Blog
Our future green-fingered generation
I wish I had found time in my diary this week to book tickets for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I came back brimming with ideas and wishing my garden was much bigger from my previous visit. All credit to the organisers for embracing the social media by using...
Men are traumatised by abortion too
Whatever the outcome of today's debate and vote on whether to cut the 24-week upper limit for abortions to 20 weeks or less, what's clear is that it is an emotive subject that traumatises men too. During a radio discussion on abortions this morning, when men were...
Ask sufferers of Alzheimer’s about new research
New hybrid embryo laws could allow scientists to carry out controversial stem cell research using hybrid human-animal embryos in the hope that it will speed up treatment for cancer and conditions such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Motor Neurone Disease. MPs are to...
Four funerals and a wedding
I wish it had been the other way round, Four Weddings and A Funeral, but tomorrow will be the fourth funeral of a dear friend in 16 months. They far outnumber the wedding I have to look forward to in three weeks. I've written here about losing Sue, Celia and then...
I’m in such an excited whirl!!!
I've had a fantastic week and am in such an excited whirl right now, I wish you could see me. I signed a PR contract with a new client at the beginning of the week to write about their pioneering plant breeding research projects. My work with them so far has received...
Mathematics – an education blackhole
When I went to my younger son's parents evening the other day, the longest queue was to see the maths teacher. The reason was because she had to explain changes in the curriculum which are certainly not going to benefit James, and others like him. Up until last year,...
No more L plates
David can now throw out his L plates having passed his driving test today. I was thrilled for him because I felt he deserved to pass, that he was both confident and considerate on the road. We had arranged to meet for lunch in Cambridge anyway, so it was great to make...
Which mother do you feel sorry for?
After Margaret Mizen's truly selfless words following the murder of her 16-year-old son Jimmy, which mother do you feel sorry for? Jimmy, a devout Roman Catholic, was slashed across the neck with a broken glass dish in a bakery in south-east London by a man in his 20s...
Me and my compass
I'm planning to learn how to read a compass this weekend. It is something I have always wanted to do, so I have booked a session with my local ramblers group. It's being held on the grounds of the very gracious Wimpole Hall tomorrow. Doe this this mean I will no...