I was swimming in the heated, sea water infinity pool at the Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, looking out across the Mediterranean Sea. There was pink dye in my hair so I had rolled it on top of my head and was swimming with sunglasses on my nose. Breaststroke, quite fast (if […]
The Best Things About Being A Single Mum
Being a single mum is brilliant. I wanted to just let that sentence have its own line because usually it is caveated. ‘Being a single mum is brilliant, but…’. ‘Being a single mum isn’t all bad but it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do.’ It’s not that the statement doesn’t […]
4 Lockdown Activities That Aren’t Terrible
Are there really at-home activities that four-year-olds and adults can both enjoy?
Dear Single Mums, In Case You Need to Read This Right Now
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a pretty shit day. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, a lot of you will have had a worse one. These are strange and unprecedented times. Dark, scary and unsettling times. As a single mum, the thought of further isolation […]
CBeebies is my Co-Parent: Don’t Break Up Our Family
It’s the top trump card for BBC chairman Sir David Clementi. His ‘OK kids, if this behaviour doesn’t stop, I’m cancelling Christmas’. Every time the license fee is under threat or the BBC is rattled, we’re reminded that it could mean the end for CBeebies. Forget BBC One, sod the […]
The Single Mother Project: Marriage Story
It has been almost two years since I last posted a single mother project film analysis* here. What can I say? Single mothers are flaky, unreliable and very, very busy. *Yes, analysis is perhaps an overstatement. But I watched a film last night that moved me to the extent of […]
Free (& Very Cheap) Summer Holidays Activities for Families
Free (& very cheap) summer holidays activities for kids & families National Play Days From street parties to group woodland explorations, National Play Days happen on Wednesday 7 August, with a host of free family activities to join in with across the country. Check out www.playday.org.uk for your nearest event […]
Guest Post: Single Parent Stigma & Why It Shouldn’t Exist
Thanks so much to Jude Peppis-Clay (@gluingcheese) for this guest post on single parent stigma, and why we need to turn this negative stereotype on its head… When I decided to leave my husband in 2017, one thing was on my mind. I would become a single parent. We cobbled […]
A Single Mum’s Guide to (Not) Dating
‘How do you date as a single mum?’ This is a question I not only get asked quite a lot, but also hear being discussed in online-single-mum-world. (Side note, online-single-mum-world deserves a much less tragic moniker because it’s actually a great place to hang out.) I’ve been listening to Alright […]
Surviving the School Holidays as a Single Parent
Today I received an email titled: ‘Single parents buckle under half-term pressure’. Something negative happening to single parents, you say? Shocking. The Equifax release detailed how the financial strain on single parent households is exacerbated during the school holidays with 1 in 5 single parents reportedly calling in sick to […]