It was less than eight weeks after my mum had unexpectedly and very suddenly died that Christmas rolled around. None of us were up to shopping, cooking or hosting a big Yuletide feast, but my aunt and uncle bravely stepped up to the not-inconsiderable task of hosting six sad, teary bereft extras and a King… Continue reading Festive Family
Category: Living
You’ll Never Walk Alone: Promoting a Charity Walk for Cancer Research UK
I do like to blog regularly so it must be time for my yearly post...hmmm, not hard to see why those Blogger of the Year awards aren't flying in my direction. Anyhoo, I've been busy. Really busy. As well as doing a day job as a Weddings Coordinator (which can be surprisingly stressful - they… Continue reading You’ll Never Walk Alone: Promoting a Charity Walk for Cancer Research UK
Busy (Not) Doin’ Nothin’
I was starting to get a bit full of myself, posting once or twice a week, but the organisers of the Least Prolific Blogger of the Year awards have been in touch and I needed to rein it in a bit if I was to retain my title. So blog silence for a few weeks.… Continue reading Busy (Not) Doin’ Nothin’
Harry Potter and the Slightly Impressed Teens
My youngest daughter has just finished the Harry Potter series so we booked tickets for The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. Or Harry Potter and The Amazing Money Vanishing Spell as I prefer to call it. We thought it would be a fabulous family day out so off we went. Of course,… Continue reading Harry Potter and the Slightly Impressed Teens
Stop the World – I Want to Get Off
I've had enough. I really have. The world seems to be on a downward dash to destruction and/or insanity. From falling sperm counts, acid attacks and pay rows to Trump, May and the ongoing Brexit saga. But what has really got my goat in the last week or so is pubic hair. Or, rather, the… Continue reading Stop the World – I Want to Get Off
It’s My Birthday Too…
So, today's my birthday. And Mother's Day. Obviously, on an occasion like this, I would normally be stuffing my face with plenty of cake, prosecco and lard. However, I've been following Slimming World since January, after seeing a photo of myself at a wedding where I resembled an elephant on a big night out. I've lost almost… Continue reading It’s My Birthday Too…
Wednesday Week
Not much writing going on in the Barbed Words house. My week can pretty much be summed up as: Packing. Work. Packing. Coffee. Packing. Packing. Coffee. Taking child to doctors. Tea. Iced Bun. Chemists. Going to charity shop. Gardening. Gin and tonic. Pasta. Packing. Coffee. Packing. Charity shop. eBay. Tea. Gardening. Pizza. Top Gear.… Continue reading Wednesday Week
What I Go to School For
Although in Rome, I enjoyed the life of a lady who lunches (or drinks cappuccino, at least), once back in England I needed to find work. As I have children, I wanted a job which offers flexible hours and time off in the holidays [Sure your poor work ethic didn’t have anything to do with it?? – Ed. Shut… Continue reading What I Go to School For
Another Six Words
Another busy week and another week of not writing much. But I did manage to enter the Six Word Story Challenge again. So a total of six words written in seven days. Go me! The theme this week was 'Horror'. My entry summed up a terrifying experience that I'm sure we've all been through: The stubborn… Continue reading Another Six Words
Getting Lazier with Six Word Stories…
Hmmm, I seem to have lapsed into blog silence since the A-Z Challenge. Things are a tad stressful at the moment - we're about to move for the third time in a year. There's too much to do. Too much to think about. And blogging is one of those things that's very easy to drop… Continue reading Getting Lazier with Six Word Stories…
V is for Victoria Wood as Seen by Me
I felt genuinely upset by the death of Victoria Wood last week. Other recent celebrity deaths, such as David Bowie or Alan Rickman, have also saddened me but Victoria’s shocked me. I think it’s because of how young she was and that she was regularly in my living room (via the TV, sadly not actually… Continue reading V is for Victoria Wood as Seen by Me
I is for Innovative Ideas to Make a Living
A friend* and I are always discussing ways to make enough money so that we can give up work. From writing educational books or inventing apps to running a coffee shop or baking cupcakes, we've been through hundreds of ideas. But her latest idea sounds like the easiest one. Apparently,men people will pay for… Continue reading I is for Innovative Ideas to Make a Living
E is for Escapism
Thanks to my Mother-in-Law for today's A-Z Challenge idea. Feel free to leave your own suggestions for the rest of the month as I may very easily run out of ideas!! The Oxford English Dictionary defines Escapism as: The tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.… Continue reading E is for Escapism
B is for Book of the Day
I'm still disorganised and probably will be for the next few days, so today's lightweight A-Z Challenge is a picture post. The book of the day is 'Cats in Hats' by Sara Thomas. Haven't read it, have no intention of reading it - but how cute is that cat???
