainment, finding a device that seamlessly blends modernity with timeless charm can be akin to discovering a hidden gem. Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in a strange no man’s lands, caught between longing for the Good Old Days of recording the Top 40 off the radio onto cassette and trying to figure out how to get The Archers omnibus to play via Alexa. Neither feel right for me. Enter the Majority Homerton 2 Bluetooth Internet Radio, DAB+ Radio & CD Player Music System, a harmonious fusion of versatility and nostalgia that promises to elevate your auditory experience to new heights. From the moment you unbox this musical marvel, you’re greeted with a sense of anticipation. The sleek design, with its clean lines and compact form factor, immediately hints at the sophistication within. It’s a device that effortlessly complements any living space, whether adorning a bedside table or taking pride of place in a cosy Collapse
A Blooming Adventure: Exploring the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen
12/02/2024 - On our recent trip to Copenhagen we stayed about ten minutes walk away from the Botanical Gardens. Expand
12/02/2024 - On our recent trip to Copenhagen we stayed about ten minutes walk away from the Botanical Gardens. As the gardens open at 8.30am, it was the perfect opportunity for me to have an explore while Belle was still asleep back at the hotel. There was barely anyone in the gardens but me and I got to see a red squirrel – one of the highlights of my trip! Here are just a few reasons why the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen are special. A Historical Tapestry As you step through the gates of the Botanical Gardens, you are immediately embraced by a rich tapestry of history. Established in 1600, the gardens boast a legacy that spans centuries. Originally founded for the University of Copenhagen’s medical students, the gardens have evolved into a treasure trove of botanical wonders. The historical glasshouses, including the Palm House and the Butterfly House, stand as majestic monuments to the past, housing an impressive array of exotic flora. Horticultural Diversity One of the most Collapse
The one where I make my gilet dreams come true
11/12/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Land’s End As of this week I have officially Expand
11/12/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Land’s End As of this week I have officially achieved a lifelong ambition. I now own a gilet. Okay, I get that this might not seem like a terribly lofty ambition, and you might wonder why I’ve never just bought a gilet, and honestly I can’t answer that. Suffice it to say that I now have one – a stylish emerald green number from the Land’s End women’s gilet range – and it is everything I ever dreamed of. I wore it on its first outing on Saturday to Greenway – Agatha Christie’s holiday home near Torquay – which is now owned by the National Trust. I wanted to do their Christmas wreath trail around the gardens, see the house festooned in Christmas decorations and of course, walk to the boathouse and solve a murder. ‘Do I look rich?’ I asked as I put on my gilet in the car park. My children raised their eyebrows sceptically. It became apparent as soon as we started walking Collapse
Personalised photo gifts from Asda
23/10/2023 - Post in association with Asda There comes a time in a family where you feel like you have bought Expand
23/10/2023 - Post in association with Asda There comes a time in a family where you feel like you have bought All Of The Christmas Gifts. Do you know what I mean? Like you’ve thought of all of the things people would like, bought them for them, and really none of you need anything anymore. There are a couple of ways you can go with things when you hit this point – you can give up and agree that you don’t need presents anymore OR you can start buying personalised towels with your dog on them. I know which way I’m going. I didn’t wait until Christmas to take this round to my mum’s house and give it to her partner Mitch. Mitch LOVES Mako – I’m not exaggerating when I say he loves her more than any human – and every Christmas so far we’ve given him a calendar full of pictures of her. He always puts a towel down on the sofa for Mako, so this was the absolute perfect gift for him. Mako had a quick look, clearly understood what was expected, Collapse
Performance Learning review: how your child learns, feels and how to support them
18/10/2023 - Post in association with Performance Learning Secondary school was not what you would call a FUN Expand
