Blog
We are off to the Olympics!
By an incredible stroke of luck, we are off to the Olympics next year! My husband has just discovered that our application for a number of athletic events with our two sons has been successful. We have tickets for six races! We had thought the worst as he believed...
A week at the Wellcome Trust
I have spent the last week at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute working with their media team to promote the biomedical research being carried out by their scientists, the kind of research that contributes to making discoveries which make a huge difference to all...
What to do when you get a shock demand for thousands of pounds from the taxman
I read about my PR buddy's dilemma on Facebook. She was in shock having received an unexpected - and unwarranted - tax bill for £20,000. I really felt for her. But Sheila Kiggins' story does have a happy ending, the taxman finally resolved matters, but only after...
Adoption should not be a last resort
I'm thrilled to see philanthropist Francesca Polini in today's Times promoting a fairer adoption system both in the UK and internationally. Francesca and her husband Rick went to Mexico to adopt two babies after being turned by their local authority in Ealing where a...
The Mumsnet Rules
I wish Mumsnet had been around when I agonised over bringing up my kids. The best part is knowing you are never alone with problems, that a national - and international - community of mums are online for a chat. Their pearly words of wisdom are now available in a new...
Why can’t Annunziata Rees-Mogg stand as a Tory MP?
Would you consider putting yourself up for a dream job a second time which you had previously lost, particularly having experienced the harsh unpleasantness that can be par for the course? After reading Annunziata Rees-Mogg's account in today's Sunday Times, I...
Are you saving for your future care home?
How many of us give a thought to saving for a care home when we become old and vulnerable? In today's cash struck society, it's tough enough keeping a job and paying everyday bills, keeping our heads above water. And, of course, we don't think we will need one while...
Was your Olympic bid successful?
Our family is one of the tens of thousands who missed out on having our bank account emptied overnight to pay for Olympic tickets. I was keen to see diving, while my husband was geared up for athletics, cycling and boxing (he thought boxing would be a dead cert as...
Grantchester Meadows on a rainy day
I wasn't going to let a little matter like the grey sky and drizzle stop me from strolling through Grantchester Meadows today. I was bursting to once again enjoy this lovely unspoilt countryside which meanders along the Cam. While the bathers may have been absent,...