I was reading a piece by a journalist and she mentioned breast feeding (chest feeding) and I realised that the world had finally gone mad. I don’t like being polarised and coming across as [...]

I always saw myself as free of addictions, in control as it were. However, I realise that I am no better than anybody else. Human addictions are a motivation, of course, as it’s a reason to [...]

It was my turn to swop places. No longer the garden visitor but rather the gardener. With our garden not being finished we were not ready to enter. However, it is to support the local community [...]

It appears a simple question, what is fitness? In a world where everybody lauds technology and spending big sums of money, let’s consider the cheaper approach. Ann and I have just completed [...]

As the season advances I wanted to report on vegetable growing this year. Those of you who know these things realise that every season is different, that there is no consistency. The spinach beet [...]

There is not a lot that intimidates the mature me. However, as I grow old my mind constantly challenges my body. I accept that I must be less physically capable each and every day with 77 years [...]

Spontaneous purchases are not part of my character. I don’t buy clothes unless Ann reminds me my shorts are full of holes or my shirts ripe. However, when in nurseries, I find a lot of joy [...]

Brown Knoll in the Peak District used to make tough men tremble. I walked it a few times in the 1960’s and it was the peat bog from hell. If you were walking around Edale then it was the [...]

Flowers for bees can be quite challenging. There are those who prefer wildflowers and many who fall back on cliched buddlia and lavender. They are good but often only for short periods. The ideal [...]

I am feeling very well these days, and sleeping deeply. This struck me when I read about a woman going to a health retreat in Spain. She wrote about the numerous medications she took to try and [...]

I am studying the Romans, page after page, about 1500 so far and that is all in print. It is fascinating and I must avoid cliches. Yes, they had slaves and were cruel beyond belief but that was [...]

Is it me or has the world gone nuts? Staying relaxed in this world is ever more difficult. Perhaps it is only when I am washing-up that I am really in charge, fully cognisant with the job in [...]

It’s not often that a village has its own wildflower, but Bradwell stands apart. The blue sowthistle pops up all over the village, mostly on verge edges. It can grow a metre high and looks [...]

I love women. Have I ever said that before? There are reasons for this. Firstly, my mother stuck it out and cared for us after my father ran off with the boss’s secretary. That man [...]

Chelsea has finished for another year and we gardeners can get back to normal gardening. By that I mean cheap, dirty and low carbon. In truth, the Chelsea Flower Show is a flashy product for the [...]

I am not going to post a picture of my subject this week, the floppy sphincta. I shall just sit on it. Heaven knows how I got into this subject but arrogance played a big part. Firstly, as an [...]

The text to Ann said, “Sorry but I have just tested positive to Covid”. That was from one of the two people we joined to walk The Great Ridge earlier in the week. There is some irony [...]

We had guests from California and they fancied walking The Great Ridge. The problem; it’s the Bank Holiday! A nice quiet start from Hope, few people and a gradual climb. Our two women [...]

My recent article on bluebells at Chatsworth reminded me of other flowers I love. The fields around Bradwell are currently displaying masses of meadow saxifrage. When I lived down south this was [...]

I set myself a number of objectives each year, not written down but purely cerebral. Seeing some bluebells is one of these and here they are shown in a wood above Chatsworth. Flowers are a great [...]

I was out in the garden and a neighbour was playing with his toddlers. They were laughing and having great fun. Suddenly, I flicked back to the 1950’s and my three sisters, all of us out in [...]

Spring is sprung and the tulips are out. This is one of the flower beds in my front garden. It seems to have taken ages to actually flower but now it is out in all its glory. If you plant mixed [...]

I was very close to my sister Sally. However, she married a props master from the film industry and he killed her. Not murder, of course, rather than circumstances, but that is another story. I [...]

I am washing up and then suddenly laugh to myself; does everybody do this? My laugh is about me reflecting on existence, the sheer absurdity of life. A couple of years ago, when we needed to buy [...]