Have you ever used the bottom of a glass as a magnifying device?  Mum did.  She worked out that she could spy on her carers and see what numbers they were pressing into the security locks.  And then, when nobody was watching, she escaped.  I still feel bad for that...

My mum was arrested in 2010 for threatening a violent teenage gang with her antique WW1 tin gun. Yes, really.  It frightened them off for a bit, until they realised that she was about to stagger through a wooded pathway on her way to the off licence to pick up another...

Radio, whats new? Someone still loves you. Someone? In these days of complex technology, digital life soundtracks and connectivity, we've started listening in our millions to simple voices telling simple stories again. Podcasting and radio in its purest form. Real...

It's panto season - oh yes, it is.  Come on, you knew I wouldn't be able to resist that one. Oh, you didn't?  Oh yes you ... OK, OK, I'll stop now.  We rehearsed our panto band last night in our little terraced house - 2 violins, French horn, clarinet, piano, bass and...

Driving through London's West End in a vintage double-decker bus is challenging at the best of times, let alone when there are protests and road closures everywhere.  Thanks to my inherited bravery from my lovely mum we managed, but it was tight (and I don't just mean...

"Kiss my children for me" - the last line of the letter my mother wrote to my step mum just after they'd swapped places in our family. On first reading it's heartbreaking as I cannot imagine what that must have felt like for her, let alone what it made her feel to...