One of the best days of 2024 started at 5 am on Labor Day in New York. My flight had arrived at JFK at about 10pm the night before, but by the time the Uber got to 31st Street, it was nearly 1 am. I had decided I would be beating the jet lag by... Continue Reading →
New Year’s Eve 2024
I always write some crap on New Year's Eve most years, summarising what happened in the world, or my world. I mostly write about films we watched, but it felt like slim pickings this year. So I'll look at my Google location timeline to remind me of places we went instead. In May, we booked... Continue Reading →
Q1 – writing nothing!
I have successfully set fire to my New Year's resolutions. I lasted until the middle of February with my resolution to write more, and in particular, to try writing the novel I want to write. Everybody wants to write a novel, not an actual marketable screenplay, because everyone wants the idea of posterity and legacy,... Continue Reading →
The second Mars Bar problem
Have you ever eaten a Mars bar when really, really hungry? I once got to the shaking with cold sweat stage of hungry, because I had forgotten my wallet at work. I eventually asked a colleague for £1 for the vending machine, because I didn't want to admit that I was so ditsy I didn't... Continue Reading →
Climbing in Fontainebleau – with a punch
I was going to finish writing up all my tips for climbing with children, before we took our children on a weekend bouldering trip to Fontainebleau in France. As usual, I didn't quite get around to it, so I'll give anyone who's interested an account of a) just how great Font is with kids, and... Continue Reading →
Toddler skiing in Chamonix
Holidays are more delicate than one might imagine. On the face of it, you pick a destination, a hotel and some flights, on the basis that they fulfil one or more or the criteria you might have listed. I used to write lists of criteria for holidays in order to help me decide, but now... Continue Reading →
La Berarde camping holiday
Summer holidays are always too short; most particularly so if one decides to drive 1500 miles for only one weeks’ holiday. It was still worth it, as it always is. We went back to the campsite at La Bérarde, a location that is possibly the most remote in France. It is about 50 km south... Continue Reading →
Center parcs Woburn
The rugby 7s tournament was on in London on 20th May, which meant an exodus of the entire male part of my husband's family. So the women and children decided we would take ourselves off to Center Parcs in Woburn. I was quite curious, as I've never been to a holiday park. My parents never... Continue Reading →
Two years, one more baby, many trips
A colleague pointed out to me the other day that it would appear I no longer travel anywhere at all. This isn't quite true; I just don't update this blog any more, preferring to write my rather dull, and still only occasional "this is my life" missives over here. So, in the intervening two years, since... Continue Reading →
Long weekend in LA in 2008
As predicted, this blog has somewhat died a death. Its cousin, The Resting Writer , is where I actually write stuff. So here's an old account of my weekend in Los Angeles in Summer 2008. I was on a business trip that lasted about ten days, so I had a weekend in the middle. It... Continue Reading →