They don’t eat horses, do they?

The news of beef burgers in several big supermarkets around the UK and in Ireland being contaminated with horse meat is all over the headlines today. It reminded me of this picture that I took in Brenham, Texas, last summer. At the time, I was surprised to see it — I’d never heard of horsemeat being an issue in Texas. I knew from living in France and visiting other countries that people do eat horse but...

The problem with thank you cards

The gifts are unwrapped, the leftovers are in the fridge covered in foil, and Christmas songs have lost their lustre. That means only one thing in our house: the race to complete thank you cards is on. On my husband’s side of the family, we draw names and everyone buys one “big” present for someone else. This is good, since there are 5 siblings along with their partners and children. That also in...

Bloggers: what are we good for?

I love this question. Coming from the print world, I often talk to 3 kinds of fellow ink-stained wretches. 1. The ones who are plugged in or getting plugged in to social media and love the freedom and power it brings 2. The ones who want to get all social media’ed up and are a bit scared (despite controlling budgets of large departments or writing award-winning copy) 3. The ones who are sure that bloggers and...

5 ideas for carving Halloween pumpkins

I love doing Halloween with my daughter here in the UK, especially since it’s still in its infancy. There’s a bit of trick or treating, there are a few parties but the celebrations aren’t over the top, like what can be a consumer-fest in the U.S.  I also find the whole super-gruesome costume thing that adult revelers have embraced creepy in the extreme. But one thing I am glad that has caught on...

Top time-saving apps and sites

On BritMums we’re running a #BGSaveTime Linky, with bloggers sharing their favourite time-saving apps and sites. The Linky is sponsored by British Gas, which has a new online account management system and smartphone app that — among other things — lets you track the engineer coming for a home visit (at last!). I’ve been meaning to blog about my favourite time-savers for ages. Ironically, trying to...

Are American men more handsome than Brits?

Now that science has solved the question of the Higgs Boson particle, it can move on to the really pressing questions, like “Who is more handsome – British or American men?” Usually my response to hard-hitting questions like this is, “Gentlemen, please, don’t fight – you’re all gorgeous.” But I happened on a scene this week that made me revisit this issue. A friend...

Dressing up for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

One of the big surprises of living among the English (and there are many) is how much they love to dress up. Americans may work Halloween like a mofo, but the English wouldn’t settle for just one day a year. Fancy dress is a standard not just of children’s parties and All Hallow’s Eve. Attending balls in elaborate costume is as much a part of university as beer bongs are in America. It continues on...

Listography: My top 5 albums by male solo artist

Obviously this is a departure from usual travel focus on Jenography, but this topic is just too good to resist. I’ll happily admit I have, er, eclectic taste in music, sometimes veering into terrible, but this list turned out to pretty good IMHO. Herewith, my entry for Kate Takes 5′s listography: my top 5 albums by a male solo artist. 1. Joe Jackson – Gold I can’t listen to Joe Jackson...

Launching the UK’s ONE Mum blogger programme

Over the years I’ve become pretty jaded about charity appeals. I don’t question the need for people to extend help to one another for all kinds of reasons, and many organisations do many good works. But I question whether the influx of money to poverty-stricken areas is used to greatest effect and whether it simply creates a reliance on international aid. One of the latest initiatives by the charity ONE...

The latest great American import: the doggy bag

The list of things America has given the food world is substantial: Velveeta, the Hard Rock cafe, the list goes on. But now one of our most widespread contributions has finally gained purchase on English soil: the doggy bag. So simple a concept. After your restaurant meal that you’ve paid for, you take home what you haven’t eaten to enjoy later. That might mean having yummy leftovers after a late-night...