Dimples knew immediately that she wasn't going on the school trip. She was so ill she didn't even cry. So whilst her school class went to Drusilla's Park, Sussex - a trip she had looked forward to all term- she lay on the sofa, alternately sleeping and being sick. I was heartbroken. And then, a few days later, I received an email inviting me to a Drusilla's Park Press Day- to celebrate Drusilla's 90th birthday- in the Easter holidays and was … [Read more...]
Can do. Kano Computer kids can build themselves.
When I was eight years old, Santa brought our family a ZX Spectrum. A black keyboard with tape deck, it plugged into the TV and changed our lives. That year I got a similarly black "ghetto blaster" which kept me occupied the endless hours when my father and brothers dominated the computer and TV playing American football. I never really got a look in. Fast forward 30 years, I spend a lot of my time on computers but I still have no idea how … [Read more...]
Adopting an Olive Tree with Pomora
An article in a newspaper is responsible for my freezer being filled with cherries. It's the reason I have three cherry stoners, a cupboard filled with jars of jams and compotes, and why I can't eat cherries after the end of July. We rent a cherry tree, the fruit from which we get to pick and keep every July. I spend about four days surrounded by boxes of up to 14kg cherries that need quick processing in the heat of the summer. The point … [Read more...]
What to watch on the Amazon Fire TV Box
When I learned there was a TV set top box coming to market from Amazon, I signed up immediately, keen to take advantage of the saving- it cost £59.99 at the early bird rate*- and try out the future of television. We don't have Smart TVs at The Cottage. To be honest we struggle to get internet some days, despite the fact that high speed broadband has already come to our corner of the Kent countryside. But my grumble about my exchange not yet being … [Read more...]
Family Travel: Camping Pods at Port Lympne
I have always held a picture in my head of what it must be like to camp in the wilderness and awake to the sounds of Big Cats calling to one another. As it turns out I didn't even have to get on a plane to experience it, for Port Lympne have brought Kenya to Kent. And earlier this month they launched their Pinewood Camping Pods, allowing families to come to the Port Lympne Park and sleep next door to the animals usually found on reserves … [Read more...]
Always #LikeAGirl – the new video
I am raising girls. This is both familiar- after all, I am a girl- and utterly baffling. I grew up with brothers. DH grew up with a brother. This girl thing is something we learn about every day. The biggest hurdle we have is one of confidence. When in Kindergarten, LBG got to the start line of Sports Day, burst into tears and wouldn't compete. The sobs of "I can't do this. I'm no good at sport." echoed around the small sports field, along … [Read more...]
Knights, Dragons and Fairy Tales: Family Fun at Leeds Castle
You can never really rely on the weather in the UK, which is how we found ourselves visiting Leeds Castle on a snowy day at the end of February. The white carpet had dissolved by the time we arrived after lunch last Sunday but the drama was still plentiful. Leeds Castle, nestled in the heart of Kent, rather than Yorkshire, is imposing but not in a scary way. It's a castle of fairy tales, surrounded by water and looking out across green … [Read more...]