Don’t Leave Me This Way
One of the conditions of my WordPress Least Prolific Blogger (Overseas) award is that I’m only allowed to blog twice a year. So here is my bi-annual update. Unbelievably, we leave Italy in just over a week. Three years have flown by and, despite all my bitching about Italian drivers, Italian shoppers, Italian rudeness, Italian… Continue reading Don’t Leave Me This Way
Big Girls Don’t Cry…Unless They’re Waxing Their Bikini Line
Exciting news! I’ve just been nominated for a WordPress Award in the Least Prolific Blogger (Overseas) category...but as I was hoping to win the Funniest and Best Written Blog (Those Three Streets Between The Football Stadium and The River in North-West Rome) category, I thought it was about time I got off my arse and wrote… Continue reading Big Girls Don’t Cry…Unless They’re Waxing Their Bikini Line
Teenage Dreams – So Hard To Beat
As a child, I was mad on the All Creatures Great and Small books and TV series. Thinking being a vet would be a great career, I tried to practise my techniques on my cat. Unfortunately, unlike my friend’s dog who was perfectly happy to be wrapped in bandages from head to tail and prescribed… Continue reading Teenage Dreams – So Hard To Beat
Under Pressure
I’ve been a bad blogger. I haven’t posted for three months, which in the world of blog is a real no-no. On any list of top tips for bloggers, writing posts is pretty much number one. Mind you, on checking my site stats, I'd actually had a couple of days during my hiatus when I got… Continue reading Under Pressure
The Books of Love
I've been a bit quiet on the old blog front recently but I have managed to do some nice colouring... I read an article about the work of Tom Phillips, an artist who uses pages from one particular book to create an ongoing story, called A Humument, which is a 'meditation on unrequited love and… Continue reading The Books of Love
You CAN Always Get What You Want
Recently I’ve been reading a lot about the benefits of gratitude and kindness on our health, happiness and getting what you want out of life. I used to be a bit of a Cynical Cynthia and poo-poo any hippy dippy ideas about the power of positive thinking or the law of attraction. It was all too… Continue reading You CAN Always Get What You Want
Venice Queen
Venice was amazing. It was just like being on a film set - I kept expecting Casanova (David Tennant version, obviously) to appear or James Bond to drive past in a hovercraft gondola. Every time we turned a corner, I had to snap away with my camera as the bridges and canals got more and more ridiculously picturesque.… Continue reading Venice Queen
Hooray Hooray, It’s a Holi-Holiday
I've just got back from a week's holiday Oop North, staying in places where Wi-fi is obviously just some crazy-assed technology from the future. No Facebook, no emails, no news and no Big Bang Theory. Did I miss much?? Quick Google search...nope, not a lot. Organising holidays is so stressful. Once I'm there, I'm fine but the planning and… Continue reading Hooray Hooray, It’s a Holi-Holiday
Dear Adrian Mole
Dear Adrian, I was so sorry to hear about the death of Sue Townsend, the comic genius who brought your diaries to a wider audience. I know you felt that she was the one who profited from your private life, passing it off as her own work of fiction, but without her, the world would… Continue reading Dear Adrian Mole
It’s My Party
Today's my birthday and I planned to celebrate with a cappuccino at a bar with the best view in Rome: it overlooks the Italian Men’s Swimming Team training pool. Forget the Coliseum or the Spanish Steps; this is the first sight you should see in Rome. However, I had a poorly child at home so, instead of… Continue reading It’s My Party
When The Going Gets Tough…The Tough Go All Benny Hill
My memories of my teenage years have become so distorted over the years that I have almost convinced myself that I was a Wild Child, spending weekends cruising the Med on my boyfriend Simon Le Bon-Bon’s boat or going on Christmas ski-ing holidays with Wham. The truth, however, is slightly more mundane. Most of my… Continue reading When The Going Gets Tough…The Tough Go All Benny Hill
