This is the perfect gift for father’s who enjoy a gin and tonic but are also concerned about the environment. Dads can now enjoy the same great tasting Greenall’s Gin in a choice of glass or paper.

The Frugal Bottle™ is an innovative alternative to glass, that reduces weight, carbon footprint and water usage of their packaging by more than 75%. Made from recycled paperboard and a recyclable inner pouch, the bottle holds exactly the same amount of gin, but feels lighter in the hand and treads lighter on the planet.

Greenall’s London Dry Gin has been made to the same closely guarded recipe since 1761. At a time when gin comes in hundreds of flavours and styles, this is an honest classic gin, great with tonic, a slice of lemon or lime, and plenty of ice. It is reasonably priced and the gin to reach for in the early evening when nothing else will do.

RRP: £17 for a 70cl bottle. ABV: 37.5%. Available from: Sainsbury’s and The Whisky Exchange 

Rampur Asava Indian Single Malt Whisky, is a combination of Rampur’s unique distillation and maturation process which sees Rampur Asava Indian Single Malt Whisky taking traditional Indian heritage and rooting it in contemporary culture.

A super luxury premium whisky produced in India’s oldest distillery. The malt matures for two-thirds of its life in handpicked American Bourbon Barrels and a third in European Oak Sherry Casks, and is then non-chill-filtered. 

On the nose we detected notes of cherry, vanilla, wine and even Martini.

It has a strong burn factor, beloved by some, disparaged by others, and in the mouth, we tasted salt and liquorice, to be precise, the Dutch version of those tiny liquorice sweets.

RRP: £60.00. ABV: 45%. Available from: Majestic, The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt

CAFÉ SOLO Original is a premium espresso strength cold brew coffee liqueur. The cold brew coffee brewing process retains the natural flavours and oils from ethically sourced coffee which is mixed with British vodka and natural sugar and boasts a full-bodied flavour profile, rich acidity, and a refreshingly clean finish. It has a robust ABV of 25%, delivering a bold, rich flavour profile with hints of dark fruit acidity, chocolate and vanilla notes, culminating in a subtle sweet finish.

It is delicious over ice, and for me one of the easiest impressive puddings, poured over good quality vanilla ice cream, and of course perfect in an espresso martini instead of Vodka.

RRP: From £30 for a 70cl bottle. ABV: 25%. Available from Amazon

Amaretto Adriatico

I used to associate Amaretto with Christmas, and it remains a firm favourite in the festive season, but I am now converted to enjoying Amaretto at all times of the year. Perfect flavouring for ice cream, in cakes, or savoured as a digestive, at the end of a meal. Amaretto really is an all-rounder.

Made in Puglia from locally grown, hand-picked almonds, this is a superb amaretto with notes of toasted almond, caramel, cherry and a hint of marzipan.

The spirit is combined with sugar, an infusion of cocoa, coffee and cinnamon, plus a pinch of sea salt and is vegan certified and made with all natural ingredients. 

RRP: £28.99 for 70 cl. ABV 28%. Available from: Amazon, Master of Malt,  The Whisky Exchange,  The Drinks Shop and Eataly

Amaretto Adriatico Bianco

Amaretto Adriatico Bianco is a new generation of Amaretto liqueur, created by itself with high quality products using Apulian almonds exclusively. This premium Italian liqueur is perfect as an aperitif, and with the most elaborate of cocktails, or drink chilled neat, or served over crushed ice.

This new generation amaretto liqueur: Adriatico Amaretto Bianco, utilizes almond milk derived from meticulously crushed white almonds which results in a unique creamy texture without the worries of lactose.

This smooth liqueur has silky accents of chopped and soaked white almond and whilst not too creamy provides velvety smoothness.

https://www.masterofmalt.com/ RRP £30.50

1532 days in Care.

My heart is heavy today. Bob has been moved to a unit with more
nursing care and apparently he is deemed ‘ palliative’ and a Doctor and nurse has seen him and he is ‘ on the pathway’. I must find out what that actually means.

