Leaf Peeping | New England Family Roadtrip

We left for our autumnal road trip in mid-October. I was a bit concerned that this might be too late to catch the best of the New England Fall annual spectacular but my concerns were not warranted. In fact, if anything, we had hugely underestimated just how beautiful and captivating this particular road trip would be.

We managed to get very cheap flights, again with Norwegian Air, from Edinburgh Scotland to T.F Green Rhode Island. A direct 8 hour flight advertised as Boston ...

Black Forest Family Roadtrip with Kids

In August 2018 we, embarked on a family road trip holiday to The Black Forest. A beautiful corner of Germany that has so much to offer families, the region is Baden-Württemberg and it's famous for beautiful mountainous forests, tranquil country villages and of course Black Forest gateaux.

Best of all we found it very accessible from the UK - inexpensive (especially considering we travelled in high season) and not very crowded at all. The region offers many...

Southwest USA Family Roadtrip with Kids

In February 2019 my family and I embarked on a mini-Southwest Road trip of the United States – I say "mini", because I am now more educated on the vast distances of the southern USA.

We left from London Gatwick via Norwegian Airlines – this airline does not enjoy the best reputation however they did exactly what we wanted them to do, and they did it well. In fact, without their extremely competitive prices, this whole trip may not have bee...

Grown Up Fun... I Promise

I am now a grown up. It's true, it happened. It has nothing to do with my age - so you needn't prepare yourself for some anguish ridden litany lamenting the passing of the years. In fact, I'm actually quite relaxed about the whole thing.

What has brought on this epiphany? It's probably not what you're thinking. Sure, there probably have been at least a few indicators before now, I agree. I have a mortgage. I own a house. That's pretty grown up, right? I have to maintain it, too; I have to spend money on it. ...

Involved fatherhood is good for children, good for fathers and good for society

Involved fatherhood is good for children, good for fathers and good for society.

Don't tell me you didn't know this...

I would think that most people would have known this intuitively - certainly if they are parents - but, for the first time, an analysis of almost 700 studies on the subject from every nation for which data is available has concluded this empirically to be true.

The first ever Stat...

Buy a banger! (Ode to Small Car)

There are so many reason to not own an old banger.

We've just had to say good-bye to our old banger. Not the family car - that still lives on in all of its dull, practical glory. No, this was a 15-year-old fiesta, the second car used for the short hops, hurried stops, short skips and single-person trips; a motorised trolley to get me to work and back; the town niparound getting us to swimming lessons, to the supermarket and back home again....

How To Not Suck At Throwing A Kids Party

Shortly after my wife and I were married, we went to stay with an old university friend of hers and her boyfriend. I knew this university friend reasonably well - we had all hung out together on a few occasions - but I knew very little of her boyfriend, and what I did know of him was that he was quite shy. At some point during our stay, my wife and her friend were going to be going off to do some shopping and have a good old one-to-one catch-up, leaving me and this virtual stranger to our own amusements for an indeterminate number of hours. ...

12 First-World Transport Problems

12 First-World Transport Problems

We all know what it's like when life seems hard, when the road ahead seems full of red-lights, when the world seems to conspire against you.

Our affluent lifestyle here in the first-world seems seldom to protect us from the, frankly, unfair and faintly prejudicial adversity from which we should expect immunity, given our prosperity.

How much more difficult it is when your bad luck is aired for the world to see.

Let's take a moment to mourn for these tortured sou...

7 Simple, Instant Money Saving Parents Tip - without selling your child for the £30 per day it costs to raise them

7 Simple, Instant Money Saving Parents Tips - without selling your child for the £30 per day it costs to raise them

Let's get the silliness over first. Tips on saving on child-rearing costs:

1. Spend it all on a one-bedroom flat in Harrow
...
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10 Reasons Why Living With Toddlers Is Like Living As A Student Again

An interesting debate arose in the office a few days ago: "Which is easier:; living with toddlers, or living with students?"

They come at completely different times in life, and our relationship with them is different - I relish the challenges of my children much more than the challenges of housemates!

For sure, they both carry the same degree of patience, along with the expected spats that you come to anticipate while sharing a domestic enclosure... and... in fact, they are pretty similar.

Feel free to add to this list i...

Eccentric Britain - Roadside pictures

These great pictures will give the brits something to smile at... and the rest of the world some vindication of the bizarre beliefs of British culture.

As reported in the telegraph, these eccentric images of traditional roadside services across the country were taken by Sam Mellish. Some beautiful, some strange, all wort...

Introducing Parents To Cars

Twelve years ago, I was driving around in a Mk4 Ford Escort. A shed with a wheel at each corner, it was 14 years old before I even bought it - and, yes, it was the estate version (in my defence, I was playing in a band at the time and it was useful for hauling kit around the place). It was a terrible car: the (...