Typecast

At the beginning of April I wrote a post about Iain Duncan Smith and his throwaway comments regarding the  welfare reform system entitled " How (Not) To Survive On Benefits ".  It went off at a bit of tangent and I talked about my 19-year old son who is currently unemployed (albeit in the Territorial Army) and mentioned a bit about my daytime job (working with  16-25 year old NEETs). Events snowballed a bit after I hit the publish button so, at the end of the month, it seems appropriate that I round everything up.  The original post hit a chord with many people and there are some very personal stories shared in the comments ( comment thread ).  It was also suggested that a round table discussion should take place which would collate the many opinions that were being heard on the social media channels. So I did just that.  I organised a Google Hangout On Air with four other people from very different walks of life and with very different personal...

I first 'met' Cathy in a Google Hangout last year .  It was my first HOA and I was a bit nervous.  Cathy's online persona is 'Wandering Sheila' which derives from the fact that she is from the land of Oz and has found herself in the UK after travelling through Italy.  She says that her name also comes from the fact that she loves to discover new places.  I'll link to Cathy's particulars at the end of the post.  Here are her song choices... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Muse - Starlight  My sister introduced me to Muse and this would still have to be one of my favourite songs of theirs. Christine Anu - My Island Home  Anu is an Australian singer. She didn't write this song. It was written by Neil Murray and first recorded in 1987. It makes me think of my home country, Australia (and if I am truly honest, a touch homesick). Zero Assoluto ft Nelly Furtado - Appena prima di partire  Having lived in Italy for over 7 years in t...

Soreen are celebrating 75 years of malt loaf goodness by creating chocolate malt loaf and I've had the chance to try it!  Now, you know I don't recommend anything unless I love it and this is definitely something a little bit different.   I promise you - get this before it disappears, never to be seen again. The original recipe remains the same since Soreen first began baking malt loaf in 1938!  It's lovely with a little bit of butter on or toast it for a mix of warm squidge and cripyness!  I also love their lunchbox loaves which are fab for sticking in my handbag for snacking on the move (banana flavour is a huge hit in this house) - great energy boosters! To find out more you can follow  @SoreenHQ on Twitter or like them on their Facebook page .  You can also enter their competition to win one of 75 Chocolate Soreen Loaves .   Limited edition Soreen Chocolate Loaf is available from 25th April in most main Asda stores but is only b...

Get yourselves over to  The High Tea Cast .  This time I am sharing some of my infinite wisdom and survival techniques in ' How To Survive As A Family '.  I'd love to hear what you think. Find all my articles on The High Tea Cast here 

As soon as the weather shows the first signs of improving, our thoughts immediately turn to long weekends spent rambling around in the countryside.   From adrenalin-fuelled sports to lazy walks amongst nature, nothing feels more precious than those warm weekends spent relaxing as a family in the Great Outdoors.   There really is so much to see and do, so here are some great ideas to make your family weekends ones to remember, even after the sun has disappeared for another season. Visit a working farm Families used to keeping their weekend breaks UK centric, know just how much children love the taste of authentic rural living. And with so many working farms now open to the public it’s the perfect time to let them experience the thrill of a working farm.   The early months of spring are lambing season. Many farms open their nurseries to allow children to watch the lambs being born. You can even bottle feed them too. It’s an eye opening experience that’s not to ...

Being a grandparent means that you get most of the good stuff in short, manageable bursts ( sometime s ).  But there has to be a plan so you can appear to be The Best Grandparent In The World.  And, whilst they are young enough to have the wool pulled over their eyes, you might as well take advantage of it. Post-It Notes A block of Post-It Notes and a pencil make an instant art gallery.  Quick drawings on small pieces of paper that can be stuck to the wall without fear of creating marks that will stay there until the next time you decorate. And if you really want to go retro then amaze your grandchildren with a stickman flip-book using another block of Post-It Notes! Hexbugs I was sent Hexbugs to review AGES ago and the batteries are still going strong.  A toybox staple and used to enthrall and scare in equal measures.  A Hexbug down the vest is cause for great hilarity... and that's just Grandad! Treats for the dog I...

Catherine has been a Twitter friend for about three years now (is it really that long?) and we share a love of all things quizzical which started with the Friday Twiz .  Her Soundtrack To My Life is short and sweet but sometimes you only need a few words to get your point across.  For now, it's over to Catherine for her tunes... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ The Ramones - Baby I Love You   Very special to me because it is the top of "our" songs. I just love the words, the music, everything about it. Makes me cry every time. Which is good.   David Byrne - Don't Fence Me In   This express how I am more than any other song. I can't stand being fenced in, forced to do things I don't want to do, go places I don't want to go to. I want to do what I want and be free to always make my own choices.   Ella Fitzgerald - Manhattan   Everything about this song is perfect to me: Ella's voice: the music: everything. It transports to you to a ...

