Disclosure: this is a paid collaboration with HarperCollins. As a dad of three, I read a huge number of books every week. Specifically kids’ books though! Until recently, I hadn’t read anything just for me in ages. So when I was offered a preview copy of Charles Cumming’s The Man Between, I jumped at the …
Today is International Day of Families. This year, the UN observance is focussing on Sustainable Development Goal 13, climate action. We all need to do our bit – even on a micro level – so this is a great opportunity to assess whether we’re doing enough. I’m forever fretting about whether we’re doing a good …
My 40th birthday is now just six months away and, although I know it’s not really a big deal, it’s a constant in my mind. And my knees too, for that matter. That is to say that, while I’m still as fit and active as I was ten years ago, I’m really feeling it these …
I was dismayed to read about a celebrity dad recently suggesting that boys should hide their feelings. I believe we definitely should teach boys it’s okay to cry. Ant Middleton who presents Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins made the claim to Giovanna Fletcher on the Podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby. He said that, if …
I’ve been fairly quiet both on here and social media lately. Little seems to have gone to plan recently and, to put things mildly, I was feeling rather deflated as a result. I very rarely give myself a break so, for once, thought “sod it, I’m having a few days off”. And the good news …
I haven’t had a good rant on here for a while, so let’s talk about the fundamentally stupid entities that are school attendance awards. Oldest came back today with a shiny new school-branded notebook. His younger brother didn’t. They’re both good boys who work hard and earn lots of praise from their brilliant teachers. So, …
I was pleased to read about a four-year-old girl calling out LEGO City magazine for a lack of female representation. The daughter of the actor Samuel West noticed that, of the 29 characters who speak in the issue, only one was female and even then it was to agree with a man. The upshot is …
Easter is almost upon us and with it comes the confusion as to who the chocolate eggs come from. I like to refer to it as an eggs-istential crisis. Does the bunny deserve the credit, or should it be awarded much closer to home? Due to the fact that this celebration is literally a moveable …
I’ve always liked a good pun. In fact, the same goes for bad puns. I even like most of the offerings you get in Christmas crackers. Apart from that one about vampires with coughs and a typo for a punchline that somehow gets printed every year. In my days as a journalist, I delighted in …
One of the things that has amazed me since becoming a parent is kids’ relationship with technology. I shouldn’t be so surprised, of course. It’s part of the furniture to them, whereas a lot of what we take for granted these days wasn’t around when I was a child. There’s also the fact that it’s a …