A bank holiday is the perfect chance to enjoy a family day out, but with the weather not exactly looking tropical last weekend, I didn’t really fancy traveling to far afield. With this in mind we decided to enjoy the 1940s day at Haden Hill House, a gorgeous Manor House built in Cradley Heath in 1878, with a much older Tudor hall next door. Haden Hill House is now a Sandwell Museum, and is set in some exquisite park land that now has a children’s playground, forest and woodland walks to enjoy. On Monday, Haden Hill House played host to a 1940s day. Now, I am rather partial to the…

I have worked as a freelancer and blogger for nine years this August, and it is sometimes hard to remember what life was like when I still did regular work. At the time my son Joe was born, I was an acting head teacher of a Primary School, working full time, and also bringing a lot of work home each evening. When Joe came along I wanted to reduce my hours to part time so I could enjoy being a mommy to this precious little bundle, a request that became even more important when I was diagnosed with post-natal depression. Unfortunately I did not meet the response I was expecting,…

The House on Cold Hill, currently showing at The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, is that rarest of beasts, a genuinely chilling ghost story that retains the creepy factor when transferred to the stage. Based on a best selling novel by Peter James, the play has a pitch perfect cast and wracks up the fear and tension in each scene. It is satisfyingly eerie and I would highly recommend it as a superb night at the theatre. It starts with a scene that sets the tension for the rest of the play. We hear a car on a journey to a new house, described as looking like a castle by a little…

The Met Gala is always my favourite night in fashion, the one where all the World’s leading fashionistas come out in force for Fashion’s most glorious occasion. The theme for 2019 was ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’. The theme is inspired by Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay ‘Notes on ‘Camp’, and so I had high hopes for the most fun and interesting red carpet events of all time. Well, the carpet was pink and although there were lots of looks that most definitely fell into the category of camp, the usual problems I have with the Met Gala themes was there for all to see. Basically, there are those that adhere to the theme, and…

Getting your child to focus on their homework can sometimes be a difficult task. Homework may not be at the top of your child’s priorities; however you can help to make it more fun by encouraging the right mind set and using some of these simple tactics suggested by Banstead Preparatory School Join in Try to make homework a time to look forward to, instead of avoiding. Encourage a positive attitude to homework by joining in and getting some of your own work done. Sit in the same room as your child and make it feel special by having some of their favourite music playing in the background, or by…