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Taking a 'Tech Shabbat' each Sunday

For a few months now, my family and I have been putting our screens away from Saturday to Sunday evening. Everything goes into a locked box (yes, laptops, phones, i-pads, all of it) and I place the key in a hidden place in case it feels too…
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How to set up a virtual book club for young people

Several weeks ago, I did something I said I'd never do: I joined my first book club. Why was I so against it? I imagine it has something to do with the piles of un-read books lying around my house that I really want to get to. If I desperately…
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A Letter to my Future Grandchildren

Dear Ones, You will ask me stories about what it was like during the time of the virus, just as I asked my own grandparents about the war. I will tell you how at first I didn’t take it too seriously; none of us did. We listened, baffled,…
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The Truth about my Mother on her 75th Birthday

My mother recently celebrated her 75th Birthday and, as one of the gifts I gave her, I decided to write a poem for her. The theme of this year's National Poetry Day was TRUTH, so I used that single word as a starting point for what became my…
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Origami

They stand lined in precise rows on your windowsill, a riot of colour and patterned paper: cranes and standing fans, boats and masu boxes. Your fingers work deftly as you fold the origami squares, your brow furrowing in concentration in the…
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How to take a family gap year

I won runner up prize for The Green Parent writing competition 2018, talking about how we can travel responsibly with our families. Please find the article in full here.
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✳︎ 6 Books for a Compassionate Christmas ✳︎

How is everybody coping as Christmas edges ever closer? I don't know about anybody else, but when December hits and Christmas starts carolling towards us, as much as I love this season, I sometimes feel like burying my head under a pillow and…
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Want to help me write a novel?

As you probably know, I'm travelling round India right now with my husband and three kids (familygappers.com)and lots of people have been asking me, will your next novel be set in India and based on your experiences? The short answer is no,…
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Why I still read aloud to my children

Its been 1.5 years since I wrote my last blog about reading aloud to children, even older children. My kids are now 11,9 & 7 and I thought I’d give an update on what we’re doing now. Well, I’m still reading to my three most nights…
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? Happy International Book Giving Day! ?

International Book Giving Day! It truly does exist! And, bookworm that I am, I cannot resist taking part. This is a day devoted, in their own words to 'getting new, used and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible.' What's…