Disclosure: This review was originally written in collaboration with Virgin Pure in 2023. I was provided with a Virgin Pure Home Water System II free of charge to test. The opinions, photographs and experiences are my own. Virgin Pure has since rebranded as Our Taap. This review describes my experience with the machine at the time, while the buying information
Virgin Pure Review: Is The Home Water System II Worth It? Read More >>
West Lothian has quietly transformed into a premier destination for food lovers who prefer the comfort of their own dining room. Stretching from the historic streets of Linlithgow to the bustling heart of Livingston, the region offers a culinary map that rivals any major city. It’s no longer a case of settling for whatever is closest. Residents now enjoy access
Let’s Explore West Lothian’s Diverse Takeaway Scene from Home Read More >>
Updated October 2026. These Ready Brek pancakes are quick, easy and made with just three ingredients: Ready Brek (or finely milled oats), eggs and milk. They’re soft, filling oat pancakes that make a lovely weekend breakfast, and you don’t need flour, sugar or a complicated shopping list. We’ve been eating them for years now (not solidly…) and the kids still
Ready Brek pancakes: A very easy wheat free oat pancake recipe Read More >>
We are now one twelfth of the way through 2026, which means that I have now been publishing monthly life updates to the internet for two entire years. Mad shit. (If you want to read my other monthly updates stretching all the way back to January of 2024, you can find them all here). As I mentioned in my December
January 2026: New year, same old me I’m afraid Read More >>
Welcome to 2026! 2025 is officially old news. December was, predictably, a lot. It started with good intentions and a vague sense that I would ease gently into the festive season. It did not end that way. I was ill for approximately three quarters of the month, and somewhere between school deadlines, end-of-year admin, dark afternoons and a frankly ill-advised
December 2025: In which Fran watches far too many awful Christmas movies Read More >>
And just like my washing machine eating my favourite pyjamas, December arrived with zero remorse. November in my experience is largely rubbish – cold, wet, dark and uninspiring. But this one was alright! Let’s get straight into it, shall we? It’s long, but you can skim it if you like. I won’t tell. (If you want to read my other
November 2025: Theme parks, music and people that don’t get the joke Read More >>
October has been and gone and now – without wanting to sound too negative – we’re being launched headfirst into the worst months of the year. It’s cold, it’s miserable, it’s too dark to do anything after 4pm apart from get ready for bed, and every other bastard you come across is trying to kill you by coughing a new
October 2025: Day trips, comedy, gigs and best of all: A new vacuum cleaner Read More >>
And that was September. It’s taken me almost a week to get around to writing this one through a combination of time constraints (who knew that getting a job would mean less time to write nonsense?!) and apathy, because it hasn’t been the most thrilling of months. That is of course always the risk of doing monthly round ups; sometimes
September 2025: In which I almost got scammed, and had a nice dinner Read More >>
So… August. It’s flown by hasn’t it (do I say that every month? I do, don’t I)?. We may not have had a stream of house guests like we did last year, but we’ve packed a lot in in the last four and a bit weeks. Please bear in mind that I’ve totally fucked my back so I’m writing this
August 2025: Beautiful Barcelona, wet Weymouth, and flag nonces Read More >>
After a ridiculously busy June, comparatively July has been fairly quiet. With the exception of three solid weeks of end-of-term fun I mean – but I pretty much covered that in this post. The weather hasn’t been anywhere near as glorious as last month, but that’s OK. All together now… “The garden needed it“. For the last week, I’ve been
July 2025: Wet Chessington and no dippy eggs Read More >>