_ ‘Rosemary Conley is one of the UK's most successful and best-loved diet and fitness experts. Rosemary Conley's "Secrets of Staying Young" is the book that she's been planning to write for 20 years. In it she shares some of her own experiences of looking and feeling young as the years pass, as well as giving advice on diet; exercise (Including a special section of exercises for the over-70s, an age group that is often overlooked in beauty and fitness books); and, dressing for your age and shape, and gives medical advice about HRT, plastic surgery and how to stay fit despite the changes in your body. Rosemary Conley's "Secrets of Staying Young" is not only a practical and useful guide for women, but also a very personal story of how she has maintained her health and stayed looking youthful throughout the years.’

‘The Secrets of Staying Young’ is the latest book by Rosemary Conley, the renowned diet, exercise and general health guru. Conley has been around for years of course, I can remember my mum having an exercise cassette by Rosemary when I was little and she’s remained throughout her career.

The book is divided into twenty one chapters covering everything from picking underwear that’ll make the most of your figure, to advice on cosmetic surgery. She also suggests exercises based on your body shape and very sensible eating plans.

To be honest I didn’t think this book would contain a lot which was directly relevant to me, but I was happily proved wrong. Conley manages to produce a very accessible health and beauty bible for women of any age. I’ll be passing this gem on to my mother and my ninety-one year grandmother, both of whom will thoroughly enjoy reading this I’m sure.

It was good to read some workable and healthy dieting guidance, without a hint of silly fads like cabbage soup or surviving on jars of baby food. I found the section on applying make-up of particular use: the advice was well-presented and the finished results looked great.

I appreciated how candidly Rosemary discussed her own health and I imagine many readers will empathise with her experiences using HRT in particular. She came across as a very easy woman to relate to.

Although I’m not sure younger readers would naturally be drawn to this book, it really does contain a lot of extremely sage counsel and suggestions for women of all ages. These combine to produce a great all-round guide to help us all get back on track after the festive season.

4 stars

'If you think writing a guidebook is easy, think again! 'A family's 8,000 miles round Britain in a Vauxhall Astra' they were bored, broke, burned out and turning 40, so when Ben and Dinah saw the advert looking for a husband and wife team with young kids to write a guidebook about family travel around Britain, they jumped at the chance. With naive visions of staring moodily across Coniston Water and savouring Cornish pasties, they embark on a mad-cap five-month trip with daughter Phoebe, four, and son Charlie, two, embracing the freedom of the open road with a spirit of discovery and an industrial supply of baby wipes.'

“Are We Nearly There Yet?” is Ben Hatch’s very honest account of the five months he, his wife and two very young children spent driving eight thousand miles around Britain in a Vauxhall Astra, visiting several attractions a day and staying in a different hotel each night.  Commissioned to write a guidebook, Ben and his wife, Dinah, believe this madness to be a pretty good idea when they set off in a clean smelling car and a fresh supply of baby wipes, but it’s not long before reality kicks with severe doubts about the sanity of taking on such a mission.

I don’t know whether it’s fairer to say that this family was really brave, or rather just completely crazy, but their adventures certainly make hilarious reading! The book was a great combination of tourist guide, car toddler feeding manual  – Organix biscuits yes, strawberries, definitely no, and where to find a medium sized toy rabbit that can walk and talk and says ‘chut chut chut’ when chewing a carrot.

I enjoyed the little unedited sections intended for the completed guidebook in some form or another, and the passages about the author’s father’s illness and eventual passing away were extremely touching in their candour. Hatch’s honesty in general when discussing his family and their experiences was very refreshing, although perhaps his misadventures with his toothbrush were a touch too graphic!

‘Are We Nearly There yet?’ kept me alternating between laughing out loud and close to tears. Hatch’s tales were very entertaining and certainly original. I can’t say that I have any inclination to follow in the author’s footsteps, but I would love to read the resulting guidebook and discover whether Dinah ever really forgave Ben for scaring her half to death when they stayed in a supposedly haunted castle. This book really would be an ideal gift for any parent - we’ve all had rotten days out with the kids, but not for five months straight!

4 stars