educational campaign, “The Potato Story” (sponsored by McCain)

Here are some scary statistics : After surveying 1,500 UK kids (aged 7-11) in February 2009, results revealed that 1 in 10 children aged 7 – 11 think chickens lay potatoes ! 1 in 5 have no idea that potatoes are grown in the ground. 1 in 5 didn’t realise that chips are made from the humble spud. Jamie Oliver eat your heart out !

Child psychologist Richard Woolfson believes understanding provenance and preparation is crucial in teaching children about healthy eating : "Lack of food knowledge and a misunderstanding of what constitutes 'healthy food' may have a serious impact on the eating habits of children." With child obesity such a serious problem, something needs to be done.

The Potato Story is an unbranded educational initiative developed by McCain Foods (GB).

Focusing on food provenance, The Potato Story uses the journey a potato makes from 'field to fork' to teach children in a fun, interactive and engaging way. The story focuses on how potatoes are grown and harvested, as well as the nutritional benefits of potatoes and the role they play in an overall balanced diet.

Believe it or not, this is a teacher on the slide - who said it was just for kids ?!

“The Potato Story” bus is touring the UK and is scheduled to visit 30 schools from now until mid November to educate children about food provenance, from field to fork. But you can also get involved at home. The Potato Story website has loads of ideas for activities to do at home, including fun and healthy potato based recipes, advice on how to grow your own potatoes and multiple choice quiz games.

Sounds like a great way to while away a rainy afternoon during the upcoming school holidays to me !

Soft Touch Cotton/Natural Silk Washable Breast Pads

I think I must have slight Earth Mama/hippy tendencies ! I love babywearing (that's using a baby-carrier, in case you were wondering !), breastfeeding, I even considered using washable nappies but couldn't go that far in the end - sorry, convenience counts too !

One easy change you CAN make to take a step further on the zero waste path however is swapping from disposable breastpads to washable ones. For those of you who have never breastfed, you need little absorbent pads in your bra to mop up leaky boobs and stop you looking like you're entering a wet T-shirt contest ! Every single time you give baby a feed, the side that he/she is not feeding from leaks milk, so you can imagine how many breast pads you get through, especially if you breastfeed for the recommended 6 months or longer. According to the Carriwell website : " On average, women will use approximately 3000 disposable breast pads. " Wow, that's a lot of landfill - and a lot of money too.

Another thing I never used to like about using disposable breast pads is that some of them contain an absorbent jelly to mop up the milk. On several occasions in the past, the film split and leaked this jelly-stuff everywhere, which is something you don't always notice if it's a night-feed with very little light. The manufacturers claim it is perfectly safe even if baby does ingest a small amount but even so ...

So what are your choices ? Well, Carriwell offers a choice of two types of washable breast pad : cotton and silk.

According to the website, "Soft Touch Cotton Washable Breast Pads have high absorbency, a breathable leak proof layer and natural unbleached fabric. Natural Silk Washable Breast Pads are the ultimate breast pads for the treatment or prevention of cracked nipples. The natural anti-inflammatory properties in silk, sooth cool and heal sensitive and sore nipples."

I've tested both this week and I couldn't honestly tell much difference between them, but I'm not suffering from sore nipples so that may be why ! I washed both lots and they both survived the washing machine and tumble drier and came out in perfect condition.

Price-wise, you can buy a pack of 6 cotton pads for £6.49 or 6 silk-pads for £9.99. When you compare that to the average £5 for a box of 50-or-so top brand disposable breast pads, you'll quickly be saving money - and helping out the planet at the same time.


star rating : 5/5

e² - Matt Beaumont

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the office" ... e² is the sequel to e (funnily enough !), which I haven't read, but that didn't stop me hugely enjoying the book.

The originality of the novel resides in the fact that it is entirely written in emails, text messages, chat messages and blog posts and I must admit, I was sceptical of this just being a gimmick that wouldn't really work. How could the author develop characters rounded enough to keep us interested if there's absolutely no narration ? The answer is - very easily !

