Bella unusual names

In which I am paid to write about being called Caramel!

E&T October gadgets

 See also my in-depth review of the FOURFIT Mini 2 children's fitness tracker.

Evening Standard: Smart heating

Tech that will make your home cosier and your bills smaller. It's online here page 27 but not for long, but it will soon pop up on my Evening Standard author page. Meanwhile, enjoy!

E&T August/September gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the R-Pur mask, for filtering air pollution and Covid-19.

Evening Standard: Home working tech

"Are you sitting uncomfortably? Then we'll begin." So commenced this article, before it was subbed so they could fit a last-minute advert on the page. Oh well, it's still a good read.

The newspaper is online here, page 20, but I'm not sure how long it's there for as it's a new site. It will hopefully soon pop up on my Standard page too.

E&T July gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the GoCube... at least I'll come out of lockdown with one new skill!

Evening Standard: Outdoor cinema

In which I get to write, ever so slightly, about Hamilton! Here's how to build a garden cinema to watch Hamilton, Frozen II and more.

          

E&T June gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the Ooni Karu.

E&T: May gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the Miele Triflex HX1.

Ideal Home: Cordless vacuum cleaners

Tested by me, which was good timing because I needed to clean the house! Read the reviews here.

E&T: April gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the F(x)tec Pro1 phone.

E&T: March gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the DribbleUp Smart Soccer Ball.

Delta Sky: Turntables

You can also read about these beauties online here.

E&T: February gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the Loog Pro Electric guitar.

Delta Sky: Smart watches

You can also read about the watches online here.

Evening Standard: Five best home tech

The longer ten best piece is already online. Here are the five that made it into print. From this Wednesday's newspaper, which can also be read online here for one week only. Tech tonics, I see what they did there!

Ideal Home: Air purifiers

Tried and tested my yours truly, read the full reviews here.

Evening Standard: More home fitness

Now the printed piece from today's newspaper, which can also be read online here for one week only.

Evening Standard: Home fitness

Print story coming soon, meanwhile the online piece is here.

Evening Standard: Home tech for 2020

Print story coming soon, meanwhile the online piece is here.

Delta Sky: Tiny headphones

You can also read my pick of the latest in-ear Bluetooth headphones here.

Land Rover Magazine 39: Kit

I'm delighted that the wraps are finally off my first Kit spread for Land Rover Magazine and it's a beauty!

Delta Sky: Sports Tech

You can also read my pick of the latest fun fitness kit here.

Eglu blog: Rescue hens

In which I didn't think of saying "from bad arse to badass" till I re-read the piece after publication. Read about our girls here.

E&T: December gadgets for kids

See also my in-depth review of the Harry Potter Deluxe Invisibility Cloak.

E&T: December gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the AncestryDNA genetic heritage test kit.

Delta Sky: Monitors

You can also read my pick of the latest designer displays here.

E&T: November gadgets

See also my in-depth review of the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music.

Evening Standard: Smart lighting

The print story can also be read here for one week only. And the online version should end up in the usual place soon!

Bake for the Birds!

We keep rescue hens in the back garden. It's unapologetically hippy but it is also a bit gadgety because they live in a superb fox-proof Eglu coop with an automatic door that's triggered by sunlight levels.

We're holding a cake sale next Saturday to raise funds for the British Hen Welfare Trust. It costs the BHWT around £2.50 to get each bird rehomed. Mine had never been outdoors before, never been treated kindly, etc. They're crazy happy now and they lay me delicious eggs every day.

This is what our girls looked like five months ago when we collected them.

And this is what they look like now. Same birds.

Loads of friends are baking delicious cakes. Plus KitchenAid has very generously donated a red Artisan stand mixer worth £499 which we are raffling for the BHWT too. Tickets cost just £1.

COME BUY CAKES AND RAFFLE TICKETS!

Delta Sky: Coffee makers

Can you tell I'm a caffeine fiend? You can also read it online here.

E&T: October gadgets

See also: my in-depth review of the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 wireless headphones.

Evening Standard: Summer gadgets

The print story can also be read here for one week only. And the online version should end up in the usual place soon!

Delta Sky: Portable hotspots

Hotspots in your pocket. You can also read it online here.

E&T: August/September gadgets

See also: my in-depth review of the Realme 3 Pro smartphone.

Wired Recommends: Barbecues

Barbecues and outdoor pizza ovens tested by me for Wired. No byline, but if you don't believe me I can call in witness statements from the friends and family who I forced to eat BBQ and pizzas for the piece. It beats working for a living!

E&T: July gadgets

See also: my in-depth review of the Lang water filter.

Delta Sky: Alarm clocks

Wake up with ease (and caffeine). You can also read it online here.

E&T: June gadgets

Ideal Home: Cordless vacs & steam cleaners

Cleaned up with my latest batch of tests for Ideal Home. Read them all at https://www.idealhome.co.uk/author/caramel-quin

E&T: May gadgets

Delta Sky: Mirrorless cameras

Big cameras that aren't too big. You can also read it online here.

ITV London Tonight: Living greener

Martin Stew of ITV News interviews me about our extension, including the zero waste kitchen, energy-saving appliances and skip-diving! The rescue hens and sunbathing dog are the real stars.

DK: How Technology Works

Proud to say I was an Editorial Consultant on this gorgeous new book from DK. I worked on the 28-page home technology section, a gig I feel I spent my life unwittingly preparing for:

I did an A-level chemistry exam paper on how microwaves heat food.

I did a university interview on how toilet cisterns work.

I spent many an evening in the eighties hanging out at a computer club hosted by a locksmith called Brian, who taught me how locks work and gave me my first file (actual file, not computer file).

I now spend a lot of time reviewing home electricals, some hi-tech and some low. I regularly have to write thousands of words on kettles. The words have to be different for each one, even though they're all fine at boiling water. I honestly don't know why I haven't won a Pulitzer for this yet...