Cupcakes and Cadenzas

© Jpegwiz | Dreamstime.com As my last post was a book review and I'm about to review another book that I've just finished, I thought I would share my top 10 reviewing tips. Please feel free to comment on them and if you have any really good ones that you use yourself and would like to share, please feel free to do so in the comments section at the end. So, here goes - in no particular order: Make sure you read the book - the whole book - not just the blurb on the back of the book or the first chapter. It's very obvious when someone has tried to review a book having only read part of it or skimmed through it, hoping to pick up on the plot so don't do it. Remember to name both the book and the author at the beginning of the review. There is nothing more annoying than reading a review and thinking that the book sounds great only to find that there is nothing to say which book it was. Be concise. Don't let your review ramble on and on and on and..... Make s

I have to confess that for the first few pages I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy this book but, I'm not one to just give up on a book without giving it a chance and I'm glad that I kept going because, within another couple of pages, I was hooked. Jennie Copeland is newly divorced and living in the suburbs of London with her three children. After the divorce she decides she needs a fresh start and so she buys a ramshackle old house on the outskirts of the village of Talyton St George. There, she sets up a wonderful cake-making business but sadly country life is not quite as idyllic as she hoped it would be. She has to contend with cows, a pony, some chickens, a dog, nosey neighbours, a stroppy teenage son and the farmer next door, Guy Barnes, who doesn't think she'll last a year in the countryside. Will it all be too much for her to cope with? Will things ever settle down enough for her to finally find happiness and could Guy be the man to help her find that

So, Eurovision is over for another year and I have to say, quite frankly, I have been left disappointed by what I saw last night. Whilst I enjoyed it - mostly - I can't say I was moved by any of the performances. That shouldn't take away from the fact that I think everyone did their best. There were some good acts and Germany put on a great show, despite the annoying presenters. I just felt that almost all of the entries were very...bland.  Just so you know, I am a diehard Eurovision fan. I have watched it for as long as I can remember and every year I spend weeks looking forward to it. On the day I make sure that I have enough goodies in to last me through the show (and well beyond if I'm honest) and everyone is warned that nothing, but nothing , should distract me from my viewing. I have bopped along with the best of them, groaned at the quirky outfits and the dodgy singing, cried at some of the more moving songs and generally loved every minute of it but this year, sad

And so another series of The Apprentice gets underway. I love this programme! I’m not sure whether I love it because it’s highly entertaining (usually for all the wrong reasons) or whether seeing the type of person who takes part in it makes me realise that I really am quite normal but, either way, it’s compelling viewing. Already the contestants this year seem to be even more arrogant and obnoxious than in previous years if that’s possible and, as usual, they allegedly include some of the top entrepreneurs and business people in the country today, which is worrying in itself. This year the prize for winning is different although the title of the show no longer seems relevant as Alan Sugar will not be taking on a new apprentice at the end. Instead the winner will receive £250,000 from Lord Sugar to set up a business. He (Lord Sugar) will remain a sleeping partner in this business and will not step in even if they run into problems. This in effect means that there is no guarantee

I can't believe it's been such a long time since I posted my last blog - almost two months - and so I thought I would just pop in and say a quick hello to everyone. So many things have happened in the last couple of months and that means I should have had plenty to write about but I never seem to have the time to sit down and compose a blog post. I take notes in my gorgeous, pink, classic Filofax (highly recommended) but, by the time I think about blogging, the moment has passed. Perhaps I need to brush up on my time management skills or perhaps I just simply need to be more organised and focussed. Maybe if I spent less time on Twitter... Anyway, that's it for the moment but you will see a lot more blog posts from me from now on - I promise. I am a woman on a mission or at least I will be once I've had a quick cup of coffee! Now...I wonder what's happening over on Facebook. Until the next time, Denise x