An Author's Notebook

It has been a confusing time. In some ways, I've found the last few weeks of relative freedom more challenging than full-on lockdown. ...

Ever since I gave up full-time work to look after the kids, I've resisted - whisper it - becoming a housewife . The plan, back in 2003 w...

As I watched my son lope off to catch his school bus this morning, I shed a tear. It was a discreet tear alone in the car - a quiet acknowle...

This time last week I dropped off my 15-year old daughter at school for her French exchange trip. In the dark, lamp-lit morning (4:30am), se...

A friend and I were discussing what I should buy her little girl for Christmas. We hit upon Lego. "Friends Lego, the pink stuff?" ...

Hermaphrodite Mum Three kids and a single mum Little One stamps the pavement outside our house with her new Startrite shoe. "Don...

Over the past days I've danced to Rita Ora, cheered on the English football team, watched a class of eleven-year olds sing their hearts ...

My life is about to change. As of September, I will have two kids at secondary school. I will no longer be a mum of young children. Yikes! ...

Hermaphrodite Mum   Three kids and a single mum It's a sight to make every mother's heart sink: your child, curled up with her he...

My 10-year old son and I are playing a game at the moment: the 30-day Happiness Challenge *. I bought it after he finished his entrance exam...

Hermaphrodite Mum   Three kids and a single mum   "Are you alright?" asks Middle Child anxiously. I am beached on the sofa, o...

It has been a bumpy ride, this run-up to Christmas. My children are excited to be on holiday and the house is filled with light and festive ...

Hermaphrodite Mum Three kids and a single mum My children still believe in Father Christmas - even the eldest one, aged 12. It amazes me ...

This week I have decided to write a letter to my local member of parliament, John Howell, asking him to help hundreds of child refugees who ...

Hermaphrodite Mum Three kids and a single mum "Blow winds and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!" was King Lear's famed reactio...

"Come on Mummy, you can do it!" Could I though? Could I really? It turned out I could. Hop, skip and a jump along the towpath, ign...

Hermaphrodite Mum Three kids and a single mum The children came back from their dad's place this weekend full of the joys of spring. ...

People watching:  Sally Curson, founder of Face Matters skincare As I grow older I find myself becoming obsessed with little details such...

My feet have hardly touched the ground since 2016 kicked off in a burst of fireworks over the banks of the river Thames. Once the kids were ...

It has become fashionable to extol the virtues of failure. O ur children need to flounder; they need to experience the blood-rushing slam ...