London Mums Blog

The inspirational Jacqueline Wilson

Nothing ever seems to go on in sleepy old Chiswick so when I heard that there was going to be an influx of great authors, I just had to pop along and see what all the fuss was about.

Luckily I managed to grab a few £3 tickets to a talk from a very popular children’s writer. And off we went to the Chiswick Book Festival last Sunday and attended a session hosted by Jacqueline Wilson.

She was very inspirational. She told the story of how as a teenager she went to study to become a secretary and then found a newspaper ad which was looking for articles from teenagers. She wrote in. She sent them stories. She got paid. She wrote a lot more and then, they gave her a job. It was a job with D C Thomson and she was to write for a new magazine. In fact they named it Jackie magazine, after her sweet self.

Walks in London?

For five years our weekends and most holidays were spent at a tiny coastguard cottage on the Solent. It was in the middle of a row of ten. We shared front gardens with our neighbours on the left and back garden with our neighbours on the right. For some reason the weekenders used the front gardens, which faced the sea, and the full time residents used the back gardens, so we never really had to share at all.  But there were long expanses in the mid winter when we simply didn’t use the cottage and felt guilty when we weren’t there, in fact felt guilty whenever we went anywhere else. When it was cold we couldn’t face the drive, the weather and the wind. We gave it up in January, as it didn’t make sense to be paying for two houses in the middle of a bleak recession.  At first it was exciting to be in London with so much to see and do. I liked tramping the dirty pavements and going to cafes, and seeing random last minute films. There were friends to invite over and museums to visit, but having exhausted trips to the country to stay with out of town friends and with a five year old and an eight year old to keep amused things became tense. Our small garden, (well more of a patio) is not enough to contain them for more than a few minutes. When we had friends over for lunch the other day they spent quite a lot of time playing on the flat roof outside Belle’s room. The adults ate lunch and pretended not to notice or to care about the potentially life threatening situation.

You’ve seen the Changing of the Guards, but what about the Guard’s Museum?

Whether you’re brand new to London or have lived there all your life, “24 Hours: London” has something for you. Catering to everyone from tourists to foodies, shopaholics and spa addicts, this dynamic guide is packed full of well-known and totally unusual things to do in London. You’ve seen the Changing of the Guards, but what about the Guard’s Museum? 

This user-friendly guide gives you opening hours, contact information, travel directions and even tube stops. What makes it unique however, is how the information is presented. Author Marsha Moore breaks down the day, hour by hour, around the clock and gives you the best London has to offer. Jet-lagged and raring to go at 5 in the morning? Bored at 3pm? No problem, Moore has plenty of suggestions. From fish markets to phantom houses, bat-walks to burlesque teas, Marsha Moore covers it all!

Tumbling through life...

Melanie Trevelyn, a fellow mummy blogger, sent me her first novel a while back. I'm a bit of a snacker when it comes to reading -- I have about 10 at my bedside. I often read the first few chapters, put it down for a break and then pick it up again a few months later.

That's exactly what I did with Mel's Tumbling Through Life, the story of a single barrister, Caroline Lawson (great name, BTW) who represents celebrity clients in a larger chamber in London. She "tumbles" between relationships and in the end the nice guy wins. Love it.