High School Musical: I reckon I know most of the lyrics by heart!

HAVE you been to the amazing wooden adventure playground over at Black Park? It’s a huge natural play area in the woods with loads of great equipment, and is one of our favourite places to go for a walk around the lake, a coffee or ice-cream (depending what the weather is doing) and a play in the playground.Read

Family street dance draws a powerful veto from my 10 year old

SO, THAT'S another school holiday over in the blink of an eye. It’s one step closer to high school in September in our house, as each end of term and half-term milestone passes this year.Read

Help for bankers? I approve if they are food bankers

DID you know that every four days a new food bank opens in the UK to help families in crisis?Read

Pen pals? Nowadays it's e-friends, Skype-mates and text-buddies.

DID you have a penpal when you were little? Do you remember the anticipation of listening for the flap of the letterbox and then rushing to see whether a handwritten note from a far away friend had plopped through?Read

Half asleep through half term, as Alex makes the most of his holiday

HOW IS your half-term week going? Has any parent been lucky enough to get a lie in? Not for us so far this week, as my 10-year-old son Alex is conditioned to get up when his dad leaves the house, before 7am.Read

Traffic might be a sign of success but we're choking ourselves to death

IS IT just me or has anyone noticed how bad the traffic has got inUxbridge? I’d love nothing more than to walk to school but unfortunately I’m a school run mum who adds to the traffic chaos in the morning. Oxford Road, Park Road and Cowley Road are virtually at gridlock during the morning and evening rush hour.Read

Dogs Trust makes a great trip - just be wary of those sad eyes

Pictures are from last August's Harefield Dogs Trust fete.Read

Ranson's Rants & Raves: Ravers of the Lush Roast - and Top Gun too

I AM always on the hunt for a good Sunday roast in and around our borough – a delicious traditional British roast with lashings of gravy, crunchy roast potatoes, tender meat and a crispy Yorkshire pudding.Read

I'm resolved to make fewer resolutions, more revelations

I AM fed up making new year resolutions each year that just get broken so this year I’m ditching the ‘give up eating cake’, ‘lose two stone’, ‘visit the gym’ type resolutions and instead I’m going to just try and get out and about a bit more.Read

Cathy Ranson: The magic of Christmas

DO YOUR kids still revel in the magic of Father Christmas?Read

Hidden Away beauty spa that's well worth finding out

I WOULD like to say a massive thank you to The Cafm in the Park and the Hydeaway Spa in Rickmansworth, who looked after the Netmums team so well.Read

Syon House wonderland perfect for getting into Christmas spirit

WE HAD fun at Syon House at the weekend, taking a chilly winter woodland walk wrapped up in warm coats and wearing wellies to keep the whistling wind and eerie mist out.Read

Ranson's Rant: Gas explosion brought out the heroism in people

ISN'T it lovely when you hear about people going above and beyond the call of duty to selflessly help others out? I wasn't at all surprised to hear that two lovely ladies who have been involved with Hillingdon Play Association (HPA) since it first started, Julie Gurbuz and Sue Collinson, rushed to help families affected by a frightening gas explosion in West Drayton last week. Read

Rants and raves: The beauty of gift vouchers

I WAS lucky enough to get some beauty vouchers for my birthday last month, and I don't know if it's just me, but I tend to file vouchers away carefully, forget about them and then discover them a week after they've gone out of date and are worthless.Read

Rants and raves: Stuck wearing a winter coat in June!

WE HAD an amazing evening at the Big Band Night at Swakeleys House in Ickenham last week. It was a special outdoor concert of music organised as a fundraiser for the Ickenham Festival.Read

Rants and raves: The best 10 years of a woman's life are those between 39 and 49

ON THE day this edition of the Gazette is published, I'll be celebrating my 40th birthday. I'm hosting a party on Elsdale II, Hillingdon's electric barge, this weekend, supplying enough alcohol in the vain hope that my friends and family will forget I've turned 40 and I can stay 39 for the next few years.Read

Rants and raves: Brave enough for body boarding

WE ARE having an English seaside break for a few days for half-term, and to my horror, I have been cajoled into purchasing a wetsuit with the purpose of trying out body boarding (a kind of lay-on-the-board surfing action).Read

Rants and raves: School run mornings

WE HAD one of those school run mornings today: trying to get out of the house. You know the kind where you start all nice and peacefully with visions of a leisurely breakfast and getting ready with nobody shouting?Read

Ransons rants and Raves: Royal wedding mad

IHAVE been loving looking in the Gazette and on the website at all the amazing pictures of royal wedding events that took place around Hillingdon. Read

Ransons rants and Raves: Tail of destruction

WE HAVE always fancied having a permanent family pet in our Uxbridge home. We're big dog-lovers, but with work, life and other stuff getting in the way, the best we have managed is a partial dog share with my parents.Read