In the madcap world of the Meerkat360 ad agency, messages - some professional, some personal - are forever flying around in cyberspace, revealing the ups and downs of not just the employees but also their nearest and dearest. It makes me wish I could be a fly on the wall - or maybe a little (computer) mouse on the desk - in the IT department of any big company. We get to discover some real office oddballs, my particular favourites being the wonderfully naive "double H" Harvey Harvey (yes that it is his name - to steal a line from the book, I haven't developed "keyboard stutter" !), who replies to all the spam messages from scammers and pornbots taking everything at face value, and Caroline Zitter, whose entire presence throughout the book is in automated OutofOffice replies.

The office politics and crazy shenanigans stay on just the right side of the believable - totally ridiculous dividing line, which makes it even funnier, because pretty much anyone who has ever worked in an office environment will recognise at least some of the traits of their colleagues in the Meerkat360 employees. The appalingly bad taste publicity campaigns are hilarious and even when the characters are facing personal tragedies or having suicidal thoughts, it will have you laughing out loud.

It looks like a long read - there are over 500 pages - but the short messages mean you can dip in and out of it when you have a spare moment - and the sheer lunacy of the story will keep you reading much longer than the couple of minutes you originally intended. The words "hilarious new novel" figure on the front cover and for once, the book actually delivers what it promises.

e² - maybe that stands for Excellent to the power of two !

star rating : 5/5

Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Bantam Press (14 Aug 2009)
ISBN-10: 059306478X
ISBN-13: 978-0593064788

RRP : £11.99

The Ginger People - ginger sweets and chews

Ginger is an acquired taste and most people either love it or hate it. I'm not keen on ginger in cooking but I do like ginger beer. Sophie, age 8, and Juliette, age 4, don't like ginger beer but will happily munch away on gingerbread men. And Mike will eat pretty much anything anyway !! So when the three different varieties of ginger sweets arrived, I told everyone to taste one of each with an open mind and see what they thought.

First up was Gin-Gins Spicy Ginger Hard Sweets - "Sweet-hot ginger confection : Strong, fiery and delicious !" Despite the word fiery on the packet, these were the ones that everybody thought were the mildest and they liked the most. You can easily stash a few of the individually wrapped sweets in a pocket or bag, which is very handy. They're great to suck - I want to try these out on our next long car journey to see if they help alleviate the girls' travel sickness. The website says, "Double strength hard ginger candies made with all natural ingredients. Enjoy as an after dinner digestive or a throat lozenge to both warm and soothe. "

Next was the Original Ginger Chews - "Sweet-hot soft ginger confection : Spicy, chewy and delicious !" The jury is out on this one ! When I first started chewing, I said "ohh it's got the texture of a Jelly Baby" but within a few chews, it felt a bit strange and Mike said it was more like chewing a slug !!! Sophie ran around the room going "aaaggghhh my mouth is on fire !" but then came back and asked if she could have another one !! Juliette pulled a funny face and spat her one in the bin. They're hot and warming when you swallow the juice and I'm sure they would be great if you were suffering from a sore throat. They're a bit sticky and messy when you unwrap them though so are not so good for young children to eat on their own. The website says : " America's #1 selling ginger candy and winner of Fiery Food Association's Scovie Award for "Best Candy," our Original Ginger Chews are natural, stimulating and delicious. Given ginger's queasy-quelling properties, Ginger Chews are great to fight off nausea while flying boating or going on a bumpy road trip. Surprisingly and satisfyingly spicy. The only candy that bites you back! "

Lastly, we tried Gin-Gins Boost : The Traveler's Candy. Taste-wise, we couldn't really taste any difference or heat to the first ones, the hard candy. Texture-wise, they're slightly chewier as opposed to crunchy. After looking on the website, I discovered that they contain "a whopping 30% fresh ginger - our most potent candy yet! " Hmmm maybe our tongues were still anaesthetised after the ginger chews !! On the website it says, "Fondly referred to as our “little potion for the motion,” Gin Gins BOOST is a super-delicious, super-soothing candy packed with a whopping 30% fresh ginger - our most potent candy yet! You'll enjoy its softer texture and warm ginger kick. If you or someone you know suffers from motion sickness, give this tasty little candy a try. Call it a little traveler’s insurance to help make your next journey the most comfortable yet."

