Helen

Colourful midlife mum to two teens. Determined not to do as she's told and slide off into invisible old age. Much cooler at 50 than she was at 15. Host of the Teenage Kicks podcast, about mental health for teenagers.

St Albans Restaurants: Best for Steak – Prime Steak and Grill

St Albans restaurants: best for steak, Prime and Grill has a superb wine menu

Which is the best steak restaurant in St Albans? A review of Prime St Albans We have lived in St Albans for a long time. When I started this blog I wanted to be anonymous, so we didn’t mention our city. Look how that turned out! When I met my husband, a large part of our dating was spent in smart restaurants. We lived in Chiswick and would seek every excuse to hop on a train for an evening in the OXO tower, Bluebird, or Titanic (rather sniggeringly named because it sat on top of the Atlantic Bar and Grill …

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Rattling the Cages of Parliament for Type 1 Diabetes #Type1Catalyst

Want to know what’ll get you inside the Houses of Parliament? I don’t mean queuing up to take the tour (which in itself is very cool), or going through security (rather like airport scanning, that’s how serious government is) to sit in the Commons and hear the debates (yes that is totally a thing). Nor am I talking of secret plots to usurp government and all its officials. No, this is about a personal invitation to a private party on that stretch of the river Thames that always looks so inviting on a sunny Friday afternoon; the Terrace Pavilion, where you always …

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Music fun across the decades

When I was 11 I found Abba. I had managed to secure an alarm clock radio for a birthday, a thing of great beauty in my eyes. It was a huge low rectangular box, with a red digital display, and it took up almost all of my bedside table. My water glass perched precariously on the only remaining corner, and I frequently knocked it off in the middle of the night. My once towering stack of books had to be relegated to floor beneath. I didn’t care. I had an alarm clock radio and I listened to Dave Lee Travis when I …

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Christening gift ideas that will impress parents and children

Christening gift ideas: a classic money box is traditional AND useful

A christening is such a lovely occasion. As a parent I remember rifling through racks of gorgeous frothy dresses, and cute pinstriped linens. I organised a perfect cake and drove 6 miles to pick it up. I still have the little icing letter blocks that made up my daughter’s name. When it was my son’s turn, I made his cake myself – three pastel balloons that my daughter sneakily consumed during the festivities, and proceeded to throw up in her bed that night. I remember that it poured with rain that day, and we huddled in a steamy room at …

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Gifts for Girls: Gorgeous Sarah Stokes bag and Homewares

This gorgeous fox cushion is the perfect gift for girls

Perfect gifts for girls I have small but firm base of lovely girlfriends. Over the (many) years that I’ve known them, we’ve learned so much about each other that we can go months without talking, and yet click right back into the swing when we’re together. We’ve been through school, university, boyfriends, marriage(s), and children together, so it’s safe to say we know a thing or two about each other. But can I find a decent gift for them when their birthdays come round? Knowing each other for so long means that we’ve exhausted the usual gift range, and the …

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50 Secrets you Need for an Incredible Trip to Somerset

#SecretSomerset: some hidden gems in Somerset and Exmoor.

  Finding the real Secret Somerset How do you choose a restaurant in Hong Kong? A gondola ride in Venice? A beach in the south of France? Amongst all the choice, how do you find the really good stuff, the dish that will set your taste buds alight, that perfect little bay with the gorgeous sunset, or the boat that will leave you with lifelong memories? You follow the locals. Of course, you see the Eiffel Tower and you walk the Great Wall, but often it’s the things you don’t think to visit that become the greatest stories of your …

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Could you hit your child?

Could you ever hit your child?

I should have been holding his hand but I wasn’t. He saw our car, parked on the other side, and ran to climb inside. He didn’t see the van crossing his path. It happened so fast. He ran, brakes screeched, I screamed, he stopped, bewildered. I slapped the back of his legs and then hugged him tight. His face crumpled in hurt and confusion. I remember that moment years ago so clearly, and berate myself for it over and over again. I have never hit either of my children since, and yet toddler parent frustration often left me wondering what …

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Ski: Le Hameau du Kashmir – self-catering hotel style.

I am utterly spoiled for every single ski trip I take in future years. Seriously. Totally ruined. The phrase ski-in-ski-out has entered my consciousness, made itself at home, and will forevermore be the barometer by which I measure all future ski trips. This is the view from our apartment at Le Hameau du Kashmir, in Val Thorens over Easter. That slope you see, under the cable car, is not ten steps from the door of our locker room. Which, by the way, contains heated boot posts and glove hangers, so you always start the day with warm, dry fingers, and cosy feet. …

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Diabetes: I wish I could be happy

How could you not be happy on a candy floss day like this one?

