We’ve had some gross visitors to this house. Thread worms (three times), all-over ringworm, scalp fungus and hand-foot-and-mouth. I’m sure there are others that I have blanked out. But we never had nits. Not once. Until NOW. We occasionally have emails from the school saying “There’s nits in Y1” and I dutifully go through the kids’ hair but there’s nothing… View Post
The three hardest things to shop for are jeans, underwear and swimwear. It’s because those three clothing sub-groups reveal our bodies as they really are. And often that’s not something we want to confront. But, of course, there is all manner of trickery certain jeans, or swimwear or lingerie can perform that will make us feel happier or more secure… View Post
I have recently stumbled across a few really good podcasts, which fall under a new category that someone explained to me was now called “dramatic storytelling”. Like Serial. Or any of This American Life. The first is Caliphate, I think recommended to me here, which is a sort of glancing look at the mess that is/was ISIS. The second is… View Post
I completely understand that the idea of only eating half a cabbage for dinner for some of you is pretty much a deal-breaker. Or possibly a deal breaker for the person you live with. But, I really liked this. I covered it with bacon and cheese and it was delicious. Afterwards, I also had some more cheese with a few… View Post
What is it about hair that so necessitates a pun? And I fucking hate puns, I think they are the absolute lowest form of everything, the vocabulary equivalent of own-brand Cola or that £9 dress from BooHoo I was slagging off the other day. And yet, when I thought about writing this post on hair, I immediately reached for a… View Post
A few weeks ago I went to see the facialist Pamela Marshall, who runs Mortar and Milk, on the advice of my friend Madeleine. Pamela used to be a journalist and she is a maternal, no-nonsense American who looks a lot like Diane Keaton. She has a very holistic whole-body approach to skincare and wants to know pretty much everything… View Post
I have had a few emails about what to wear for Spring and, do you know? I genuinely don’t know if it’s really that different from Springwear last year. I had a kind of epiphany at the end of last year about clothes: I have too many and I keep buying things that I won’t wear, like dresses. I feel… View Post
This *just* the most delicious thing ever – this tastes like takeaway curry! And you know I consider that to be the highest praise I can give. Do not be freaked out by the call for mayonnaise and mango chutney – these are key. I make this with chickpea, spinach and paneer, but you can add chicken or lamb if… View Post
The Middle East! I have found the threat of al Qaeda and Islamo-fascist terrorism so frightening for the last 18 years that I tried to ignore the entire thing. But now I feel like it’s safe enough to read about it without having nightmares for six weeks, like when I read I Am Pilgrim. Those brave Kurds and Kurdesses have… View Post
