Waste Not Want Not

22/05/2026

Leavers’ Day. So soon. It is gone in a flash. It seems like yesterday we were marching across the green with a little pink satchel for her first day. As she pointed out this morning, pink satchel to Longchamp bag. The trends are set for you. You can’t fight them.

As a parent it’s not easy, but there are no right or wrong decisions, just lessons. And if you’ve only got one, you have to live with them because you haven’t got a ‘practice’ child.

Most of all though, it is an amazing ride watching them grow into humans with dreams and huge personalities.

Whatever they say this generation are simply amazing - they have got it all. And they know how to use it.

And the biggest tribute of all from Ella, reflecting on her journey through The Weald School, telling me she wants to be a teacher, one of those that helps everybody. After she’s done a stint as cabin crew or course, and seen the world, which is at most definitely at their feet.

So proud and thank you to those amazing teachers who have been so important along the way.

17/05/2026

A historic moment. Last time this lot were together was 2011!!!! How does that happen. Still the same, plus/minus hair and wrinkles. As many belly laughs as ever! 💕

06/04/2026

Perfect advice! Enjoy your choc! 🐣

Happy Easter!

If you're tucking into an Easter egg today, don’t forget—you can recycle most of the packaging at home! Here’s what to do with the most common Easter waste:

✅ Easter egg boxes – clean, dry cardboard can be recycled at home!

✅ Plastic Easter egg packaging – all colours of plastic pots, tubs, and trays can be recycled at home, including the plastic trays inside your Easter egg box!

✅ Easter egg foil – Scrunch up the foil in your hand. If it holds its shape, it is aluminium foil and can be put in your recycling bin. If it springs back it contains plastic, can't be recycled and should be placed in your general waste bin.

🚫 Sweet wrappers and plastic packaging – soft plastics cannot currently be recycled in West Sussex and should go in your general waste bin. However, they can be taken to participating supermarkets for recycling as part of their soft plastic recycling scheme.

🐰 Easter decorations – keep them somewhere safe and re-use them next year! If they can’t be re-used, put them in your general waste bin or consider donating them if they’re in good condition.

💐 Flowers – cut flowers can go in a compost bin or garden waste bin if you have one.

03/04/2026

29/03/2026

Lovely, lovely lemons! 🍋 And Piazza Di Maradona! Amazing!

28/03/2026

Fabulous food touring in Napoli with these two followed by shopping and a carbohydrate induced coma! More pastries I could do! Fried pizza and pasta not so much. But we’ve found a very special spot we love slot!

14/03/2026

So I don't get time to research and post much these days, but I do still make sure I buy the 'right' low waste, resource friendly products! I am massively into 'refillable', 'solid' and buying in bulk to avoid unnecessary use of fuel for transport, and plastic for packaging! You might be suprised to know that it can quite often save you money to do this.

I also often rely on the lovely Wendy at Moral Fibres for her impeccably researched view on things. She's written this piece on refillable beauty, and I just wanted to share it. I don't do a lot of 'beauty', but I do try to do 'refillable'.

As ever with these things, some of the big players and even some of the more innovative brands don't do quite what they claim to be doing, and this is a great guide as to what to look out for and some of the better brands to support.

If you look at the Moral Fibres website, you'll find similar information on just about every subject! And her Substack is brilliant! I've posted a link in the comments below.

And if there is anything in particular you are trying to find a product for, let me know...I will sometimes know, and I'll almost certainly know where to look!

Enjoy! x

21/02/2026

Today is my dad’s birthday. He met Ella only once, when she was three months old, a week after his 70th birthday and the day before he died.

My last memory of him conscious was him staring at his first grandchild like he wanted to imprint that image on his brain for eternity. I hope he did, and I hope she was the ending to his story he was hoping for.

At 16 she stands 5’8 tall, just like his mum, my Oma. She loves to dance and she is an amazing cook - just like my Oma - with aspirations to work in the hospitality industry, the industry he loved his whole life, his passion to provide impeccable customer service and food! She is a natural and I am sure it comes from him.

He would have been so proud to see her performing her solo at the Godalming Arts Festival this week. And delighted that she plans to study Travel and Tourism next year.

She doesn’t like beer much though, so the genetic connections stop there! 😂😂 Prost Daddy! I will certainly raise a beer to you today! 🍻