Travel tips-Restaurant reviews-Recipes
It started with Ben (6) coming back from school a couple of weeks’ ago and wanting to tell me they’d been learning about Roy Lichtenstein and David Hockney in school that day. As he started a drawing, reproducing for me the Lichtenstein painting they’d be studying, he recognised ‘The Splash’ on the front of a […]
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As a child, I was taken to The Nutcracker ballet at Christmas every year. I began ballet lessons at the tender age of three and carried on until I was 15. Of course, as I watched Tchaikovsky’s magical ballet, I wanted, like many other little girls, to be a ballerina … but I was also […]
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We’re lucky to have a lot of good cafes in Twickenham but we’re always drawn to the Italian ones. The family have frequented Corto Italian Deli for years and it’s a favourite but a few months ago I decided to give the newer Buongiorno cafe, which is much nearer my house, a try. It’s nice […]
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Going to nearby Kingston upon Thames with grandsons Freddie (7½) and Ben (4¾) has become a regular holiday time ritual and makes a lovely outing for me with the boys. A major attraction is Bentalls toy department, which is one of the best I know, and they always come with a little money from Mummy […]
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It’s half term week, so a promise to take the boys to Kingston upon Thames – more specifically Bentalls – in the next holiday time was fulfilled. Bentalls has a brilliant toy department, which is its chief attraction to the boys, including the best collection of Schleich animal figurines that I know of (short of […]
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Freddie and I were talking about Masaniello last week and Livio’s pizzas. Livio, co-owner and head chef of Masaniello, hails from Naples and thus knows a good deal about making an excellent pizza. We haven’t been for a long time, said Freddie. No, we haven’t, I said, so we’ll go soon, next time you’re on […]
Read MoreFreddie and I went on another expedition this morning. This time to South Kensington, home of London’s biggest and most popular museums (the Victoria & Albert, Natural History, and Science museums) and thus in peak holiday time, a very busy place. Hence we set off early and managed to arrive at 10.00am just as doors […]
Read MoreFreddie (4) and I had gone on an expedition to Kingston in search of a hippopotamus. Despite being set on the Thames and therefore near water, it was of course highly unlikely – if not impossible – that we would encounter a live member of the species there. But Freddie, who is gradually making a […]
Read MoreMy 4-year-old grandson Freddie and I went to visit my friend Liz this afternoon to see her 4-month-old puppy, Ziggy. It was our 3rd time seeing the little King Charles Spaniel and he always seems so pleased to see Freddie, I’m sure even puppies recognise human equivalents – i.e. other ‘children’. I decided to pick […]
Read MoreCorto Italian Deli in Church Street, Twickenham is a favourite family haunt and I’ve written about it a few times on the blog – it’s fabulous for morning coffee, lunch, family celebrations, and to buy the best quality Italian foods you’ll find anywhere. We go there a lot but it’s taken me a while to get […]
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