Rants and raves: Flying high

IF YOU have a son and he's anything like mine, you'll regularly find paper aeroplanes lurking around the house in the strangest of places.Read

Rants and raves: weather only good for drowned rats

I 'UMMED' and 'ahhed' before writing last week's column mentioning the 'C' word (Christmas) so early, but I'm so glad I did as a few people have been in touch to say they'd secured the last few tickets to see Father Christmas at the various places I'd mentioned.Read

Rants and raves: Mentioning the 'C' word

I AM quite sad that, at nine years old, my son Alex has outgrown our annual family visit to see Father Christmas. I think I was more excited than him last year, and if we took him this year he'd only be going to humour me, and also of course because he knows that if you don't believe in Father Christmas he won't visit you!Read

Rants and raves: Great taster to cruising

OU'RE kidding' was the stock answer from friends and family when we told them we were heading off on a four-night Royal Caribbean cruise on one of the largest cruise ships around, with our destination Ireland.Read

Rants and raves: Slow cooking for winter meals

THERE'S something very comforting about coming home when I've been out all day and opening my front door to be greeted by the delicious aroma of a wholesome dinner that's almost ready to feed the starving masses.Read

Rants and raves: It's ghost tours time

MY EMAIL inbox has started to fill up with all things Halloween, even though it's only just October. I thought I would mention some of them now, as tickets will be selling fast, I'm sure.Read

Rants and raves: An extended booze run

WE'VE just come back from a lovely weekend with a difference. P&O is offering some amazing cross-channel deals, and as the exchange rates have improved, we decided to hop over to Boulogne on an extended booze run.Read

Rants and raves: Messy business walking a dog

IHAVE been 'Mrs Grumpy' this week on a few occasions while out walking Barnie, our gorgeous Harefield Dogs Trust rescue dog. Read

Rants and raves: Well deserved award

HAVE you been to the Norman Leddy Memorial Gardens by the Beck Theatre (or the Botanical Gardens as we've always called it) lately? It's worth a look, whether you're there for a show at the Beck or you're just passing through.Read

Rants and raves: Holidays end with a tough tattoo

THE normal state of chaos on the streets of Hillingdon and in families' homes all over the borough has been resumed now the school holidays are at an end. Read

Rants and raves: Back to school mode

I BET my house has been the same as lots of other borough households this week - we've been in full-scale, back-to-school mode.Read

Ransons rants and raves: Too many young drivers killed

I ALWAYS get a chill down my spine when I read in my Gazette that another young driver has been killed. There was the boy who came off his motorbike outside Brunel, and the kids killed in Ruislip earlier this year - not forgetting that terrible accident in West Drayton that wiped out the lives of local teenagers.Read

Rants and raves: Good value - despite rat scare

OH MY god, have you read the story in last week's Gazette, that they found rats at The Water's Edge pub at Ruislip Lido? An instant chill went through my body when I read about the unsuspecting diners who had been happily tucking into their carvery, only to see a rat saunter across the floor and join his wife and kids behind a cabinet in the dining room.Read

Rants and raves: Ban the 'B' word

WE HAVE got to that dreaded school holiday what-can-I-do-now-mum? stage in our house. I've banned the 'B' word (bored) here, with a threat of docked pocket money if I hear it so much as being whispered.Read

Rants and raves: School's out for summer

It seems like forever since the May half-term, and even longer since Easter.Read

Rants and raves: Pick your own is the way to go

AFTER finding I'd accidentally managed to buy asparagus grown and shipped over from Peru, of all places, in the middle of the very short British season last month, I vowed I'd try and make a few more trips to the local Pick Your Own (PYO) farms we have around Hillingdon.Read

Rants and raves: I'm pro breastfeeding

A LITTLE later than I'd originally planned, but Sunshine Magazine is finally back from the printers today and winging its way around the streets of Hillingdon.Read

ranson's rants and raves

I CAN confirm that 'lucky pants' is a concept that really does work. Let me explain. Alex has been having guitar lessons for a while now and his teacher decided it was about time he sat a grade. He loves playing the guitar and it's not usually a problem to get him to practice. The hardest thing is him remembering to bring it home from school as he always manages to leave something behind - invariably the said guitar.Read

Rants and raves: Reverse separation anxiety

I FOUND myself crying in the school playground last week, like a child on their first day at school. Alex couldn't contain his excitement about going off on his two night/three day school field trip but I was shocked to find myself feeling ridiculously anxious, with what I can only describe as reverse separation anxiety. I felt like I right twit.Read

Rants and raves: The world stops in Uxbridge while men sit glued to the box

MY WORLD Cup widowhood started this week. The beers are in the fridge, the wallchart is up and copious amounts of salty snacks are available to feed the troops. The world stops in Uxbridge for the foreseeable future, while the man and boy in my house sit glued to the box.Read