Jungle theme kids room

A Scandinavian Style Jungle-Theme Kid’s Room

Remember our travel-themed nursery for Otis? Well that’s where baby number two will be heading, and in the meantime, we created a whole new room for Otis – and this time it was even more fun as Otis got to be involved in choosing what he wanted. After deliberating over the galaxy, travel and animals, … Read more

32 weeks pregnant

Pregnant in a pandemic

When pregnant with Otis, I wrote a few thoughts on anxiety in pregnancy. Little did I know that second time round I’d be pregnant amidst one of the most anxiety-inducing periods of our collective history. Part of the worry is part and parcel of being pregnant, but the pandemic has certainly added a new dimension… … Read more

Blue Ridge Parkway

A little update – plus news we’re heading South!

Update: See our posts from this trip: Three weeks ago, I was feeling blue. It was exactly a year since we set off on our big road trip around California and I longed for another adventure. But this year has been one of uncertainty and we’ve found it hard to plan things in advance. Over … Read more

Welcome to the new Bridges and Balloons!

It’s finally here – the new look Bridges and Balloons. As much as I loved the old site, it had had its day. It was slow as a sloth and as I’d insisted on building it myself, it was frankly a bit of a mess (code and I are not good friends). I wanted something … Read more

Otis Leif - six month update

Six months with Otis Leif and some thoughts on vulnerability

Tiny man, Oatcake, Otis Leif; we have many names for the little one who joined our lives six months ago. The cliches are true – it seems like forever ago that we first met eyes, but it’s also still so new. The love is intense and just as much so the vulnerability that comes with … Read more

Best independent travel magazines - Lodestars Anthology

The Best Independent Travel Magazines

I am a complete indie magazine addict. I can’t resist stopping in beautiful paper shops and picking up the latest releases or stocking up on new editions. Our living room is starting to look like a magazine shop! I’m a fan of all different sorts, from craft magazines to collections of interviews and photography. But … Read more

Me and Lydia Cacho

Lydia Cacho: Children are men and women in the making

Outside of Bridges and Balloons, I also freelance as a writer and editor. This is an interview I had published in Oh Comely magazine with one of my heros, Lydia Cacho, a leading investigative journalist and women’s rights campaigner in Mexico.  “I’ve escaped mafias and now it’s a monkey that finally got me.” With a … Read more

Positive caesarean birth story

A positive caesarean birth story 

One of the first things a girlfriend of mine asked when I told her I was pregnant was whether or not I would give birth without painkillers. It was one of the first glimpses I had of the pressure that women face about giving birth. A natural, non-medicated birth tends to be held up as … Read more

Victoria pregnant

My fertility journey: PCOS, Clomid and gonadatropins

This is one of those posts where, if you’re here for travel stories, you might want to head over to the travel section instead. However, lots of people have written to me expressing interest in my fertility journey. I struggled to find stories when I was going through all of this, so I’m sharing mine … Read more