  I’m never happy. It dawned on me just now as I drove home. It’s a glorious day, the best kind; the sun is shining, the trees look like candy floss, heavy with blossom, and the streets are filled with busy families on their way to tennis, drama clubs, or ballet. I’m one of them. Two years ago I would have rejoiced in a day like today. I would have dug out my sandals, planned a barbeque for lunch, and invited friends for cocktails. I’d have walked in the sun, breathed the air, and revelled in my life. It’s just …

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Family…

I wasn’t going to write a post today. I’m in the midst of packing for diabetes camp. I was up 5 times last night alternately adding insulin, then sugar to my daughter’s sleeping form. Bloody hormones are screwing with her big time. I lay awake last night thinking about teenage growth spurts, puberty, and what might lie in store for the next couple of years. Then I realised that the timing of said girl hormone patterns are going to clash perfectly with another hormonal phenomenon in this house. Menopause. Oh God. I can almost see the boys packing up a …

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Where to see Bluebells in Hertfordshire

Photographing in the bluebells at Ringshall

Ringshall, 2008. It’s been years since I updated our photo albums. Since the Bug was born, in fact, and I somehow lost a whole section of time in my day. It was something I always pushed to the bottom of my list, from where it nagged me weekly. For seven years. Last week I finally began the process of sifting through old images on old laptops and even older hard drives; and I found this picture of my daughter, aged 4, in the woods at Ringshall, on the Ashridge estate. It’s not the perfect photo – I don’t do Photoshop, …

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Ski: Tips for doing The Luge Toboggan Run in Val Thorens

Tips for surviving the Luge toboggan run in Val Thorens

  If you’ve always fancied taking a family ski or snowboarding holiday, then Val Thorens is the perfect place to start. Our kids get very excited about our ski trips, and it’s a complete joy to share the antics of the day with them after a long session on the slopes. But even though they love the skiing, children sometimes need a break, or a change of scenery during a week’s holiday. For ours it can be a lazy afternoon in the apartment, or a swim in the hotel pool. But one of the highlights of their holiday in Val …

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Ski: Where to Eat in Val Thorens

Where to eat in Val Thorens - we pick our favourites for eating on the piste and apres-ski

Waffles in the snow – what more could you want? There’s nothing better than sitting out in the cold air, sunshine blazing down on pristine snow, and cold beer in your hand after a long day of skiing. That moment when you loosen your boots, and your tongue, as you relive the stories of the day, from that time the Bug did a 360° spin without meaning to, to the moment when Dad wiped out in the powder and lost a ski, via the epic sneeze on the chair lift that made people on the slopes look up in confusion. …

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Wringer and Mangle: a VERY cool bar in London Fields

Some VERY cool areas to hang out at Wringer and Mangle

Grain sacks and a pommel horse make for lounging seats at Wringer and Mangle. If you frequent London Fields in East London for its social scene, chances are you’re more Superdry than Boden, drink Fever Tree not Schweppes, and prefer Snapchat over Facebook. But make the effort to venture a bit further east than your mainstream safety zone London staples, and you’ll find two great levellers: Time Run – an against the clock maze of team challenges reminiscent of the Crystal Maze (find out more on Space In Your Case); and Wringer and Mangle. Wringer and Mangle (review) We had …

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Travel: Les Carroz – A Relaxed Family Ski Resort in the French Alps

Les Carroz d'Araches may be small, but it's a lovely family ski resort in the French Alps

  Travelling to the French Alps for a half term ski holiday I was nervous. We’d never skied during the notorious French winter holidays, and the hordes of British number plates squeezing into the Eurotunnel did nothing to ease my apprehension. I’d heard about the mammoth lift queues, the production line canteen food, and the crowded slopes sure to tempt injury. It was all a far cry from the idyllic mountain charm I was used to as a term-time skier. But we have kids now, and not the kind we can pull out of school for a holiday. Half term …

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Days Out: What to expect when you visit Tower Bridge London

Great places to visit in England: The view from Tower Bridge is spectacular - if you dare to take it in!

A heart-stopping view from Tower Bridge When you step on the walkway of Tower Bridge, you might wonder what’s in store. It’s a bridge, admittedly a pretty cool, rather iconic bridge, but still, it’s just a bridge, right? We had travelled into London for a rare family day out (rare because it’s unusual to find all four of us without plans on a weekend day), with the goal of exploring the Tower of London. We hadn’t bargained on the queues though, had set off a little late, and required stops for toilets and coffee along the way. We decided the cost …

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Travel: 36 Great places to visit in England

Great places to visit in England with the family

Tomorrow sees the start of English Tourism Week. Visit England are champions of English tourism, and this year is the fifth anniversary of the week long event. To celebrate everything that makes England such a special place for a break, a holiday, or just a day out, we’re highlighting some of the great places to visit in England with your family starting with some lovely experiences in London. Great places to visit in England with the family Tower Bridge   What could be more English than Tower Bridge? So iconic the Americans tried to buy it and take it home with …

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Free to Dream (Freestyle Libre review)

A blood glucose reading whenever you want, without finger pricks - here's our Freestyle Libre review #freetodream

Hey, stop what you’re doing for a minute, will you? I just need you to do something for me. It will take about 2 minutes – if you’re lucky – then you can carry on with your work/play/nap/dancing (delete as appropriate). Hey, can you stop again please? Sorry, I just need you to do that thing again, won’t take too long. I know, I know, you’re dancing/singing/talking to your friends/marking coursework. Sorry, but it’s got to be done. Hey, sorry to interrupt AGAIN, but can you just… yes, again, yep I know you’re busy, I know it’s important, you’re having …

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Could you give up something you love to save money?

Being cold in bed is no fun. What could you not live without? And you can’t cheat and say your kids. Pick the one thing that you use every single day and could never give up. Then give it up for a week. Anxiety setting in yet? Could I save money on the One Week Energy Challenge? This is what MoneySuperMarket asked me to do last week, to see if I could save money, and how tough it felt to do so. I asked if I could give up Facebook – I could definitely use some motivation to take that time-sucker …

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