Last Saturday saw the start of English Wine Week and to celebrate we shared a selection of some of my current favourites on Saturday Kitchen. Sadly the Sparkling we had from Terlingham in Kent has since sold out but I’ve popped another one of their wines (a rosé!) in this week’s recommendations below. Then on …
It’s been a while. How are you? Yes, me too. Always tired. Could be my age, kids, work, hormones – take your pick. Anyway, it’s been a busy few weeks so I thought I’d share some highlights. First one, I’ve finished writing fiction book number three! Well, the first draft so there’s more work to …
Last Saturday was National Rosé Day but given the recent news on lockdown restrictions I’m thinking we just extend it. At least until the 19th July, anyway. So this week I’ve got a couple of rosé suggestions including one from Kent given that English Wine Week kicks off this Saturday. Here’s hoping the weather holds, …
There are daffodils in the garden and we even had a brief spell of sunshine for about three minutes a few weeks ago so, obviously, it’s time to talk rosé. Even if you do have to wear a poncho in the garden when you drink it. Now, Bandol is a sub-region in Provence and the …
After weeks of noise – so much noise – the house was quiet this morning. Middle Boy has joined Eldest Boy at secondary school and Youngest Girl has started her last year at primary school. Post-school run I got home and did what I’ve been dying to do for weeks: have a cup of coffee …
Actually it was all morning, tasting a line up of rosé wines made by celebrities on This Morning. I had to really concentrate, not least because all I really wanted to ask was where presenter Rochelle Humes got her dress from (Ganni, I looked it up afterwards). But also because we had to speed-taste our …
So, sun’s out. And that means one thing. Well, two things. The first involves half a tube of St. Tropez Medium Dark Body Lotion. The second is rosé. Perfectly chilled, condensation on glass rosé. I mean, I know by the end of the summer I’ll be over it. But it’ll be temporary. Because when the …
Last week, I was on Radio 4’s You & Yours programme talking about organic wines. The presenter, Peter White (it was Winifred’s day off), asked me if KMWC readers (that’s you!) were interested in organic wines and I said yes, actually. Lots of you are. Which is great: no chemicals used in the vineyard is …
I’m currently 60% rosé, 40% hot dogs and the school holidays haven’t even started yet. I blame the weather. And the football. Anyway, Eldest Boy breaks up on Friday, the other two at the end of next week. Then we’ve got six long weeks ahead and as usual I can’t wait/am dreading it in pretty …
Last week I was going on about not caring what I looked like in a swimming costume. But then I went and ordered a new one after two glasses of rosé last Sunday night. When it arrived, I opened the box and put it on the table. I literally couldn’t take my eyes off it. …
Last night our book club met at the beach. It was a glorious evening – calm sea, colourful sunset, cold rosé. We swam before tucking into a picnic and a discussion about the book, once we’d remembered what the book was called in the first place (Stay With Me. Ironic, really). Anyway, running into the …
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 …
I was away working in London all last week and after two rain-sodden weeks of school holidays, it felt like something of a mini-break. Admittedly quite a weird one; I spent much of it spitting out wine. Not because they were horrible but because I was judging at a wine competition. One night I sat at …
This weekend I’m off to Camp Bestival for one of my favourite gigs of the year, the Secret Mummies Wine Club. Together with the brilliant catsuit-wearing goddesses of comedy The Scummy Mummies, we’ll be doing a pop-up wine tasting for around 50 fellow knackered mothers/wine lovers (and a few brave fathers) in a tent. If …
So I won’t go on about it but I went to New York. For the weekend. With no kids. I know. I walked in Central Park desperately hoping to bump into Tom Hanks (I didn’t), window-shopped in Soho, stayed out late in Brooklyn and drank Old Fashioned like it was going out of…you know what I mean. We …
Thanks to so many of you buying the first ever KMWC wine case back in June – seriously, thank you! – we’ve been able to put together another one. Rather more hygge than high summer, this one’s got five fireside-friendly reds and four crisp-as-fresh-snow whites. There’s a couple of rose wines in there too because, as …
When I asked you what else you’d like from The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club recently, lots of you suggested wine by the case. It made complete sense: order online, get it delivered, stock up and save time. Then I had an idea. And happily, one of my current favourite online wine by the case retailers thought …
I’ve got exciting news. But I can’t share it until next week so, given that I’m terrible at keeping secrets, I’m going to have to change the subject until then. Earlier this week I helped with a fundraising event called Barre to the Bar. It involved an introduction to barre pilates for 50 people led by my friend, the …
Half term is upon us and so, naturally, my thoughts turn to wine. It’s times like these we need volume. Portable volume. And if you’re off camping (mad fools!), you’ll need it in something other than glass. Now, wine boxes used to be boring, wine-wise. Then some of them got a bit better. But still …
If I ever get my arse into gear and write the fiction book that floats around in my head from time to time, this would be the title. But for now, with the nightmare juggle that is school holidays, work and trying to not let the house go to ruin, this just relates to my …
This has been a cracking week for your wine questions (one of the things I love about writing this blog is being able to help with them). Here are some of my favourites: 1. Which are the best wines to look for in a French supermarket? 2. Why is my glass of chablis so yellow? …
