Writing this on the long car journey back from Devon to North Yorkshire with two very sleepy babies. Hopefully Corinne Bailey Rae will do the trick and send them off to sleep (nearly three hours after their bedtime!).

Ms Bailey Rae’s was one of the first choices to go on my IPod when I got it a few months ago – as I really like ‘Girl Put Your Records On’ but ‘Trouble Sleeping’ is a nice track too. It’s a lovely album actually, very mellow (and good for sending the kids to sleep!) Didn’t I hear that her husband died recently though – just googled it….. apparently Jason Rae died this March after a suspected drugs overdose and I’ve found a picture of the couple in happier times – below.

Everyone in my family was subjected to the entire Leona Lewis album (Spirit) on the way to Devon, and my incredible background singing to accompany the lovely Ms Lewis! Fave tunes are the “I’ll be fine without you” track ‘Better in Time’ and ‘I Will Be’. Another good line is “Don’t pay no mind to what other people say” in Track number two ‘Whatever It Takes’.

Other favourite songstresses on my shiny black Ipod Nano are Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) and the young pretender Estelle, whose’ album ‘Shine’ sounds much too much like the aforementioned Fugee’s frontwoman to be a coincidence!

Love Estelle’s ‘American Boy’ though and might jump over to that now as Corinne Bailey Rae seems to have lullabied my youngest to sleep already. 28 year old Estelle seems to have done very well in the last couple of years and her loving what’s underneath Kanye West’s jeans has made an impression on the top ten in the UK and the States.

Also listening to Duffy’s ‘Rockferry’ and still adore Kate Nash’s ‘Made of Bricks’. Just downloaded Madonna’s new album Hard Candy but not really listened to it yet. And if that sounds like too many girls. I’m also a big Snow Patrol and Muse fan. ‘Set the Fire to the third bar’ is incredible and I MUST see Snow Patrol in concert before I die!

Back to work tomorrow – with our business Tish Tash Toys…