Whether or not you like the taste of ginger, you have to admire the company's credentials. It's still run as a family-owned-and-operated business with two state-of-the-art ginger factories in Australia and California, and they continue to use small-scale artisan-style techniques to maintain the highest quality and the best possible taste for their products.

I would definitely recommend trying these sweets if you suffer from any form of sickness. As I mentioned above, I want to test them on car journeys with the girls and I really wish I'd some at hand during my morning sickness. And if you love the taste of ginger, you won't even need an excuse to munch your way through a pack anyway !

star rating : 4/5

More info online at : http://www.gingerpeople.com/

Gin-Gins are available at most health food stores including Holland & Barrett

Carriwell Pregnancy/Nursing Comfort Bra - ideal for sleeping

2 & 1/2-month-old Pierre has started sleeping through the night every second or third night - yay !! Unfortunately, my boobs haven't realised this yet and start leaking milk everywhere at about 3am when he used to have a feed ! After a couple of nights of leaping out of bed and running to the bathroom with Niagara Falls cascading down my nightshirt, I decided to sleep in my bra, but even without underwiring, it's not at all comfortable because the clips at the back or on your shoulders dig into your skin if you lie in the wrong position. I tried sticking breast pads directly on to my nightshirt but I must wriggle about a lot in my sleep because they invariably ended up in totally the wrong place or, even worse, the sticky bit ended up stuck to my skin - big ouchies for pulling it off later, they stick much better to skin than to nightshirts !

So when I was given the opportunity to test the Carriwell Comfort Bra - "soft bra ideal for everyday wear, sleeping and nursing" - I jumped at the chance. When it arrived, in a small plastic pouch, I ripped it open and was most unimpressed - it looked pretty much like a sock rolled up ! I unrolled it and it looked tiny, there was no way I was ever going to fit in that ! So I balled it back up until bedtime.

As I was getting changed for bed, I decided to give it a go and was amazed at how stretchy it is. Despite looking tiny, it did fit - perfectly. A bit like a boob tube with straps, you just pull it on over your head. It is clingy enough to give lift and support in all the right places but is not so tight it's uncomfortable or restrictive. I looked in the mirror and it even looked good, perfectly hugging your curves which is almost unheard of in maternity bras, because the volume of your boobs changes so much, even on a daily basis, that it's impossible to get the perfect fit. I popped in a couple of breast pads and the clingy material meant they stayed put.

It's so comfortable that when I was getting changed the next morning, I'd totally forgotten I was even wearing it ! It feels like a second skin and the breast pads hadn't moved a millimetre during the night. When I needed to feed Pierre, I just pulled up the stretchy material on one side, which had plenty of leeway.

It would be a fantastic bra for during pregnancy because the stretchy, clingy material would be able to follow the evolution of your growing bump (or should that be bumps - it's not just your tummy that grows !! ) It's also so soft that it would be perfect for anyone with sore boobs in the first, often painful, days of breastfeeding. The white one is a bit transparent so if you want to hide your modesty, go for the black !

star rating : 5/5

price (on amazon) : £8.95 - £10.95

Being Dad DVD

I've just had baby number 3 so I guess you could say I'm an old hand at the whole pregnancy business, but there are always new things that crop up that you suddenly realise you didn't know anything about. Whether it's a symptom, a health issue, a new product, a medical procedure, you can go straight on to any one of a huge number of websites to get all the answers you could possibly ever need - netmums, mumsnet, mumslikeyou, askamum ... Which is great - but what about if you're a dad ? Even the more neutral sounding ones, like raisingkids, ukparentslounge, thebabywebsite, etc are 99% full up of mums if you venture on to the forums. I suppose part of the reason is that mums are on maternity leave in the weeks or, in the case of health issues, months leading up to the birth so they have plenty of time to go online and get chatting to all the other mums and mums-to-be in the same situation. It's fantastic to have a support network of people going through exactly the same things at the same time.

