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The One - snugly throws reprised and re-snuggled
My son is a mass of want. A maestrom of need. He needs a new pair of football boots. He needscycling shoes. Cycling shoes??? Really? I bite my lip and resist the urge to say that, in my day, one...
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30 Days xYz - Black Holes and Dark Matter, Holometabolism and Sinewaves - the...
My birthday tends to straggle on, for days, weeks even. I rather like that it isn’t focused on one particular day. It gives me time to adjust to being (numerically, at least) another year older. And...
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The 36 questions you need to ask to fall in love
According to a report in the New York Times, you can fall in love with absolutely anyone. All you have to do is ask the person 36 specific questions. Why these? Apparently it’s all about...
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What type of ice-cream are you? And other questions you might get asked at a...
I can’t remember the last time I went for a job interview so I was amused, and somewhat puzzled, by the kind of questions that are now being asked by potential bosses. None of that old ‘And what do...
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Wake me up - when September ends...
Long time, no blog. I’ve been off with the fairies, dreaming, dozing, delegating my life. Now it’s time to wake up. Why do I never follow my own advice? I took a look in my book The Natural Year...
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Peter Oborne, the Telegraph, travel writing and Queen of Retreats
So, following Peter Oborne’s resignation from the Telegraph there has been a lot of debate about whether there is any form of independent journalism left. He said: ‘It has long been axiomatic in...
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Tazeka Aromatherapy - a dose of optimism, balance and motivation in shiny...
Remember, all those years back, when I talked about flirting? Not about how people flirt (well, not necessarily) but how things can flirt with you? Well, that’s what happened with Tazeka...
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Scorching my ladycarriage by remote at the new VIVA MAYR at Altaussee
So, I was shown round my room at the brand new VIVA MAYR clinic, and it all looked pretty standard. Nice bathroom - all the usual gear except...'The toilet has a remote control,' said my guide with a...
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High-tech and low-choice at VIVAMAYR
Yes, I'm hugely lucky that my job lets me travel so much and go to such incredible places. But, you know, it's not all pampering massages and luscious facials, no sirree. Sometimes you get what you...
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The Pale, Paler, Palest Diet
So, I'm not feeling good. Not good at all. But then, as the charming Dr Sepp Fegerl (the clinic's medical director) says, 'If you want to feel better, you have to feel worse to begin with.' The Mayr...
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How to eat - the Viva Mayr way - for weightloss, energy and good health
I did feel pretty grim during most of my week at Viva Mayr. But then, it was only a week, and one is supposed to take the 'cure' for two or, preferably, three weeks. Over the last couple of days,...
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Abstainer or Moderator? The One Square of Chocolate a Day Test
What I should have had instead of wine and chocolate!So I went down the pub. Had a glass of red wine. So far, so not so bad. Cos, see, the Viva Mayr regime doesn't exclude the odd glass of wine....
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Team Empty or Team Full? On Giving Up...
Now, I don't do Lent. I just don't. But it's been making me wonder about what (or whom or when or where) we give up, and how, and why.It ties in very neatly with this book about habits I've been...
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Dear Thief...
When I was at VIVAMAYR I met a wonderful woman called Carla. We bonded over breakfast, bowels and barren nights of zero sleep. Look, I'm sorry about all this alliteration which is plaguing my posts...
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Raw vegan hot cross buns? Happy Easter Bunday
So. Sometimes when I feel low, lost, alone, I take myself back in mind to places where I felt secure and serene. I know, I know - one should be able to feel secure and serene anywhere - for, really,...
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Wandering around Wigry - travels in Poland with my teenage son
So, my piece on Poland finally appeared in the Mail, nine months after I wrote it. A good gestation, eh? Take a look here.These things always tend to get cut and spliced, squashed and squished into...
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On kindness, L'Ombre Dans L'Eau, care parcels and the sublime LibertyLondonGirl
Kindness. I like kindness. Simple kindnesses smack me in the heart, bowl me over, make me cry. I came back home from a funeral at the weekend. I'd crashed face first into my past and it had brought...
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Web-savvy help needed for hapless numpty
So, there's the thing. Meeting Sasha Wilkins (see previous post) really made me feel like a right numpty. It opened my eyes to what I should have been doing for the longest of times, gave me a kick...
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Bear Grylls The Island (plus Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead and Geordie...
James has been studying hard for his GCSEs. I've been keeping my nose pressed to the screen of my PC trying to work. So, come evening, we like to veg out in front of something on the box. Okay, so we...
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Make your own natural beauty products
'Do you have any recipes for natural cosmetics in your books?' asked Frankie Sachs on Twitter.The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, yes but not really enough to merit buying them purely on...
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