Anne Pickles

Christmas oddity merry-go-round has no losers

There was a raised eyebrow in my neck of the woods when some local charity shops complained people were being mean with their unwanted Christmas gifts this year.

Last updated 13 January 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

All human life is here. In a charity shop

There was a raised eyebrow in my neck of the woods when some local charity shops complained people were being mean with their unwanted Christmas gifts this year.

Last updated 13 January 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Patient comes first in breast implants saga

The storm in a DD-cup that is the current breast implants saga is no less worrying for it having showed up clearly as a forecast on the public health barometer years ago – and nobody having paid any heed. (3 comments)

Last updated 11 January 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

I’ve resolved to cancel my resolutions

Muddy footpath squelching underfoot, a leaking boot and the kind of lashing rain that hits all exposed bits horizontally and painfully.

Last updated 6 January 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

It’s not just the teachers who should smarten up

So the new head of Ofsted reckons our teachers are too scruffy and should smarten up for the classroom.

Last updated 27 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

If I was Mary, I’d be texting too. Probably my mum to be honest

A visit to a living Nativity scene is a bit like a secret Santa gift. You never quite know what you’re going to get – but you’ve an idea it won’t be what you imagined.

Last updated 23 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

All Mary wanted for Xmas was a Travelodge room

sm 3wisemen A visit to a living Nativity scene is a bit like a secret Santa gift. You never quite know what you’re going to get – but you’ve an idea it won’t be what you imagined.

Last updated 23 December 2011
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

All together now people, ‘Mistletoe and whine...’

By now it should be a simple business of relatively plain sailing. It should be but...

Last updated 20 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Hard of hearing? It makes gossip more exciting

She was a hairdresser confidently claiming to be a cut above the rest... she being an accomplished pianist and all.

Last updated 16 December 2011
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Befuddled about the affordability of recitalling and recycling

She was a hairdresser confidently claiming to be a cut above the rest... she being an accomplished pianist and all.

Last updated 16 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Margaret Thatcher may not deserve a state funeral, but I can’t imagine her having anything else

I raised an eyebrow on reading that Baroness Thatcher was to have a state funeral – the first British prime minister to be honoured in such a way since Sir Winston Churchill. (43 comments)

Last updated 13 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Supermarket pricing can send you off your trolley

Here's a couple of shockers, just to be going on with. (10 comments)

Last updated 10 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Advice? I try never to give - or take it

So, there I was in the front pew. Eyes fixed on the glittering Christmas lights – as all eyes are when a twinkling tree’s in the vicinity – and feeling a little out of the comfort zone.

Last updated 9 December 2011
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

The nuclear family is no more – who cares?

Back to the basics of good old family values – that’s what this country needs. And that means... erm, what does that mean? (10 comments)

Last updated 6 December 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

There’s no-one like Grandma to sort out a child

Poor woman. Two Co-op carrier bags in one hand, a small person dragging on the other and soaked to the skin – she looked done in. I’d have told that wet, sulking little girl at the bus stop all of that – if I’d had more courage.

Last updated 2 December 2011
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

No wonder mortality rates are so high

Customer service is so important. Those who get it right bask in the beneficial glow of shining reputation.

Last updated 29 November 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

We love a sense of occasion, but with no nonsense

A sense of occasion is as important to a woman as a sense of smell at a fragrance counter. No two ways about it, a day without a sense of occasion is wasted.

Last updated 25 November 2011
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

We’ve always got something to celebrate

A sense of occasion is as important to a woman as a sense of smell at a fragrance counter. No two ways about it, a day without a sense of occasion is wasted.

Last updated 25 November 2011
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

It’s never going to work so, as my teacher used to say...

You have to be pretty silly to light up a cigarette, while driving your car. You’ve got to be a raving loony to chat to your mother on the phone about the weekend’s menus while negotiating a five-lane intersection. (1 comment)

Last updated 22 November 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk