Who's the Mummy?

In search of kids' films that aren't terrible...

 

Is that t-shirt too small?

I've written before on this blog that I'm a big fan of the cinema.

 

I regularly ditch work for an afternoon to sneak off to see a movie, and I love going to the cinema on my own, especially on a quiet afternoon, when you might get a whole screen to yourself. Thanks to the frankly brilliant Odeon loyalty card, I usually have enough points to take Flea to the cinema a couple of times a month, and she's now a cinema fan in her own right.

The result is that I've seen more kids' movies than you can shake a stick at. And oh my goodness, some of the rubbish that is seen as deserving of a nationwide theatrical release! 

Honestly, this isn't me being snooty. I get that there will be films that I don't enjoy but which are perfectly pitched for a young audience. Let's face it, there has to be some kind of explanation for the fact that there are TWO sequels to Alvin and the Chipmunks. And some kids films are genuinely brilliant - I think Hugo is one of the finest movies of 2011, full stop. 

But there is a whole raft of children's films entirely lacking in charm, humour or even a basic narrative structure. There are cheap, churned out animations - Gnomeo and Juliet, Mars Needs Moms. Then the live-action "star" vehicles - Mr Poppers' Penguins, The Smurfs. And the endless sequels without purpose - Spy Kids 4, anyone?

Sometimes the nicest thing I can say about a film is that I had a lovely snooze. In fact, when I saw the trailer of Cars 2 on TV recently, bits of it were completely new to me, despite the fact we'd seen it at the cinema twice. 

So, my hopes were not sky high this weekend when we were given free tickets to go and see The Journey 2: Mysterious Island. It's billed as an adventure story, and stars Vanessa "I was in High School Musical" Hudgens, and Dwayne "You might remember me from The Tooth Fairy" Johnson. There's some teenage boy in it, but he's new to me. 

But actually - it's really not bad. 

The story is based around the mysterious island written about by Jules Verne, and includes some nice references to classic adventure stories and legends. It's a bit like a cross between Jurassic Park, Zathura and Percy Jackson. 

In this film, a  teenage boy goes in search of a mysterious island to find his long-lost grandfather, taking along his stepfather for the ride. Along the way he meets a beautiful teenage girl wearing a t-shirt that appears to be two sizes too small (I knew I'd become officially middle-aged when I started to notice such things). The girl initially isn't interested in the boy at all, and is quite interestingly independent and sparky, but eventually she comes to her senses. Obviously. 

Anyway, there are giant monsters, insects, caves, underwater rescues, submarines, helicopters and volcanoes - and in 3D there are some nice jump scares that got Flea bouncing in her seat. There's the odd bit of questionable green-screen CGI but overall the effects are well done, and the story is exciting enough to keep little ones entertained. At six, I'd say Flea is about the right age for this film. 

I think Journey 2 is a great option for half-term if you want a step up from the usual animated children's fare - and one of the very few films where I'd say it's maybe even worth forking out for a 3D ticket. Recommended. But Vanessa, poppet? You might want to get a new t-shirt that actually fits for the next movie. 

Disclosure: We were given vouchers by Warner Bros to attend the film, and buy popcorn. Opinions are my own.  

Officially the best LEGO set ever: the VW Camper Van

 

So, remember when I was ranting about the new LEGO Friends range for girls, and demanding to know when LEGO would get with the programme and make some cool LEGO?

The universe heard my plea.

The lovely people at Idealo know a thing or two about LEGO models and sent me what has to be the coolest LEGO set ever.

Look at this beauty. Okay, I know it costs £80 which is quite a lot of money, but you do get a lot for your pennies.

For starters, there are something like 1,300 bricks and the construction is a fair bit more challenging than the LEGO sets we’ve tried previously.  It says Age 16+ on the box, but with supervision it’s perfectly suitable for children younger than that.

I built this with Flea and her two cousins (aged 6 and 9) and it took us a week, spending an hour or two each evening on the project. My sister-in-law admits that she sometimes got a bit carried away, building while the kids were in bed, then having to undo her work before they woke up the next morning! 

Once complete, the camper van has opening doors and windows, an authentic engine in the boot and lovely interior details including a camping table, a tiled floor, pop-up roof, curtains at the windows and (my niece’s favourite) retro surfing posters on the walls.

The model is pretty sturdy, if you want to keep it intact, and is currently occupying pride of place at the other Whittle household.

What did the kids make of it? More fun that regular LEGO, and a little harder to build, but this set is absolutely great for a family to build together.