18/10/2023 - Post in association with Performance Learning Secondary school was not what you would call a FUN TIME for Belle. In fact, it was distinctly UNFUN. She found the whole set-up extremely stressful and was not helped by the fact that the only effort the school made to support her with her anxiety was to give her a red card to wave in class if she felt anxious. (I’m not kidding, this was their actual strategy for dealing with anxiety.) What the school never once flagged was the possibility that she might have any additional needs and so it was only through our own efforts – Belle pushing me initially and then me pushing anyone I could think of – that she finally was diagnosed with ASD, aged 17. By this point, she had dropped out of school and then college, managing to turn up for her GCSE exams and somehow pass them all despite the stress and despite not having done any work or revision of any kind in months. (I say ‘somehow’ – she’s extremely Collapse
Untold stories: I can’t let go of the guilt of ending my marriage
15/09/2023 - Today’s Untold Story is a contribution from a woman who years later, still feels a crushing guilt Expand
15/09/2023 - Today’s Untold Story is a contribution from a woman who years later, still feels a crushing guilt at having ended her marriage. Guilt is something that we all carry so much of, especially as parents, that I’m sure her story will resonate with a lot of people. Please leave a comment if you’d like to share your experiences of guilt and please get in touch if you have your own untold story you’d like to share – they can be published anonymously. — I’ve decided to write a blog post on guilt because it’s something I have struggled with terribly and something I imagine a lot of you have struggled with also. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, the definition of guilt is a feeling of worry or unhappiness that you have because you have done something wrong, such as causing harm to another person. Now the difficulty here I found was that there is guilt where you have genuinely done something wrong, or guilt where you perceive you’ve done something wrong but you know deep down Collapse
How to make rainbow toast + avoid thoughts of death
06/09/2023 - Why would you have boring old plain toast when you could have RAINBOW TOAST?? It’s easy to Expand
06/09/2023 - Why would you have boring old plain toast when you could have RAINBOW TOAST?? It’s easy to make as long as you’ve got a few food colourings and it makes for a fabulous activity for either: Kids Middle-aged perimenopausal women with too much time on their hands, who have been parents for so long that they’re not even sure what they like anymore and are concerned that death is imminent and that there’s no time left to start anything new Can you guess which category I fall into? It’s about four years ago now that I first wrote about my midlife unravelling. It had been creeping up on me for a long time and it was a while before I mustered the enthusiasm to question it, but when I finally did and started HRT, it did help to put things back together a little bit. I’m not saying I’m full of Zest For Life, but nowadays I can open my laptop without crying and don’t spend large chunks of the day staring out the window, so that’s good. I Collapse
A Scenic Escape: A Day Trip from Guernsey to Herm
30/08/2023 - It was back in June when I took a trip to Guernsey, my first time visiting the Channel Islands, Expand
30/08/2023 - It was back in June when I took a trip to Guernsey, my first time visiting the Channel Islands, and yes, it has taken me this long to mention it. One of the highlights of the trip for me was taking a boat trip over the Herm, so I wanted to tell you a bit about it as I’d definitely recommend it if you are planning a trip to Guernsey. We sent about three hours on Herm itself, which was plenty, but it could definitely be a whole day, especially if you wanted to have a go at kayaking or paddleboarding. Getting There The adventure begins at St. Peter Port, Guernsey’s charming capital. From here I caught a ferry that whisks you across the azure waters to Herm. The short…
The post A Scenic Escape: A Day Trip from Guernsey to Herm appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
A Scenic Escape: A Day Trip from Guernsey to Herm was first posted on August 30, 2023 at 3:08 pm. Collapse
REVIEW: Glamping at Tractors and Cream
27/07/2023 - A few weeks ago, Belle and I went on a mini break. Mini breaks have previously ranked amongst our Expand
27/07/2023 - A few weeks ago, Belle and I went on a mini break. Mini breaks have previously ranked amongst our top hobbies, alongside going for drives, escape rooms and trying to get the dog to do dance routines. Over the last few years, what with the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, they’ve got fewer and farther between, so we were really looking forward to this one. This mini break was going to be two nights at Tractors And Cream glamping site. I say ‘was going to be’ as though some elaborate chain of events meant that we ended up accidentally going to New Zealand for three months to volunteer in a goat rehabilitation centre. We didn’t, we actually went to Tractors And Cream, it was just poor sentence construction.…