But what do you do if you're a dad-to-be ? They probably have just as many questions, if not more, and - men being men - they won't ever admit to not knowing something or being scared or just feeling totally at a loss ! And (with hindsight I can admit this !) mums-to-be have so many hormones raging around their body that they're probably not at their most patient and reassuring and rational, so if the men actually sit down and try to ask lots of questions to their partners, they'll probably just get their heads bitten off anyway. They end up so scared of saying the wrong thing that they just stop saying anything slightly risky and make do with non-committal "hmmmms" to every possible question or conversation !! Not the best way to feel united and mutually-supportive during the whole pregnancy !

I watched the Being Dad DVD three months after having our third baby and it had me laughing pretty much the whole way through. It was a real eye-opener for me too ! I thought that if you got a group of men together around a few pints, the conversation would inevitably centre on sport, cars, work and that scantily-clad young lady over at the bar ! Well, who'd have thought it !! They actually have "girlie gossip" sessions about life, love and the universe just like we do - the only thing missing is the family-sized bar of chocolate and the cheeky references to George Clooney and Brad Pitt in the nude ! It's hilarious to be a fly-on-the-wall and listen in as they talk candidly about pregnancy and birth from the male point of view. They're brutally honest and their no-holds-barred discussions break down every taboo. The DVD even touches on miscarriage and stillborn babies, tough times for both parents but from which the dads often feel excluded and ignored when it comes to the grieving process. They're not physically involved but mentally, they're still going through the same processes, but without the whole support network that concentrates on supporting mum. Seeing the dads give their viewpoint and share their experiences is touching and poignant.

For the dads-to-be, they can listen in and realise that they are not the only men to have all these doubts and questions, so it's a huge relief to find out that they are perfectly normal ! It was fascinating to have the male-oriented expert information too - I'd never even wondered about the science behind pregnancy-tests but now I know how it works ! I cracked up at one dad saying he did a test himself too, just to be sure it really worked !! It's a great way to open up communication between mums- and dads-to-be and help ease some of the tensions and misunderstandings that inevitably arise during the emotional minefield of pregnancy.

The DVD follows Australian dad-to-be Troy and his partner throughout the pregnancy and birth. Just to reassure the guys, there are no yucky images to sit through ! It's informative but above all funny so although most men (if they're anything like mine ! ) will probably come to it thinking it's an obligatory boring DVD they have to sit through to prove they're taking this pregnancy seriously, I can pretty much guarantee you'll have a very enjoyable 90-minutes of viewing time together. They should show this at all ante-natal classes instead of the usual birthing technique videos !

RRP : £19.99

star rating : 5/5

Find Your Strongest Life : What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently - Marcus Buckingham

After reading the title and the blurb on the back, I came to this book with a few preconceived ideas and they all turned out to be wrong. It seemed to be very "American" in its presentation and ideologies and I wasn't sure it would appeal so much to a British readership (including me), but it turns out that Marcus Buckingham, despite living in Los Angeles and being extensively featured on Oprah, is in fact originally from Britain. The words "successful women" on the front cover also left me expecting an overly-"feminist" approach, pushing women to stake their claims in the boardroom and be, as the title suggests, "the strongest" in their professional life.

