For some reason, Lara's taken a keen interest in The Good Life Letter recently. She stands behind my shoulder, humming… occasionally tutting… and pointing out spelling or grammatical mistakes. It's quite annoying. So this morning I used my favourite George Orwell quote. “Correct grammar is of no importance,” I declared, “so long as one makes one's meaning clear.” “Hmmm…” she folded her arms. “So what does Mr Orwell say about CHEATING?” “ ..

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Well today couldn't have started better… I was woken at seven in the morning by the sound of someone trying to break into our flat, I lost my car keys, and Lara had to pop to the doctor because of a stabbing pain in her left eye. Other than that, everything's fine. So, first things first, what happened to Lara? ---------------------------------------------------- The fastest prescription pad in the (south) West ------------------------------ ..

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Did you know that since 1997, Captain Kirk's ears have been ringing? And not because of his years spent in noisy battle with the Klingons… or from the many times the engine room of the Starship Enterprise exploded (who on earth employed Scottie?) No, it was because William Shatner, the actor who played him, suffers from tinnitus. This is a common and frustrating ailment, where you get a constant ringing in your ears that simply won't go away ..

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I once asked a doctor-friend of mine what the perfect cure for dandruff was. His answer? “Baldness.” Well, he was not wrong, I suppose. But I'm sure there are other ways to deal with this condition. In fact, I know it. Thanks to more of my painstaking research, I can now bring you the best ever ways to rid yourself of dandruff… forever! ---------------------------------------- What really causes dandruff ------------------------------------- ..

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“You've been out in the sun too long, Matt.” That's what I said to my eldest, Matt, last summer when he bundled into the house with the kid from next door. He'd been out in the garden, building a castle out of some mud and what appeared to be the contents of my stationery drawer. How does a 5 year old get to top drawers with such skill? Can they levitate? Anyway, he had this angry looking rash across his arms and stomach. Nothing too bad by th ..

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You've probably seen ads like these... A housewife sits in her house, looking depressed. There's a wet dog in the kitchen and nasty cooking odours everywhere. Her home is so smelly that even the flowers on the window ledge have wilted. Then suddenly as if from nowhere a can of air freshener appears. A few strong blasts and all the colour returns to the house. Flowers spring to life. Children skip through the kitchen and all is well. Smili ..

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I never learn. Over the bank holiday weekend we made the short trip up into the countryside to see friends, to walk the dog, and to get some fresh air into our lungs. And it wasn't long before my eyes were itching and the sneezing started. It always catches me by surprise. You see, I never used to get hay fever. I remember sitting outside on school field trips, looking at friends with red eyes and streaming noses and finding it quite funny... ..

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You and I share something in common. And it's not just our devilishly good looks. Right now, we're both staring at a flickering computer screen. If you're like me, you do this every single day, sometimes for hours at a time .. . looking at websites . . . reading emails . . . writing documents . . . Computers are now very much part of our lives. But the mega-companies who produce computers are so keen on their multi-billion pound revenues, th ..

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The kids began their shrieking competition at 6am. . . I was late leaving the house because I couldn't find the car keys. (Matt, 5, had decided they would be safer tucked inside one of his shoes.) Then the car's air-conditioning packed in halfway along the M4. It was so hot I felt like sticking my head out of the window to get some air, like a dog. But despite it all, I made it to the Allergy Show on Saturday. The sunshine and muggy heat did ..

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At school I was always into a good debate. Possibly I liked the sound of my voice too much. Or possibly it was because I had a crush on Vicky Pritchard, who would come to the debating society at lunchtimes. One day we had debate about vegetarianism, and I was told to speak on the anti-veggie side. A girl who had once snubbed my advances was there, as well as Vicky Pritchard. At one point in my ill-informed, joke strewn speech, I declared tha ..

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