Working Mum: All dressed up with one particular place to go

GUEST BLOG

By Tabitha Ronson

It was a last-minute arrangement, and one that I had mixed feelings about, but MCM London Comic Con turned out to be an absolute blast.

I managed to get some tickets to the Sunday of the three-day event as I knew it would be Master A's Nirvana.

Spiral Notebook: Bridging the gap between now and the climate apocalypse

"Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors," said Jonas Salk, the polio vaccine pioneer.

Stage review: Shakespeare In Love, Noel Coward Theatre

Shakespeare In Love
Noel Coward Theatre
★★★★★

The genius conceit of Shakespeare In Love - plunging the young Bard into the sort of fictional, farcical world that he might have concocted - is endlessly delicious.

Sherlock Holmes and the case of the icon decrypted

Author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle provided the key element of the Sherlock Holmes myth - the character himself - with his scientific approach to crime, his bohemian lifestyle and his restless curiosity.

Green: How east London keeps west London cool

What Shoreditch hipsters will tell you is confirmed by the environmentalists. It's east London that makes west London cool.

And that perennial role - as temperature regulator rather than fashion barometer - will become increasingly important as the capital comes to terms with the impact of climate change.

Stage review: Neville's Island, Duke Of York's Theatre

Neville's Island
Duke Of York's Theatre
★★★✩✩

Rain pours down on a verdant inlet and the perfume of pines fills the auditorium. Stormy camps, reluctant kindling and a fragile grasp on fortitude.

Working Mum: The kids are alright, but what about the guilty mums?

GUEST BLOG

By Tabitha Ronson

According to a new report, women can have it all.

Yes, it's official. Woman can go to work, do all the housework, raise a family, enjoy regular nights out with the girls, look like Amal Clooney (alright that may be pushing it) - all without damaging their offspring.

Film review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (12A)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(12A) 101mins
★★✩✩✩

When mindless Megan Fox thinks about the loss of her father and her role in the whole Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle circus, her eyes tell a story.

Book review: More Fool Me, by Stephen Fry

More Fool Me
Stephen Fry (Penguin)
★★★★✩

Oh, Stephen. Oh, deliciously wicked Stephen. What troubles come your way and how quickly they pass on by. For yours is a life of ineffable privilege and Houdini sleight.

Working Mum: Down at the nail bar, I scratch an itch for gossip and glam

GUEST BLOG

By Tabitha Ronson

Pre Master A, I was a regular nail bar visitor. Every Thursday after work, I would take my spot alongside other clients and let Janine get to work on taming my talons.

It was a ritual that not only left me feeling more feminine but also more in touch with life.

Film review: Effie Gray (12A)

Effie Gray
(12A) 108mins
★★★★✩

If Effie Gray lacks the emotional release that the painstaking accumulation of frustrations appears to demand, it is perhaps testimony to the artistic courage of script writer Emma Thompson (who also stars).

Film review: Filmed In Supermarionation (PG)

Filmed In Supermarionation
(PG) 119mins
★★★★✩

Thunderbirds visionary Gerry Anderson railed against the limitations of puppetry.

Working Mum: Why I confronted man filming kids in the park

GUEST BLOG

By Tabitha Ronson

Over the weekend, Master A and I went along to a free family event in our local park with one of his classmates, Talia, and her mum.

The sun was shining and laughter filled the open space. Children of all ages were taking full advantage of the activities on offer from old school fairground games and cake decorating to model car racing and crafts.

Spiral Notebook: No sleep until splat time

"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." So wrote Theodosius Dobzhansky in 1973, simplifying all there is to understand about the ambition of nature.

And yet... the mosquito.What need is there for a creature who's role is purely nuisance - big brothers have filled that evolutionary niche.

Book review: The Sense Of Style, by Steven Pinker

The Sense Of Style
Steven Pinker (Allen Lane)
★★★✩✩

Steven Pinker is an dazzling thinker, an excellent writer and a brilliant matchmaker of the two - marrying complex ideas to simple English.

This has not happened by chance. He has studied hard to make his writing appear easy and now wishes to share his learning.