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I’m ending the month of September by paying a speeding fine incurred while on holiday in France over the summer. Up until 6th May 2017 I could have left this particular ‘sin’ behind at the border and would never have known anything about it. But on that date EU rules changed allowing nations to access one […] The post Leaving sins behind appeared first on Turn the Page.

This week Chinese social media influencer Lisa Li has been called out by her landlord for the contrast between her online life how she actually lives at home. With over a million followers Li has posted about her glamorous lifestyle with its glossy catalogue of foreign travel, wild parties and fine dining. But after several […] The post Wow is me! appeared first on Turn the Page.

These days there’s no excuse for oversleeping. You can set an alarm on your phone or bedside clock or even arrange for the phone to ring with a wakeup call. But what did people do before the widespread availability of watches, clocks and electricity? They used a ‘knocker upper’.  A common sight in British mining villages, […] The post Why we still needs ‘knocker uppers’ appeared first on Turn the Page.

I remember many years ago the agonising pain of being in a relationship that had broken down. There was nothing I could do to restore it. Then one day I received a text message with just the words ‘I miss you.’ Suddenly everything changed. A corner had been turned and now there was hope that […] The post And Peter appeared first on Turn the Page.

Speaking about the security arrangements for the latest artwork installation at Blenhiem Place, Edward Spencer-Churchill declared, ‘It’s not going to be the easiest thing to nick.’ Sadly, he was proved wrong as the 18-carat gold toilet was stolen in the early hours of 14thSeptember 2019. The toilet, called ‘America’, was fully functional and visitors were […] The post Working for a cleaner world appeared first on Turn the Page.

Police Scotland recently tweeted, “September is preparedness month. Emergencies can happen at any time and it’s recommended to have a #GrabBag ready containing essential items including medication, copies of important documents, food/water, torch, radio and other personal items.” The tweet caused some concern with a number worried that it might cause unnecessary panic, not least with […] The post Jesus is my GrabBag appeared first on Turn the Page.

In a famous parable explaining God’s love for the world, Jesus told a story about two brothers, the younger of whom rejects his father, demands his inheritance early and then goes and blows the lot on wild parties. Finding himself reduced to feeding pigs he sets off home in the hope of re-entering the household […] The post Prodigal Son or Prodigal God? appeared first on Turn the Page.

This week I bought a rice cooker in preparation for my youngest daughter leaving home to begin her gap year in London. The outside of the box boasts about the benefits of the cooker – ‘two perfect portions’, ‘slow even cooking’, ‘space saving design’, ‘energy efficient’, and so it goes on. It makes it all […] The post It sounds wonderful! appeared first on Turn the Page.

I’ve never been a huge fan of visiting the dentist. Ten years at boarding school eating too many sweets took their toll. My teenage years were spent having countless fillings, and in the years since I’ve had a root canal done twice and an extraction. But things sank to yet another level when I left […] The post Subject to decay appeared first on Turn the Page.

Sooner or later every loving parent discovers that caring for children leads to backache. This is for the simple reason that our children are smaller than we are and that in order to attend to their needs we must be constantly bending down to their level. It begins with changing nappies and lifting crying infants […] The post Signs of love – backache appeared first on Turn the Page.

My son and I were playing Monopoly on the decking outside our holiday home, when a gust of wind picked up The Strand property card and dropped it neatly through a gap between two planks. Peering through the gap the card was clearly visible but out of reach. For a few moments we debated whether […] The post Worth saving? appeared first on Turn the Page.

As a child I fancied myself as a bit of an escape artist, but sadly with not much success. My brother records one occasion on which I asked to be gagged, tied to a chair in my bedroom and left alone to free myself. Things didn’t go to plan. In my struggle to be free […] The post Not so Harry Houdini appeared first on Turn the Page.

“We choose to go to the moon and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, and one which we intend to win.” These are the words of President Kennedy in 1962, words that would be fulfilled just […] The post The cost of communication appeared first on Turn the Page.

On 6thJuly 2019 seven female students were awarded their degrees in medicine by the University of Edinburgh. Nothing unremarkable about that you might think, but the degrees were posthumous and should have been awarded 150 years ago.  Known as the Edinburgh Seven the ladies were led by Sophia Jex-Blake who was determined to follow her […] The post The power of vocation appeared first on Turn the Page.

The English crowd roared with delight as Ellen White tapped in the pass from Beth Mead that levelled the score against their world cup semi-final opponents the USA. But the celebrations were cut short as a flag was raised for offside and a tense wait ensued while the virtual referee decided whether or not an […] The post That offside rule appeared first on Turn the Page.

For those of us who can’t wait to find out what happens next, the advent of streaming and the ability to binge watch our favourite TV series, has been a welcome innovation. No longer do we have to wait for a whole week between episodes, now we can watch them all in one sitting. So […] The post Binge watching history appeared first on Turn the Page.

When I was a child accessing information generally meant either a visit to the library, and several hours spent trawling through an assortment of books, or finding someone who knew what I wanted to know. These days we just ask Siri or Alexa. But what about the times when they can’t answer our questions?  Some […] The post Forget Siri and Alexa appeared first on Turn the Page.

Of all the bromances that might be imagined, there is perhaps none so unlikely as the one that seems to be growing between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. This week Kim was pictured holding a letter from Donald which he described as ‘excellent’ and containing ‘interesting content.’ The letter was a reply to a ‘beautiful […] The post An unlikely bromance appeared first on Turn the Page.

I thought I’d impress my new friend with one of my travel stories. I told him of the time I flew into Cali, Colombia only to discover that my suitcase was missing. I was suitably impressed when my case was quickly located in Madrid and I was promised that it would be delivered to my […] The post Well that’s impressive! appeared first on Turn the Page.

Following the successful D-Day landings the British 22ndArmoured Brigade were racing to take the town of Caen. Pausing before the final push, they got out of their tanks to brew up a lovely cup of tea. It proved to be a terrible mistake. A German tank commander seized his chance and launched an attack. Within […] The post A very British problem appeared first on Turn the Page.