Hearing about Amanda Holden’s traumatic experiences this week following her baby daughter’s birth is a stark reminder of the potential risks in childbirth.  There is a great assumption in today’s society that firstly we can all have children, and secondly, when it comes to the birth, we can choose to swim with dolphins whilst swinging from a crystal chandelier eating chocolate truffles, if that is what is going to make us happy and gives us a more meaningful experience.  The most important element is the health and safety of the mother and child.

Childbirth is a miraculous thing, but full of potential dangers that can not be ignored.  It’s good to know Amanda is on the mend, and that modern medicine can play such a vital role when in former times there might have been a very different outcome.

Get well soon Amanda, we send  you and baby Holly every good wish.

marigoldx

I’ve always been a fan of mirrors – not for reasons of vanity but for sheer beauty and versatility.  Whatever the style, age or size, they furnish a room like nothing else, creating the feeling of light and space yet warmth and richness.

Whereas once you would have to search high and low in designer furniture shops or sale rooms for something a little different, today it’s easy to find stylish mirrors to satisfy every taste and style at affordable prices.  My favourite one stop shop for ideas is Graham and Green – fabulous mirrors and quirky designes to suit every style and fantasy.  Look at the 36 Facet wall mirror – an investment at £600 but a real talking piece and you’d hardly need anything else in the room. As a complete contrast, the Black and Mother of Pearl inlay mirror is reminiscent of a Morrocan riad.  I’d love to find a home for either, or a corner for the Grey Acanthus leaf  or inset design which bring my dreams of Provence alive.  Probably most  useful  is the Bevelled edge mirror, sharp and clean and easy to fit into any interior.  It’s in my ‘basket’ at the moment but just how long it will stay there until I proceed to checkout I’m not sure.

Log on to www.grahamandgreen.co.uk now to see what I mean – and try not to get too distracted by the other treats in store!

marigold x

Great minds think alike Cupcake – I too have the exact same pair of black Ash trainers!

They are my second pair, the first being a super cool bronze pair which were my default setting last summer.  Warm and cosy with socks on a dull day yet cool with wide legged linen trousers when the temperature rose. And these trainers have edge, sorely lacking in your average high street pair.

Definitely a wardrobe staple and real investment – I too am an Ash fan!

marigold x

It may be winter outside, but in my heart it’s spring…  isn’t that a line in a song?  I’m telling my vintage now!  But honestly, its freezing, freezing, freezing outside and I’ve just taken this image – one perfectly bright and sunny camelia flower with its face turned towards the sun and not showing a single sign of frost, cold or mildew.  I’d love to say its my green fingers but I can’t take any credit at all – this beautiful flower blooming far earlier than expected is due to our extraordinarily mild winter to date.

I’ve just seen irises in full bloom in a neighbour’s garden and my daffodil bulbs look ready to burst into song.

I know we need the cold weather for all our plants, but we all need hope and optimism and nothing spells that more than our gardens opening up to the promise of spring.

marigold x

I’m sure we’re all feeling a few pounds heavier after Christmas, and this time of year is peppered with work out DVD’s, diet tips and the old lose weight fast tricks.  So when I heard the words ‘Downsize in Dubai’ mentioned in the background on a certain morning TV programme, my ears pricked up.  I’m not looking to lose a lot of weight, but find like many women the whole dieting and weight loss industry fascinating.

What I heard reallyshocked me.  Apparently viewers choose the contestants from a shortlist of people whom they feel deserve this ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity’ to go to Dubai, and vote on them.  I work a lot with people who feel they are marginalised by society in some way – be that through weight, looks, disability, race or their financial situation.  The one thing that is imperative for each and every one of us is to be given confidence and self esteem and the belief that we matter to society and  have as much right as anyone else to be part of that.  People that apply to such programmes have no doubt tried and failed before to lose weight, and its fair to say perhaps their levels of confidence and self esteem aren’t the highest.

Given that life is largely a popularity contest, why on earth are these people who are desperate to lose weight being put through the humiliating process of being part of that popularity contest, and voted for?

marigold x

Last Christmas Cupcake and I compiled a list of our Heroes and Villains for the past year – and great fun we had doing it too.  It gave us the perfect opportunity to share some of our finds and favourites and vent our frustrations whilst making us laugh.  So here goes with Marigold’s 2011 list.

HEROES

• Steve Jobs.  What would we all be doing now, and how would our lives be different?  What a loss
• the man who took me to Florence
• Julian Fellowes has to be on my list again – ok Downton Abbey hasn’t had the same magic as last year, but we’re still counting the days until the Christmas special
• all the emergency services
• Environ face products – take a deep breath, write the cheque and go there
• the Military Wives – behind every good man……..
• those who sweep our streets and move our rubbish
• our museums and galleries for giving us the opportunity to view wonders from around the world
• Ocado – I’m dreaming of a peaceful, supermarket free Christmas
• the wonderful therapist who did my semi-permanent eye-liner – no more waking with piggy eyes
• ‘Strictly’ and all who sail in her
• Amazon who sourced a part for my camera when the manufacturer couldn’t
• the donor of my I-pad – one of my favourite gift’s ever
• this should be top of the list – my family and dear friends

VILLAINS

• the Government for making harsh cuts on vulnerable people.  OK, I know we have to tighten our belts, but at what price to those who need it most?
• banks – what happend to customer services and personal contact?
• X Factor.  Enough, please
• heartless people extracting money from the old and vulnerable
• certain energy companies not passing on their profits to loyal customers
• people who sneak into MY car parking space
• oil companies – see above
• people who don’t scoop their dogs’ poop
• the hairdresser who convinced me a fringe was the way to go.  I’m still paying the price of not listening to my instincts

Happy Christmas everyone!

marigold x

is for the internet to stay alive, for my computer to be virus free, and be the first to grab those last minute on-line deals which arrive before Christmas this year, not next.

marigold x



A MOTHER’S MESSAGE

I’m sure many will have breathed a sigh of relief at the news surrounding the possible extradition order of Gary McKinnon.  Gary’s mother fought tirelessly to protect her son, and in so doing raised the profile of Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism and one which is more common than one might think yet still widely misunderstood.

Parents the world over fight to protect their families against injustice.  Whether they are injustices caused by loopholes in the legal system, prejudices in society, cultural differences or funding issues, there is nothing like the passion of a parent to fuel the fight needed to sustain such campaigns.  We need to protect the most vulnerable in our society and those more fortunate have a responsibility to look beyond their comfort zone and face the world in its stark reality.

People who are often marginalised in society are those from whom we learn the most.  They test our qualities of tolerance, compassion, understanding and most of all, love.  I applaud all families who fight for what they believe is right for their loved ones, regardless of how it may make them look.  They deserve as much respect as those they are fighting for.

Marigold x

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT FOR CRIMBLE….. THIS COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH… WE COULDN’T HAVE PUT IT BETTER OURSELVES

Need a little Christmas gift inspiration? Look no further. Wahanda, the world’s leading health, beauty and wellbeing website has announced the launch of a NEW personalised gift finder. This year we can finally say goodbye to hours (or days) of trawling the shops searching for the perfect presents and instead, complete our Christmas gift shopping in just minutes.

Wahanda understands that different people indulge in different ways, which makes finding a unique gift in the festive season a tough job. So if you’re looking for the perfect Christmas present that you can choose in the comfort of your home, with no need to even face the manic high streets or brave the arctic weather, now you can let the experts at Wahanda do the hard work for you.

How does it work? It’s simple: just tell Wahanda’s gift finder who you’re spoiling, pick their personality traits and let their team of experts choose a selection of gifts to enjoy based on the personalities of your friends and loved ones. Whether they’re a beauty addict, fitness fanatic or yoga guru, Wahanda has the perfect gift for everyone.

Gifts include pampering spa days, spa breaks, bootcamps and afternoon teas to name just a few. For more information visit www.wahanda.com

Voted ‘Best Online Beauty Site’ by ELLE UK, Wahanda is the world’s leading marketplace for health, beauty and wellness. With more spas, salons, treatments and practitioners listed than any other site, Wahanda offers an interactive community allowing customers to voice recommendations, write reviews and connect with industry experts. As well as inspiring content, Wahanda offers savings on spa breaks with real-time booking functionality, thousands of health, beauty and fitness offers, daily MobDeals plus their signature Beauty and Spa Gift Vouchers, which are redeemable at over 900 destinations nationwide. Beauty addict, fitness fanatic or yoga guru? Welcome to your new home. www.wahanda.com

AWARDS

Best Beauty Site of 2009 by FabSugar, Voted ‘Best Online Beauty Site’ by ELLE UK, Best Commerce Startup by the Europas and ranked number 38 in Top 100 Startups

Whitewash Christmas

We’ve dusted down our winter coats, set our watches to Strictly O’clock and said goodbye to our summer. There’s a faint smell of nutmeg and cinnamon around, shops and car parks are beginning to throb and I’ve even spotted Santa. This is the time of year to draw the curtains early, throw on another layer and settle down to an evening of TV with comfort cooking and a good book, and feel safe in the age defying properties of low lighting and candles and the knowledge that there is at least 6 months before summer dresses show the signs of an excess of mince pies. And just when we all want to feel safe in a warm and womb like environment, I’ve decided to paint my house white.

