Category Archives: England

A Pebble in My Pocket

Posted on 2 March 2021 by

PART THREE: NORTH YORK MOORS NATIONAL PARK Day nine is twenty-three miles of dodging rain clouds across North Yorkshire. The footpath travels from Richmond to Ingleby Cross and the Bluebell Hotel via lush farmland that Wainwright deplores and upon which … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Food & Wine | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Pebble in My Pocket

Posted on 22 February 2021 by

PART TWO: THE YORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK It is the fifth day. We leave Shap behind, crossing a footbridge over the motorway, passing the quarry and the steel factory spewing forth clouds of smoke. Three hours of mole-hills, moorland and … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Food & Wine, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Pebble in my Pocket

Posted on 15 February 2021 by

PART ONE: THE LAKE DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK London, 1991. It is the week before Easter. We squeeze sideways onto the commuter train to Euston with heavy rucksacks, trying hard not to look smug. ‘There, but for the grace of God, … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Food & Wine, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jersey Jottings

Posted on 30 December 2020 by

“Gradually the magic of the island settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen.” ~ Gerald Durrell I do love islands. I seem always to feel more comfortable living on an island than in a landlocked country, be it … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Changing Seasons

Posted on 12 September 2019 by

A one-time bandstand on the beachfront. Pale blue sky, wisps of cloud. Vast merchant ships line the horizon in orderly fashion, like a game of battleships. Wooden groins, dusted in mossy weed, are half submerged in a rising tide. The … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Windmills

Posted on 31 August 2019 by

Patience. The windmill never strays in search of the wind.’ Andy J. Sklivis It’s been the perfect weather for ice-cream this past couple of weeks. The summer days have been long and gloriously warm. On our hill, 35 metres above … Continue reading →

Posted in England, History | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Burnt Toast

Posted on 26 August 2019 by

‘My mother burns toast as surely as the sun rises each morning… I am nine now and I have never seen butter without black bits in it.’ ~ Nigel Slater The Other Palace is a terrific little theatre only a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, England, Local Culture | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Operation Pied Piper

Posted on 11 July 2019 by

Remember the childhood fairy tale about a man with a flute, who lured all the children of the village away from their parents, after the townsfolk failed to honour their promise too him? With the best intentions in the world, … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Food & Wine, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Of Battenberg Cake & Coronation Chicken

Posted on 3 July 2019 by

I have spent a long morning immersed in English history in the Great Hall at Carisbrooke Castle, trying to untangle the web of European connections that is the British Royal Family. What better way, then, to blow away the cobwebs … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Food & Wine, History | Tagged | Leave a comment

Back to Basics

Posted on 19 June 2019 by

Dougal, Florence, Dylan, Zebby, Oliver and Compton. Old or new, all the campervans in the Fishbourne fleet have a name, many with a Magic Roundabout twist. In the beginning, there was an Ermentrude, too. Ours was Isla. As in Isla … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Lifestyle, Travel | Tagged , , | 1 Comment