Caramel Quin

The Filter is one! 50 things we loved this year, from a sleep mask to the perfect pan Twelve months, thousands of tests and a revolutionary potato masher – here are our ultimate favourites, chosen by readers and writers

@theguardian.com The Filter is One! 50 expert product picks including mine (at the very bottom... well, it's not really the season for fans!)
www.theguardian.com/thefilter/20...

Features air source heat pump installation by @octopus.energy, bespoke kitchen by Jonathan Maker jonathanmaker.com and photos by @paulasmith.co.uk 2/2

My heat pump journey part six: will a heat pump save me money? How to save on standing charges and electricity bills by doing it right.

Ooh, lead story on Grand Designs is my 6th, and final, column on replacing a gas boiler with a #heatpump in an ordinary end-of-terrace house that's nearly 100 years old. This time I answer the killer question: am I saving money on my energy bills? www.granddesignsmagazine.com/renovate/my-... 1/2

Who dat? Small world but your online presence is too anonymous!

The best fans to keep you cool: 14 tried and tested favourites to beat the heat Struggling to sleep and work in the balmy months? Chill your space – and avoid energy-guzzling air con – with our pick of the best fans, from tower to desk to bladeless

Good timing, publishing my test of 14 fans on such a hot day! www.theguardian.com/thefilter/20...

My heat pump journey part four: cabinetry How we adapted a bespoke kitchen for an air source heat pump

“If the original bespoke kitchen was a symphony, this was jazz.” The latest article about my #heatpump journey for
Grand Designs Magazine is out! I talk about how Jonathan Maker tailored my bespoke kitchen. Featuring @octopus.energy @paulasmith.co.uk
www.granddesignsmagazine.com/renovate/my-...

A red graphic with white text saying that we have written to the chancellor and secretary of state for education asking them to lift the two-child benefit cap

Ahead of the Spending Review, we have written to
Rachel Reeves and Bridget Phillipson making the case for the end of the two-child benefit cap.

The cap currently impacts over 7,500 children in Waltham Forest. 👶👧👦

My heat pump journey part three: installation The true, and sometimes dramatic, story of installing an air source heat pump in a 1930s home, for the same price as a new gas boiler

The third of six articles about my #heatpump journey for @granddesigns is out! It's installation day. We were finally getting a heat pump… or were we? Featuring @octopus.energy and Jonathan Maker. www.granddesignsmagazine.com/renovate/my-...

A Co-operative membership card on top of a pile of cards, including an Oystercard, Smile bank cards, a UK driving licence and a library card

Co-op Member? It's your last weekend to vote! In the AGM (yes to Motion 8!) and if you're in London you can also vote for me in the Co-operative Members' Council elections. It's easiest via app. Here's why I'd be a great addition to the Members' Council... caramelquin.blogspot.com/2025/04/got-...

YouTube video by Co-op Join In How to vote in Co-op's 2025 AGM & Elections

Co-op member owner? Don't forget to vote in the elections! www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IC9...
And if you're in London, here's why I hope you'll vote for me! caramelquin.blogspot.com/2025/04/got-...

Got one of these cards? Please vote for me in the Co-operative Members' Council elections! It's easiest via app. Here's why I'd be a great addition to the Members' Council of one of the world’s largest consumer co-ops, owned by more than 6 million members.
caramelquin.blogspot.com/2025/04/got-...

The second of six articles about my #heatpump journey for Grand Designs Magazine is out! In it, I pick a supplier, get a survey done and discover that I can get a heat pump for the same price as a new boiler.
Featuring @octopus.energy and Jonathan Maker. www.granddesignsmagazine.com/heating/my-h...

❄️ April Fools?! Open water dip for Waltham Forest Mayor's Charity ❄️ Help Caramel Quin raise money to support Waltham Forest Mayor's Charity

Tomorrow is the day! The crazy day when we go cold water swimming for charity! We are soooooo close to our goal. Could you please sponsor us and help us smash it? Every little helps. And it goes to great causes. Thanks! www.justgiving.com/page/aprilfo...

Happy International Women's Day. I can't believe that we have to fight again for freedoms that we already won. But fight we will. 💪

❄️ April Fools?! Open water dip for Waltham Forest Mayor's Charity ❄️ Help Caramel Quin raise money to support Waltham Forest Mayor's Charity

Today's litter pick in the rain was so cold that I now feel I can survive the reservoir. But please take a minute to sponsor us, to help make it worthwhile! Great charities. Great @wflabour.bsky.social councillors dipping. No donation too small (or too large!) x
www.justgiving.com/page/aprilfo...

A thorough litter pick of Gibert's Slade in #UpperWalthamstow #EppingForest today with City of London wardens and volunteers. The weather was unhelpful but we did great! Join us next time please... the weather will surely be better next time! 😂

Sunny Upper Walthamstow lived up to its name this morning, if a bit chilly on #LabourDoorstep with Yusuf Patel @andy--dixon.bsky.social @jeremybcohen.bsky.social and Zafran Malik. Great chatting with residents for @wflabour.bsky.social & thanks for coming out with us guys!
#VoteLabour

❄️ April Fools?! Open water dip for Waltham Forest Mayor's Charity ❄️ Help Caramel Quin raise money to support Waltham Forest Mayor's Charity

Please sponsor us! A group of us from
@wflabour.bsky.social are braving the cold water in support of two excellent charities (supporting people with dementia and dyslexia). And please share this if you can. Thank you! justgiving.com/page/aprilfo... #walthamstow #walthamforest

Rape under wraps: how Tinder, Hinge and their corporate owner chose profits over safety Match Group has known for years about abusive users on its dozen dating apps, but leaves millions of people in the dark

This is long but an important read. It's tempting to think that men on dating apps have been vetted somehow, or at the very least would be removed if reporting for anything nasty. Sadly not true... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

First of my new series of six articles about my #heatpump journey for Grand Designs. How I made my home heat pump ready, even though it's nearly 100 years old. The series features @octopus.energy Jonathan Maker @paulasmith.co.uk
www.granddesignsmagazine.com/heating/my-h...

They are very powerful but there are more of us. Stay strong: this too shall pass. 3/3

Getting the bus instead of driving still matters, regardless of "drill baby drill". My respect for trans friends still matters despite Trump's binary policy. Their attacks on immigrants are scary but every time they punch down, I'll punch up... 2/3

Author in a woolly hat and coat, wearing glasses and holding a thermal mug. It's dark and, we infer, cold.

Last night I had a good chat with a friend about what a depressing day it was (Trump and Musk, not the fictitious Blue Monday). And they weren't wrong. But I think it's important not to despair and not to be apathetic. Our efforts still matter, they're not pissing in the wind... 1/2

even better! x

Tentatively liked, worrying that there could be some uncertainly over whether I liked your riposte or Farage's hideous, Yankee-inspired, anti-choice bullishit. Then realised everyone would know which one I meant.

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Making Plans with Nigel Stuart Houghton’s semi-autobiographical story about having breast cancer.

Ha! My friend @stuarthoughton.bsky.social did the same and wrote a R4 radio play about it, just in case you haven't heard it. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

It's an interesting week for social media. Will the exit door swing back and hit Space Karen in the face, I wonder? #Xodus

Promoted by Hollie Ridley on behalf of the Labour party, 20 Rushworth Street, London, SE1 0SS

Add me to it please!