Typecast

Not a day goes by when the news headlines don't feature a breaking story about the NHS. Whether it’s about strikes, protests, government cuts or negligence, we can't help but form our own opinions about our National Health Service. As a controversial and often heated topic of conversation, it can be difficult to tell if there is a common thought amongst the public. Thousands, if not millions, of us turn to the NHS year-on-year and many would be lost without it – but does that mean we love it? Compensation landslide A report by the Standard revealed that the NHS in London alone pays on average £470,000 in compensation – and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The service pays on average £700 every day for every livebirth , according to a report by the BBC. Due to the nature of these compensation pay outs, the vast majority are due to what is deemed to be negligence. Naturally, many in the public are angry, but not necessarily at the expense of the NHS. ...

In May 2012 I wrote a post showing my support for parenting classes and admitting that I attended them when my children were younger.  I'm a huge believer in that, with the right course leader, these types of group sessions are valuable for your growth as a parent.  We don't get given a parenting manual - I mean, who wants to be told how to raise your own child?  Not me, that's for sure.  But having access to someone who will listen to you, understand what you are going through, have access to advice and complimentary materials and be there to help see you through the tough times is how parenting classes should be structured.  As we all know, there are A TON of myths out there about what you should or shouldn't do as a parent to give your child the best start in life.  CANparent created this video short  with some of the more well-known ones.  See how many you recognise.  What can you add?  CANparent Classes and Advice Ne...

There is always one person in your life that is almost impossible to buy a present for either at Christmas or on their birthday. Over the past few weeks I have have been scouring the internet or testing products out to create this list of affordable and unusual gifts.  Here are my recommendations. Bloom and Wild Not too long ago, I was sent a vase full of flowers through the post from Bloom & Wild .  You can read my full review here but three weeks on, and with some careful pruning, I still have over half of the display still standing loud and proud.  B&W have different subscription offers available so this would be the gift that goes on much longer than Christmas Day. Close Shave Society Another subscription suggestion would be something from the Close Shave Society who brag that they have high quality razors and low prices and cater for both the male and female customer.  They are managing to keep their prices so low by cutting (no pun...

Thirty years ago this month I walked into Woolworth's and bought  Seven and the Ragged Tiger  by  Duran Duran .  As mentioned in my " First Five Albums " post moving up to high school in 1983 meant that I felt a bit more grown up and the discovery of Duran Duran cemented that feeling.  So I saved up my pocket money, did some extra jobs around the house and asked Dad to drive me into town one Saturday.  This album was never off my portable record player in my bedroom and, when I was allowed, I played it on my parent's stereo in the front room, taped it (sshh, pirating at such an early age - who knew?) and did the stop-start-stop-start to write down the lyrics to the all the songs in my best handwriting. It was the start of a musical love affair that still continues to this day.  But thirty years!! Where does the time go?   What was the first album you bought?

Soundtrack To My Life visits another of my friends from "that parenting forum I used to frequent back in the day" that I keep mentioning. Thanks to Facebook we manage to keep in touch but I have watched her journey through marriage break-up, to single woman and then into a new and better relationship.  Lynn's Soundtrack to My Life tells that story really well - and I just knew that Mr Brightside would be in there somewhere!  ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ REM - Man On The Moon This takes me to a trip to Alton Towers with youth club, on a minibus smoking out of the window. Oh, how grown up we thought we were. If only we knew back then how easy life was being 15! Robbie Williams - Angels   This song was my first dance to a man I married at 19. I knew on the morning of my wedding it wasn't right, I sat on the step at my mum's at 6am with £100 in my purse, I should have ran when I had the chance! It was our first dance and our last dance together.  Every time...

After reading an article about ghost signs in London on the Londist website this week I remembered about one that isn't too far from my house.  Ghost signs are old hand-painted advertising signage on the side of a building that hasn't been removed and has faded over time.  This one can be seen in situ on Google maps and it always reminds me of my Grandpa because he smoked Capstan Full Strength for years. Until recently there was another ghost sign just across the street from where I live.  I'm gutted that I didn't take a photograph of it because the building has recently had some structural work done and the side of the building is now pebbledashed. It was an old 'bed and breakfast' hotel overlooking the canal and the gable end isn't visible on Google maps. I am now going to be keeping an eye out for more ghost signs on my travels around Lancashire - this totally fits in with my new motto of " Look Up " instead of "look around...

I am ever so grateful for my online friendships and they are the inspiration for this month's article over at  The High Tea Cast .  I have been online since about 2001/2002 and have 'met' many people in that time.  A special few make it to the FF list (Friends Forever) where they will remain for reasons that don't need explaining.  Do you have " Friends Without Faces "?  Have a read of the article and let me know. Find all my articles on The High Tea Cast here 

I was, I think, a bonny child so I'm not sure where it all went wrong.  I love looking back at old photographs of myself *preen* but I do think there's a certain turning point where I went from feeling naturally happy and didn't mind a memory being snapped to the insecure person that ended up not knowing how to smile properly. Recently, I've either found my 'good side' or I have mastered the art of the 'selfie' as a couple of pictures I have shared have received some really nice compliments (god bless the Instagram filter and all who sail in her).  It's a new found confidence in myself as I don't feel very photogenic at the best of times.  I want that younger me back again! I feel very guilty that during my teenage years I was overly self-conscious (probably due to the bullying) and fled from the camera lens.  Teenagers seem much more confident about seeing digital imagery of themselves but maybe this is because they have grown up ...

