Bm@il: Five years of our lives summed up in keywords

WELL, it’s time to celebrate (or apologise) for half a decade of Bm@ils – that’s roughly 250 columns and about 84,000 words since 2008. Hmm, enough for a book…Read

Bm@il: From Brum to Bowie via some brilliant art

I RETURNED to my roots last week. Nothing to do with my hair, just a weekend back in my home town.Read

Bm@il: I'm so social media savvy I'm linked to myself

I HAVE never joined Facebook, Twitter or the like because I’ve never felt the need to broadcast to the nation. And I’m sure the nation feels the same way about me.Read

Bm@il: Welcome to the world of the relative fatty

Most of us watch what we eat these days don’t we? Particulary if we’ve seen TV programmes like Supersize vs Superskinny.Read

Bm@il: Simples idea for nurses - make them act like meerkats

STUDENT nurses working as health carers before they do their degrees? Brilliant idea. No amount of theory can replace doing the real thing.Read

Bm@il: To make your happiness, start by making your own wedding

ON THIS day, April 3, in 1895, the libel trial instigated by Oscar Wilde began. He lost the case, leading to his arrest, trial and imprisonment for having relationships with men, and we can only marvel at how much has changed in nearly 120 years.Read

Bm@il: If Pope Francis gets the bird, give the job to my Aunt Josie

SO, WE have a new Pope, and I’m not at all surprised that His Holiness has taken the name of every child’s favourite animal lover. No, not Dr Doolittle but Saint Francis, who must have learned from his affinity with birds and animals that they are much easier to deal with than humans.Read

Bm@il: Afghan chow hounds, Welsh rescue cats and a near death experience

WELL, it’s been a varied few weeks which has involved interesting theatre visits, the eating of Afghan food and the stroking of many cats.Read

Bm@il: Filter the office out of the coffee

APPARENTLY the coffee bar culture is replacing pubs as our traditional meeting places. It’s sad, but I’m as guilty as anyone else.Read

Bm@il: Coaches - when the wheels come off, family is in the driving seat

OH LORDY, I’ve heard it all now. Life coaches for children? You cannot be serious!Read

Bm@il: Horse play makes us veggies whinnie with laughter

I WATCHED two TV programmes last week – Channel 4 Dispatches and BBC Panorama – that dealt with the scandal about horse meat being found in many supermarket products.Read

Bm@il: 'Listen up at the back, government - teacher talking!'

SO, THE Gove (as in Michael, not a lazy abbreviation for the government) wants all children to learn to cook at school.Read

Bm@il: Without a light the louts can litter in peace

I GET apoplectic when I see officious notices which are redundant and just litter the place for no good reason.Read

Bm@il: Wrap your kids in outdoor clothes not cotton wool!

I AM drawn to emails which begin ‘I read your column every week’ because I know that I, and the reader, will have shared much of our Hillingdon lives since Bm@il was ‘born’ in 2008.Read

Bm@il: Our house, in the middle of our street

MR F and I have lived in the same road in Uxbridge for 25 years.Read

Bm@il: 69 are into 32: like 90+ they must BOGOF and settle for 1

DID you know that many Members of Parliament feel they are underpaid and should have a 32 per cent increase in their salaries? This is the finding in a survey of MPs carried out by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). To the 69 per cent of members who thought this, I’d just like to say: “Join the queue”.Read

Bm@il: Life on Mars, salt on Jaffa Cakes

CAN someone tell me exactly when paying tax became voluntary? I’ve just had a reminder to pay my tax by the end of this month if I wish to do it online – which I do.Read

Bm@il: Listen up, this is a lesson for life

I HAVE just watched a show on Sky Arts 1, called In Confidence, which consists of one-to-one interviews. The last person I saw grilled was Michael Frayn, which made fascinating viewing, so I made a point of tuning in again.Read

Bm@il: The 12 delays of Christmas, and Natasha, our lucky 13.

HOW’S the Christmas shopping going? Have you dug out the decorations, dusted off the tree, untangled the lights? Maybe the cards are all written? No? Me neither.Read

Bm@il: Corners of foreign fields forever Fisher

YOU may remember my surprise at being recognised for this Gazette column at the Hay Festival in May.Read

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