ENGLISH MUM

So that’s it, then.  The big day is shortly upon us and I’m looking forward to a small family Christmas (just us, English Grandma and maybe Mad Uncle Ali in the afternoon) at our new little house in Hertfordshire. Wherever you are and whoever you’re with, I wish you all a wonderful, indulgent Christmas. And as always, remember to chill out, have fun, stick on your glad rags, enjoy your precious...

This lovely lady hardly needs an introduction, so without further ado, I’ll pass you onto my lovely mate, the wondrous and all-knowing Presents Queen who’s going to kiss it all better: I know, it’s amazing isn’t it? Why did no one warn you that Christmas was on December 25th this year? And that it’s not very far away now, and that with every passing hour, yet another online retailer’s...

So if you’re snowed in, or just fancy a nice afternoon of Christmassy cooking in the kitchen, I can think of nothing finer than stollen.  Not only is it yummy, but the smell of it cooking is just the finest thang ever. As you can see from the picture, I actually made mine when I was back at English Towers in Ireland (it was for a magazine article, so they were unseasonably made in October), but they...

My sister in law, the  lovely Auntie L, has her birthday ridiculously close to Christmas, so on Saturday we decided to throw her a little birthday party.  It also just happens that the lovely chaps at Cobra Beer had contacted me a while ago and said ‘guess what, we know you like curry so we’re going to send you some beer to go with it’. No way.  ’What, like no strings?  You’re...

Deep breaths, then, and enough of this doom and gloom.  Hell, it’s Christmas.  Seeing as I’m currently obsessing about mince pies, I thought I’d share my latest ressup with you.  It’s the pastry, see?  I thought I had it perfect, but it was too short, too ‘dissolve into crumbs as soon as you pick it up’, which is perfect in some ways, but mince pies need to be handled. ...

So here I am, then, in the library.  I feel like it’s so long since I’ve been online that I can hardly remember what to do.  How are we all?  Good, I hope?  We’re kind of settled into English Towers II, but there’s no internerd until 10th December, so rather than chew my fingers down to the knuckle in frustration, I thought I’d toddle off and avail of the services provided...

Well, well, well, hello again!  We’re all moved over to the UK (after much swearing and broken fingernails packing the house up, then a ferry crossing from hell with storm force winds and high seas).  We’re moved into English Towers Mark 2 (kitchen is a B+ but garden’s a C-) but sadly I’ve no internet connection, so I’m going to hand you over to my lovely friend Mise for a little...

Righty ho, then, so tomorrow is Stir-up Sunday, which gives me carte blanche to get all Christmassy even though it’s still not December.  Bonus.  Today, your mission, should you wish to accept it, is to make sure you have the following ingredients to make your Christmas puds tomorrow, or whenever.  I won’t be checking or anything.  As usual with this sort of thing, this recipe is just a guide,...

I know,  I know, it’s not even December, but it’s a Christmas Countdown, so stop moaning (you know who you are).  The lovely chaps at John Lewis set me a little Christmas challenge to give my rules for the definitive English Towers family Christmas. They go a little like this: Children #2 must awake at the crack of dawn. There will then follow an intense period of annoyance when every other...

    So cracking on with the Chrimbo countdown, then, I’ve got another amazing guest post for you today, this time from my lovely Twittermate, Helen, who runs the frankly adorable Icklebabe.com website.  Over to you, Helen: Christmas is such a lovely time and I usually start dreaming up new ideas for designs from about the time the school summer hols finish! I have a cheesy Christmas album I put on...