The post REVIEW: Glamping at Tractors and Cream appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
REVIEW: Glamping at Tractors and Cream was first posted on July 27, 2023 at 2:16 pm. Collapse
|
Save time and effort with Laundryheap laundry services
02/03/2024 - I conducted a poll on Twitter this week. I asked people which household chore they would most like Expand
02/03/2024 - I conducted a poll on Twitter this week. I asked people which household chore they would most like to get out of completely. The results confirmed my suspicion – people hate laundry. It was validating to know that I’m not the only person who can’t bear the relentlessness of laundry. I personally struggle a lot with the laundry at this time of the year. There are only two of us at home, but my daughter Belle is a fan of hoodies and my golden retriever Mako takes a lot of towelling after muddy walks in the rain. The washing part is not too bad, but we don’t have a tumble drier and getting everything dry in a small house is hard. It’s enough to make you want to move to London, Birmingham, Manchester or Coventry. Let me explain. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of these four cities then you could be using the services of Laundryheap. Laundryheap can collect, clean, and deliver your laundry and dry cleaning, all with 24 hours. The Laundryheap Collapse
My writing residency at the Bridgwater Arts Centre
23/01/2024 - Guess what? I’ve got a cool new THING! For January, February and March I am the Writer in Expand
23/01/2024 - Guess what? I’ve got a cool new THING! For January, February and March I am the Writer in Residence at the Bridgwater Arts Centre, the oldest Arts Council funded arts centre in the country. Fancy. I used my best Professional Writer photo for it especially. It means a lot to me because although I don’t live in Bridgwater now, my family has a lot of roots there and I grew up there. Bridgwater will always have a special place in my heart and it’s incredibly nostalgic to be back once a week. So what exactly does being a Writer in Residence involve? A few things really. My main goal is to make writing accessible for people, both physically and financially. I’m at the Arts Centre every Tuesday morning from 10am to 12pm and anyone who wants to can drop in and chat to me about whatever they like – ideally vaguely writing related but I’m discovering it’s a lot more involved for most people. Most people want to tell me a lot more than how they got into Collapse
A solo trip into Taunton on a £1 bus
06/12/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Buses of Somerset This weekend I did something I haven’t Expand
06/12/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Buses of Somerset This weekend I did something I haven’t done for a long time, I got a bus. It’s been so long since I got a bus that I was oblivious to the amazing prices that buses have going on at the moment. In my mind, a bus into town was going to set me back a few pounds at least but nope, £1. Yep, as very clearly modelled so elegantly below, all single fares in the Taunton town zone are capped at £1 this winter, meaning you can go and do your Christmas shopping or meet up with friends and family without any of the hassle or cost of parking. The deal extends into the whole of Somerset too. Get a single bus anywhere at all in the county and it will cost you just £2. It’s an absolute bargain – you’d pay that for your parking, not even considering the petrol. Buses of Somerset originally asked if I fancied showcasing the joy of getting a bus by arranging to meet friends or family but to be honest, I enjoy a trip out on my Collapse
Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Sleigh
19/10/2023 - I can remember very clearly the first time I read a Mo Willems book. Baby Joey was about two years Expand
19/10/2023 - I can remember very clearly the first time I read a Mo Willems book. Baby Joey was about two years old and I had taken him to the library. I’d picked out a selection of books from the big boxes in the middle of the children’s section and I was imagining us getting comfy in a beanbag or something and reading through each book in hushed tones. Joey was having none of it of course, and instead was running from one side of the children’s library to the other, over and over, stopping only to pick up a Mr Men book at one end and drop it by my feet at the other. While Joey got on with things, I looked through the pile of books I’d chosen and settled on Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus. I sat very nicely and read it to myself in hushed tones. I loved it. I think I laughed out loud. To myself. In the children’s library. What I didn’t realise, which I only discovered when I just looked it up on Amazon, is that’s it’s over 20 years old! I Collapse
