ENGLISH MUM

I love the NHS.  Yup, really.  You won’t hear a bad word said about it in our house.  After four years in Ireland spent wondering whether each ailment was worth the fifty quid to see the doctor, I am ridiculously grateful.  Add that to several mad dashes to A&E at £100 a pop and you can imagine I’m a big fan.  Not only that, but the kids had a recent eye test (you guess it, on the NHS),...

The lovely folk at MyFotowall have done their deliberating and cogitating, and decided the the winner of the photo wallscape wallpaper is this entry: Congratulations, CarolineSweetie!  If you’d like to send me an email to: contactenglishmum@gmail.com I’ll put you in touch with them so you can claim your prize.

So the other night, I was mostly talking total waffle on Twitter, as usual, when I was tweeted by a TV chef.  Yes, that’s right, a TV chef . Twitter’s a bit like that.  It’s one of the reasons I love it.  Yes, you get to chat to your buddies, but also you get to chat with people who would normally be a bit inaccessible.  This chef was someone whose talent I have long admired. I grinned. This...

So it’s Mothers’ Day on Sunday.  I was looking back at my old posts and came across this one I wrote in 2008, when I was living in Ireland and missed my Mum so much. Now, however, I’m back in the same town and happily inviting myself to lunch much more than strictly necessary, but my words still seem fitting: Dear Mum, Here are a few thank yous that I owe you.  I probably owe you more than...

My sister in law (who is a sweet, gentle creature) once told me that many moons ago, during a lovers’ tiff with my brother, she was so cross she took the tomato sauce bottle and wrote ‘SHIT’ on the kitchen floor in ketchup.  You see?  Naughty words are a form of therapy.  And with this in mind, laydees and gentlespoons, I bring you the arsebiscuit. I’ve been banging on about them...

In my incredibly important position as Disney Blu-ray Ambassador *cough*, I get certain perks.  A rather fab one recently was a nice parcel containing the specially released Toy Story… …and Toy Story 2, newly released in Disney Blu-ray The first thing I’ll say that, as always with BluRay, the quality is AMAZING.  We were constantly fascinated by the little details, like the weave on the...

The surreal and unpredictable world of blogging It is with some apprehension, I suspect, that English Mum has handed her blog over to me for the day while she guest posts on mine.  She has given me free reign over her corner of cyberspace and permission to write whatever I like.  Only in the rather surreal world of blogging would anyone invite a friend over despite the fact they have never actually met in...

Okay, so this is quite possibly the most fabulously, amazingly brilliant competition I’ve ever run. Think about a photo you really love: a treasured picture of the kids, maybe? A beautiful beach scene?  Or maybe it’s trees that float your boat?  A fabulous sunset?  Or maybe you’re a photographer and have created an amazing image?  Maybe there’s just one photo that always makes...

I’m angry.  I’m just so bloody angry.  Let me explain: Recently, #1, The Mad Professor, came home with a face like thunder.  He’d been given a detention, he said.  Now, firstly, this is unheard of.  As far as I remember he’s never been in trouble at school.  He’s an achiever, more motivated in his schoolwork that I or his father ever were.  He has endless potential.  And...

Planning… My 40th birthday – there’s a fabulous Disney surprise in store, and we’re also planning a glamorous cocktails and dinner extravaganza with my two gorgeous girls, Foxy and Tums and their lubly men.  Wehay! Coveting… the beautiful dresses on  A Change of A Dress – the most fabulous girly website ever. Surfing… over to John Lewis’ new and revamped fashion...