After something as unbelievably cool as this, perhaps it’s not surprising that my niece wasn’t especially impressed with the LEGO Friends set we were also sent to review last month – she played with it, and said it was ‘quite nice’ but I have to confess, it’s the first time my niece has ever said she didn’t want to keep a LEGO set we’ve tested.  

The camper van, on the other hand? I don’t think I’m ever getting THAT back – and who can blame her? 

 

New Playmobil for 2012: Recommendations

 

I’ve been ranting (I know – big news, right?) recently about toys.

But that’s only because I think toys – and play – are so important to children. In a world where everything is measured and so many products, services and activities are geared towards capturing our kids from the earliest ages and turning them into tiny consumerist worker bees, I'm always looking for toys that just let children be. 

Pah. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I see absolutely no benefit in trying to teach a two-year-old pre-literacy skills or wondering about whether a toddler's got effective mathematical awareness. Just let kids play. The other stuff all comes in time. 

One of my favourite toy ranges, as regular readers will know, is Playmobil. These toys are entirely focused on letting children be immersed in imaginary play, and having a particularly imaginative child means we have invested in a lot of Playmobil in recent years. As Playmobil reviewers, we’ve also been many of the toys to try at home, and one of my all-time blogging highlights was visiting Playmobil HQ in Germany. 

Last week, Playmobil invited us to attend the Toy Fair in London, which is an opportunity to see what the toy industry has planned for 2012, including new ranges from all the big toy manufacturers.

There were a couple of sets I don’t personally think are for us. The new fairy castle is very expensive, (although it comes with furniture) and it is absolutely enormous. I also was unconvinced by the new retro-styled Western set – it’s absolutely adorable, but I’m not sure Flea knows about cowboys and Indians, and would want to play with this sort of set. That sentence makes me feel very, very old.

However, I did think a lot of the new Playmobil for 2012 was very exciting. Some of my top recommendations that will be available in shops between now and October include:

The Future Planet Range

This is a new range based on the idea of eco-rangers who live in a future world where energy is provided through mysterious crystals.  The crystals power lights in the buildings, make vehicles work, and instruments glow in the science lab. There are baddies who can try and steal the crystals and all sorts of neat technical wizardry. Especially loved the turbo-jet spacecraft and landing station, and the e-Ranger headquarters.

 

Collectibles

 

Playmobil is going head to head with other companies providing pocket-money ranges, and 2012 will see a new set of the collectible figures, but also collectible sets of figures with horses and figures with motorcycles (very cool indeed). I love this kind of thing for taking to birthday parties – not too expensive (they’ll retail from around £3 to £10) and they’re not going to make another Mum roll her eyes at the thought of giving some piece of tat house room.

 

Sports-themed Playmobil

 

With a summer of sport, Playmobil have ramped up their offerings to include a load of single figures based on different sports – everything from judo to swimming and weightlifting. Alongside this is a brilliant folding football pitch that includes a goal, score board and football players – as well as a stretcher and medical team for inevitable injuries! I love that this is really big when kids play with (at a metre long) but folds up to keep everything inside when not in use. And you can buy players in colours matching most of the major international teams, too.

Also worth looking out for: the nifty little red sports car in the new harbour range (available this month), the brand new pirate set complete with a memory-game to unlock treasure caves, the new large rally cars that have swappable body panels, engines and special features, and a brand new stone age, complete with a mammoth skeleton that kids can build. 

The one where I steal from old people.

Over the past few months, I've tested a few new products from Morphy Richards, and just before Christmas I got another email from their PR agency. Would my parents like to test a new product? 

Apparently, Morphy Richards has put together a range of new and existing products designed to make life more comfortable and easier for older people. For example, the One Cup dispenser is great for people with arthritis as it's possible to make a hot drink without lifting a kettle.

There's also a luxury reversible heated throw (£89.99) - a soft, reversible throw with 6 separate heat settings - perfect for people who feel the cold, or who don't want to turn the heating on too often. My Dad is in his late 60s and really feels the cold - he has circulation problems in his legs that mean he tends to use blankets to keep his legs warm while he's watching TV. This means my poor Mum is usually sweltering for the evening while listening to her other half grumbling about some imagined draught. 

So a heated throw was dispatched to my parents for testing. After a couple of weeks, the results are in.

