... and the winner is .....

... not having won anything since the age of 8 ( colouring - in competition , Woman' Own magazine circa 1966 - prize - painting by numbers set of galloping horses ) , imagine my surprise when I was short-listed for a recent competition I entered at Mumsnet's recent WorkFest event . I'd had to record a 30' elevator pitch explaining what I did for a living and how this would be helped if I won the prize up for grabs -  a Honda CRV car for a year.

Not one to shirk a challenge , I scribbled a quick script and plucked up courage to enter the video booth to record my entry. So here I am , 2 weeks later and my video effort has been posted to the Mumsnet site ( along with 4 others) and the winner with the most votes by July 3rd will win !

There now follows a shamless plea for anyone reading this to go vote for me ...


Whilst I'm unlikely to win it , I feel I ought to give it my best shot,

so I'm asking all my friends to vote for my video.

Embarrassed as I am to be displaying my hopeless and cringe-worthy
attempt , I've attached a link to the Mumsnet website below where you
can see the 5 shortlisted videos and at the bottom of the screen you
can vote.

I was pretty chuffed to have been shortlisted , but mortified at the
prospect of having to shamelessly plug my entry ! Drinks are on me when
I next see you ... and apologies in advance for asking you to endure
the video - thankfully it's only 30 seconds long ... and feel free to
laugh out loud at my Honda plug at the end - needs must and all that !
Oh ... one other thing - you have to be a registered Mumsnet user to
vote so here's the link to where you can register . They'll ask you for
your email , a username and a password ... but you can always delete
these afterwards .

http://www.mumsnet.com/register

The videos can be viewed here
http://www.mumsnet.com/competitions/2013/june-2013/honda

...and the voting bit is at the bottom of the page .- deadline next
Wednesday 3rd July and you'll also be entered for a draw to win a £100
John Lewis Gift Voucher. Here's hoping you win too.

Compare and Contrast

Yesterday I went to a conference at Bafta for working Mums - an opportunity to mingle amongst  intelligent women with energy, passion and enthusiasm for their professions and businesses. It was a chance to converse with like-minded mums , eager to advance their careers after maternity leave or pursue new business opportunities, having taken a career break to raise their families.

I met talented and creative women, some whom, co-incidentally, I'd met professionally in my former TV career. We re-lived hilarious tales of glass ceilings, chauvinistic alpha males and incompetent men. The sessions were upbeat, optimistic and thought-provoking and I left feeling energised and motivated, ready to take my so-called career to the next level and tackle whatever challenges may lay ahead.

Today I started teaching at 08.30, worked flat out without a break until well past lunchtime , schlepped to Sainsburys to fill our empty fridge, returned to find all of the alpha males in our house having taken themselves off for lunch without me, hoovered the house from top to bottom whilst they all sat downstairs watching non-stop sport on TV and am now preparing to taxi them all to a restaurant of my husband's choosing so that he can relax on Father's Day.

I'm exhausted just writing this.

Now that's what I call service

On a whim, I ordered some scrap-booking supplies from The Craftz Boutique yesterday afternoon. After placing the order I remembered that I'd wanted something else , emailed Denise the owner and asked if she could possibly add the item. No problem was her reply .
This morning they arrived , less than 24 hours after placing my order, beautifully gift-wrapped with a  gift tag bearing my name.

Now that's what I call service.

Let's hear it for the British Scrapbooking shops who have been having a difficult time these last couple of years. I'll be ordering from the UK from now on ... not that I didn't always ... but I also used to buy a kit from a certain US supplier whose customer service and general demeanour in recent weeks leaves much to be desired. They could learn a thing or two from The Craftz Boutique and our other wonderful Brit suppliers.

A Male Lexicon

Irony : noun ( pl. - nies )
   Painstakingly putting away 8 carrier bags full of supermarket shopping whilst husband     stands watching, telling you about a work colleague who doesn't pull his weight.

Compromise : noun
    An agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by the female partner agreeing to do whatever is required whilst the male partner continues regardless.

Housework : noun
    No definition found. error .. sp?