The Things We Do For Love

In our house this evening there is a football match on the television.  It's Wrexham vs Luton, and we have actually paid to subscribe to a channel for the night just so we can watch it. I say “we”, but although the money comes out of an account with my name on it, I’m not…

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Making Notes: Sock Monkeys

I first saw a sock monkey just a few years ago, although apparently they have been around in America since the 1930s. It was love at first sight, and I couldn’t wait to make one of my very own. I looked around for patterns and instructions and hints and tips, and finally decided I was ready.…

If I Knew You Were Coming…

Today was a good day.  I made a cake. It’s been ages since I last did any baking.  It’s something I tend to go through phases with.  A while back I was making cakes at least once a week.  Then I got a bit bored with the effort of icing, the new baking powder I bought had a…

Making Notes: A Load of Balls

I first came across this method of making balls at the Latitude Festival last year, where Cambridge Community Circus were running workshops for kids. They were making juggling balls, but the finished product also works quite well as a stress ball You will need: – balloons – bird seed (the small round kind – I found it sold as…

Camping: The Big Question

We recently returned from a weekend’s camping. And (not for the first time) I find myself asking, “Why do we do it?” We own a perfectly decent and functional house. It’s great at protecting us from the  wind and the rain. It has central heating, and running water, including a flushing toilet. But still we…

Making Notes: Bath Fizzers

I had seen instructions for making bath bombs before.  But I was always put off by the danger of premature fizzing – the part in the instructions where you have to spray on just enough water to make it all stick together but not enough to set off the reaction that should only happen in…

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

Living with a four-year-old is fun and frustrating in equal measure.  My particular model never stops fidgeting, touching things and talking.  In particular, the questions never seem to end. Today I made a note of all the questions that he asked over a six-hour period.  Bear in mind that this represents barely half of our…

Return to Coral Island

We recently spent a couple of days in Blackpool  Our main port of call was the Pleasure Beach, but we also stopped off at what we have come to call "The Machines" - otherwise known as an amusement arcade. Coral Island is the biggest of Blackpool’s many such venues, and was the site of an…

Making Notes: Little Boxes

Making a box from a square of paper is relatively easy once you get your head around it.  And much cheaper than buying a gift box.  So here’s my short guide to making little boxes. 1.  Take your square of paper.  I used A4 size paper which I squared off by simply folding one corner to…