My parents love the throw. My Mum turns it on for my Dad at about 7pm and by 7.30pm, without fail, he's dozed off. The blanket has a safety trip and does turn itself off so Dad doesn't roast himself alive, but it's safe to say he's kept nice and cosy under there and Mum's free to do her knitting in comfort. It can be machine washed and tumble dried, and it's reversible so you can choose which colour you prefer (brown or cream). 

You can't over-state the importance of being warm, can you? So I know you won't blame me, or judge me too harshly when I tell you, reader, I stole the blanket. 

Seriously, I live in a Victorian house with more draughts than a hay barn, and those original sash windows laugh in the face of my archaic boiler, which is clinging on to life by its rusty fingernails. My need is greater than a couple of old people. They have double glazing, after all. And I'll probably give it back if it snows. I'm not THAT evil. 

Anyway, I've a feeling you'd love the reversible throw just as much as me, which is why I asked the nice people at Morphy Richards if I could have another heated throw to give away. So, if you'd like to win a luxury reversible heated throw, then all you have to do is leave a blog comment telling me the normal body temperature of a human being. And for a second, optional entry, you can like my Facebook page (just leave your Facebook user name in your blog comment and let me know you've liked).

Terms

• The competition is open to any UK resident leaving a comment below before 5pm on January 21st 2012. 
• A winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries received before the closing date 
• If you are having problems leaving a comment, please email me 
• Prizes will be dispatched by Morphy Richards UK. No cash alternative available 
• Winner will be notified by email. In the event the winner cannot be reached, after 7 days, another winner will be selected 

A Year in Blogging...

 

I love blogging.

Actually, I’m always telling people they should blog. My ex-husband, my hairdresser, my lawyer – I even had an in-depth conversation about blogging with the woman at Caffe Nero last week about how she should write a blog because she makes the best coffee, and never scorches it, like they do at Starbucks. I think everyone should blog. Providing none of you nick my readers, of course.

Anyway, 2011 has been a fab year for me in lots of ways, and blogging has brought so many new experiences and opportunities that it’s pretty mind-blowing. Honestly, next time one of my  friends asks me what’s the point of blogging, I’m just going to show them this post.

My year kicked off in January 2011 with a new business venture, the Tots100 website, which connects blogs and brands. We’ve grown from around 700 blogs a year ago to now listing more than 2,500 active blogs and working with more than 200 brands and PR agencies.  

In February, we headed down to London to take cooking lessons with Dairylea, and launched the Tots100 Parent Blogger Benchmark Study – the first survey to share what bloggers thought about working with brands.

March saw us heading out to Stockley Park to meet with bloggers and Nutella, picking up some more cooking tips.

In April we took our first trip of the year, to the Isle of Wight, where we stayed in a yurt set in a beautiful apple orchard.  When we came home, we were invited to help test a new rollercoaster at Drayton Manor, which I know was a highlight of Flea’s year!

In May, we took a week’s holiday to Italy with Thomson Alfresco, staying on Lake Garda, and spending a fab day visiting Venice. When we came home, we had our first ever BlogCamp event in London, thanks to some fab support from our friends at TalkTalk. This was the first free event of its kind for bloggers, and was a huge success.

June saw our second BlogCamp in Manchester – our first event outside London. We then headed down to London for a night out at Glee Live, then a weekend reviewing a hotel in Cornwall. At the end of the month, I was lucky to be invited on a trip of a lifetime to Israel, to see the innovation taking place in that country.

Travelling to Israel with Rosie and Jane was a real life-changing trip for me. I loved meeting so many inspiring women, and I’ll never forget the sights of the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Israeli deserts. Also – true story – I got recognised at Jesus’ grave. I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in, shall I?

July was a month of relaxation and not very much work, and we took off for our summer hols in Devon – long days on the beach and evenings grilling dinner in the garden. Just bliss.

In August, we were invited to take cooking classes at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, before heading off to Heathrow Airport for a look at how the airport works behind the scenes. Flea got to sit at the controls of the world’s biggest commercial airline – seriously, how cool is THAT?

We rounded off our summer with a trip to France for a sunny beach holiday with Keycamp,  where Flea finally learned to swim!

In September I headed down to London to hear about the work being done by Save the Children at their blogging conference, then got busy organising the second annual MAD Blog Awards, which were even bigger and more brilliant than our 2010 awards, thanks to our fab sponsors at Parentdish.co.uk and some truly fantastic, inspiring and brilliant bloggers.

