Food shopping has never been my favourite pastime but the news that I’d been chosen to be a #MorrisonsMum made a bank holiday trip to the supermarket infinitely more pleasurable. Morrisons has slashed the price of 1,200 everyday food essentials by up to 60 per cent and as part of the store’s campaign they sent a host of lucky BritMums bloggers £80 worth of vouchers to spend. Since we moved to ...keep reading
Sunday mornings tend to follow the same pattern. A trip to buy croissants and The Sunday Times, then strong coffee and the omnibus edition of The Archers. But last weekend I broke out of my rut and did something completely different. By 9.15am on Sunday I was sitting in a darkened cinema in London’s Haymarket – full of excitement at the prospect of seeing some of this autumn’s hottest new ...keep reading
Five hundred bloggers, star-studded speakers, babies in arms and a glamorous venue in the heart of the City. BritMums Live promised all that, and delivered all that. Where else could you have your nails painted, learn the ins and outs of Google+, pick up some great tips on blogging and hear a speech by the hilarious Ruby Wax – all within the space of a few hours? The two-day event ...keep reading
What on earth has happened to me? I’ve trekked across the Masai Mara to discover who murdered a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life, stood on the doorsteps of drugs barons and murderers and covered court cases that gave me nightmares. Yet, here I am having sleepless nights over the slightest things. The bottom line is that I need to give myself a firm talking to – ...keep reading
It’s nearly a year since I started House With No Name and I’ve learned so much about blogging in that time. Twelve months ago I was utterly clueless about guest posts and tags and SEO and Stumbleupon, so it’s been a massive (but fun) learning curve. And today I’ve discovered yet another blogging term I didn’t know anything about – the meme. I had to look it up and it ...keep reading
Happy Leap Year’s Day! I’m not sure whether such a celebration actually exists but considering that February 29 only comes round once every four years I reckon we should be shouting it from the rooftops. An enterprising fellow blogger – and author of the Trouble Doubled blog – agrees. She hit on the idea of running a blog swap carnival to mark the occasion and asked a host of bloggers ...keep reading
The organisers of the Handpicked Media Gets Social blogging event promised wall-to-wall talks on everything today’s bloggers need to know – and they certainly delivered. The blogging industry is moving at lightning speed, so whether you’re a novice or an old hand, it’s crucial to keep up-to-date. And thanks to speakers like Garry Davis, managing director of Why Communicate?, and super-inspiring businesswoman Sháá Wasmund (above), I learned more this week ...keep reading
The first speaker at yesterday’s Handpicked Media Gets Social conference looked slightly stunned when he walked onstage. “The audience is usually full of grey-suited men,” said Garry Davis, managing director of Why Communicate?, as he gazed out across the wood-panelled chamber. This event, however, was packed with 200 top beauty, fashion and lifestyle bloggers, most of them women. They were a very impressive bunch – ranging from the multi-award-winning Fleur ...keep reading
Tuesday is my favourite day of the week. Why? Because a loud thump on the doormat signals the arrival of the latest issue of Grazia. I subscribed to the magazine a few years back, ostensibly for my student daughter. But in truth I love its heady mix of news, reviews and fashion just as much as she does. I’m supposed to be writing a book review right now but couldn’t ...keep reading
From Emily Carlisle to Sarah Duncan, fellow bloggers have given me loads of fantastic advice over the last few months. I’ve gleaned tips on where to go in New York from Liberty London Girl (the High Line and the Strand Book Store were just two), picked up delicious recipes from Eat Like A Girl and kept up to date with life in France from my old friend Colin Randall at ...keep reading