Well hello, proper autumnal weather. Regular readers will know how excited I am about this. Basically I was born to wear big jumpers, polo necks, chunky knits and cardigans. My collection of scarves is, frankly, getting a little out of hand. I love so much about this time of year, from the low sun to …
How are you? I know, me too. But the end of January is in sight and publication day for my debut novel This Changes Everything is just two weeks away! So, a little more about it. The story revolves around Julia, her two grown up daughters Annie and Jess and what happens when Julia receives …
Time’s hardly flying by at the moment (seriously, a single home-school day feels like a week right now) but one thing that’s come around really quickly is *drum roll* publication day for my debut novel, This Changes Everything. Out on the 9th February, it’s available to pre-order here in paperback, e-book and audiobook (btw, if …
Feeling festive yet? I had my first cream sherry of the season last week whilst watching Sleepless in Seattle and we’ve had Jamie Cullum’s new Christmas album on repeat (he was a guest on Saturday Kitchen a few weeks ago, the album’s a cracker). Then there was the festive fizz tasting with the wonderful Kat Farmer …
This might be an upside down, inside out kind of year but at least half term is providing something of a breather this week. Even the appalling weather seems to be telling us to stay home, watch films and not feel quite so guilty about screen time right now. Anyway, we might not be able …
Earlier this week I popped up on ITV’s This Morning to talk about sugar in wine with the divine Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. The good news is that in the grand scheme of things, wine isn’t too bad as far as sugar goes. Most are fermented dry with yeasts converting the natural sugars found …
Oh, how I love this time of year. I’m back in jumpers. I’ve picked blackberries. I’m drinking red wine in front of the fire. Truly: my comfort zone. But I saw a quote on Instagram the other day (bear with me) and it said that outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens. …
I’m being forced to put my feet up. Or at least one of them because I’m having that knee operation tomorrow. So, this morning I went for one last walk on the forest with five friends and nine dogs and it was gorgeous. And funny: one friend turned up with a burst blood vessel in her …
Poor Prof. Kelly, trying to keep a straight face during a live TV interview about South Korean politics, knowing that behind him his children have crashed the party. I’ve watched this clip so many times and it still makes me laugh. And slightly curl my toes, having been on work calls whilst trying to ignore the 3 ft Power …
Went to watch Middle Boy and Youngest Girl in their Harvest Festival show earlier today. And it really was a show, including a song called ‘Rock & Roll Harvest’. My favourite Neil Young song is Harvest Moon, but this came pretty close as harvest-themed songs go. Funnily enough, one of the first posts I ever …
You’ve got to love a chorus that goes Ba De Ya. Earth Wind & Fire sang about dancing in September when, according to them, there never was a cloudy day. A little wide of the mark given the past week but a great song nonetheless. Anyway, September in this house is all about early mornings …
Well, hopefully nicely chilled for whites and room temperature for reds because we’re talking wine dates, and lots of them. I’m going to be out and about a bit this month and I wanted to let you know just in case you’re nearby and up for joining me for a glass of wine. This Friday …
I know that tasting and writing about wine for a living is a ridiculously lovely job. But given that wine is usually enjoyed in the company of friends and with food on the table, attending a wine trade tasting is somewhat different. Take a room and fill it with wines, winemakers, press and buyers. Add …
In the song, it’s a dirty story of a dirty man. And it took him years to write. Mine took six months of Saturdays and it’s all about wine. Much more useful, IMHO. Described as ‘useful, interesting and very funny’ by Victoria Moore (I especially like funny). And India Knight said it doesn’t just simplify …
The following exhaustive (and exhausting) list of wines appeared in Saturday’s Daily Mail, here’s a link if you want pictures of the bottles too. There’s 10 whites, 10 reds, 10 sparkling and 10 pudding/after dinner drinks. And this gorgeous picture was taken by the very lovely Juliette Neel. Sadly, it wasn’t used in the piece but …
I made jam last night for Youngest Girl’s nursery cake & chutney sale on Saturday. Actually, I didn’t make jam. A group of us got together and I chopped a few peppers and chillies, whilst mostly chatting over a glass of wine and a bowl of crisps. Here’s what Jules did with the results: Wine-free …
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