In October, the Tots100 organised a Bloggers’ Forum about meningitis in Birmingham, and I was really proud to be part of an event that reached more than 50,000 people with important, potentially life-saving messages about meningitis in children.

November saw us heading off to Maths Camp – actually a cunning code-name for Disneyland Paris, where Flea and I tested out the magical Christmas experience at Disney, including rollercoaster rides, parades, fireworks and a visit with the man in red himself.

December saw the launch of a second blogging index, the Foodies100. In less than two weeks, we’ve listed more than 700 UK food and drink blogs, and we’ll be publishing our first charts in the New Year. Next week, we’ll be heading off to Germany to visit the Christmas markets, then heading home for a family Christmas, and a few (hundred) mince pies.

It’s been a brilliant year, and I feel blessed in more ways than I can count. But it’s been hectic, and hard work, too. So, I’ll be popping in from time to time, but mostly I’ll be dedicating myself to the festive season, and spending time with family and friends in the next week or two. Hope you’re all doing the same! 

Merry Christmas!

Seven of the best Playmobil toys for Christmas

It’s been well documented on this blog that I’m a huge fan of the Playmobil range of toys.

Last year I was invited to visit the headquarters of Playmobil in Germany to tour the factory and Playmobil Fun Park, and then meet the company’s founder, Horst Brandstatter.

What I remember most about our conversation was his passionate belief that children’s toys need to be simpler – not more sophisticated. That kids need time and space to invent their own stories, rather than playing with characters some adult has invented. I love that idea. 

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been asked to review loads of Playmobil, and I also still buy  the odd Playmobil set for Flea myself – this year we’re thinking of buying the Playmobil Grand Maison to go in Flea’s playroom.I thought it might be useful to round up some of my favourite Playmobil toys from the past couple of years, in case you’re looking for Christmas inspiration!

1. Playmobil 4070 Playground Set, around £35

This set includes a variety of playground equipment (slide, sandpit, swings) and eight Playmobil kids. Over the two years we’ve had this set, it’s probably one of the most consistently played with, which shouldn’t surprise me – younger kids love role-playing everyday situations with their toys, and this set is perfect for imaginary games set in the school playground.  Do shop around though, because I’ve seen this retailing anywhere between £30 and £50.

2. Playmobil 3255 Noah’s Ark, around £40

This gorgeous Noah’s ark is simple to put together, robust – and floats! Like many kids of her age, Flea loves animals, and has endless fun playing with the giraffes, lions, monkeys, zebras and more than come with this set. And at the end of the game, everything gets tidied away into the boat and can be popped easily into a cupboard.  

3. Playmobil 4290 Giant Pirate’s Ship, around £70

Flea and her cousin Harry both have this toy, and it’s one that’s regularly pulled out of the toy box two years after it was bought. It’s a bit tricky to put together (don’t buy this on Christmas Eve) but once it’s finished, it has lots of lovely features, including a hiding space for treasure and a captain’s cabin. For me, I think the sails fall off too easily, but that’s never bothered Flea. Will fit into a cupboard if you take down the mast.

4. Playmobil 5804 Take Along Pirate Island, around £25

I’m a big fan of this pirate island set which folds together into a really compact case in the shape of a skull. It is small but has loads of play value once opened up, including a little cannon that fires cannon balls, and some gruesome looking pirates and an escape boat. Oh, and treasure and a glow-in-the-dark skeleton. Come on. How cool is that? A great companion to the Pirate’s Ship.

5. Playmobil 4826 Safari Animal Care Station, around £45 

One of the things that can be a problem with Playmobil sets is their size – we’ve passed on sets like the school and hospital because it’s impossible to put them away anywhere. But the animal care station, with its beds, cages and decking is small enough to pop on a shelf, while being flexible enough to be played with as a hospital, a den, a school, and a base for international spies. A great set for children who love animals, in particular.

6. Playmobil 4221 Ambulance, around £30 

Every child loves a good medical emergency, and this is one of Flea’s oldest Playmobil sets – and probably the one that’s had the most use. I love it because it’s small and compact – all the accessories can go inside after Flea’s finished playing – and it doesn’t fall apart even during quite rough play. Totally recommended, and a great companion to the playground set.

7. Playmobil 4325 School Gym, around £30 

You may be looking at investing in the school set from Playmobil, but at almost £100 less, I think this is a better buy – it’s a brilliant set that includes a standard gym with climbing bars, benches and a basketball hoop, with some children and a teacher. I find Flea is more likely to take this out when she’s playing schools, and combine it with the playground set – because the school set (which we also have) is cumbersome and impossible for her to move around the house.

