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.

APH Meet and Greet take the stress out of family air travel

It is twenty-four hours since we arrived home from the most relaxing, and luxurious holiday we’ve ever had, and I’m feeling pretty good. It’s a nine hour flight from Jamaica’s Montego Bay airport to London Gatwick. Jamaican time is five hours behind the UK, putting me right now at cocktail-o-clock, when actually I’m working at my desk, and contemplating the afternoon school run. And I can honestly say, I’m not jet-lagged. That might have something to do with the bright light therapy clock I took with me, and recently reviewed for Space In Your Case, but I think a lot …

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A globe to inspire a love of travel and the stars

The Earth and Constellations globe is a must for any child who loves finding out about the stars

The Bug is a fan of the stars. He has glow stars stuck to his ceiling, a room totally devoted to Star Wars, and he’s constantly on the lookout for a falling star, now that the nights are getting longer. Whenever we’re out at night, especially on a camping trip, he spends hours browsing the Skywalk app, trying to figure out what he’s looking at in the night sky. It’s a lovely thing to love, I think. But when you marry that interest with a love of travelling, and understanding the world, you’ve really got a recipe for inspiring a …

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Home: Budgeting for home improvements

Budgeting for home improvements

How to budget for home improvements As you know, I love family adventures and any spare cash that we have always goes on spending time together as a family, which is why my never ending list of home improvements always seems to take a back seat. The shower needs a new door, a kitchen cupboard has a note stuck on it saying “do not open,” for fear of the front falling off, and the floor tiles are growing things in the cracks. It annoys me, but home improvements are just so expensive! That doesn’t mean that our home is an unpleasant …

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Travel Books for Kids: review and giveaway

The Travel Book is one of Lonely Planet Kids new travel books for kids

I met my husband on holiday. We bonded over gluwein and ski-runs, and never looked back. Always forward, to the next trip. And we’ve had some great trips over the years. Dubai, the Maldives, California, Aspen, Cape Town and Turkey are just some of the places we’ve ventured. When children came along we stayed a little closer to home, but not for long. Our wanderlust and love of new experiences has us back out there now that the kids are a little older, and they’re proving themselves to be very enthusastic travel companions in their own rights. Lonely Planet introduces travel …

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Travel: Amba Hotel at Charing Cross London

Review of the Amba hotel at Charing Cross in London's West End

Last Christmas we gifted Actually Daddy a genius experience. A voucher for the whole family to go with him to see one of his favourite shows ‘on the stage.’ A signed up fan of all things Monty Python, he was always going to love the Faulty Towers Dining Experience, and we’d decided to make a weekend of it, spending the night in London rather than dragging back home with the kids on a packed late night train. As I hunted around for somewhere to stay after the show, it dawned on me that the hotel playing host to the production …

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Dear Type 1 Diabetes

Raising money for JDRF, the Type 1 Diabetes charity

Dear Type 1 Diabetes, I’m just writing to let you know what I think of you. I haven’t ranted too much in the last year since you rudely set up camp in our lives, but the time has come. It might get sweary. Actually, strike that; this is going to get totally sweary, and I make no apologies, because it’s about time you were told. Type 1 Diabetes, you are a nasty, vindictive little terrorist, with an impeccable and malicious sense of timing. I have gradually come to accept that you are a law unto yourself. It’s not about food, …

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Days Out: Faulty Towers and an avocado sofa

A review of the Faulty Towers Dining Experience at the Amba Hotel Charing Cross

For a wedding gift, my brother-in-law gave us a very bizarre thing. I’m slightly embarrassed to confess that we fell into the cliché of demanding that plates, cutlery and cushions be donated via a large department store, but he ignored such bland instructions, instead posting us a voucher. It caused so much consternation in our new married bliss, that we waited until the day before it expired to use it. Early one Saturday morning we took the train into London, swigging champagne from a bottle to fuel the bravado we thought we’d need, and breakfasted at the Hard Rock Café …

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No Likes Needed

Yesterday I spent the entire day on social media. It wasn’t intentional – at least, it was, kind of, but I wasn’t supposed to be on it all the time – it just kind of took over my day. I had been commissioned by the Dove Self-Esteem Project to experience social media as a teenaged girl. They had some research about how the average girl spends her time online, and they wanted me to experience it for myself, and report back on how it felt. I went to bed early, with a headache, craving wine that we didn’t have in …

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Is your car safe in winter?

Jodie Kidd launches Halfords free Women’s Winter Motor Workshops at Halfords

I have the most epic car. I’m not sure when I first started to crave a Mini Cooper, but it may have had something to do with Charlize Theron’s moves in the Italian Job remake. Mine is blue though, and the roof comes down. Epic. It has one small problem though. Whenever I sit in it these days, on goes the warning light, and ‘ding’ shouts the alarm. My car needs a service. Of course, I know the phone number of the service centre, there is a really nice lounge there to wait in, and the coffee machine makes a …

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Travel: Top 10 activities at Duinrell holiday park

A lovely traditional carousel provides the centrepiece for the pancake house at Duinrell

Our summer holiday this year took us on a family week to Duinrell holiday park, in the Netherlands. We’ve done a lot of campsite holidays, and several with Canvas, but this was probably the most successful of all of them. And it wasn’t due to the weather! Duinrell is a bit different in that – once you’ve paid for your accommodation – you have a range of rather unusual on-site activities included in the price, including access to a full-scale theme park! We honestly could have spent the whole week on site. Here are our top 10 things to do …

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Travel: What we loved about the Tikibad water park in Duinrell!