I walk into your room. Good you are sitting in your chair. They have got you up. You like to be sat up in your chair.

You are resting, half asleep, eyes half open, unseeing eyes and blank. Your body is leaning awkwardly, lurching towards the corner of the plastic arm chair. You have a neck rest but it is not enough to keep you upright. Your legs are wasted, like two sticks.

I place the red Paris bag down on the sitting chair opposite you in case you wake and see it. I think you might recognise the colour and the pictures and associate it with the appetising food I bring you within.

I try to carry on with the routine.
‘Hello darling, it’s Chris I’ve come to see you’
Nothing.
‘It’s Chris, I love you and I’ve brought you something lovely to eat’
Nothing no response, no movement.

Into the room comes another resident. She’s always tidying up. She folds clothes and puts them in drawers.
‘ Hello Lorraine, it’s nice to see you’ I say.
She smiles at me. She picks up Bob’s cushion with a photo of me and you on. It was the day we had a party for our son who had passed his medicine exams. We are positively beaming out of that cushion.

I show Lorraine the picture. I hold it with her whilst she clenches it tight just before it goes with her out of Bob’s room.
‘That’s me’ I say.
She scrutinises the photograph on the cushion. She looks up at me almost checking the faces match.
‘That’s lovely’ she says. ‘ I like that one’ she adds pointing at my smile on the cushion.
‘Thank you’ I say as she walks back into the hallway. At least I have rescued the cushion. I put it at the side of Bob’s head to help him sit up a little better.

I move Bob’s chair ( it’s on wheels) and put the wooden upright chair next to his for me to sit on. Today the TV is on. I change the channel to Tipping Point, something we watch every time I visit. Bob likes to watch the coins drop down.

The change of channel seems to rouse something in Bob.
An unintelligible shout. I hope he will wake so I can get some food down him. I whisper in his ear.
‘I’ve been to the chip shop Bob and guess what I’ve bought two fish cakes, your favourite’
He is semi conscious now.
I have a fresh tea towel that I put it around Bob in case I drop any food. It’ll be too difficult to place on a spoon so I’ll break up into little bits to pop in his mouth.
I break the fish cake into bite sized chunks.
‘Here you are Bob, try this’.

It is always slow at the beginning. It’s almost as though he has forgotten how to eat. He opens his mouth and I have to get the timing right before it closes. But it gets easier once he understands what to do. I’m patient. I never get cross. I just think he didn’t ask for this to
happen. It’s the least I can do.

He likes the food today. I can tell because he chews, swallows and opens his mouth again. He hardly talks now but after I’ve fed him the food he likes I think he comes back to me a little.

He often becomes a little more animated. Odd words are said like’ Lovely’.
He enjoys the fish cakes and eats both quite easily. I get the beaker and tell him I’ve got a little bottle of French beer for him. I pour it into the beaker and secure the top. He drinks.

I chatter about this and that. Just like I would have done in normal circumstances. I’m easy in his company. I know he will hear me. He recognises my intonation and the way I say things.

Today my lovely friend has sent Bob a fresh cream scone, carefully cut up into bite sized pieces. I hope he eats it and he does. Every crumb.
‘ Chris knows what you like to eat, don’t I?’ I exclaim.
‘ Crisp,’ he responds.
‘ Yes’ it’s me,’ I say. ‘ Have you got a kiss for me?’
He puts his lips together and I lean into his chair to kiss him and tell him how loved he is.

The love I feel for Bob is not diminished. I feel desperately sorry that he has this cruel disease. For his valiant fight and his determination to try to get back to me. To make me understand. I try to read him. I know him so well I often realise what he’s trying to say or what he wants. I take his hand and we sit together. I tell him the news as simply as I can.

He jumps a lot. It’s become more obvious. Like an electric volt. Arms shoot upwards. I’m not sure why. Is it the medication or his brain misfiring? We don’t know. Anxiety perhaps.
‘It’s ok, I’m here now.’ I try to soothe him.

He seems to be always clearing his throat too. I think it’s because he spends so much time laying down. When I’m not there the routine is he stays in bed. It’s easier. Not for Bob. I wonder if he wants a small banana. He can bite a bit off at a time if I hold it up.
He eats it all.

Now it’s The Chase on TV. Bob likes that. He likes the green lights when the question is
answered correctly. He sometimes reads the subtitles but nowadays it’s the odd word.

It’s 1532 days in care. Bob is 72 now.

I have visited every week in this home for three times a week from March 2021, as soon as I could get to him after Covid restrictions. If I couldn’t get to Bob I had dear friends that took over from me. They know I wouldn’t have had a break if they didn’t go to see him.

And the year before, 2020 I shouted from the street or put my hand to his on the window. Him bewildered and me heart broken. Yes it’s been a roller coaster of emotions and one hell of a ride that is not yet over.

I do my best. But then so does Bob. It’s the least I can do.
Sadly Bob has asked me ‘ Why? Why?’
I do not know exactly what he is referring to. Is it ‘ Why have I got this disease? Why am I here?’

I am sad he has to suffer this disease. Even now he is trying to make some sense of it.

My heart is heavy today.

Kitchen gadgets fall into one of two categories in my home. Either they are relegated to the back of the drawer, or they become indispensable, and I am pretty sure that this 3 in 1 Avocado tool will become the latter.

Made of high-quality stainless steel this will split, pit and extract the flesh in a speedily efficient manner.

I tasted my first Avocado Pear, as it was called back then, in 1978, and was immediately addicted, though I could never have dreamed of smashed Avocado on toast becoming a thing.

Avocados are on the menu most weeks in the Rowan kitchen, but it can be a bit of a faff.

Sharp knife to split the pear or remove the skin, thumb to remove the stone, washing of said thumb, and spoon to scoop out the flesh. I have become used to this necessary process, so far so messy, (especially if the Avocado is very ripe.) until I discovered the 3 in 1 Avocado kitchen utensil.

Being ergonomic and well balanced makes it comfortable to grip, and at the risk of sounding geeky, a joy to use.

The sharp edge of the slicing blade makes short work of the Avocado whilst the small teeth of the pitter remove the stone quickly, easily and safely with a simple twist. 

Finally, the spoon which is integrated into the blade, is contoured to fit the shape of the fruit and easily and thoroughly separates the flesh from the skin. 

This would be a great Father’s Day gift, stocking filler or token wedding present perhaps.

It is the tool that I didn’t know that I needed until now, but wouldn’t be without.

Available from John Lewis RRP £21.95

Now in its eighth year, the festival is a unique forum for lively discussion, thought-provoking ideas, and political debate. Last year, Katherine Rundell said ‘the speakers are spectacular, they are such a range of brilliant and original thinkers’, while Marlon James described the festival as having ‘the foremost names … a lot of those really big and really important conversations happen here’.

The 2023 programme featured: Zadie Smith, Tom Holland, Mary Beard, Maggie O’Farrell, Peter Frankopan, Marlon James, Simon Schama, General David Petraeus, Katherine Rundell, Alex Younger, Emily Maitlis, Daniel Finkelstein, Tristram Hunt, Nick Laird, David Lammy, Justine Picardie and Tom Crewe.

Cliveden Literary Festival is run by a committee of authors and historians – Andrew Roberts, Natalie Livingstone, Catherine Ostler and Simon Sebag Montefiore – drawing on Cliveden House’s unique history as a literary salon frequented by writers and thinkers including Alexander Pope, Alfred Lord Tennyson, George Bernard Shaw, Jonathan Swift and Sir Winston Churchill.

Tickets will go on sale in July 2024. Please sign up to the Cliveden Literary Festival newsletter and follow on Twitter and Instagram to be notified when tickets go on sale.

