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Why retractable pergolas are a must-have for your garden
Who else dreams about having garden parties all year round? Technically, you could have garden parties all year round, but do you really want to be in the cold and possible rain whilst enjoying your favourite drink? I didn’t think so. Of course, you can still invite your friends and family around during the colder months of the year, but you can’t really enjoy your garden space during these months. What if I told you there is a way to enjoy your garden space no matter the weather? It seems too good to be true, right? It’s the perfect solution – a retractable pergola. A-what? A modern pergola, basically. You…
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How to prepare your home for the colder months
The days are getting shorter and you wish you could stay in the warmth of your bed for five more minutes in the morning – these are synonyms that winter is on its way (maybe you wish you could stay in bed for five more minutes during the other seasons, but you know what I mean, it’s cosy and warm inside while outside it’s freezing cold). Before the peak of the colder months arrives, it’s important to prepare your home for the worst of the weather. Rain, strong winds, icy cold weather and snow can really impact your home during this time of the year plus, if your home is…
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Ways to learn from home as a family
We are always hearing about the ability to work from home and the advantages of so doing. We know we need to be commuting in our cars less for the sake of our environment. We have superb technology available to us so that for most jobs going out of the home is not really necessary. We hear less about learning from home. There are similar benefits and learning is a proven way to enhance our skills but also to feel better emotionally. Here are 5 ways to learn from home. Find a tutor When my older brother was struggling with his education, my parents sought a tutor and put his…
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Preparing Your Garden For A Harsh Winter
It’s official: the UK is preparing itself for one of the coldest winters on record. Insulate your home, boil your kettle, and settle in for a harsh one. Of course, the tabloid newspapers tend to say things like this every year, so whether or not we’re actually going to get the winter we’ve been promised (or threatened with) is a moot point. If we are, though, it might be time to start thinking about how to protect your garden against the elements. During particularly cold winters, your garden can suffer immensely. The cold freezes the water in plant cells, which damages the cell wall, impedes growth, and possibly leads to…
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Helping Elderly Parents Stay Safe at Home
It can be tough to see your parents get older and become less mobile as they age. With a decrease in mobility comes an increase in the risk of having a fall, which could result in a serious injury. Understandably, most elderly people want to stay living in the familiar surroundings and comfort of their own home, but the worry of a parent having a fall can be a huge concern, especially if you don’t live nearby or don’t have time to visit them regularly. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make your parents’ home safer and help prevent the chance of a fall. Fit a Stairlift For…
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Planning a trip to Paris in 2020
Next year my lovely daughter will have her sixteenth birthday. I want to do something really special with her to mark this milestone. We plan to take a girls’ trip to Paris. I last visited Paris as a teenager myself. My memories are sketchy ones of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre-Couer. I should confess now that I missed out on Notre Dame completely leaving the teachers and heading for a market to buy cheap perfume. So as we are planning our trip to Paris, we are researching the places we would like to go on the Voyage Prive website and by reading various travel guides. Notre-Dame It seems only…
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Treat Yourself With Solo Travel – Ideas for An Awesome Time
Solo travel is a wonderful opportunity to get to know yourself better. You might believe you already know yourself pretty well, but the fact is, if you’ve never travelled solo before, there’s a good chance that you don’t. Solo travel has numerous benefits: Spend quality time with yourself Enjoy a heightened sensory experience from travelling alone Meet interesting people on your trips/other solo travellers You can travel for a few months or just a few days, depending on the trip and how confident you are You get to do exactly what you want, when you want Buy a package where you can travel with a group of solo travellers as…
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5 Eco-friendly Christmas gift ideas
It cheers my soul to see so many people now taking the climate change seriously. It is so true that no person is too small to make a difference and so many are now doing their part whether by going vegan or plastic-free. Of course, we are not used to doing Christmas in this way. It is a season so linked to excess and consumption. So today I am sharing 5 eco-friendly Christmas gift ideas to inspire you. Roses Infini London provide luxury exquisite roses that last a year via an eco-friendly solution. Real, long-lasting and gorgeous, these roses are the perfect gift for a loved one, as well as…
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How to Build a Good Relationship with Your Child’s Teacher
A teacher plays a vital role in your child’s education. They spend a huge amount of time with your child and this can have an incredible influence on their happiness at school. For this reason it is extremely important for parents and teachers to build a good relationship and work together effectively. Good communication with your child’s teacher is essential to your son or daughter’s academic success. The more information parents and teachers share with each other, the more your child will benefit. Here is some great advice from Taunton School on how to build a successful teacher and parent relationship… As parents we want our children to make the…
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8 Finishing Touches To Add To Your New Garden
No garden is ever really finished. You can touch it up and change it all you like, but in the end, there will always be something else you can do. Like all art, a great garden cannot be completed; you’ll always find some aspect of it that needs extra work. The goal, therefore, becomes not to “finish” it, but to get the garden to a state where doing anything more would ruin the balance you’ve created. In this way, you’re technically still adding “finishing touches” even though you’re not completing the project. Here are 8 ways you can add final flourishes to your garden. Add some more plants Wildflowers, fruit…
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Hiring cars and vans with peace of mind
Hiring cars and vans is often done at stressful times in our lives. We may be without your own car which needs extensive repairs. We may be visiting a poorly relative. We may be moving home. You may be looking for minibus hire in St. Helens for a group outing. As we experience anxiety around such life events, it is important that we are hiring cars and vans with peace of mind. Here are some tips on doing just that. Hiring cars and vans It is not unusual to hear people complaining about hiring cars and vans. Often people hang around for ages at the vehicle rental companies. Additional costs…
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Best destinations for luxury cruises
When it comes to luxury cruises, there’s a whole world of opportunities. Whether you’re new to cruise and wondering where’s the best place to cruise to for the first time, or a regular cruiser looking to head off the beaten path and discover new places, take a look at this list of the best luxury cruise destinations. Caribbean The Caribbean is the world’s most popular cruise destination and a fantastic place to enjoy a five-star holiday. Cruise holidays in the Caribbean can be as chilled or as busy as you like. Discovering a new tropical island each day, you’re sure to be wowed by the world’s best beaches, friendly locals…
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Lose weight and save time with Dietbon diet meals
After an interesting week of great food, I am delighted to share my DietBon review with you. After a small hiccup regarding my delivery of the diet meals and my phone consultation I was excited to receive a box full of tempting treats knowing they were good for me and might just help me shed some pounds in time for party season. What is Dietbon Dietbon is a diet plan based on home-delivered meals and telephone consultations with a friendly dietician. All your daily meals are delivered to your home : breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner for 6 days out of 7. The 7th day is a free day…
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Songs for funerals that I want at mine
Let’s #talkabout death baby! Let’s talk about you and me or whoever ends up organising my send-off from this planet. You are of course at liberty to add your own special touches to my final ceremony because hopefully you think I am so worth it. Seriously though, it is vital we talk about these things as it makes it easier on those we leave behind. Marie Curie have launched the biggest ever public awareness campaign about death. It is called #TalkAbout and aims to get the nation talking more openly about dying by having conversations with loved ones, friends and family. I have agreed to support this campaign and I…
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Menopause signs are not shameful – Pausitivity
I have written about menopause signs before. As regular readers know I like to champion women’s voices so I was delighted when the founders of Pausitivity asked for my help. Elizabeth Carr-Ellis shares the story of how Pausitivity came about and what the campaign is trying to do. “Pausitivity began from frustration. When I first went to the doctors to discuss my menopause signs, my GP had to search on his computer to print off information about it – four pages of A4 with a list of symptoms, the pros and cons of HRT and a few websites to go to, one of which no longer existed. It was information I’d…
