Oh oh oh. I wrote about this incredible hotel towards the end of last year and sadly there was a blip on my blog and it never went live! I only realised this recently so please forgive the tardiness of this post, and the one that follows it, as the stories took place back in September, so little Izzy looks far littler! But now, let me tell you about the glorious Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall, which when it comes to family-friendly and baby-friendly, they win ALL THE PRIZES.
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I’m not going to sugar-coat it – days with Isabelle are hard. Not because she’s particularly difficult (she’s not) or unusual (she’s not. Well she is, but she’s not) or louder/grumpier/snottier than any other toddler… she’s really really not. She’s just a toddler. And as I approach the time when I can put her to bed and turn out the lights, I am already imagining the sofa, the blanket and my bum upon it and under it.
From about 5pm I am mustering every ounce of go go go I can. Make supper, have the supper battle (where Isabelle is really hungry but the overwhelming desire to practise her new found skill of asserting herself with a big fat “NO!” means that supper takes LOTS OF TIME…) Bath time, the towel battle, the nappy battle, story time (NO BATTLE!) and finally, bed. “Night night” she says. Often followed by “Toes!” because she can no longer see her feet.
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I’m currently reading ‘Ordinary People’, written in 2018 by Diana Evans for Poppy Loves Book Club, and fairly early on in the book there was a line, which tripped me up a little:
‘They had looked in the east (the darkness of Walthamstow,
the barren lawns of Chingford…’
… it struck me that there is nothing about Walthamstow that I’d consider dark. On the contrary, I find it is full of life and colour, exciting foodie corners and huge explosions of creativity… so I found it fascinating that this pocket of London could be perceived this way. So I feel even more spurred on to tell you about this very special pop-up in the Stow!
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The art of craft has always been something that inspires me. I marvel at handifolk doing clever things with all manner of materials. And although crafting has had somewhat of a resurgence over the past few years, I can’t help but feel that there are some older, traditional and more unusual crafts that are in danger of being lost forever.
Turns out I wasn’t the only one thinking this – The Goodlife Centre has announced the first ever Endangered & Rare Crafts weekend in central London on the 25th – 26th April 2020. Hurrah!
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You may remember Isabelle’s nursery from when she was first born. I was so proud of the space we had for her – a simple room in our Victorian terrace house, with minimal furniture and minimal stuff. We had a beautiful cot (which she still loves and sleeps so well in), a large, high-backed chair for nursing/sleeping/gazing into the middle distance in… and a changing table.
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I woke up this morning with the sun pouring through the window – what a treat for a Sunday in late January. “Today we brunch!” I announced. And Isabelle concurred. Despite not knowing what brunch is.
We live a short walk away from Eat17, one of my favourite haunts in Walthamstow. Set in the village, opposite the square (where I always expect to see a game of Petanque but alas, none to date) Eat17 is an all-day eatery with a *sensational Spar attached next door. (*I don’t use this word lightly – it is a local store with more condiments that you could ever count and the BEST sourdough, pastries and local produce, with a vegan burger bar at the back. I meander the aisles in merry bliss).
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Hello team,
It’s me. It’s me in 2020 and I am ever so pleased to be here. A very very happy new year to you all.
Towards the end of 2019 I got walloped with some kind of horrible fluey bug that saw me out of action for weeks. Everything stopped. I didn’t check my emails, I couldn’t do my work, I let people down, balls were dropped and I just couldn’t shake it. It meant that both Christmas day and Boxing day were spent in bed (SO BORING) and I was entirely at its mercy.
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