We Must Not Let The Media Tell Us What to Think

The other day, I read an article which made me sad.   You can read the original, about how Kelvin MacKenzie, a former editor of the Sun newspaper, saw fit to publicly (in the Sun) criticise Channel 4 news simply for having a presenter who happened to be Muslim-and by virtue of her wearing a…

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Motherhood and Creativity

I never really thought of myself as creative. I was a bookish child, the sort who memorised the books my mother read me and “read them aloud” to myself at the age of two.  I excelled in English and the Humanities.  I once wrote a poem that was so good my teacher thought I had…

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Breakfast and Brunch Recipe: Huevos Rancheros

Yes, I’ve gone and done it.  I’ve added a RECIPE. Just call me Deliciously Ella.  A little morsel of deliciousness from me to you.  You’re welcome. Mock ye not, for here is my recipe.  It is…. it is…..a version of huevos rancheros, a not very original Single Mum Speaks Mexican-style brunch special.  Well, presumably.  I’ve…

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Caravan Holidays: Bucolic Idyll or Hell on Earth?

During my childhood and teenage years, I went on more than my fair share of caravan holidays. There was a time in the mid-90s when I probably could have named every Haven holiday park in the country.  And believe me there were a lot of them.

Life: Viewed Through a Phone?

A while back I found myself discussing my morning commute to work with a friend of my mother’s. “Ah, you must have seen the whale!” she said. Whale?  I’m pretty sure there were no whales on the track.  I had images of great hulking plastic whales sticking out of the roofs of houses in the trendier…

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What Happens After 36?

I write this having just got in from my 36th birthday party. When I say “just got in”, obviously what I actually mean is I got in an hour ago, but then had to sign a mortgage deed (adult points: 1, buying a house), take my make up off (I KNOW!  I actually take my…

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Guest post series

Are you a single parent like yours truly?  Do you live on a barge like this one behind me?  Or have you, like me, had two pairs of sunglasses snapped in half by your child since this photo was taken and want to tell someone about it?  If so, this guest post series is for…

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I’ve Never Been In Love….And That’s OK

Tonight my brother and I watched a programme about Euro ’96.  We sat there, and I drank wine and he ate his nutritious dinner of turkey twizzlers and chips, or some such horror (I stole some of the chips.  I am not above such filth).  We sat there in the parental abode where we grew…

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Is My Son a Naughty Child?

As a teacher, I have seen my fair share of naughty children. Children who lit up a cigarette in the reception area at school whilst waiting to be sent home after being excluded. Children who shouted “fish and chips!” repeatedly at a Chinese teacher during a lesson. And I have lived in fear of that…

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My Thoughts on #BML16, for what it’s worth

Well, it happened. I went to #BML16, the conference formerly known as Britmums. And although my dreams of making my way up a lengthy red carpet past hordes of paparazzi whilst TV crews vie for my attention, as I imagine is the lot of the superstar blogger, are as yet unfulfilled; and I am yet…

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