Try the version that's cooked with apples, maybe? Mine is Delia's, I think, or possibly an old Good Housekeeping one, and has some vinegar, red wine and orange juice in it, but also brown sugar, so it's not acidic and is a lovely purple/red colour.

I had a procedure a few years after my C-section and during the pre-op chat I learned that my organs might not be exactly where they used to be and there was a *tiny* chance the surgeon would cut into my uterus. It feels like it would have been good to know that in advance...

Honourable mentions for Eleanor Barraclough's two episodes of You're Dead to Me with @gregjenner.bsky.social - on Leif Eriksson and Viking Women - which is where I first came across her book.

My first thought - "Who's going to run these? 😭

My kid's school has one - as well as class book corners and year-group areas - and it's wonderful. An actual librarian would be AMAZING (it's run by a teacher and a few volunteers 🙋🏼) but the kids benefit hugely anyway - their sessions are pretty much dedicated to reading for pleasure, and it shows.

Not obtuse! But squeezing it into primary school - where there are already national tests in four out of the seven years - would be nigh on impossible, so they're bunging it into year 8 instead 🙄

I'm back, too, and I got to tell the new year 3s they would now be allowed to borrow TWO books instead of just one. And the crowd went wild!!!! 🥰

This is wonderful.

My kid's school still uses emails. In a decade of school letters, I can't remember ever receiving a communication that wasn't later corrected, so checking doesn't help!

I was so confused by this. Because you are a historian, and you have also been one in a film. For a not-brief-enough moment I thought you were revealing your hitherto un-publicised skills 😆

Oh definitely! I meant effort more in the sense of "will", I think - providing enough different kinds of texts for everyone to find their thing (and expand into new things when they want to). Money alone doesn't do that job, but it's an absolute basic requirement.

And lots of them! Screens aside, I don't despair. I volunteer at my son's primary school library, and by and large I find that if kids have enough encouragement and choice, they will read, at least at that age and stage. So I suppose it's the same old story of money and effort.

Reading is reading, and tech is here to stay, absolutely. But based on my own terrible example, once I'm on my phone to read an article, I'm doomed - useless distractions abound! Longer-form reading takes practice (for children) and notifications/multiple apps are death to attention spans 😭

Done (via contact form). Hoping I'm not too late 🤞

This looks great! Wishing I'd seen it last week before I divided my snake plants 😆. When you say direct from you, do you have copies on your website? I can't see it (will head to eBay if not).