Disclosure: We have been given a number of Playmobil sets to review by Playmobil over the  past couple of years, but I’ve only recommending things I have bought or would buy with my own money!   

Six Working from Home Essentials

Regular readers of this blog will be completely unsurprised astounded to hear that I don't function well in full-time, office-based employment. According to my last appraisal, I have "issues with authority figures", or something. Pfft.

As if. 

Anyway I've worked freelance, from home, very happily, for around 10 years now, and I've learned a thing or two about how to make a home-based office work for you. 

Today, I thought I'd share some of my favourite products for home workers. Obviously, this being my blog, most of them are not strictly work-related. But, hey, they make the day go a little smoother... 

1. COFFEE

Coffee forms a big part of my average day, and so I love this One Cup hot water dispenser that I was sent by Morphy Richards - it gets used every day in my house. Just pour a mug of cold water into the machine, pop your cup under the spout and 30 seconds later you have a mug of boiling water. This speed is very handy, considering the heating in my kitchen hasn't worked for three years. As an aside, it's also fab for mixing up small amounts of stock. You know, if you like cooking, and stuff. 

2. BACK-UP 

I've worked as a technology journalist for many years and am pretty smug about the fact I back-up my hard drive regularly. Or at least, I was smug until the day I accidentally dropped my hard drive. Fortunately, I stuck it back together with parcel tape and it still works (although it makes a noise it never used to) but I was glad when a kindly PR person sent me the Hitachi Touro back-up drive.

This back-up is only a little bit bigger than an iPod but you plug it into your computer and it simultaneously backs up your hard drive to the Touro AND to Hitachi's cloud-based back-up service. Perfect for when you drop your hard drive - or if you need access to any of your files from another computer, for whatever reason. 

3. WARM FEET 

A couple of weeks ago, Hi-Tec sent me a winter survival kit. Now, I differ slightly from them on what consistutes "survival" - there was no hot chocolate in the box, for starters. But there WAS a pair of fantastic Hi-Tec St Moritz snow boots, with a fleece, insulated lining and some furry trim. You might ask why this is an office-based solution but when you are the only person at home, it gets hard to justify turning on the heating JUST for you. Which is why I've been wearing these boots at home, while working, for the past couple of weeks. They are seriously toasty, and I recommend them whole-heartedly. 

4. MAN JUMPER

The only possible accompiment to the snowboot is the Man Jumper. This needn't be bought because the best Man Jumpers are those that are stolen from a male acquaintance. They will usually be emblazoned with a sporting logo that means NOTHING to you, but it will cover the tops of your legs, and the sleeves are extra long - which allows you to type at your desk with only the very tips of your fingers being exposed to the elements. Sadly, no PR has sent me a Man Jumper recently, so I stole one. From a man. He wasn't that happy, but we did a coin toss, and I won. 

5. MUSIC

Working from home can become lonesome, and some people might be reduced to reading their words aloud, as they type, in a variety of comedic regional accents. Some people. Not me. Obviously. 

Anyway, to prevent his happening, I suggest investing in a Squeezebox. I've reviewed this item before, but basically all you need to know is: all your music, everything in Spotify, everything in iTunes, all available, at the touch of a button, and wirelessly streamed through speakers. You need this technology in your life. If you don't have Spotify - seriously - what are you waiting for? The moment you finish reading, I absolutely insist you go and sign up. 

6. CALL SCREENING

With coffee, cosy clothes and music, your work from home experience is almost complete, but there's one more element you need to consider - a phone that allows you to screen your calls. It might sound harsh but when you work from home, most of your friends and family will assume you don't REALLY work, and are available to chat at any time of day. With call screening you can listen to someone leaving a message and if it seems like a call you should take, you can answer the phone with a breathless, "Ooh, sorry, just had to rush to get the phone!"* and nobody's any the wiser. 

* Apologies to everyone reading who I've actually done this to. But the added bonus of using this kind of technology is actually being out of the house and returning to a voicemail from your Mum that says, "Sally, stop screening me... Sally? .... Sally, I can't believe you're not picking up to your OWN Mother... Sally?  I know you're there..are you? ..Sally?"

Honestly, it's amazing how long she will persevere before accepting I'm not just ignoring her, and am actually out of the house. 

 

Fancy winning a good hair year?

I am a fairly even-tempered person. 