But I was wrong ! Finding your "strongest life" isn't about being a strong, powerful, career-driven person, it's about discovering what your strengths are - your hidden talents and passions - and working out how to make your life focus around them so that you can be happy and fulfilled. This may be in a professional sense but it may also mean staying at home as a full-time mum, or throwing in a high powered career to become a volunteer, or having a complete career-change, or whatever else makes you happy.

Most self-help books seem to churn out the same old advice but this book did give me a few ideas I'd never considered before. It starts off with some general presentation and myth-busting. "Women today are less happy than they were 40 years ago despite having more choices." OK, nothing ground-breaking there - but the difference is in how it gets women thinking about how they can make themselves happier. "Myth - Women are good at multi-tasking and it helps them get everything done". This is one myth that I adhere too - I am the self-proclaimed queen of multi-tasking ! - but apparently that's a bad thing. You can't focus properly on each task and your IQ drops by ten points when you try to do two things at once (the equivalent of losing one night's sleep or more than double the effect of being stoned !!) so it actually slows you down. Hmmm that probably makes sense actually - how many times have I let the toast burn because I've started quickly tidying the kitchen while I wait for it to cook ?! Also, multi-tasking leads to you feeling drained, overloaded and stressed - so why do it to yourself ? When I actually sat down and thought about this, that made sense too. On Saturday afternoon, like every Saturday, Mike (my husband) went to do the weekly shop. While he was gone, I simultaneously rebooted the bread machine, the dishwasher and the washing machine, supervised Sophie doing her homework, while drawing up "special homework worksheets" for little sister Juliette so she'd feel involved and behave herself, while feeding baby Pierre and tidying up the dining table while working out what to cook for dinner for the next week. So when he got back home, after spending just as much time as me doing "chores", I was tired out and felt that he should offer to take over now, because I'd done so much more and deserved a rest - which isn't really fair when you think about it !!

Despite enjoying the content, I was a little less enthralled by the book's structure. The "What to take away from this chapter" summaries at the end of each chapter made me feel like I was reading a school textbook and made it very repetitive if you'd read the whole chapter (we're only talking about a few pages) just before. It also led me to skip over certain parts that I was less interested in and jump straight to the summarised points. It is handy though for quick reference once you've read the book and want to find certain passages again.

The book also mentions and advises you to take "the strong life test", to work out which category of people you fit into so that this can help you find your "strengths". Are you an Advisor, Caretaker, Creator, Equalizer, Influencer, Motivator, Pioneer, Teacher or Weaver ? The subsequent chapters take each category in turn and give you ideas and guidelines to find fulfilment. The problem is, this test is only available online - at StrongLifeTest.com - so if you're reading this book anywhere you don't have access to internet - and let's face it, not everyone has internet access - you're stuffed !

The final chapters look at some specific circumstances and offer advice and ideas (as it says over and over again, each person has to find their own answers, and their own "strengths" so there are no "onse size fits all" solutions) - for example, How do I persuade my partner to support me in a career change ? What do I do if motherhood weakens me ? How do I make decisions I don't regret ?

I actually found this book empowering because I told me I didn't have to be powerful. It's like someone holding up their hand to you and saying, come down off that pedestal, you don't have to be the Perfect Mum, the Perfect Wife, the Supreme Household Organiser while holding down a high-powered, highly paid job and keeping a permanent grin on your face - just look at what makes you feel happy and fulfilled and ditch the rest. I'm not overly convinced that it is that simple, but the book does give you lots of sensible, "do-able' advice if you are prepared to take the plunge.

star rating : 4/5


RRP: £18.99 hardback (£9.99 paperback but not yet available in the UK)

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Nelson Books an imprint of Thomas Nelson Publishers (Oct 2009)

ISBN-10: 1400202361
ISBN-13: 978-1400202362

Beginning... by Maclaren - Protecting Nappy Change Balm

Before I even opened the tube, I loved the little phrases written on it - "beginning ... the journey of life", " MACLAREN - what a mother wants, what a baby needs", "purity, nurturing and connection ... from the beginning". Yes, I know it's only advertising but it made me feel good about the product before I even got inside the packaging !!