So, London Fashion Week finished yesterday. I know this because lots of pictures of the bottom half of people in ‘distressed’ jeans and bare ankles on my Instagram feed told me. I do love the circus of fashion but given that not wearing a fleece on the school run is a major fashion statement for …
I’m starting to think about writing another book. One of my oldest friends wants me to write one about bubbles: Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, English Sparkling Wine and anything else that fits the bill and should be in your glass at some point. I love the idea, but secretly think she just wants an excuse for …
I started a post last night, then suddenly remembered I was supposed to be baking something for today’s Sports Day. It was 10pm. I went to the fridge, took out a solid block of butter and realised it just wasn’t going to happen. And so it was I started my day with a sprint of …
If ever there was a good way to start the week, it’s with a wine tasting. On Monday night, I was asked to do one for a lovely group of people at Soho House’s West London outpost, High Road House. I picked a line up of current favourite wines from local shops and supermarkets, all …
So far this week, I’ve tasted at least 100 wines a day. But I couldn’t tell you what they are. Seriously. Each one is covered in a bag, you see. Then, together with a team of professional winos, I taste and score the wines based on quality. The best ones will emerge with an International …
I am 40 years old, married with three children and I’m really tired. I probably should have washed my hair yesterday, I’ve just noticed there’s dried Weetabix on my t-shirt, the washing is threatening to burst out of the basket, we’ve run out of milk and I think we’ve got people coming at the weekend. …
So, my comfortable sandals have drawn a mix of responses, not all of them entirely complimentary. And the more I look at them, the more they do look a bit, well, comfortable. So I am redressing the balance, with these. And as Marilyn Monroe once said: “Give a girl the right shoes and she can …
Love her. Look at her. I mean, really. Yasmin Le Bon looks GORGEOUS. Once, my most prized possession was my Duran Duran ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ t-shirt which sported her husband Simon on the front. Unsurprisingly, my days of wearing rock band t-shirts are over but I have been wearing some clothes from Winser …
This weekend is the Isle of Wight Festival. My mum went years ago, saw Jimi Hendrix in what turned out to be his last ever performance, apparently. I live a stone’s throw from the Island (ok, big throw) but I’m not going to be there. In fact, I am yet to go to an actual …
Last night I did a wine tasting for about 40 knackered mothers, organised by the very brilliant Hungerford Bookshop. Emma, who runs the bookshop, got the local independent wine shop to bring some wines for us to taste together and all I had to do was talk about my specialist subjects. Namely wine, me and …
So I didn’t win the blogging award as mentioned last week but I did win a Wii at the same event, thereby making me the most popular parent in our house by quite some margin. The week’s other cheering news is that according to a new report, drinking wine (in moderation, of course) improves your …
I do love a quiet night in. Tonight, I am mostly loving the sofa, my bowl of pasta, quite good telly (hurrah for Jo Frost! And Alan Sugar!) and a little glass of red. This is in stark contrast to last night, which saw me screaming like a banshee at a Take That concert, with …
Here’s one I made earlier, some suggestions for summer drinkies: <img src=”http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png” style=”background-color: #b2b2b2; height: 288px; width: 512px; ” class=”BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder” id=”ooyalaPlayer_7sgjw_glaya2zf” data-original-id=”ooyalaPlayer_7sgjw_glaya2zf” />
I went out on Monday night. It doesn’t happen often so I made the most. I wore an adored emerald green dress (Ghost), nail varnish (Rouge Noir), matching underwear (old vintage Myla) and really high heels. On Tuesday, I wore track suit bottoms, couldn’t walk properly and had two mouth ulcers. My body has decided to slope about doing everything at half-speed ever since, leaving …
Following two weeks away on holiday (we did a Bromsgroves, Mrs T), I feel somewhat restored by my break from the norm. A bit of sun – tans fade, wrinkles don’t blah blah – and a couple of snatched half-hours with my book and I’m happy. Determined to not fall back to pre-holiday ways including 1) talking to my children …
Dear Celebrity Masterchef, I thought I could do it. I thought I could go cold turkey, perhaps even use the time I used to spend with you doing something more productive. Perhaps take up the hem on the trousers I bought over a month ago, maybe finish the book I have been reading for the last two. Of course, I’d forgotten …
I. Am. Knackered. And I definitely can’t top my John Torode story from last week. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll go straight to the wines. Current rose in the fridge: Clos Clementine 2008, £10 Hot weather demands pale rose, preferably a really good one from the Cotes de Provence region. Rose wine is made from red grapes …
Last week, we got a new car. Second hand actually, but by far the most grown up car we’ve ever had. It’s the children and dog car, Bearded Husband said. We’ll have it forever, he said. You will be careful, won’t you? he said. He’s called me three times today to ask something about something – as they do – but mostly …
Earlier this evening, I filled two enormous bags with maternity and baby clothes for yet another nursery fundraiser. What struck me – apart from my dependency on New Look size XL tops when pregnant – is how easy it was to part with these clothes. Not just because I have worn them again and again, rather I know that I’m done. Even here in …
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