Visitors to Cliveden Literary Festival will also have the opportunity to explore the beautiful National Trust gardens and enjoy scenic walks down to the River Thames.

Cliveden House, operated by the Iconic Luxury Hotel group, has been awarded a Forbes Travel Guide Star Award, and Condé Nast Johansens Award for Excellence.

Since more and more of us are working from home, it is very easy to turn the home into the office. These candles reverse that process, transforming the home office, or any room for that matter, into a comforting evocative space.

I have always loved candles, and not just at Christmas, but I have found that they can often be a little disappointing. There are those that have a sharp acrid scent that can make one’s eyes water and others where one is in danger of burning nostril hair, as one needs to get so close to the flame to smell anything.

Having recently converted our guest bedroom into a relaxing reading space, I was keen to find a candle that would scent the room, but not overpower it. I also wanted a candle with scents for men, rather than the more flowery offerings that are more frequently available.

I was intrigued by Society’s claim to provide the scent of popular places to evoke happy memories and moods, as the cornerstone of their new candle range. I bought a candle called Bookshop, and whilst I would be hard pressed to describe the scent of a bookshop, I would definitely want it to smell like this.

The candles are stylish and elegant, presented in reusable brown glass with wooden wicks, whilst the aroma is long lasting and effortlessly relaxing. The cruelty-free candles are crafted from a blend of ethically sourced fragrance oils, premium vegan soy wax (so no toxins or chemicals) and wood wick to provide a clean, soot-free burn of 40+ hours. The mixture is then hand poured into a reusable glass.

I was so addicted to mine, that I was soon considering ordering a replacement. Which is when I discovered The Barbershop and Fireplace, both of which smell just as you think they would.

Candles cost £22.00 and would make the perfect Father’s Day gift or indeed at any time of the year. Stocking fillers this Christmas for sure.

The Barbershop is evocative, and smells of sandal wood and aftershave, whilst Fireplace has a suggestion of open fire smoke, whilst not been as overpowering as the real thing. It is certainly the nearest that I have come across, to capturing the essence of the open fire.

www.societyscents.com and Love to Home and in person at BT Batsford Bookshop in Hackney.

Just look at the design of the sippy cup. See how easy and comfortable it is for little fingers to grip. And the lid doesn’t drip, honestly. No wonder it has sold 15 million cups worldwide as toddlers can sip away without finding their bibs or T Shirts soggy. Additionally, as it is so good, why would they toss it over their shoulder? Quite.

So, let’s have a closer look at the Sippy Cup: see the weighted straw that moves with the liquid? So, no matter how your toddler tilts the cup, and we all know they DO tilt it all is fine. Just imagine the delight of no messy sipping while son or daughter toddles about exploring, and getting up to mischief. And no soaking T shirt to make them feel uncomfortable.

But why on earth doesn’t it leak? Well, listen carefully because ‘There is a unique two-way valve,’ as I explained to my grandson as we packed to board a bus, to his great excitement. ‘No soggy tops, it says. So I say not need for frustrated tossing of the cup over the windmill – deal? So let’s pop it in the ‘going out’ bag and see if everything stays dry.’ Readers, it did and my grandson think’s I am a magician. What’s more the deal is in place.

Let’s continue with our examination of this parent and toddler friendly sipping cup with its easy-grip handles – a design feature I noticed immediately. These handles make it a breeze for little hands to hold and navigate. This thoughtful design encourages self-sufficient drinking; fostering independence while minimising frustration for both toddlers and grown-ups. Did you get that? Minimising frustration for both toddlers and adults. And it did, truly.

We even gave it a go on a broom-broom bus. All went well because the simple flip-top lid on sippy cup makes ‘on-the-go’ hydration hassle-free. It’s easy to open, easy to close – a boon on a bus with Anma because, though it starts ‘exciting’ it then becomes boring. So, for Anma to bring out a leak free cup, one which is easy to open, and close, makes it all rather wonderful again as he sipped from time to time, looking out of the window seeing cars, lorries, even a tractor. Soon we were at the town bus stop, and off down the aisle he toddled, swinging the cup by the handle, not leaking a drop.