Because I have a voice via my blog and my twitter account - and all the support from the people connected to me in that way - I am documenting the timeline of Asda taking money from my account whilst I attempted to pay for goods in store. This is to emphasis the level of anger, upset, inconvenience, customer service and all that is connected to this experience.  It is not an isolated event as you only have to search for " Asda took money twice " on Google to see almost half a million related searches. Friday 19th April 2013 - 7pm Visit to Adsa Blackburn to purchase goods costing £24.  Also request £10 cashback. Debit card inserted into chip&pin machine at the till.  Screen reads "remove card", cashier tells me to remove card. The till does not produce a receipt.  I am told that the transaction hasn't taken place so to insert my card again and repeat the process. The till does not produce a receipt again.  I am told to try again. On the...

I'm addicted to Zalando !  Regular readers of this blog will already know this.  I am like a not-so-secret Zalando dealer after managing to get a few friends completely and utterly hooked too!  I can't decide whether it's their choice of designers that suit my sense of style or the fact that the clothing is affordable (and even more so when you check out their sale items).  Designers Anna Field and Vera Modo are my current favourites - you only have to look back at my previous posts to see that! A couple of recent purchases have included this Vera Modo jumper dress and this Great Plains maxi skirt, both of which I'm loving more than I thought I would.  Not my usual choices but I'm glad I took the plunge and chose something a bit different. I've also just found out that they have a 'Home' section and now want this plastic bowl or this turntable beanbag!  Both are now on my "Wish List" on the website along with a variety of ...

Occasionally there is a Gallery prompt that makes me revisit my past rather than post a picture up from recent times.  This week, Tara's theme of " Youth " has given me the opportunity to share yet more images that have, until now, been banished to the family photo albums, only seeing the light of day to embarrass friends and family at (in)opportune moments. Firstly, you can see how I was a social media trailblazer.  I went to a primary school in St Annes called Our Lady Star of the Sea so when we entered sports events our name was shortened to "OL".  However, as the team line up you can clearly see us spelling out "LOL"!  I wonder who else was laughing at us that day? Next,  a shot of a particularly amazing hair style and fashionable shirt.  I can't remember where we'd been but we'd obviously enjoyed ourselves.  No, I'm not smashed, that's my sultry look.  Isn't my husband (not on the picture) a lucky man?  ...

I recently ran a giveaway in conjunction with EON and a compulsory entry mechanism was to provide your best energy saving tip.   There were lots of obvious ones which I hope everyone is already putting in place (they are first on the list) h owever there were more that I believe need sharing and I have collated the best twenty-five here.    If you would like to add your favourite please share it in the comments. Unplug all electrical items when not in use, especially overnight (but not your fridge and freezer, obviously). Turn the thermostat down by one degree and add a layer of clothes instead of putting the heating on. Turn lights off when you leave the room and use energy saving bulbs. Shut doors to keep the heat in a room. Put tin foil behind radiators to reflect the heat back into the room (and if your radiator is under a window, tuck long curtains behind the radiator for a similar effect). Anything that can be charged via USB can be done when y...

Alex has been hinting about taking his turn on Soundtrack To My Life so much that he posted up " The Ones That Didn't Make It... " on his own blog last week. By his own admission, he used to be a bit rubbish at blogging but seems to have improved over the years.  I'll link to his credentials at the end of the post but, for now, over to Alex... ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel because my dad was massively into the New Folk Revival (but not Bob Dylan oddly) but their songs, of which this is my favourite, took on a new resonance when we had the boy. In his early days he suffered from silent acid reflux and was often up all night in distress. Once it was diagnosed, he'd got into a routine of not sleeping so we started putting a CD on in his room to soothe him off to sleep. Where we live is so quiet, it's often difficult to sleep because you can hear every conversation that happen...

Anyone who is remotely interested in the arts should take a voyage of exploration across France . The Impressionist movement fell in love with the crisp clear colours of Provence , and photographers like Brassai were smitten by the atmosphere on the streets of Paris . Head out to Versailles and see the marvels of the court of Louis XIVth, or just pop in to any of this country’s amazing cathedrals and look at the stunning stained glass and carved woodwork - wherever you travel in France , you will find the roots of many artistic movements that eventually spread across the world. Paris Louvre, Paris.  Image Credit : Moyan Benn, Flickr So many artists have made Paris their home that it can be difficult to suggest a starting point for this journey of discovery. The photographer Brassai, in common with the painter Toulouse Lautrec, was fascinated by the louche back streets around Montmartre , and it doesn’t take too much imagination to half close your eyes and tak...

Sorry if you've arrived here under false pretences.  I'm not talking about balmy summer weather but thought it was time for a " You Need To Hear About My Puppy Again Especially If You're Not Following Me On Instagram " type post but it wasn't really a snappy enough title and El had already coined the genius " Pupdate " title for Jarvis who is almost exactly the same age as Michi (see her YouTube Pupdates here and the size difference between a six month old Akita and a six month old Yorkshire Terrier). I'm a nervous dog owner.  Michi has no sense of recall whatsoever unless you're standing in his eye line and rustling a packet of treats.  But I want a dog I trust as much as he trusts me and without a garden it's difficult to train him.  I've been taking him up to a local country park (yes, we are VERY lucky to have that close by) and using a quiet part of it to have him off lead, chasing a ball (he won't bring it back but he ...