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Alternatives to Baking powder?

Recently, my ma (who is 87, donchaknow) decided to bake some scones.  Now, she’s been a pretty good cook all of her life and attention to detail and minutiae of all things cooked knows no bounds! We’d all rather eat with her, than schlepp down to that Michelin starred restaurant we have on our doorstep when summoned to join her for a nosh.   She’s that good. My dad was the master of triple cooked chips...before it became a ‘thing’. Summer BBQ’s always featured his skill...and his own take on Kentucky Fried Chicken made it impossible to not turn up!  Growing up, every Christmas Eve would find us in the kitchen, baking mince pies..at midnight!  It was our tradition. Obviously half of them would disappear into the ether as we tested them fit for consumption.  Christmas Eve would also find us decorating the house in the vibe of Santa’s grotto. The walls would be covered with silver foil, the ceiling festooned with paper chains. Every nook and cranny would be filled with glitter and glitz.

2021, New Years Resolutions and the future. 2020 can sod off!

If you made a New Years resolution last year and kept to it, you really should give yourself a big pat on the back. If it was carving yourself some time, out of your busy life then it should’ve been easy, what we’ve all the time we’ve had, BUT, if you’re like me and procrastination is something you struggle with then you’ve only yourself to blame.  Because I’m no longer gainfully employed, I’ve spent the last year binge watching Netflix, TV series and anything that looks remotely interesting. I’ve spent a year where I’ve scoured the online shops for clothes I don’t need as I’ve nowhere to wear them. I’ve painted all of the rooms in the house and only stopped because I ran out of walls. I’ve cleaned cupboards, Kondo’ed the buggery, out of everyone’s wardrobes, baked bread and realised that I’ve been spending a fortune on cardboard. The things I’ve wanted to do, planned to do because I don’t have time ..I didn’t. Not anyone’s fault but mine. It’s not all been selfish and about me. I visi

It's nearly Christmas! Bling the sh*t out of it!

It's that time. Christmas organising time.  I do love me a bit of gold and bling around the homestead and I've settled on gold and rose for this years theme. I'm not sure that we'll be entertaining the masses as per usual but I've placed my order for the turkey which is the size of a small cow. I'm certain we'll be able to polish it off, though.  Which brings me onto the third most important item on the list of things to do. Find that Christmas outfit.   I’m not too good with accessories. I can do a scarf if it's cold.   I’ve one of those of stacks which contain all of my jewels..not that I wear any.  My wedding ring is somewhere under the floorboards in our last house and my engagement ring is in the stacked jewellery box missing half the diamond chips but still retaining its sapphire! BH spent a whole weeks wages on it many moons ago so it needs to be kept safe. The wedding ring I bought myself because BH forgot to get one prior to the wedding so I ran

Instagram, Influencers and my Bank Balance!!

 Instagram, Influencers and my Bank Balance For a minute I thought my blogging account had been stolen! It's been so long since I felt the urge to put pen to paper (or computer) that I'd forgotten the gmail account that I'd used for the blog, which was once the love of my life but it now seems that everyone has moved on to "Insta" and YouTube and I've let it fall my little blog fall behind the times. I've watched a few IGTV'ers, even followed a few...but I've been truly left behind in the social stream of the internet world.   Is mummy blogging out of vogue or has everyone my age moved onto pastures new?   The truth is my kids aren't kids anymore, so I'm not strictly a 'mummyblogger'.  (I probably never was as I was and am a wee bit older than the usual suspects.)  The kids are now on the cusp of adulthood with lives of their own; Instagram accounts of their own and ideas which seem completely alien to me. I can't seem to influe

AM I THE ENABLER?

It's been a while, but I suddenly wondered where I was and what I was supposed to be doing...and it wasn't what I was doing 10 minutes ago. 10 minutes ago I was washing the floor. 10 minutes ago I was thinking as I was washing the floor, my mind wandering over and past all of the conversations I've had with various people. Interesting people and people who seem to live fuller lives than mine. I remember one chap, a colleague, (who I'd spent several days with drinking coffees and smoking, bantering, putting the world to rights, talking about HIS family, HIS adventures, HIS thoughts for the future) and he said to me after he'd been chatting with another colleague "You're boring! She's done so much. She's soooo interesting!". At the time, I thought he was a twat, but 10 minutes ago I wondered if he was actually right. 10 minutes ago, I thought, "Is this it? Is this the sum total of my life? Is this what I'm destined to do for the res

Big knickers and 5 fat facts

I honestly don’t know how it happened.  One day I was wearing a g-string, planning my underwear,  waxing my bits, checking the view from the back...then BAM...the next time I looked my undie drawer was full of mahoosive knickers!  Could I find a thong or a sexy ensemble amongst the detritus that used to be a part of me? When did I go from sexy lady to frumpy, lumpy Mum? When did I decide that it was OK to forgo the pretty knickers?  I think the reason I'd noticed then and hadn't noticed before was that I'd look for the most comfortable I could find.  You see, the worst thing happened. It's not easy to say, but it's true.   I just got fat.   Hmmm...I don't know how that happened either. Little knickers started to cut into my thighs. Little knickers rolled down. I couldn't see the tops with the new muffin top I'd acquired and Little knickers didn't cover my bum any more. So, I started to buy Big knickers. Stretchy ones. Black. I started off wi

Cycling in London.

This is going to sound contentious. It isn't, but in all honestly I just don't get it.  Let me start by saying I'm all for sustainability, green and recycling stuff but what I saw last week was beyond the pale. Cycling is not the same as recycling. I can see how it helps the environment to a certain extent, but breathing all those fumes is not helping the human race.  Don't get me wrong. I love a bike. I finally bought my Pashley Princess from a lady on eBay. She'd bought it so that she could ride up to the City to her job. She'd done it for a month, but felt it was far too dangerous especially since she'd become a mother, she'd fallen off when another cyclist cut her up and she lost her front tooth.  She now takes an Uber.   I pop up to the shops when I can't get the car out or I fancy a ride around the block...for pleasure. I ride on the pavement. Slowly. The potholes round my way are seriously massive. If I lived in London, I'd often th