But there’s more: the base is microwave-safe for warming drinks, and the top-rack dishwasher-safe feature ensures quick and efficient cleaning, so when feeling ragged at the end of the day, as Anma undoubtedly was, just bung it in, and Bob’s yer Uncle.

It is thankfully free from harmful chemicals. It is BPA, Phthalates, and PVC-free, made from PP and silicone with a steel weighted ball. Finally the base of the sippy cup is a parenting marvel. Not only is it microwave-safe, but it also fits the spout and training cup lid for every age and stage. It’s like having a cup that grows with your child.

You see what I mean? If only the B.Box Sippy Cup had been around years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have these lines that seem to multiply with every day.

The b.box 240ml Sippy Cup costs £16.99 from Amazon

When young, I went many times with my family to Cornwall for summer hols, and there was always the inevitable paddling in rock pools. There we kids were with our skirts tucked in our knickers holding a bamboo with a net on the end staring at a crab. It usually crunched up, or so it seemed to us. Dad would gently pick it up, explain how it lived inside its shell. We’d look at its legs – so many of them – and we would squeal, feeling it could give us all a pinch. And why not, when it had been picked up by a giant, and lots of small giants were oohing and ahhing, and squealing. Dad would replace it gently, and we would look in others.

No matter how gentle we were, good grief, they must have been fed up. It was their home, after all. Author Jennifer Bell obviously had similar thoughts, because in Ouch! a crab tells its story for the first time and if only crabs could read it would be top of the Crab Summer Reading Bestseller list, just as it will be with all the children who read Ouch!. Perhaps they would even wish they hadn’t carelessly thrown their crab back into the water, willy nilly.

Trust me, there will be a lot of interaction as children bellow “OUCH!”, along with the crab every time he’s tossed away, wham bam splash to become tangled in seaweed, or land upside down, rendering him helpless. I confess reading Ouch! transported me back to those days, and am so glad Bell wrote this book. It is extraordinarily evocative and brings alive the long summer rock pool experiences, all of which will hopefully not only encourage small children to respect the crab but empathise with all living creatures.

Children’s author Jennifer Bell has done crabs a good turn, really she has. She is the Champion of the Crabs as is her equally talented illustrator. Though this is not the first Jennifer Bell book…

Jennifer Bell’s two books about Jem, a young Cornish adventurer have been delighting youngsters in their homes and primary schools since the first was published in 2016 but Ouch! is their equal on so many levels.

By training, Bell was a nurse and co-founded a pottery, by inclination she’s a gardener of riverside land in Cornwall and a writer. She has always written – plays for school friends, stories long and short, poetry and verse and has been a frequent attender at literary weekends. Retirement has given her the opportunity to write when she can’t garden, and enjoy planting seeds in another way – producing books for children.

Jane Leitch the illustrator of the glorious images lives on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon, the area where she grew up. This environment is her inspiration – to capture the essence of nature and daily life in rural Devon, as well as on the West Country coast. Her paintings are sought after, and are in collections throughout the UK, Europe, the United States, Australia and the Far East. She exhibits in the annual Delamore Arts event near Ivybridge in Devon, biannually in Devon Open Studios with the Gidleigh painters, and at numerous nationwide exhibitions.

So, back to Ouch! What do I think? I implore you to read it to as many children as possible. It has pace and compassion. It is relatable. It is lovely.

Both Jane and Jennifer have given us permission to use these images fromOuch! which is available to purchase online from both Amazon, and Waterstones and the main distributors are Bookvault/Great British Bookshop. Always look in good bookshops as they will usually order it if they haven’t it in stock.

ISBN 978-0-9934032-9-3 Paperback. RRP £8.99