Nanny’s guide to happy children
Ozzy’s dad in law was Nazi slayer Norland’s Louenna shares her top tips from feeding and baths to sleep and potty training
SHARON Osbourne’s late father hunted down and executed Nazis after the war, claims a new book.
It says Don Arden – who went on to become singer Ozzy Osbourne’s first manager and the founder of Jet Records – was recruited by a Jewish underground organisation in Manchester.
Author Steven Machat, a US lawyer who worked for the Osbournes for more than 20 years, said: “He broke into the home of his targets and, while they slept, put a pillow over their faces and shot through the pillow.
“I don’t know how many he killed this way. I thought he was a hero.”
The book tells how Ozzy was rescued from deportation by then First Lady Nancy Reagan, who was a fan of the heavy metal singer, following his 1982 arrest for urinating on a monument near the Alamo in Texas.
She stepped in after a frantic phone call to her office in thewhite House, according to The Creation of Ozzy, which is out now.
NANNY Louenna Hood says she has the “best job in the world” nurturing the children of royalty and celebrities.
As a Norland Nanny, easily identifiable by her traditional brown uniform, she is considered among the best in the world. They are often employed by VIPS, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who recruited Maria Borrallo to help with their children.
From sleepless nights, changing nappies to the first day of school, she has spent 17 years helping to raise the offspring of Olympians, celebrities and royals.
Louenna, 35, from Norfolk, who has created an app to share her many years of childcare wisdom, said: “It absolutely does not matter who the parent is, everyone just wants the best for their child. They are all children, they all need love and the same things.
“My favourite thing is tucking a child into bed at the end of the day, kissing them goodnight and having a nice talk. Walking out of the room knowing that child has had the best day, and they’re happy to go to bed, that gives me such joy. It is the best job in the world, the bond you get with the children is amazing. There’s no job like it.”
Louenna is still in touch with all the children she has cared for.
She said: “If you give that child everything, when they look back they think, ‘Do you know what, I had an amazing childhood’. I think to be
BRIDGET Jones’s Diary could never be written now because of the sexism the singleton faced, the author revealed.
Writer Helen Fielding said she was shocked to see the level of sexism depicted on-screen when she rewatched her 2001 movie.
Helen, 62, penned the books and later co-wrote the screenplays for the blockbuster films.
She said: “I took my kids to see it. I hadn’t seen it for years and was staggered.you couldn’t write that now.”
Helen created the character 25 years ago for a newspaper column, partly based on her experiences of being a single woman in 1990s London. It was later turned into a hit rom-com starring Renee Zellweger in the title role.
She told Desert Island Discs: “I feel grateful to Bridget for what she has done for my life. I feel very pleased that, in particular, young girls are still enjoying the book.
“The social circumstances a nanny you have to have a genuine love for children. You also have to be extremely trustworthy as you are in someone else’s home, and you see and hear a lot.
“You’ve got to have an amazing sense of humour, that’s really important, and you have to put the families’ needs before your own.”
She says the surrounding Bridget then are different from now. I think it would to have been impossible to write it in that way now. Things have changed, happily.
“The level of sexism that Bridget was dealing with... in the end she turned around and stuck it to them but it was just part and parcel of her life.” Laughing, she told host Lauren Laverne that Bridget did reflect some of her own experiences with men.
She said: “I had several boyfriends, all very gorgeous. It is amazing the number of people who lay claim to be Daniel [Cleaver] or Mark [Darcy] – including Keir Starmer.”
Explaining how she has changed over the years, Helen, a mother of two children whose father Kevin died from cancer in 2016, said: “I had to develop a resilience and have learnt to be contented.”
● Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 11am, today.
‘It was just part of her life’
training at Norland College in Bath give them the edge, adding: “The course is really practical, which I don’t think you get anywhere else. You are always working with children and babies, experience you just wouldn’t have if you were always in the classroom. The college is traditional but it moves with the times.”
Following the success of her Instagram page, her app The Nanny Louenna helps parents from all walks of life. Topics include feeding, bathing and changing, to sleep routines and potty training. She added: “It is guidance and reassurance for parents. I think they trust my advice, with me being a Norland Nanny.”
The app is available at the App Store and Google Play with prices starting at £4.99.