The terrifying (and wedgie-giving) Pelican slide at the Tikibad in Duinrell Holiday Park is not to be missed!

Without a doubt, the main reason you will stay at Duinrell is the Tikibad. Aside from the fact that it is a genius addition to a park where the weather isn’t always of the beach variety, it is quite simply the most fun you will ever have in a soggy swimsuit. I’m not the biggest fan of water parks since passing the hedonistic age of 21, preferring to stay dry and warm, and to keep all my belongings where I can see them. But I was the first to beg for another day at the Tikibad, once I’d sampled the …

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Travel: The day a seagull stole my lunch.

Seagulls. What big fat bullies they are! I knew they were cheeky, having frequently been in a near-miss swoop confrontation; I even knew that they were clever enough to flock to tourist traps for easy pickings, having once lost a chip at the beach in St Ives. Put down your doughnut at Felixstowe beach and someone else is sure to help themselves. But hats off to the Dutch gulls – they have it all figured out. It was on a day trip to the beach, not far from Duinrell holiday park, in the Netherlands, that we first crossed paths with what can …

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Diabetes: This is WAR

This weekend we played a game of Bananagrams. One of those games that you either love or hate. My need for order and precision, my discomfort with change means it’s not my favourite. But it grows on you. Those who like to shake things up, change them for the sake of it, experiment, they love it. It makes GG happy. If she doesn’t like a word she’s used, she’ll change it. I wish everything was that simple. I left them to tidy up, and when I next looked, they hadn’t. They’d all wandered off, apart from her. She sat at …

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Salted Caramel Ice Cream recipe with a Twist – or a Twix!

Recipe: Salted Caramel ice-cream with Twix Mix is set to become a favourite

    The Best Salted Caramel ice-cream recipe I’m trying to think of a good reason not to make salted caramel ice cream. But I just can’t come up with one. I mean, who doesn’t love that sea-salty tang, followed by the deep burned sweetness of caramel? Mixed with creamy custard and scooped into a cone, it’s doubly compelling, so I try no longer. When we were sent the Smart Scoop ice-cream maker from Sage, we had all sorts of ice-cream recipes in mind to try. There’s my favourite Rhubarb Crumble ice-cream, low-carb Death by Chocolate ice-cream, and our new …

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School: The most stressful days of your life?

Does your school look after your child's emotional wellbeing?

 School stress image courtesy of Shutterstock. Does your school prioritise wellbeing and emotional health? On the school run I walk past two schools: the primary, where my children spend their days; and the local secondary school, which churns out hundreds of blazered adolescents attached to phones, bikes, and in some cases, to each other. Overall, these teenagers are pretty well-behaved; their headteacher often operates the pelican crossing, so they need be, at least until they’re over the road and round the corner. They will move aside for your buggy – if they see you. They will nod, and maybe even smile, if …

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Travel: A Very Clever Beach Towel – Hammamas Towel Review

Colourful but clever Hammamas towels are the solution to space-saving on your holiday packing

I’d never heard of a Hammam beach towel until Hammamas got in touch to ask me to review theirs. If you’re also in the dark, read on to find out the benefits of a cotton Hammam towel that’s lightweight and small enough to save luggage space, but absorbent enough to do the job! Ad: Hammamas gave us four of their adult-sized towels for this review. All opinion and images are our own. Why Hammam beach towels are perfect for a holiday Every now and then, when you’re reviewing products on a blog, you find one that you love so much, …

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Family: Learning to use Heelys

Learning to use heelys

The Bug got a pair of Heelys from his Grandma for his eighth birthday. Cool gift. He’d watched his sister and her friends gliding round the park for a while – and anything she can do, he wants to do – so Heelys is what he asked for. His sister helped choose them, picking out the high-top style she secretly wants for herself. He unwrapped them, loved them, and all was good. Until I tried to help him learn to use them. Cue grumpy face, and swift return from the park with a rather strong smell of defeatism following on …

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Parenting: The truth about diabetes

Today is a difficult day. Today I have mixed emotions. On this day last year I took my nine-year-old daughter to the GP, expecting to come home with a prescription for antibiotics. Instead, we were sent straight to hospital and admitted for training in how to manage type 1 diabetes, and life as we knew it was over. I asked her how she wanted to mark the anniversary of her diagnosis; if she wanted to just forget about it, or if she’d like to celebrate how far she has come since that awful day. She saw it as an excuse to …

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Travel: an Incredible Day aboard the Thames Clippers

Seeing London from a boat's-eye-view gives you a whole new perspective on the capital

  Yesterday we spent the day on the river Thames. I say we spent the day; in actual fact we spent just two 30 minute trips on the Thames, and filled the rest of our time on its banks, enjoying some of the things that – despite living a 20 minute train ride away from the Capital – we’ve never bothered to do before. It was such a fun day, that we will definitely be going back. We were invited as guests of MBNA Thames Clippers, to experience their fleet of boats that transport both tourists and commuters across London. …

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Passion Fruit Ice Cream Recipe with White Chocolate Chunks

This passion fruit and white chocolate ice-cream was really easy to make in our Sage ice-cream maker

How good does that look? That, my friends, is passion fruit ice cream, made in our new Sage by Heston Blumenthal ice-cream maker. Stuff of dreams, right? Now, imagine if every bite had a small chunk of white chocolate to go with the tang of all that passion fruit. I can see you nodding, so here you go… If you love a good gadget read how our family pizza nights have become legendary since we got the brilliant Roccbox pizza oven Passion fruit and white chocolate ice cream We’re reviewing the Sage by Heston Blumenthal Smart Scoop ice-cream maker this summer. It …

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