Dennis The Menace, Square Sausage, and Carol Smillie’s Knickers!

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to the Ideal Home Show Scotland.

I don’t often get a day out by myself. So I jumped at the chance to leave Mr G to entertain the boys, while I spent a Saturday shopping, taking in the sights, sounds and smells (and maybe doing a bit of celeb-spotting).

I’ve already told you how the lovely people at Sterling Furniture took a group of us through the key interiors trends and styles for this season.

But the rest of the day was pretty eventful too.

I arrived at Glasgow’s SECC to meet a very interesting bunch of Scottish bloggers.

There was the stylish Lynsey AKA Miss West End Girl, the fun and chatty Alison from Her Indoors, the very lovely food blogger Gerry from Gerry’s Kitchen - who was having lunch with Gregg Wallace (I was VERY jealous!) – and the shy but sweet Morag who blogs about anything that takes her fancy at Mo’adore.

Check them out if you get the chance, and see what they had to say about the event.

Breakfast was provided by some of the exhibitors. We drank Cairn o Mhor fruit wine from Dennis the Menace mugs, and munched on Heck sausages (why do the square ones always taste so much better?), black pudding from Ramsay of Carluke, and various other goodies.

Hungry bloggers tuck into breakfast

What else to drink with breakfast, but fruit wine?!

The scrummy George Clarke walked by as we sat there. I tried to look cool and uninterested (and failed miserably – I love a bit of George!)

And just as he wandered off and I regained some of my composure, Gregg Wallace ambled over and told us a couple of corny jokes. Did I laugh a little too much? Probably. But Gregg’s easy confidence is a bit of a hit with the ladies – and I could see why.

So I was doing well for celeb-spotting, and I hadn’t even moved from my seat.

We were taken into the homes and interiors section. And after our chat with Sterling, we were pretty much left to explore by ourselves.

A bunch of us headed over to the Champagne bar, to cash in our vouchers for a free glass of bubbly each (well, it would be rude not to!)

Slurp!

And then I went for a wander….

The Ideal Home Show is divided into sections – food, home and interiors, gardening, shopping, gadgets. There is so much to see, you could literally spend the whole day and still not take it all in. But what I loved was the chance to discover small, boutique businesses I’d never heard of before.

I was attracted to some stalls simply for their colourful displays – and others for their colourful names!

My favourite Scottish word – great used as a put-down

After meeting up with the lovely Ellen Arnison from In A Bundance, we stumbled across the stall run by Carol Smillie, and got to hear about her new business venture Diary Doll.

Carol’s friendship with tennis star and TV presenter Annabel Croft – both now mums of teenage girls – had led to discussions of inadequate undergarments. Whether it was in their youth when they had to wear skimpy outfits (in Annabel’s case tennis whites – eek!) during heavy periods, or after childbirth when they found their pelvic floor disappeared and bladder control became a tricky bedfellow, they felt there wasn’t enough in the shops to help.

Let’s face it, it’s not the kind of conversation you expect to be having with a celebrity. But it shows she’s human. And I don’t think there’s a woman out there who doesn’t relate to these kinds of embarrassments.

So Diary Doll was born – a range of lightweight knickers with an invisible waterproof lining to protect ladies from any embarrassing leaks. Genius! They’re available in John Lewis, or you can find out more here.

Carol turned out to be a lovely – even if she did get the giggles when I proved incompetent at posing for a selfie (well, we’re not all ex-models now, are we?!)

When I got home, there was some lovely stuff in my goody bag provided by Chocolati (their chocs lasted five minutes – SO gorgeous!), Hampton Blue, Arran Aromatics, Yankee Candle, Jill Kirkham Textiles, Rhubarb and Ginger, The Spa at Bannockburn, and The Occasional Cake Company.