I have to admit, I knew all about the brand Maclaren but I thought they only specialised in prams and pushchairs ! How wrong was I ?! They also have a whole range of baby lotions and potions, all of which look absolutely gorgeous.

The blurb on the tube says : "Beginning holistic personal care products have been made with natural and organic ingredients, as well as 100% pure essential oils, in proportions that are safe for use during pregnancy and infancy". The nappy change balm is made "with a special blend of organic lavender, German chamomile, shea butter and aloe, to soothe and protect baby's bottom".

On to the testing, the first thing that hit me (in a good way ! ) was the lovely lavender smell. We get so brainwashed that baby products have to be scent-free that it's nice to actually find something that is gentle yet smells delicious. And lavender has soothing properties so hopefully it might help with calming baby and helping him sleep through the night. That would definitely be an added bonus !!

Unlike most nappy creams, the balm is quite light and similar to a mousse in texture. It isn't always completely absorbed by the skin but the excess can be wiped off easily the next time you change the nappy and it does seem to help soothe and hydrate the skin. Two-month-old Pierre had some slight redness when I first applied the balm and by the next nappy change, it had totally cleared up. Unlike lots of thick stodgy barrier creams, it doesn't feel at all greasy or gritty and it's easy to clean off your fingers - in fact, it smells so lovely, I rub the excess into my skin as hand cream !

It's pricey at £15 for 250ml but it is lovely and a little goes a long way so the tube will last for absolutely ages.

star rating : 5/5

Gold and Fishes - Donna Carrick

When the World Trade Center was destroyed in September 2001, 2,750 people lost their lives. When Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997, 3 people lost theirs. And every year on the anniversaries of these tragic events, TV stations and magazines and online chat forums are full of tragic documentaries, photos and messages to commemorate the victims. Dozens of books have been written about the circumstances before, during and after these tragedies, with numerous eye witnesses', survivors' and simple acquaintances' contributions. Every aspect of these horrific events has been scrutinised from every possible angle, time and time again. And yet, when the Boxing Day 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people, the media circus died down within a few weeks. Very little was shown about the impact of the tragedy once the clean-up operation was finished. There are no commemorative TV documentaries on the anniversary. Maybe natural tragedies are less media-friendly than man-made ones ? Maybe the timing was unfortunate and nobody wants to watch pictures of suffering and tragedy as they chow down on their Christmas turkey ?

Whatever the reason, I came to this book with very little background knowledge, aside from the constant TV pictures of people desperately clinging on to the tops of palm trees as the mud and water destroyed everything in their path. I was slightly concerned that the author would somehow exploit the victims' stories, but she avoids sensationalism while depicting the absolute tragedy of their tales - in fact, she even criticises in passing the sellers of tacky tsunami Tshirts in Thailand.

This is a work of fiction but Donna Carrick has done some thorough research and presents us with a highly detailed depiction of the apocalyptic aftermath of the tsunami. It was a real eye-opener for me and gave me some serious food for thought. I was largely unaware of the political backdrop with groups of insurgent rebels, a thriving black market for stolen humanitarian aid parcels and pervading corruption at all levels. The individuals' tales are heart-breaking : whole families wiped out, the total lack of children in the survivors' tents because they were too small to outrun the wave, victims buried in mass graves which could not respect the Muslim tradition of the dead facing Mecca, amputees who, for the rest of their lives, risked the stigma of being taken for thieves having undergone the traditional punishment for stealing in Muslim law ...

As well as portaying the victims and survivors, the author gives us a fascinating glimpse into life as a humanitarian aid worker. I had never considered the hostility and danger of this occupation before reading this book. I was certainly a lot more knowledgeable about the human and political stories once I'd reached the final page. The whole story is haunting and tragic, but we also see the bravery and resilience of the survivors and the aid workers.