I don't get wound up by bad drivers, I can shrug off poor service in shops, lateness or most things. But if you have thick, shiny hair, I can't help but hate you. Just a little bit. 

I have been cursed with dead straight, fine hair. Oh, and it's light brown. So it's basically completely boring on every level. And now I'm middle-aged, I have the added joy of my Mum pointing out a new grey hair every time I visit her. I sometimes wish we were one of those families that only met up on holidays - my Mum is so GLEEFUL when she finds a new grey hair on my head. Seriously, where do grey hairs even come from? They just appear, overnight. 

So, when the people at Regis offered to whisk me off for a hair cut and colour, I thought about it for all of two seconds before saying yes. But it's not just me who gets lucky in this scenario. Oh no. 

Regis are also running a fab competition where they are giving away a year's worth of hair services at one of their salons PLUS a Cannon 550D digital camera - PLUS ten runners up win a free cut and colour at their local Regis salon. All the details of how to enter are in the one minute video below: 

So what are you waiting for? Head over to the Regis UK Facebook competition to upload your entry.

There's also a Twitter giveaway - if you follow @RegisUK and RT their competition link, you'll be in with a chance to win one of three £50 vouchers from Regis. Why not follow me on Twitter while you're at it? 

Disclosure: In return for sharing this competition with you, Regis offered to make my hair look shiny and pretty. How could I refuse? 

Welcome to the Jungle

Since starting blogging, I’ve shared many intimate details of my life with you, my readers.

You’ve seen my mug shelves.

You’ve seen my kitchen cupboard.

You’ve seen my dining room shelves and toy storage.

As a result, I may have gained a reputation for being a tidy, orderly sort of person.

But I have a secret.

A shameful, shameful secret.

It’s my secret garden. Or as we refer to it in the family, "the jungle". 

You see, the thing is there just never seem to be enough hours in the week to tend to my garden.  And although I do sometimes plant stuff, it has this habit of dying on me, slowly, over a period of many months.  Except the plant I like to call “the ever-growing nettle of death” which appears to continue to grow at a rate of knots no matter how many times I try to murder it with chemicals and kitchen scissors.

We live in a very ‘tidy garden’ sort of town and I swear to God, my neighbours must think they’re living alongside the Clampetts when they walk past our house.

Anyway, seems the people at Bosch love a challenge as they offered to help me clear up my garden. Not with manual labour (sadly), but with technology. And plants.

Yep. We’ve been offered the chance to try out some nifty gardening tools, including some very cool electric secateurs and cordless hedge trimmers – plus the chance to order a whole lot of plants and shrubs from Best4Plants.

We’ll be sharing the results with you in two weeks time. I’d like to say ‘hold on to your hats’ but to be honest, I don't want to set unfair expectations.

Let's just say, "Wish me Luck!"

Kitchen Appliance Porn

One of the weird, but lovely things about blogging is that the World of PR sends you stuff that you’d never otherwise buy.

For example, I am not the sort of person who finds £50 in their wallet and thinks, ooh, I must buy myself an electric milk frother.  This is why my kitchen cupboards are mostly empty, and I own way too many DVD box-sets.

Despite this, I’m endlessly fascinated by those gadgets and appliances you see in Lakeland Limited and the Sunday supplements – bread makers and steaming appliances and weird ways to crush garlic – it all fascinates me.

One of my favourite times of year is when the Lakeland Christmas catalogue arrives and I can settle down to browse and imagine how my life might be transformed if I was the kind of person who could use a Remoska cooker, or made my own yoghurt.

So I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to become a product tester for Morphy Richards, providing feedback on new appliances.

My first assignment was to test out a Meno milk frother. I find it hugely cheering that in this crazy, troubled world, someone has taken the time and effort to create an appliance that creates cappuccino foam in the comfort of your own home. It’s small, unobtrusive and the brushed steel finish wipes clean easily.

So, does it work?

Basically, you pour milk into the Meno, select the hot option, and around 30 seconds later you have an impressively firm, milky foam, heated to the perfect temperature for coffee or hot chocolate (65 degrees, in case you were wondering, coffee nerds). You can also make cold froth for milkshakes, if that’s your sort of thing, but I’m a hard-core caffeine consumer.

For someone like me, who spends more than £50 a month on coffee from coffee shops, the Meno could make a savvy investment. Now, I just need an appliance that replicates the Caffé Nero blueberry muffin and my morning is set…

Disclosure: I was provided with a Meno milk frother, RRP £59, for the purposes of this review