Pumpkin picking and autumn fashion from Very
17/10/2023 - Post in association with Very – all views my own It’s not often that I do anything Expand
17/10/2023 - Post in association with Very – all views my own It’s not often that I do anything fashion related – I’m mainly in dog walking clothes* nowadays if I’m honest – but when Very asked me if I wanted to pick some clothes from their new Autumn range and wear them on some kind of fun Autumn activity I said ‘yes please thank you very much’ and rushed off to book myself a slot at the pumpkin farm. As my children have grown up I’ve realised that all of the activities that you *think* you’re doing just because you have children, like getting McDonalds and watching Disney films at the cinema, are actually just THINGS YOU LIKE. It’s a bit disconcerting, because I’ve held onto the idea for years that once I had adult children I’d start getting interested in history and current affairs and probably take a subscription to The Economist, but actually it turns out that no, I just like eating sweets and playing games and Collapse
Pumpkin spice martini recipe
14/09/2023 - Deck the halls with boughs of pumpkins, fa-la-la-la-la etc etc! I am feeling especially seasonal Expand
14/09/2023 - Deck the halls with boughs of pumpkins, fa-la-la-la-la etc etc! I am feeling especially seasonal today as I wore an ACTUAL JUMPER walking the dog this morning at about 7.30am and my hands were even a tiny bit cold! Can you imagine? It was lovely. What with that and having my first pumpkin spice latte of the year, it’s all very jolly and cosy and the perfect opportunity for an autumn themed episode of It’s Five O’clock Somewhere. (My podcast. Ooh!) In every episode of the podcast, my cohost Gill and I drink a cocktail and to annoy Gill, who is convinced there is a Big Cinnamon conspiracy, I decided to make a pumpkin spice martini. By pumpkin spice martini I don’t just mean slugging a bit of vodka into a Starbucks latte, which I have been known to do for the podcast before, I mean an actual fancy drink in a martini glass and everything. The recipe, if you can call it that, is very simple indeed. It’s half vodka and half this Mozart pumpkin spice cream Collapse
The cutest apple and blackberry pies you’ll see this autumn
03/09/2023 - Following on from Friday’s pumpkin spice latte extravaganza, I thought I’d roll with Expand
03/09/2023 - Following on from Friday’s pumpkin spice latte extravaganza, I thought I’d roll with the vibe and do a spot of autumnal baking. I found some apples near my mum’s house and went rummaging in the bushes for blackberries and set about making some of the cutest apple and blackberry pies you’re going to see all autumn. Take a look if you don’t believe me: WHAT DID I TELL YOU? I had a very lovely time indeed fiddling about making leaves and what not, ignoring the fact that we are actually having a heat wave and it was 26 degrees outside. It’s September dammit! I had a pumpkin spice latte! I should be in tights by now. Anyway, if you want to get into the autumnal vibe with me, here’s what you need: One medium cooking apple (can be found near my mum’s house) A good large handful of blackberries (I collected mine in a dog poop bag. Optional.) A blob of honey A generous sprinkle of cinnamon A sheet of ready rolled shortcrust pastry A beaten egg Collapse
How to look after your family’s tummies and not have to poop in a wheelie bin
23/08/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Enterosgel Kids Do you believe in synchronicity? How Expand
23/08/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Enterosgel Kids Do you believe in synchronicity? How about manifestation? Do you think it’s possible that I went to a festival last weekend, knowing that when I came back I was going to be writing a blog post about diarrhoea and so MADE IT HAPPEN? If you knew me in school, you might even believe I was swotty enough to give myself diarrhoea just to write about it authentically. I assure you that I did not. Bee told out family WhatsApp group that I gave myself diarrhoea by ‘eating a chicken pie that had been on the floor for three days’. This is not strictly true. The chicken pie was brought to the festival by one of the women I was camping with, frozen in slices and kept…
The post How to look after your family’s tummies and not have to poop in a wheelie bin appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
How to look after your family’s tummies and not have to poop in a wheelie bin was first posted on August 23, 2023 Collapse
How well prepared are your kids for university life?
