We sadly received news today that one of our trade customers - a small gift shop - had called in the receivers. After 15 years of trading they were finding times too tough to continue. There was a list of reasons why life was tough for them including internet shopping / low foot fall / high car-parking charges - the...

Thursday 9th October has been dubbed ‘super Thursday’ by bookshops as the big titles go on sale in the race for the Christmas bestseller … and bookshops are hoping to cash in as they try to fight back against the ever decreasing business most are seeing. At from you to me I also think it is a ‘super Thursday’ as...

Whilst September 11th is a poignant day for many people, for my family it is a day of love and hope for today we celebrated the arrival of the latest member of our family baby Jack. What makes this more special is that Jack arrived in our world on his Daddy's birthday and this time my nephew was able to...

National Writing Project Back at school this week, children are not only being asked to read lots of books, but to write their own too. Many teachers are asking children to write their own novel and – get this – to write it in one month! This is part of the USA’s National Writing Project and we could learn from this. This carefree...

For every joyous family moment there’s a pang of pain. This summer sees two big moments in our family. A house move from the home where my son was born, and the preparations for my daughter starting big school.   As with most house moves there have been several trips to the local recycling centre. Families with younger children have had the pleasure of several...