Review round up – Ironing, the underground and comic capers

I have a few things I want to mention this week, and it would be hard to think of three things less similar. I’m going to do my best however to blend them into one seamless post. I’m sure you’ll barely realise I’m talking about more than one subject.

First off, ironing. There seem to be two schools of thought on this one – there are the people who spend Sunday afternoons ironing for hours whilst watching the Eastenders omnibus, and people who go more for the ‘fold it carefully before you put it away’ approach. Which are you?

I am certainly the latter, as was proven in the recent burnt-carpet-ironed-onto-back-of-Boyfriend’s-best-shirt incident. It is doubtful that I will ever be allowed to use an iron again to be honest, which is a bit of a shame, as it means I won’t get to play with our new Morphy Richards Power Steam Elite.

There are loads of things I like about the Morphy Richards Power Steam Elite. It’s really smooth and easy to use, it holds loads of water, and is Very Steamy Indeed. You can even use it to steam curtains while they’re up, if you like that sort of thing. One of the best things though is that it looks really snazzy and makes you feel like you doing a very important chore.

"Morphy Richards Power Steam Elite"On the downside, it does take up a lot of space, and as a complete unit is pretty heavy. Probably not the iron for you if you live in one of those tiny flats with an ironing board that comes out of the wall. (Is that a thing?)

From irons then, to…er…comics!

(Seamless)

It always annoys me that when Belle wants to buy a magazine, she basically has a choice between The Simpsons comic or something in various shades of pink, filled either with popstar gossip or pictures of fluffy bunnies sat in baskets with ribbons round their neck. The range isn’t exactly diverse.

We were really excited then to get sent some copies of The Pheonix, a story comic aimed at kids between 8-11, (although I enjoyed reading it too.) The Pheonix a really lively mix of stories and puzzles, and the illustrations are brilliant. Belle especially liked that there were lots of different types of drawings, rather than just one style of illustrations.

Anything that keeps her away from the TV for a bit gets my vote.

"Pheonix comics"

To keep me away from the TV, (slightly smoother), I’ve been reading the new book from Penguin about the London Underground – ‘Underground – how the tube shaped London‘ – celebrating its vibrant 150 year history.

I say ‘reading’ but to be honest I have been mainly looking at the pictures so far. You can’t blame me though, as it’s full of loads of really amazing photographs of the Underground over the years, plus lots of beautiful vintage posters.

Images © TFL from the London Transport Museum collection

"vintage train poster"

My top Underground fact so far though – can you guess what was built in a spare lift shaft at Holloway Road in 1906?

No?

A spiral escalator! Funnily enough, it apparently never made it into public service. The mind boggles…

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6 Comments

  1. 28 October, 2012 / 3:47 pm

    I used to iron everything including all my 8 month olds tops and trousers until a friend pointed out they’re nearly always sick on them within 5 minutes of wearing them or else they throw food down them. I mentioned I spent about 45 minutes ironing JB’s things and about 15 doing mine and hubby’s as we had so much less. She pointed out I won’t have time for this when I go back to work. Hadn’t thought about that much but now all of JB’s things and anything of ours I can get away with get hung up without the iron being seen. This mornings ironing took….15 minutes in total. Result!

    • 29 October, 2012 / 9:45 am

      Goodness me, don’t bother ironing clothes for babies! Whow have they got to impress?? I’m glad you have seen the light!

  2. 28 October, 2012 / 5:53 pm

    Definitely 2nd school of thought with ironing. When I took up sewing 2 years ago I phoned my husband at work to ask where we kept the ironing board and he laughed and said it broke 3 years previously!!! Annoyingly I told my mummy this story and she was appalled be guess what I was given for Christmas!!!

    • 29 October, 2012 / 9:44 am

      Oh no!! Nobody wants an iron for Christmas do they? :-(

  3. 29 October, 2012 / 7:59 pm

    Ooh I love reading about places in London and the tube is really interesting.

    Ironing – my mum used to pay me to do the ironing when I was at home as I used to quite enjoy it. Now I’m a fan of non-iron/easy-iron fabric conditioner and a key user of Wonderweb for hems. I don’t mind ironing, but am very pleased my OH works in jeans and overalls meaning I only really have to iron for weddings and funerals. But that iron does look very tempting!

  4. 29 October, 2012 / 9:03 pm

    I’m ever so slightly (like massively) jealous of your steam iron, I have a mountain beside me and I would love one to do the ironing with, especially as I iron everything bar underwear and bibs.

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