Author: Jennifer Aldley

Unless you have a baby join the family for christmas, you really cannot imagine the amount of fuss and organisation that goes into making sure you have everything for them.  We have such a being in our midst – in…

I was helping out at a street fair recently.   To inject some interest in the the locality, the town council has made a change to the annual Christmas lighting up ceremony.  This time we didn’t just hover round the…

On a recent visit to london town, my daughter and I spent several hours wandering aound one particularly gorgeous emporium of historical relevance.  It has the most spectacular christmas decorations – in fact a whole floor is dedicated to its…

I have several young relatives who all have birthdays at the same time of the year – roughly running through from beginning of July through to Halloween.  This used to present a major headache for me – whatever I thought…

I have just spent a wonderful week with three grandchildren.  The age range is not vast, 11, 13 and 15 – so very manageable and as they are siblings, each respects the others’ likes and dislikes as much as their…

Ah the joy of playing an taking part in an organised Beetle Drive – the rules are  simple but where the name Drive comes into it is quite beyond me.  I have taken part only in a hilarious group activity,…

Playing any kind of game with some grandchildren will inevitably mean sharing the ipad or other hand held gizmo.  The thought of sitting around a table with a board game, having to read the rules, lay out all the pieces…

Hockey is such a great game for spectators – I am amazed and quite sad that it isn’t on tv more, except every four years with the Olympics.  It can encourage so many youngsters out to take part in a…

I have some lovely young neighbours – several families with kiddies live nearby and it is an absolute joy to hear them playing very happily, if a little noisily, out in our shared driveways. It’s great too when a particularly…

The February half term holidays are always a difficult time for parents in this family.  There has usually had o be some heavy negotiation over the coverage of the Christmas school holidays and then Easter is fast approaching too.  This…