Easy Way To Clean The Mircowave

The inside of my microwave looks like the Valentine Day massacre with splattered sauce and some of these stains do seem to defy the laws of gravity . Every short cut points at the not so humble lemon , oooh but alas I used my last lemon in a Gin and Tonic , such is life. Everyone knows phrase

"If life gives you lemons then first clean your microwave "

All I had was vinegar ! everyone is aware of the cleaning benefits of vinegar .

This cleaning technique was the best 5 minutes of my life except that time when I thought I'd won something on the lottery. Here is the horror scene that was my microwave before I got all domestic and decided to clean , I do apologise if you're getting twitchy looking at this . 

Fill either a microwave bowl or jug with at least 2 cup worth of water

2 Tablespoons of vinegar

A squeeze of lemon juice > the one that's shaped like a lemon ( your lemon juice doesn't have to be contained in a lemon )

Place the bowl / jug in the microwave and shut the door !!

Then microwave for 5 minutes , please be careful when opening the door ! 

You could if you wish let the steam work for a further 2 minutes .

Wash the glass turntable and dry , return the glass turntable to the microwave 

You should then have a sparkling clean microwave .

You Better Believe In Fairies

On my train journey once down to London on a blogging mission me and my son sat in a quiet coach or so we thought. There was the lovely fluffy granny with her two grandsons awwh. My son was quietly playing his electronic device or reading . I was worrying about weather I would  make it through dodge city =London. The little boy came starring over my sons shoulder by standing behind him, this wound J up but he and I were too polite to say anything. And then it all cracked off

Little boy to Granny

Little boy " If you say you there are no fairies then a fairy will die"

Granny " But you just said it"

Little Boy" I said IF you said it" 

Granny"Oh'

Little boy  "Also if you say, you  believe in fairies then a fairy is born"

At this point the little boy's older brother jumped it and swearing my journey, couldn't get any worse  he decided to chip in.

Older brother"I don't believe in fairies!"

Well that  was it wasn't the little boy snapped ....

"Fairies are real . I believe in fairies"

So this continued for an hour with the two brother toing and froing  believe me the mood I was in once I got off the train I would have sorted any rioters out!. The first half  of our journey the little boy as you read earliar was staring over my son's shouder.

The door proof fairies exist especially at the bottom of your garden because she has a door in her tree for them )

 So please for love all things magical fairies do exist it may just save a rail passenger from losing the will to live.

A Relaxers Guide To Ibiza

Admittedly when I was searching for a family holiday this year in no shape or form did a Ibiza cross my mind. It is not the first place I would have though of for a family holiday but the lure of the free child place was all too good. I had to be told of unbelievable sunsets that simply just melted into the sea and I didn't believe them until......

You can relax in Ibiza but just make sure you research where you're staying we were stopping at the Fiesta  Tannit which is 3 star whilst I'll be honest I'm a 4 star person think Holly Go Lightly on holiday from "Breakfast at Tiffany's " and you're not far off the mark!

Clean and adequate , the room was typically tiled and airy , the beds a little hard but clean and the balcony gave breath taking views over San Antonio bay. Having got up at 3am that morning to get a 6 am flight to Ibiza , we were all tidied , the teen was cranky by the time we got to bed. Now I'm no holiday grinch I understand children are going to bounce their little bouncy ball ( they win oh so joyfully from the bouncy ball machine ) but when it got to 11.40 at night my eye was beginning to twitch.

So I finally cracked I stomped down to reception complete with me in stripy pyjamas looking like an escaped Where's Wally with a hint of Jack Nicholson from the shining. Now I know no Spanish except hello , thank you and 2 beers please, so trying to explain " the bouncy ball bouncing on the floor above me is starting to annoy me " was hard . They did speak English but it got animated and I looked like I was on ' Give us a clue' they came up but guess what it went completely quiet but then the dum dum went off again, off to the offending room and sorted it out. And so peace was restored and we could begin our relax in earnest.

We never ever go to to welcome meetings preferring to do our research before we go and then if necessary asking the happy smiley reps in the hotel.

