Keeping warm in winter can be a real problem for some people, particularly those on low incomes for whom the idea of flicking the switch on the central heating has, in recent years, become an increasingly alarming prospe

Coal scuttle. It seems like a product from a distant age, doesn’t it? Like spats, antimacassars and liberty bodices. But it’s not. The humble coal scuttle may have decreased in number since the 1956 Clean Ai

Feature walls that have a striking colour or jazzy wallpaper are becoming increasingly popular. However, it’s important to get it just right to create the attention-grabbing, well-designed focal point of the room t

There are few accomplishments in life I am happy to take great pride in. One is producing two fine strapping lads.  Another is presenting them with homemade birthday cakes throughout their childhoods. A dog-eared

A battle of wills is being waged in the garden. It’s been a long standoff but a feud I am determined to win. The sweet taste of victory will be mine – it’s just not happening yet. My enemy is determin

Life used to be so simple. A bulb in the sitting room light blew and off you popped to the local hardware store and bought a replacement clear 100w bayonet bulb and clicked it in. You had light. Simples. No thought, no

When it comes to neighbour etiquette, there’s a hazy area that threatens to cause more rumpus in a community than playing Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now at full volume after Newsnight. Mowing and strimming.

Watching TV’s latest obsession with hoarding – Britain’s Biggest Hoarders and Hoarders – gives me the heebie-jeebies. People suffocated by their own stuff. Mountains of books, boxes, magazines an

There’s little in life that sends my blood pressure raging than the malfunction of a domestic appliance or a home emergency. The mere hint of a clunk in the washing machine sends me into a fit of apoplexy and the

Have you noticed? Everything’s getting a bit jazzy in the garden. Not just the natural bits - the flowers and trees, the bushes and birds – but everything we use to encourage and shape our gardens into our p