Today's Soundtrack To My Life comes from Nigel.  A couple of years ago I took advantage of a blogger review offer and went up to a well-known hair salon in Bolton to have a cut and colour.  Nigel was the salon manager there and we got talking about blogging and Twitter and I made Nigel promise to write me something ranty about supermarkets. For some reason, that never happened but we did keep in touch.  Here is Nigel's Soundtrack To My Life with a very exciting development at the end...  ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ XTC - Making Plans For Nigel   Obviously I've chose this because of the name. I was born in 1988. My mum was convinced I was a girl so didn't have any boys names planned. My dad loved the name Nigel and my mum's famous last words were, "Call it whatever you like if it's a boy, I know I'm having a girl". So low and behold I came out a boy and got the name Nigel. My dad bought me the vinyl once I was born and I still have it to this day. Wh...

As the 150th anniversary London Underground celebrations come to a close, it's a huge honour to have guest edited the Londonist Sunday Best newsletter this week.  Why don't you go and have a look at the articles I highlighted from their website over the last week. As you know, my love for our capital city never wanes.  Below are some pictures I took during a quick scoot up and down Euston Road last week.  I also bobbed into the Wellcome Collection (opposite Euston Station) to use up some time whilst waiting for our train back up north and you can  see part of their Medicine Now exhibition in last week's Silent Sunday picture .  I found out about this exhibition through the Londonist's " Free London " section which I highly recommend you check if you're visiting rediscovering London. 1.  Disused Underground Station building at Euston  |  2.  Barclays Bank building on Euston Road  |  3.  Tiled wall ...

It's mid-way through the 2013 series of  X-Factor  so it's time for my annual lament. After years of watching the X-Factor I truly believe that the winner producer's favourite is decided upon before the live shows begin.   Of course, the rules and regulations of voting have to be adhered to but suggestive production can ensure that the voting audience is steered towards the producer's favourite through song choice and staging. So why do we have a panel of judges that occasionally masquerade as mentors?  Surely a mentor should be fulfilling their role by being seen to select the best song choice for that week's theme, coaching their team members through the process of learning the song and be getting involved in the staging and choreography so that their contestant is represented to the best of their ability during the live show.  If they are only judges then why have them represent a specific category? Why not show how the contestants are progre...

There are a number of 'Listography' posts on this blog  (but it appears to be a whole year since the last one) and when Kate sets the theme, many of them make me run to open a new blog post.  This one ( Top Five Life Lessons ) was just the same, mainly because I have a new Pinterest board called "Word!" and I'm now following the Cybher #MTOTD (motivational tweet of the day) stream.   All should be taken with a pinch of salt and you should imagine me with my tongue stuck firmly in my cheek. 1.  Obviously... 2.  The best person you can be is you! 3.  Which leads me on to... 4.  But a bit more seriously...   5.  And finally...  Do you have anything to add?

Five photos stitched together by Google's "auto awesome" programme.  Good, innit? When life gives you lemons... the Guinness Book of Records  team make you try and catch them blindfolded! This was just one of the records on offer when we were guests at the Guinness World Records HQ in London during half term. And when they weren't chucking lemons at us, they were making us stick post-it notes on ourselves or making us row upon row of pop party poppers (These were some of the records that we attempted to break on the day - not just randomness that happens at the GWR Offices although I'm not so sure...) One of the best moments of the day for Jake was meeting Marco Frigatti . Yes, I hear you say " Who? ", just as I did.  As one of the GWR team said, he's the most famous un-famous person ever as the star of the  Guinness World Records Smashed  show on Sky 1.   Jake was impressed which is the main thing really - click on the pics below to ...

The best thing about Soundtrack To My Life is the discovery of new music - music that you should have heard at some point in your life but it's completely passed you by. Susanne's Soundtrack To My Life has brought three new tunes into my world which, I suppose, could be repayment for being her Blogging Godmother (her words, not mine). Apparently, I explained how to send a tweet - so it's all my fault.  And on that note, it's over to Susanne...  ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨   Air - Highschool Lover  In July 2002 I walked down the 'aisle' to this song and I can never listen to it without feeling a strange mix of sadness, excitement and fear. Shortly before I entered the room out of which I would leave a married woman, my step-father and I sat in a small room with no windows. We'd signed the paperwork and we were waiting to be called to action. My stepfather looked at me -finally! He has been avoiding my eye all morning - and tears started to roll down his cheek...

Recently I was sent a bouquet of flowers from Bloom and Wild that arrived in a box that fit perfectly through the letterbox.  The flowers weren't squashed and really simple display instructions were included that made them look as though they had been professionally arranged in the vase.  Even my husband was impressed which speaks volumes in our house! And I can honestly say that the flowers look just as lovely (if not better) seven days after receipt and some slightly closed blooms are beginning to open. This concept is one that I think is a great gift idea for that "hard to buy for" person and the subscription service means that you can order in advance and await a box of colour each month for as long as you want. Aron Gelbard, Bloom and Wild's co-founder and CEO, tells me that he wanted to improve the flower buying experience without the flowers being expensive or inconvenient to receive and for the flowers to last longer than a couple of days.  He an...