I have stared into the abyss. The abyss has a name. It is SKÅRNVIK. It arrived in a toe-breakingly heavy IKEA-branded cardboard sarcophagus which seemed far too small to contain anything more ambitious than a sandwich. Yet, it promised a sleek, white monolith of drawers, quiet despair and my all-night
Failure. Tuesday night, in a valiant attempt to bake my daughter a surprise birthday cake, I found myself knee-deep in disaster. Again. I’ve been here before. It all started with my son's first birthday cake. I misjudged the flour-to-egg ratio and ended up with a number “1”
Super-curricular
Last Sunday, while over 50,000 people ran the London Marathon, I completed a much shorter (and lazier) event: the “Watch-Athon.” Cuppa? Check. Curious brain? Double check. Admiration? Absolutely. And no intention of joining in. I hate running. If you see me sprinting, call for help — I’m either being
Activities
Science isn’t just for the lab-coated elite. You don’t need goggles, a Bunsen burner, or a grant from NASA. You just need a match, a slinky and a sense of curiosity. Whether you’re a teacher looking to spark curiosity in your students or a parent hoping to
English
Ever seen someone parallel park like a pro? One fluid move, no hesitation. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck doing a 17-point turn, with a line of cars silently judging. Reading is kind of like that. Some kids glide into books effortlessly, no awkward gear shifts, no panic. Others?
As if getting teenagers out of bed isn’t hard enough... Knock once—silence. Knock twice—still nothing. Crack the door open and a groggy voice, thick with betrayal, mumbles, “Five more minutes.” Except on Sunday, five minutes is actually sixty-five, because British Summer Time (BST) has swooped in overnight,
In his famous Proverbs of Hell, William Blake declares: "Energy is eternal delight." Apt, I thought, as I surveyed the Monday morning carnage. The kids were practically asleep in their porridge bowls—about as lively as a phone on 1% battery. On the bus stop walk, they were
Maths
“Mum, what’s Pi?” “3.141 and the rest…” “No, I know that. But what actually is Pi?” Ah. The moment every parent dreads: when your default walking Wikipedia mode malfunctions. Normally, I’d fire off a definition faster than you can say “Google it.” But this one deserved a
Engineering
It’s Monday morning. You’ve barely had your coffee, and you’re already refereeing a showdown over a glue stick. On your left, a student clutching it like it’s the last life vest on the Titanic. On your right, their classmate, arms crossed, lips pursed, delivering a death
It happened this week—a subtle, undeniable shift in the air. The days are stretching out just a little longer. Light past 5pm! Actual, real daylight! Naturally, this sent me spiralling into deep, existential thoughts about nature (as one does). Daffodils are limbering up for their grand entrance, and the
I don’t know how she does it. No matter where I hide the good snacks—behind the cereal boxes, in the vegetable drawer (a classic decoy), even in a container labeled “Quinoa”—my 11 year old daughter always finds them. Meanwhile, her teenage brother is blindly rummaging through the