Possibly the ultimate in tricky travel etiquette –

Whilst on the tube/bus, is it better to upset and offend … or to leave a possibly pregnant woman standing?

Many thanks to @truongthomas for the idea.

I twas having a little rummage and came across what is possibly one of my favourite posts ever. Not just because of the post, but because there was a duel in the comments! I love my blog minions 😀

Go and have a read of the Parental Quote of the Year.

I have been feeling for a while that I should change my twitter bio.

I have used several different taglines over the past decade here on Bright Meadow, starting with “Habitual Nervous Reaction”, “Ideas Above My Station”, and “Angelic Fruitcake”, but in the end I keep coming back to “Girl + Internet”. Because that is kinda what Bright Meadow is. Me (the Girl) plus the Internet. The same way my Instagram bio is “Girl + iPhone”.
(If you are feeling clever, let me know what songs the first three tag lines come from).

Twitter was “girl + internet” from the start, and for a while “girl + publishing + internet”, but at the moment is “Hot as hell, a knowing wink, and just the right amount of sauce”. That was how the ever lovely Neko described me and it made me grin. Not that I believe it, but, well, it makes me grin. But is it the best way to describe me on Twitter? If I follow someone, is it the sort of bio that is going to make them want to follow me back? Not that I use twitter for work, but my work and my personal interests are very VERY interlinked and it is not unheard of for me to bump into the CEO I did work with that day at an event in the evening. The Oxford publishing/literary scene is rather… close knit. I don’t shout from the rooftops that Cas/BrightMeadow is CLK or vice-versa, but it’s a pretty open secret. Google my real name and the first thing you find is a link here, for example. Plus, if you didn’t know me, would you get that I was being self-deprecating?

And let’s not even get started on whether a woman of 30+ should refer to herself as “girl”.

So, the question:
What should I have as my bio/tagline on Twitter? and should I also change it here on Bright Meadow?

Let me know what you think.
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I was in Boots the other day, looking for a simple mascara – as an aside, why doesn’t anyone do a good basic mascara any more? It’s all lengthen-this, and curl-that, or volumise-the-other. I have naturally long, curling lashes, I don’t need anything that fancy or I look like a panda! – and had to ask a lovely assistant what she recommended.

As she was putting my purchase through, she looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes and said “would you like a make-over?”

Now, I have had a Boots make-over before, and it was nice (if a little odd) to be pampered for 15 minutes and to look all polished for once. They didn’t do much that I didn’t already do, just picked a better foundation match, and reassured me that I knew what I was doing when it came to eye make-up. So I said yes to the overly eager assistant, and got one booked in for March. (So on the 9th of March expect my #365 to be me all made up and looking grown-up for once).

Then I left the store and started to worry about why she offered it to me in the first place… Sure, I wasn’t all heavily made up – it was only Sunday shopping for pete’s sake! – but I was wearing some eye shadow and eyeliner, more or less what I wear any time I leave the house actually. And here was this professional offering me a make-over. Was she implying I was in desperate need of help? That I looked like I’d fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down? That my pathetic attempt at make-up made me look like a low-rent clown?

I am choosing to think that she thought I was a good customer, clearly liked and wore their product well, and would appreciate being shown some of their new line.

That’s what I am thinking. Yep. She was being nice. That’s it.

Right, I have been thinking this “Rebirth of Bright Meadow” thing through and, if I want it to work, I have to accept that the winging it method has stopped working for me.

So, at least until I am properly back in the groove, I have to have a plan. I am going to be the man with the plan. Or the girl with the plan. The blogger. Oh, you know what I am on about!

The Plan
Sunday: a Sunday Roast. Short, but sweet
Tuesday: the Question of the Week (QOTW)
Thursday: a random something or other when I feel like it.

And, of course, the daily photo.

So, do you like my plan? If you like my plan, please say something. Yes, I accept I am pathetically asking for comments like any newbie blogger, but it’s been so long I *feel* like a newbie blogger!

I’ve found my soundtrack to 2013 – “Good Old Days” by Pink.

Just listen to the lyrics. Yep, I’ve got a good feeling about this year.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcD2sla0Oa8&rel=0]

“I’m starting to realise that babies are a bit like little cute black holes: they have gravity far in excess of their apparent size. Our lives are inescapably bound to them, orbiting faster and faster around their tiny pink event horizons”.
Brother Dearest, 26.11.2012