14/07/2023 - This post is a collaboration with TV Licensing, but all thoughts and experiences are my own. Do Expand
14/07/2023 - This post is a collaboration with TV Licensing, but all thoughts and experiences are my own. Do you have kids thinking about university? If so, how well prepared do you think they are? Do they have a colour-coded uni checklist ready to go or are they one tin of beans away from disaster? In this post Belle and I take a quiz to see how we’d fare if Belle chooses to go to university… It’s been a while now since my eldest daughter Bee went off to university. It’s been so long in fact that she has graduated, had a baby, and is now studying for a masters. I remember when I wrote about Bee’s graduation saying that I was particularly proud that she was having a mini can of…
The post How well prepared are your kids for university life? appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
How well prepared are your kids for university life? was first posted on July 14, 2023 at 5:56 am. Collapse
|
Hotel Kong Arthur Copenhagen
14/02/2024 - On our recent trip to Copenhagen we stayed in the Hotel Kong Arthur. I picked it primarily because Expand
14/02/2024 - On our recent trip to Copenhagen we stayed in the Hotel Kong Arthur. I picked it primarily because I loved the look of the front of the building, which is surely as good a reason as any? I also loved the styling and the location – you’re only a five minute walk from the fabulous Torvehallern indoor markets and the Norreport station, which connects to the Metro and has direct trains to the airport and the Malmo in Sweden – perfect as we wanted to do a day trip while we were there. Top tip – Google Maps will try to take you to the main entrance, and while this is nice for the view as you round the end of the street, there is also a side entrance that cuts off a chunk of time. Grandeur Meets Comfort From the moment you step into the lobby, Hotel Kong Arthur exudes a sense of grandeur paired with an inviting warmth. The meticulously designed interiors seamlessly blend contemporary aesthetics with classic Danish charm. The plush furnishings and thoughtfully curated Collapse
Give the gift of Whirli the swappable toy subscription
20/12/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Whirli A couple of weeks ago after school I took my Expand
20/12/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Whirli A couple of weeks ago after school I took my grandson Joey, who is now four-years-old if you can believe that, (which I can because he is always texting me from Bee’s phone saying ‘Joey is 4’), to the garden centre. We started with a look at the Christmas decorations and the giant singing penguins. Joey wasn’t sure about them. He liked the singing, but I had to press the button in case they bit him. We stopped in the cafe and then we had a look at the toys so that I could have the honour of buying him something. What I noticed, as is typical for children Joey’s age, is that the thing he definitely wanted more than anything in the world was the thing that he happened to be looking at at any given moment. He really, honestly had always wanted a French knitting set more than anything, until he saw the miniature marble run etc etc It’s for exactly this reason that Whirli was invented. Kids are fickle. Collapse
Honey and fig martinis and hot toddies with Fulmer honey
17/11/2023 - Feature in association with Fulmer Honey There is a bit in a Winnie-the-Pooh story that I’ve Expand
17/11/2023 - Feature in association with Fulmer Honey There is a bit in a Winnie-the-Pooh story that I’ve always loved. It’s in the story called ‘In which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place’, where Pooh goes to visit Rabbit, somewhat against Rabbit’s better judgment. ‘Pooh always liked a little something at eleven o’clock in the morning, and he was very glad to see Rabbit getting out the plates and mugs; and when Rabbit said, “Honey or condensed milk with your bread?” he was so excited that he said, “Both,” and then, so as not to seem greedy, he added, “But don’t worry about the bread.” Pooh does then get stuck in Rabbit’s front door trying to leave, and they have to leave him there in the hole until he ‘gets thin again’, but generally I admire this approach to life and his love of honey. Honey is not only delicious, but it has all kinds of natural health benefits. Pooh was ahead of Collapse
Quiz: Which Busy B diary are you? + Get a Busy B discount code
19/10/2023 - In association with Busy B I bloody love a quiz. I’ve loved quizzes ever since I used to get Expand
19/10/2023 - In association with Busy B I bloody love a quiz. I’ve loved quizzes ever since I used to get Garfield magazine, (mainly for the pen pal section – did anyone else have a Garfield penpal??), and the quizzes would be about whether I liked lasagne. Aged about 13 I progressed to Just Seventeen, and the quizzes were very much focussed on things like ‘Does he fancy you?’ and ‘Do boys like you?’ and ‘What kind of kisser are you?’ There was no mention of lasagne, although on reflection I suspect there may be some overlap between whether or not you can make a lasagne and whether or not a boy will like you. Today’s quiz though is about another of my lifelong loves – alongside carbs and boys – and that is STATIONERY. Dairies to be precise. Unlike boys, you know where you stand with a diary. They are never going to let you down or be late for anything, they simply couldn’t, they are punctuality and organisation in paper form. Collapse
How to make Lidl’s Black Forest pastries DOOP!
