The 1st April is almost upon us and I can only assume that you are currently bracing yourself for a tidal wave of April fools pranks tomorrow. Some are funny, some witty, some almost believable… others are face-palm worthy. The question which might be ringing in your ears is, ‘who even invented April fools’ day?’ […]

Sharenting is a term which first appeared in a 2012 article in the Wall Street Journal about ‘oversharenting’, and refers to parents sharing pictures and videos of their children on social media and internet platforms for fame or financial gain. Whether or not to share pictures of their children online is a big decision for many parents and […]

The past year has been extremely difficult, particularly for those working in schools. Outings and sporting events have been cancelled, but with restrictions now easing, both students and teachers across the country can look forward to future school trips.  The next step in the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, taking effect from May 17th, will see […]

I don’t know about you, but now that we can dine outdoors at restaurants and meet a group of friends, I’ll be brunching every day for the foreseeable future. But brunch isn’t really about the sustenance, is it? I am not going to deny the delicious nature of brunch foods. Who doesn’t love a fancy […]

I’ve had a stack of library books sitting on the side since before the start of the UK’s first lockdown. Aside from the pang of guilt and hope that fines have been waived, I’ve recently started wondering what the future of libraries might look like, post Covid19. A niche worry admittedly, but I only rediscovered […]

In 2020 Britain was gripped by a “totally unheard of” jigsaw puzzle mania. Sales reached £100 million, up 38% on the previous year. The German toymaker Ravensburger proclaimed “stellar growth” in the UK, with its chairman, Clemens Maier, suggesting puzzles had helped “lots of people find a balance in their lives, especially in a time of crisis”. But […]

How much faith do you have in the brands you use? I admit to heavily overcomplicating new purchases by reading through tens of customer reviews and then cross-checking these against what I hope to be independent blogs or newspaper reviews. I feel exhausted just thinking about it! I hadn’t given much thought to why I […]

Raise your hand if you’ve felt less productive than usual during lockdown. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you probably didn’t physically raise your hand, but you were thinking “yes”.  For many, despite having extra time on their hands, the repetitive cycle of eat, watch TV, procrastinate about doing the […]

If you type ‘effect of the pandemic…”, “effect of Covid19…”, or “effect of lockdown…” into Google, the top suggestion always ends in “on mental health”.  A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlights that in late March 2020, 49.6% of people reported strong feelings of anxiety and anxiety scores averaged at 5.2 out of 10, […]