Don’t you want children isn’t just a question

Posted in baby, Katy Pearson, motherhood by
Katy Pearson, pregnant, #whatkatydidUK

Long wait: Me pregnant with my Sonny Jim

Today one of my best friends is having her baby shower. I’m really looking forward to it…which is a new thing for me.

Pre-Sonny Jim, when I was struggling to fall pregnant, one of the things I found most tough was going to baby showers.

When you’ve been trying for a baby for years, have undergone a load of fertility treatment and nothing seems to be working, spending an afternoon looking at teeny tiny babygrows is painful. Continue reading →

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My chat with… Martina Cole

Posted in Features, motherhood by
Martina Cole, Katy Pearson, #whatkatydiduk, Essex girl

Essex girl: Bestselling author, Martina Cole (c) Charlotte Murphy

She has been writing bestsellers for 25 years and has achieved sales of over fourteen million in the UK alone. Here Martina Cole chats Essex girls, cockle sheds and loving bad boys…

WHAT IS YOUR SECRET VICE?

Emmerdale! On my life I have to watch Emmerdale, because of Cain Dingle. I’m trying to get up an online petition that he has to take his shirt off in every episode. Whether it will happen we don’t know but we can only hope. My other secret vice is I go to Leigh cockle sheds some times. When my daughter was very little I used to take her down the cockle sheds – she was six months old when she had her first jellied eel. And I still love it down there.

WHEN ARE YOU AT YOUR HAPPIEST?

I think when I’m with my grandchildren probably now, coz I’m getting on a bit. I do travel extensively though.

WHERE’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN ESSEX?

There’s so many to choose from, but one of my favourite places is the Boatyard in Leigh. It’s beautiful. Great food. I used to live on Benfleet Road. It was beautiful. It was like a footballer’s wife’s house. Had an indoor swimming pool, the lot. I loved it. When I moved over to Kent my daughter thought we’d gone poor. She said to me, Mummy have we gone poor, and I said not really, no! Continue reading →

My chat with… Jai McDowall

Posted in Features by
Jai McDowall, #whatkatydidUK

A journey through musicals: Jai McDowall

Since winning Britain’s Got Talent in 2011, Jai McDowall has more than kept himself busy.

Performing for royalty at the Queen’s Jubilee, releasing an album, headlining his own tour and travelling the world singing on cruise ships are just some of the things this Scottish lad has been up to.

Now he’s staring in Mad About Musicals with musical theatre’s Michael Courtney. The show, which comes to the Towngate Theatre tonight takes audiences on a whistlestop tour from the heart of London’s theatreland to the glitz of Broadway.

But what can we expect from Jai?

“There’s honestly something for everyone,” the 31-year-old singer says. Continue reading →

Recipes: Halloween delights

Posted in Recipe by
Strawberry ghosts, halloween, recipe, #WhatKatyDidUK

Spookalicious: Strawberry ghosts

Oooo the nights are drawing in and shadows are getting longer. All Hallow’s Eve is creeping closer so here are two recipes to really make the most of the season…

Halloween Strawberry Ghosts

Serves: makes 10
Preparation time: 20 minutes plus chilling time

You’ll need:

  • 200g White Chocolate
  • 10 Strawberries
  • Small tube of black icing

What to do: Continue reading →

Infertility isn’t a lifestyle choice. It’s a heartbreak you can do nothing about without medical help

Posted in baby, Katy Pearson, motherhood by
y Pearson, Sonny Jim, IVF, #whatkatydidUK

A cut too far – I have my boy because of IVF on the NHS

ESSEX is within in touching distance of being the worst region in the country for access to IVF on the NHS.

Three Essex CCGs have already removed all provision of NHS IVF (Basildon and Brentwood, North East Essex, and mid-Essex.) West Essex is set to do the same.

And Southend? Well the CCG is looking to stop all NHS provision here too.

Currently eligible couples are offered two partial NHS-funded IVF cycles. About 50 people unable to have children any other way are helped here yearly – costing the NHS about £200,000.

IVF is silly expensive to have privately. Do you have a spare £8,000 (minimum) to blow on a single cycle with no guaranteed baby at the end? I don’t.

But it’s not a done deal yet. Southend CCG is consulting until October 26. And it’s so important you make sure your voice is heard. Continue reading →

My chat with… Tom Gates author Liz Pichon PLUS your chance to win a signed copy of the new book

Posted in Features, Free stuff, giveaway, win by
Liz Pichon, Tom Gates, Katy Pearson #whatkatydidUK

Bestseller: Tom Gates author Liz Pichon

Author Liz Pichon is something of a superstar in the world of children’s books.

More than three million copies of her bestselling Tom Gates series have sold in the UK alone, with all the books being no 1 bestsellers and all translated into more than 50 languages.

Her latest Tom Gates book, Epic Adventure (kind of) is out TODAY and to celebrate mum-of-three Liz, 54, is bringing her Tom Gates Brilliant Bands and Doodle Tour to Southend later this month.

Click here for your chance to win a signed copy of Tom Gates Epic Adventures (kind of) by Liz Pichon

But being an author is the last thing that Liz, who is dyslexic, ever thought she would be.

Just how have her struggles with dyslexia impacted on her life, I wonder? Continue reading →

Recipes: Mums Helping Mums cookbook

Posted in Mummy life, Recipe by
Rachel Stevens’s Flourless Chocolate Mini Cakes, Mums Helping Mums, #whatkatydidUK

Mums Helping Mums: Rachel Stevens’s Flourless Chocolate Mini Cakes

Tilda Rice is partnering with the World Food Program (again!) and donating a meal for every bag of Pure Basmati Dry (5kg, 1kg) and TSB sold in the UK to new and expectant mums in Bangladesh.

To support the campaign, celebrities and influencers have donated recipes to create the Mums Helping Mums cookbook, which can be downloaded at tilda.com

But to get you started here are some of my favourites…

Rachel Stevens’s Flourless Mini Chocolate Cakes

I love to make these for my two girls, they’re so easy and guaranteed to please.  My mini chocolate cakes are delicious and so quick to make. I love my tea, so these cakes are the perfect treat to accompany a cuppa. Continue reading →