Drinking Custard: The Diary of a Confused Mum

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I added one extra egg yolk to make it divide evenly (on the odd chance I someday want a smaller batch), used vanilla beans instead of extract and simplified the preparation (In full America’s Test Kitchen mode, I did try the original instructions which came out exactly the same as my easier version. I love to see and congratulate success, as with their TV work - I don’t like it forced on my eyes or down my throat. The book is chronological, covering pregnancy, birth, babyhood/that horrific sleep deprived bit, the toddler years and then coming up to school age.

Reading this book, I think Lucy Beaumont is the mum I would love to have bumped into at mum and baby groups. Jon is a vegan, and she becomes one apart from during pregnancy, but both admit to lapses which include dead cows and her mother’s cooking when she arrives on mercy missions. I loved the down to earthness of Lucy's writing the " warts and all grime " the honesty and lack of delicate flim flam.

I can be quite sceptical about celeb books but Lucy comes across as so down to earth and relatable that I felt like I was sitting with a friend as I read. I know I don’t really need to say this, given that she’s a comedian, but Lucy’s writing is so funny, and yet there is a great mix of the hilarious and those touching, emotional moments that come with being a parent – a child that doesn’t look back as they head into school is a testament to your abilities as a parent, but it sure is a dagger to the heart too! Following in the footsteps of other comedians' books, this touched on the matter of class along with comedic diary-style entries.

I love the little quips from Jon and I love that little talking frog who lets us know that life in general is going to take the piss. Lucy's northern working class roots, battling in a middle-class world of parenting rang very true for me as well. This was mostly a series of funny anecdotes, which is where I feel like it makes for the perfect audiobook experience. Maybe other readers identified with the content, but I don't find individual children anywhere near as interesting as their parents do.The best part is that it’s quick and easy to make using just a few ingredients that we always have on hand, and isn’t packed with caffeine.

It's a funny book, but there's real heart too; the importance of extended family and childhood experiences are a recurring theme, as well as Lucy's nostalgic ties to her homeland of Hull. Known for her sharp, witty and surreal view on everyday life, Lucy shares the unpredictable craziness of being a mum in this brilliant and laugh-out-loud 'mumoir'. It is not a straightforward account, it chooses high and low points, it probably exaggerates a little. She comes up with ten reasons why she wants a baby - which includes having a white carpet like in the adverts.I’d recommend this to anyone who has embarked on the parenting journey only to wonder – even if only occasionally – what on earth they are doing. I’ll never tire of motherhood books that tell it like it is and I take a very dim view of those parenting manuals that assure you that baby should be running to your routine, will go down for a nap when you say, and go to bed when you say – especially when my youngest didn’t go to sleep unless he was being held FOR THREE YEARS. I think one think I appreciated about this book was there was no frills about how tough parenting can be; but it’s still the most amazing thing you can do!

If you are looking for tips on how to be a great, amazing, perfect parent then dear reader this book is not for you. I can’t speak to its relatability as someone not in the target demographic, but whilst it wasn’t an essential read, this was still very funny. Today dear readers I am on the blog tour for Drinking Custard Diary Of A Confused Mum ( Published 30/9/21) By Lucy Beaumont.

The next goes on to her meeting and getting together with Jon, who adds “interruptions” through the book. Get ready to make room on mum's bookshelf for Drinking Custard to sit alongside other mum classics such as Why Mummy Drinks, Hurrah For Gin!