Add that extra special touch to your Christmas this year or surprise someone with a luxurious Harrods Christmas Box. Harrods wide range of Christmas hampers is available to suit every budget

Unveiling festive delights with Harrods Christmas Box

Add that extra special touch to your Christmas this year or surprise someone with a luxurious Harrods Christmas Box. Harrods wide range of Christmas hampers is available to suit every budget

Add that extra special touch to your Christmas this year or surprise someone with a luxurious Harrods Christmas Box. Harrods wide range of Christmas hampers are available to suit every budget.

Hands up who loves Christmas? I know it’s not everyone’s favourite time of year, and we’ve been through a few bumpy patches in our relationship, Christmas and I. After losing Dad it never felt the same but with the magic and sparkle that two awesome nephews bring to the family, that I know he would have loved, Christmas and I have managed to put our differences aside and we’re back on track. So who’s joining Christmas and I in the festive spirit?

Putting the Range Rover through its paces on the historical Jungle Trail at the Land Rover Experience, Solihull - it's more than the school run deserves!

Turning left into 40 with Land Rover Experience, Solihull

Putting the Range Rover through its paces on the historical Jungle Trial at the Land Rover Experience, Solihull - it's more than the school run deserves!

There’s nothing like a younger sibling to remind you about how old you’re getting or have become. So when my pretty awesome baby brother booked me a Land Rover Experience taster session for my 40th birthday, there might have been a few tears in my eyes; for finally joining the 4-0 club, the thoughtfulness of his gift and the reminder that he’s still several years behind me with the rest of his 30’s to look forward too!

Teaming up with Red Letter Days, for a Cotswolds food experience and mastering the art of barbecuing with Daylesford Cookery School

Mastering the barbecue with Red Letter Days & Daylesford Cookery School

Teaming up with Red Letter Days, for a Cotswolds food experience and mastering the art of barbecuing with Daylesford Cookery School

Teaming up with Red Letter Days for a Cotswold’s food experience and mastering the art of barbecuing with Daylesford Cookery School.

Organic and sustainable, I’m sure that you’ve heard them time and time again. There are no words that are more poignant at this time, with our oceans calling us to reduce the amount of plastic we chuck in them each year.

Did you know that Ocean Conservancy estimate that in less than 10 years there will be 250 million metric tons in the ocean, and by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish? As a diver, and my happy place being underwater, this prospect is utterly heartbreaking. We humans have made advancements to help our everyday lives, but those now come full circle and are threatening our beloved planet. In my opinion, the current ‘trend’ for organic and sustainable, shouldn’t be a trend at all, but a way of life, to protect us, our future us, the creatures and our planet.

Having read A Discovery of Witches way back and being entranced by the love story shrouded in the mystery of witchcraft and magic, when I was invited to attend an advanced screening of Sky One's new series and a private tour of the new Spellbound exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum; how could I not go!

Bewitched in Oxford… Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches advanced screening

Having read A Discovery of Witches way back and being entranced by the love story shrouded in the mystery of witchcraft and magic, when I was invited to attend an advanced screening of Sky One's new series and a private tour of the new Spellbound exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum; how could I not go!

Summer’s gone and we are officially in autumn which means a windy chill whips around the house, the leaves are crunchy under my feet, evening’s are spent curled up on the sofa with a good drama and Halloween is just around the corner! But this year, it’s not all ghosts and ghouls, enter the realms of the lives of witches, vampires and daemons with Sky One’s new 8 part mini-series, A Discovery of Witches, adapted from the first book of Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy.

Spiced Cypriot New Potatoes

Quick, easy and delicious these oven-roasted spiced Cypriot New Potatoes are a great alternative to traditional roast potatoes. With a touch of warming spice, serve them with roast lamb or salmon or on their own dunked in cooling creme fraiche.

Crumbs and Corkscrews - Il Gallo d'Oro, Madeira

Il Gallo d’Oro, Madeira

Crumbs and Corkscrews - Il Gallo d'Oro, Madeira

As I write this my stomach is somewhere in my throat as the airplane bounces through the skies above the Atlantic and we’ve just experienced the most horrific take-off I’ve ever had the erm… pleasure of experiencing in my 30-something years of flying; and I’ve flown some pretty nasty flights. The ‘shaky’ announcement at Funchal airport that the Lufthansa flight that was due to land just before we left was diverted 400km south to Tenerife because of the horrendous weather on Madeira, probably induced my only, and only slightly, flight-panic attack. I hate heights but love flying; this is all wrong! So feeling a little queasy I’ve decided to write about food, because thats what you do, right, when your stomach’s flipping around all over the place?

You wouldn’t think it, but we do get chance to get away every once in a while… Admittedly they tend to be at least 12 months apart but it does happen. In fact this year we’ve been spoilt and managed to get away to Cornwall to stay with friends, and also amidst a chaotic work schedule jet off for a week to Madeira.

Crumbs & Corkscrews - Raymond Blanc and Kenwood at Le Manoir

Return to Le Manoir – An Evening with Raymond Blanc

Crumbs & Corkscrews - Raymond Blanc and Kenwood at Le Manoir

There are things in life that I dream of doing, some of those dreams may even come true, but some of them I’m resigned to the fact that they are just that ‘dreams’. But every once in a while, something magical happens and one of those dreams has the chance to become reality!

So when an email from the fabulous people at John Lewis and Kenwood landed in my inbox inviting me to the launch of the new Kenwood Chef Sense at Le Manoir, I couldn’t keep my phone still in my shaking hands long enough to read it properly. A few shakes later, I’d managed to take note of the date and time and speed walk across the office to make sure I could book the time off work.

Last year I’d packed myself off for a birthday treat and joined some fantastic people at The Raymond Blanc Cookery school for the day-long Patisserie course. I fell in love with the hotel, the people, the food, the atmosphere… well everything; and I’d been dreaming of going back ever since. So off I set to join a small and select group of lovely ladies; Penny, Caroline, Tara and Becky!