One month of the year that we all look forward to is June – warm weather, lighter evenings and hopefully, a long-awaited summer holiday if COVID and travel restrictions allow! But we love June in our house because It is also the month of the Summer Solstice – a ‘magical’ day called ‘the longest day of the year’ which officially marks the start of summer. Here’s the astronomy bit Sometimes, we humans can be a little ‘slow to catch on’. It was only in 1543, that the astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, explained his then ‘radical’ theory of the universe in which […]
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30 ways to celebrate International Friendship Day
If there is one thing this pandemic has shown us, it’s that we need our friends – not just the ones we know, but the ones we have yet to meet! As many of us were locked down over the last 18 months, (and some places of the world still are), we began to realise that it really is the little things that mean a lot – a hug, a genuine smile, a friendly pat on the back. These things matter because these are the things that really make us feel good – not our car, our house or our […]
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Simple ways to have fun with food this summer
Simple ways to have fun with food this summer As the famous song says: “Roll out those, lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer Those days of soda and pretzels and beer!” Hooray, summer has finally arrived here in the UK, and thermometer mercury levels are on the up faster than a third wave COVID graph! And somehow, through it all, we are all still looking forward to enjoying a cool beer after work as the nights get warm and balmy. And let’s face it, we could all do with a break, albeit another ‘staycation!’ Looking on the bright side, in […]
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Ten ways to celebrate National Simplicity Day
National Simplicity Day When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses? Yesterday? Last week? Or so long ago you can’t really remember? Have you EVER stopped to smell the roses? Or is the thought of switching off from daily life, unplugging from the internet and social media, something that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy? Then it’s time you heard about National Simplicity Day! On July 12th, many people will celebrate National Simplicity Day – the birthday of Henry David Thoreau, an American philosopher, naturalist, and ardent advocate for simple living. They will switch off their mobiles […]
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Healthy options for Pancake Day
Pancake Day – healthier options On Tuesday 25th February, most of the UK will be reaching for their frying pans to celebrate Shrove Tuesday – the traditional day for cooking and eating pancakes! How about looking at some healthy options for Pancake Day this year which will keep everyone coming back for more? The 40 days immediately before Easter (known as Lent), are observed by Christians to remind them of the time that Jesus travelled into the desert to fast fasting in the desert before starting his ministry. To mark this, in days gone by, many Christians would give up […]
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Fun and practical things to do to help nature in winter
Most of us loved winter as children – think of all those happy times you spent making snowmen, lying in the snow creating snow angels and all those lovely, crisp, winter walks breaking the ice and throwing snowballs. But do you ever think about how you can help nature in winter? Whilst we as humans can return to a cosy, warm house after enjoying the outdoors, our British wildlife is not so fortunate and winter can often mean a life-and-death struggle many; food supplies become scarce and there can often be little respite from the biting-cold weather. However, this can […]
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The Importance and Benefits of Spending Quality Family Time
Let me ask you a question about quality family time: How much quality family time did you spend yesterday, last week, last month? Can you answer in days, hours or is it just minutes? And here’s a more important question: How does that make you feel? This article discusses the importance and benefits of spending quality time with your family and suggests ways that you could increase this to benefit not only your own life, but those of the people you love and care about most. With many families now having both parents that work, and the increase in single-parent […]
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Fun Kids Games: Remember these?
I was born in the 1960s and the 70s and 80s are the decades I remember as my childhood. There were no electronic devices, no personal computers until I was in my teens and then it was the ZX80 and the ZX81 which where we waited patiently listening to the ‘noise’ as we loaded our games using magnetic tape cassettes. Boy what a difference a few decades makes. We now have Nintendo, X-boxes, Wii, laptops, desktops, tablets, smart phones, Game Boys: the list is seemingly endless and my children often ask me what I did before these things existed. Now […]
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Fun Activities for a Rainy Day: Classic Board Games For Kids
What to do with the kids on rainy days: How about playing some good old-fashioned classic board games for kids? OK so it’s raining – and you want to find some fun activiies for a rainy day that will keep the kids happy. It rains a lot here in the UK so we’re used to it and I have a whole gamut of things to fall back on. But what if the latest X-box game has worn everyone’s thumbs out, the only thing on the television is a rerun of El Dorado, and you had to use the batteries from the […]
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