One of the first places we went being 20 minutes outside the bay of Antonio was the little aquarium which was along a beautiful breathtaking coastal path.

The aquarium is situated in a very picturesque area 5 minutes away from our hotel Fiesta Tanit the aquarium is tucked tucked into the cave on the edge of a cliff, and the walk there along the sea front path was breathtaking. The admission price is just over 4 Euros for adults and less for children ( you can pick a leaflet that gives you a discount at the Fiesta Tanit hotel.

Aquarium Cap Blanc

It is a very small aquarium , I'll be honest you're not going to see the marine life you'd see in a Sea Life centre there, but the ambiance and atmosphere of the place, the setting and the sense of fishing history make it well worth a visit. There is great snorkeling in the bay, and most of the fish you see in the aquarium are the fish you would see in the water around this area. The sea directly enters the cave where the fish are kept; the small bar, more resembling an Australian surf shack immediately outside the cave entrance is very atmospheric, and you can sit outside here with a drink, overlooking the sea is a great place to spend a short visit, also quite spectacularly amazing when the sun goes down and the breeze rustles your hair.

From aquarium Cap Blanc you can a water taxi to San Antonio it's not much 4 Euros one way and cheaper if you have a return. The water taxi is a proper little boat , one that looks like it could have been used in the Dunkirk landings but completely serviceable and safe.

For the ultimate Ibiza beaches visit this blog 

Ibiza old Town

We got a taxi from our hotel and it was about 26 Euros and that took us to the top of the old town where the fort is and a cathedral  and I am glad it did as I am asthmatic ! then we could wistfully wind our way down and oh what a serene and inspiring journey it was.

And being finally tuned to no wifi I was able to look up and see the shimmering beauty of the whitewashed houses than wound their way down to the bottom.The old town is split into distinct areas from restaurants ,bar and hippy clothing. Do wear good shoes as they streets are cobbled , luckily I did ! 

A holiday is what you make it and on the days when we weren't wandering about I were lazing by the pool reading or taking a dip, but a week was just enough for us perhaps long enough there had been more at the hotel but it was enough and sometimes that is all you need.

Me time
You time
We time

Family Time

Autumn Has Positively Arrived

Autumn has positively arrived and it bears gifts of conkers ( and not honkers as my blog so gracefully wants to put instead blessed is the art of predictive text )

I just popped out to collect some conkers they’re useful as spider repellent s or you can chuck them at spiders the size of aragog from Harry Potter.

Here’s one if the horses who lives in the field ( obviously) of the farm at the end of my road.

With Autumn you can hear me cry :

“ For I am Queen of the thermostat you will not hear me shiver !”

And I did at precisely 12 midnight turn on the heating like Cinderella would have done if she had been cold.I didn’t sleep very well last night either and had to come downstairs for an hour or so because insomnia is a tricky beast demanding attention.

But despite feeling like a tea drinking zombie this morning faced with the apocalypse of housework, I soldiered on tinkering a little with the burden of tidying.Then I ventured out to welcome Autumn here positively.It would have been rude of me not to return the favour of visiting Autumn in return.

Ever Met A Person You know On Holiday ?

Have you ever met a person you know on holiday and I don't mean your family that you're going with I mean unexpectedly even when you're thousands upon thousands of miles away from where you live . You think awwwh peace and quiet until you get a


"COOOOOEEEE oh hello I didn't know you were here as well ....."


Your heart may sink or you might or no bang there goes my quiet holiday !


This has happened to me not once but twice three times if you include my husband seeing someone he knew on a flight who waved from first class us as we did the first class walk of shame all the way down to economy class.


And then there was the time I and my family was smack bang in Washington at subway station called Wooley Park getting our subway tickets for that days adventure.I suddenly heard a very high pictured sound of a child


"MRS Toplis ... OOOOH it's Mrs Toplis "


And there thousands of miles away from home was a pupil from the school where I was a teaching assistant  , I was shocked as you go away for a holiday and end up seeing someone you know ! I thought yes you are perhaps likely to bump into someone you know in Spain perhaps or even Portugal but Washington DC and a Subway station at that.