Tag Archives: Seashells On The Palm

UK | Boarding Schools | The Debate Rages on…

Boarding Schools in the UK

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be looking at top boarding schools in the UK.  For some families since their children have been in the womb their parents have endlessly debated whether boarding school is the right option for their children.

We will speak to different parents from different cultures over the next couple of months who have sent their children to boarding schools,  and why?

We will also speak to mothers and fathers who attended boarding schools themselves to discuss their thoughts about whether they would send their children to boarding school.

Here are the top 10 boarding schools for girls in the UK for 2013.  Check out the school fees too.  For those based in Dubai, one year at Wycombe Abbey will now set you back AED186,536 a year.

The question everyone wants to know, does it really add that much more value than a normal day school?

Top 10 UK Boarding School for Girls 2013

Rank               School                                                                         Boarding fees

 

1.                     Wycombe Abbey School – High Wycombe             GBP33,310

2.                     Beneden School – Cranbrook                                  GBP32,400

3.                     St Swithun’s School – Winchester                           GBP28,290

4.                     St Mary’s School – Calne                                          –

5.                     St Mary’s School – Ascot                                           –

6.                     St Catherine’s School – Guildford                            –

7.                     Cheltenham Ladies’ College                                     GBP34,302

8.                     Badminton School                                                     GBP32,070

9.                     Luckley House School – Wokingham                       –

10.                   St Mary’s School – Cambridge                                 –

 

Dubai | Cosset | the next generation of womenswear basics.

82 Cosset low resEco Conscious everyday clothes that are chic and comfortable.

Now that I am a mother, and I think of my children’s future, I probably care more about the environment.  It is not that I didn’t care about it before.  It just wasn’t a priority in my life.  When I was working in London, I would just do my fair share (or so I thought) for the environment and placed in the orange bags that my London Borough council provided to dispose of recyclable items.

However, in recent years, my eyes have been opened (thanks to my amazing friends at Cosset and ethical muse) who have spent time educating people like me on the environment.  They have created niche high-end environmentally friend products to make changes that matter in the fashion industry.  Like most people I was ignorant, I knew that most clothes were made of cotton and then, in recent years organic cotton made a statement.

What I didn’t expect was that clothes could be made from a whole host of other natural fibres including hemp, linen, and bamboo and are much better for the environment. But while hemp and linen are not that soft to the touch, bamboo fabric is incredibly comfortable. Cosset, meaning ‘to pamper’ chose its signature fibre to be bamboo, and pamper it certainly does.

Why Bamboo?

The incredible difference is the softness of the material that beats regular cotton in my opinion, but more importantly bamboo farming is much more sustainable for the environment. The bamboo plant requires very little water and zero pesticides to flourish. As a natural resource is has very good ecological impact because it helps soil erosion and can be used for multiple purposes like food, construction and textile, so there’s little wastage. Its natural properties are that it’s breathable, cooling and helps draw moisture away from the body making it a very comfortable fabric to wear.Cosset low res 133

Behind Cosset.

Spurred on by an idea to revolutionise women’s basics, Sarah Tan, former Editor of Female Magazine Singapore, beat market expectations by creating her own ready to wear line of bamboo basic clothes.  It is clear that her experience within the fashion industry certainly helped her dress women in this sexy ‘Calvin Klein’ way.  The images attached really do sell themselves – this is I want to look like for my husband when I get out of bed every morning.

Dubai | Stocked at The Change Initiative 

Singapore | Stocked at Trixilini, Nana & Bird, Antipodean, Twenty Twenty 9, What Women Want, Beauty Emporium, and www.gnossem.com

 

Seashells on The Palm

Welcome to Seashells On The Palm.

I am Edwina Viel, mother of 4 children and wife to Dr Maurizio Viel.  I was born in Singapore but raised in the UK in a boarding school, and later attended Edinburgh University before starting my life as a banker in the City of London working for banks like Morgan Stanley Quilter and UBS Wealth Management (UK) Ltd.  I was raised never to quit my own career even if I had a family, and when I made that decision I did feel lost, and I still did after 3 years even when I had my children.

My husband and I moved to Dubai in 2009, when our eldest son, Luca was just 5 weeks old.  I had to leave my banking career to help my husband and his brother in the family business – they have their plastic surgery practice in London and Dubai.  It was really a change for me changing from a corporate practice to a start-up family owned business in a brand new city.  I thought it was going to be easier but it was in fact more hardwork because it just doesn’t stop, and I had to learn a new discipline to manage my time between work and home because there are moments when it all merges together.

I started the website in 2014 after having three children and I was pregnant with my fourth as my own creative outlet.  I struggled when I first moved to Dubai with no family to help me, advise me, or just to be there for me.  I just wanted to help other mums like me to know that there are other mothers out there too who are struggling, and I felt information in this City of Dubai could be disjointed and not necessarily what I was looking for.

This website tries to help mums share their experiences, discuss lifestyle choices for the family, discover new activities for families or just simply to look for date night restaurants or give you ideas on countries that are suitable to travel for families.

If you ever feel like sharing something about your challenges and joys of motherhood do contact us as we would love to hear from you because there is always someone out there that relates to the growing pains of having children.

For more information, please contact info@seashellsonthepalm.com

Edwina & The Seashells On the Palm Team