I’ve always been a beige/grey/cream/taupe sort of girl. Farrow and Ball could have launched a whole paint range based on my experiences with Homebase and colour charts. My rooms have been frog spawn, dead mouse, cold porridge and Scottish moor. And up until now I’ve really thought they’ve been the dogs bollocks – is that a colour? But essentially I’m a lover of light and try as I might to get that real freshness in to these rooms with bright cushions and accessories (and let’s face it , how many men like cushions everywhere?) my heart and colour chart hankers after the Dulux brilliant white dog and the image of health and vitality it conveyed as it graced our small screens. If you don’t know what I mean, I’m afraid you are showing your untimely youth! Don’t misunderstand me – Farrow and Ball have been one of this country’s great interior design beacons in recent times. Their colours are effortlessly warm and classy and I have no doubts I’ll soon be returning to their tonal shores, but I blame the White Company and their deluge of catalogues, with their beautiful, cool and calm interiors featuring smiley, shiny people, scrubbed and rosy children and abundance of WHITE!

I have no doubts I’m giving myself huge amounts of added stress in the run up to Christmas, but I’m a stubborn and single minded kind of girl who won’t be told. Don’t even try. I, for one, will have a white Christmas.

Marigold xx

Downton Abbey may have had its share of critics over this last series – too many Ad breaks and too fast moving – but last night’s final episode of this series means Sunday nights just won’t be the same.  There can be no better measure of a programme’s success than by knowing it will be sorely missed once over.   Downton has filled a gap in our TV viewing, even though the plots have been somewhat suspect at times, and last night’s script was fairly predictable – sorry Lavinia Swire, you were always going to be the poor relation to those Grantham girls and never going to stay the course.  It has gripped a nation and from what one reads, has gone global - all quite bizarre really that in a world fighting for democracy and equality that so many would be gripped by the ‘above and below stairs’  formula. 

Easy on the eye, full of nostalgia, great humour, relationships a plenty and the glorious Dame Maggie, Downton offers ultimate comfort TV.  A glimpse into a past long gone with more than enough glamour to counteract the reality of the hideousness of war, poverty and lack of central heating and the fascination of how the other half lives, or should I say lived.  It’s Hello magazine in period dress, or Catherine and William without the denim and night clubs.  We want to put the clock back to a more genteel age (genteel for whom, I ask?) yet can’t survive without our daily fix of technology.  In short, we want it all.

Whilst the best TV romance  in recent years has to be the relationship between Harry and Ruth in Spooks, I know I won’t be the only one tuning in to Downton when it returns to see if Matthew and Mary make it up the aisle, whether the mysterious disfigured man returns to claim Edith’s love and if Sybil and Branson find wedded bliss in Dublin.

marigold x

Is ‘passionate’ fast becoming the most overused word in our language?  Wherever you turn, there is someone who is ‘passionate’ about every element of their life.  It’s everywhere, in every walk of life from cooking to pets, children,  jobs and just about everything else you can think of.   As soon as I see or hear the prefix I immediately think its a word used to cover up something else, such as experience, productivity or performance.  Every CV I’ve read of late is peppered with the word passion, contestants on X factor (aged about 12) have been passionate about singing all their lives, businesses are passionate about people (before they make them redundant) and politicians are passionate about their cause – and look where that has got them!

With so much passion about we’re in danger of self combusting!  Enthusiasm is great, but  please lets be realistic and more sincere.

marigold x

Jane Carr, where have you been all my life?  I’m never without a scarf and now that Cupcake has pointed me in your direction, I’m going to have to make sure I’m never without one of yours.

I never thought I’d say this, but roll on Christmas!

marigold x

THIS IS MY LITTLE BEAUTY, cuppa xxxxx

I’ve just received 14 items of post at my home address.  Only 2 were actual letters, the rest junk mail or charity appeals.

In such difficult economic times,  I understand why we’re inundated with junk mail selling everything plus the kitchen sink, and why charities need all the help they can get,  but the only real winners here are the Royal Mail. 

With the eye watering cost of a stamp and the volume of mail they process on a daily basis,  why is their service still so very poor and why does so much get lost or arrive late?

marigold xx