02/10/2023 - Belle and I have got into the habit of mocking the trend in dupe videos. You know how supermarkets Expand
02/10/2023 - Belle and I have got into the habit of mocking the trend in dupe videos. You know how supermarkets or budget brands bring out versions of more expensive products and call them dupes? Our habit started though because Belle saw a video of someone making a recipe for what they SAID was a dupe, but it was actually just a recipe. I can’t even remember what it was, but it was along the lines of ‘SPONGE CAKE DUPE!’ but then was just an actual sponge cake recipe. To really get into it, you also have to say ‘dupe’ as DOOP! Loudly and in a high pitched voice. Imagine me picking an apple from a tree and holding it aloft and shouting ‘Tesco bag of apples DOOP!’ You get the picture. We are very funny etc etc. I recently made my own DOOP, which was very exciting and made me feel like a Millenial. It was a DOOP for an amazing Black Forest pastry I got from Lidl a couple of weeks ago when I was having one of those weeks where you feel like pastries are the Collapse
4 tips to help you choose a children’s bed
14/09/2023 - When Belle was little there was one very important criterion when it came to choosing her bed Expand
14/09/2023 - When Belle was little there was one very important criterion when it came to choosing her bed – would alligators be able to get into it? Alligators and crocodiles were one of her biggest fears (literally and figuratively) and so it was very important that her bed was sufficiently off the ground to deter reptilian visitors during the night. This is the bed she had for a long time. Nice and safe, although potentially a crocodile could nest underneath behind the curtain. Your children may have less specific needs, so how do you go about choosing a bed for kids if they aren’t fussy about accessibility for escaped crocodiles? Here are a few tips to help you choose: Ask your child Well DUR you might think, but you’d be surprised at how many parents buy furniture for their children’s bedrooms without really asking them what they want. If your child has any imagination they’re likely to ask for something ridiculous like a bunk bed with a slide into a paddling Collapse
My first pumpkin spice latte of 2023
01/09/2023 - I’ve heard that you’re meant to include interesting seasonal content on a blog and it Expand
01/09/2023 - I’ve heard that you’re meant to include interesting seasonal content on a blog and it doesn’t get much more seasonal than a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. Everyone knows that as soon as the PSL comes out you’re allowed to start wearing tights and humming Jingle Bells under your breath. September 1st then, and off we went to the Starbucks drive-thru. I used to believe that my role as ‘parent’ would be pretty much done by the time my kids turned 18, but here they are, now 21 and 28, and neither of them can drive, so anything that involves driving through something is still my parental responsibility. ‘Bee says we can drive through Starbucks tomorrow for pumpkin spice lattes,’ Belle informed me last night. ‘That’s generous of her,’ I said, or…
The post My first pumpkin spice latte of 2023 appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
My first pumpkin spice latte of 2023 was first posted on September 1, 2023 at 6:55 pm. Collapse
Dairy free chocolate pancakes
04/08/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Modern Milkman ‘If I make some chocolate pancakes Expand
04/08/2023 - Advertisement feature in association with Modern Milkman ‘If I make some chocolate pancakes with a peanut butter sauce,’ I asked Belle, ‘will you eat them?’ ‘Will I eat some chocolate pancakes,’ she said, looking like she might have misunderstood the question, ‘if you make them for me right now?’ ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Well yes,’ she said, ‘obviously.’ And so I did. I pretty much only drink oat milk nowadays as it’s nicer in coffee and kinder on my stomach, and oat milk works really well in recipes too. Yeah yeah, I know you all know this, but did you also know that Modern Milkman can deliver oat milk to your door in the proper glass bottles? I didn’t. They also do kefir in glass bottles for the true millennials amongst…
The post Dairy free chocolate pancakes appeared first on Slummy single mummy.
Dairy free chocolate pancakes was first posted on August 4, 2023 at 7:01 am. Collapse
|
