I have three children, and fortunately, I’ve always managed to juggle jobs without having to use childcare before they are ready for pre-school. My son, now at school, would not let me out of his sight before he was 2 years and 9 months; I literally couldn’t leave the room without him getting fretful and [...]
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Scoring : the effects of sex, drugs and alcohol on Sport Graham Swann, renowned cricketer, gave an interview on Christmas Day and said that the current England team were not the most talented England side in recent years, however, they do have the best team spirit. This, he said, was the fundamental reason for the [...]
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Nativity plays are funny things; we all know the story, but each one wants to tell it in a new and interesting way. This morning in church the Pastor played this brilliant YouTube video, and it is the best, funniest version I’ve seen this year. Cute, hey? I sat through my son’s first school nativity [...]
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All of my happiest Christmas memories involve my grandparents, Norma and Norman Curtis (incidentally, they didn’t get married because their names matched, as I thought growing up, nor change them to match later). Before Christmas, we would have to write Father Christmas a letter and send it up the chimney, which involved shouting up to [...]
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I have just bought someone a secret santa gift off the internet. I bought him a football. But I gave it to some kids in Africa, via Save the Children. Is that wrong? Is it fair to give someone else’s gift away without asking them? I work with young people, and last year we did [...]
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I love food. Red meat, cakes, potatoes, chocolate, cheese, Palma ham are all in my Top Ten. I find myself getting itchy when I eat the last mouthful of my main course, and wonder what might be on the dessert menu. What’s next?! What else can my taste buds enjoy! I am fortunate that my [...]
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Children in Need is designed to pull at the heart strings. For me, a mother of three, it makes me calculate my odds. First, the video of the child brain damaged at birth. ‘Phew, mine were all born healthy. I’m off the hook’. Next, the boy diagnosed with Leukaemia at 5 years old. Gulp. My [...]
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How would I describe my stance on life? Half baked, probably. I have a degree, and a Masters (from Oxford, no less) but if I ever get chance to think of anything profound I rarely get chance to follow the thought through to conclusion. As a result my efforts at meditative profundity feel a little… [...]
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