'You've got your hands full'

Double the trouble for lazy authors

DID you see the BBC’s star-studded adaptation of Little Dorrit at the weekend? It went straight for the ‘evil twin’ cliffhanger as Mrs Flintwich came face to face with her husband’s doppelganger in the dead of night.

Dickens is not the only author to have trodden the well-worn path of mysterious, shady, mischievous or downright evil twins.

I wrote about this in the Guardian's book blog this week. I hate to see writers lazily rehashing stereotypes about twins so was pleased that people agreed it was a point worth making.

There are also some fantastic suggestions in the comments for new reads featuring characters who are twins or triplets so I hope I can check some out.

Thank you again to everyone who got in touch with suggestions about portrayals of twins which drive them up the wall!

Identical triplets: US TV report on YouTube

KERRY and Desmond Lyons are the proud parents of Kevin, Declan, and Cormac Lyons. Watch the video above for more details about how they are coping with their triple whammy. You can also read a report here.

It's interesting that the reports say the odds of identical triplets are a million to one. We have discussed this before and as soon as I can dig out the pieces that refer to how these stats seem to go and up down, I'll post a link...

Sisters mark milestone as one of UK's first sets of 'test tube' twins

CONGRATULATIONS to Hayley and Sophie Milner who are celebrating their 18th birthday on Saturday.

The York Press reports that their parents had been trying to start a family for ten years before they came along.

Now there's a party that's worth having!

Another media request: UK twins with diabetes

I'M working on a sensitive and informative feature for a magazine focusing on twin children, of whom one or both has Type 1 diabetes.

The families featured could have children aged from toddlers to teens - each stage has its own challenges.

I'm reporting on:

* 'How do families cope when one twin has type 1 diabetes while their brother or sister doesn't?
*How do parents of twins approach caring for just the one child with Type 1 diabetes and how does this affect their sibling?
* How do identical twins manage their disease together?'

Which books about twins or more do you love or hate?

I'M working on a piece for a newspaper's online section about twins in literature. This is something that we have discussed before and a subject I had been wanting to pitch for a while.

When I saw a picture of identical twins with a caption saying this was a "stranger side of childhood" I thought now was a good time.

Please do get in touch if you can think of any books that you think are excellent for their characterisation of multiple birth children and if there are any you think are particularly pants then do let me know!

Thank you to everyone who has already been in touch.

My favourite picture of Emily and Melissa, 10 today

THIS picture was taken about six years ago just before a crew came to film us all for the local TV news for a slot about different charities and we were helping highlight the work of Tamba.

About 30 seconds later we were in a tidying frenzy and they scrubbed up pretty well.

Anyway, it's a big day today so we'll be reflecting a lot, I'm sure.

Fancy a haircut? Celebrity Scissorhands looking for identical twins and triplets

ARE you courageous enough to allow a celebrity to cut and style your hair, pamper you with a beauty treatment or even give you a full makeover for a special occasion?

The team behind Celebrity Scissorhands has been in touch with the following message:

Once again, a group of inexperienced celebrities will be hoping to cut it in the world of hair and beauty in aid of BBC Children in Need and they're looking for identical twins and triplets to style and preen.

If you would like to be in with a chance of receiving a haircut or treatment from one of our untrained celebrities this autumn. You can apply now here.

Identical triplets test sunglasses...but who will look the best?

THE Gregory triplets are Eliot, Julian and Ryan, 24.

The clip above is from the Gadget Show. Personally I think they all look great. Three gorgeous men and Blackpool Pleasure Beach - sounds like a perfect combination to me.

Twin girls for Lisa Marie Presley

LISA Marie Presley and husband Michael Lockwood are the proud parents of twin girls who were born last Tuesday.

The 40-year-old singer is already mum to 19-year-old Riley and 15-year-old Benjamin.

One baby weighed 5lb 15oz (2.7kg) and the other 5lb 2oz (2.3kg). The children's names haven't been made public. All together now: Awwwww.

Who's afraid of ice cream? Cool twins are a YouTube hit

THIS video has proved a massive hit on YouTube - and little wonder. These fellas are way too cute!