My only slight criticism is that the blurb on the back of the book doesn't really reflect the book as a whole. New York Times best selling author Ellen Tanner Marsh is quoted as saying : "Author Donna Carrick pens an exciting blend of murder, mystery, disaster and rescue". It IS all there but the murder and mystery are such minor elements that they hardly seem worth mentioning. The main focus - and the main interest of the book - lies in the description of the humanitarian aid workers and the people they help.

Each of the characters has a colourful enough background to have their own book written about them - in particular I would love to see Ayla and Zonnie appear in another novel and find out more about their harrowing childhood. The downside of this is that some elements seem overly condensed - the love affair between Ayla and Kenny is squashed into a few pages and the whole murder/mystery aspect is covered in just a few paragraphs. It's almost a shame to "waste" them here - the aid workers'/victims' experiences are enough to carry the book by themselves, and the other elements (the murder, the love affair, the childhood trauma ...) could have been more fully developed in another novel.

It's a fascinating read with believable characters and a lot of detail, based on fact, that gives the reader a real insight into the consequences of the tsunami. It's a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives.

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Booksurge Llc (27 Jul 2006)
ISBN-10: 1419641859
ISBN-13: 978-1419641855

star rating : 4.5/5

Pens Envy ! What little girls are really lusting after !

No, I didn't accidentally miss out a letter or become a psychoanalyst ! It's what happens when little girls go back to school and start comparing the contents of their pencil cases ! They always lust after the designer labels - and for little girls, that means anything they've seen on TV - and the more glittery, sparkly, cute, pink or scented, the better. So Sophie was ecstatic when she got these funky little stationery items to show off to her friends !

First up, those clever people at Henkel have obviously realised just how much little girls love cutesy feminine stationery and have come up with a whole range for them. Called "Just 4 Girls !", it basically takes all the office/classroom classics and gives them a makeover - think pink ! The bright pink Sellotape dispenser didn't actually make it out of the house ! I pinched that one for the computer desk where it looks much prettier than our old office reject one - yes, Mums are allowed to suffer from Pens Envy too !! And the Pritt stick is actually very clever - it's pink in the tube but goes on clear. You'd think Sophie had learnt some great new magic trick with the way her friends apparently oohed and aahed over this little feat of sticky magic !! I have to admit that I had been won over by cheaper own-label supermarket glue sticks and the smell of a "real" Pritt Stick was really reminiscent of school ! I have to admit, it does stick better than the cheap alternatives too so you do get what you pay for.

It's great having all this funky stationery but you also need somewhere to stash it all and this microphone-shaped pencil case apparently ticked all the right boxes as far as Sophie was concerned. It has the all-important (to 8-year-olds) TV endorsement with the X-Factor logo emblazoned on the front and is roomy enough to fit all the essentials in easily. One little thing that could have been slightly better is the length - it's 26cm long which is only a few centimetres shorter than a standard 30cm ruler, so for just a smidgeon of extra fabric, they could have made it big enough to accommodate that too. But Sophie wasn't at all worried about that - she was too busy singing into her pencil case as she danced around the room doing a Leona Lewis impression ! And to think I had to make do with singing into my hairbrush in front of the mirror when I was her age !! Available at Rymans, it costs a very reasonable £3.99.

And, also from Rymans, this very cute keychain notebook with mini pink gel pen. Let me summarise here in a few words - pink ... hearts ... cute animal .... sold ! Just ask any 8-year-old girl if you don't believe me. Sophie wanted to attach it to her pencil case and take it to school but I had visions of it being used for "psssst pass it on" notes behind the teacher's back (she's thankfully too young to have progressed on to sending sneaky text messages in the classroom yet) so she had to leave it at home. She did stash the pink pen in her pencil case to show her friends though ! Available from Rymans, there are a whole range of Paul Frank Love items and, as they are all well within pocket money prices (starting at just 99p), I think Sophie will probably end up with the whole range.

star rating : 5/5