The world’s first civilizations, in 3500 BC, were often called riverine cultures. Mesopotamia, ‘the land between the rivers’ and those on the Nile typify these. Riverine [...]

The post arrived today, reminding me that bulb catalogue fever is a seasonal ailment. Impulse buying is not my weakness, except when it comes to plants. I look at the gleaming catalogue photos [...]

Perhaps, like me, you occasionally think you are falling apart. Then you read a report in the paper and you suddenly realise you are okay; everybody else is nuts! The report that an MP has called [...]

I just love growing lilies. The blousiness, the exotic odour, the haughty demeanor, all the things that I am not. Perhaps this contrast between a gardener and his favourite flowers has a deep [...]

We writers, when we are planning to write a book, keep an ear to the ground. A few years ago, the pundits told us to avoid misery memoirs like the plague, no publisher wants or is interested in [...]

I have to admit I include a dog joke in my forthcoming book about prehistory. Zuri, my pagan ancestor, aware of all these dogs on our beaches, asks me when they are ready to eat. In truth, [...]

Flint powered the first industrial age might be a slight exaggeration. Yet, this amazing mineral was a vital commodity to early peoples. It was used to make tools like axes, arrow and spear [...]

Chalk is familiar to us in the white cliffs of Dover. They are notable because chalk is relatively rare around the world and gives our island a unique appearance. The use of chalk from the [...]

My pagan ancestor Zuri is published and comes alive today, five years after she was conceived. She will burst into the world and, in her quiet and unassuming way, will show the planet what women [...]

I love the sea and its ever changing perspectives. For certain, hardly a day passes that I don’t look out and across the bay to The Needles. All that light, ozone and clear air; no wonder [...]

We should consider rewilding the River Avon. I would never have suggested this a few years ago but recent experience has changed my mind. Ann and I walked the Avon Valley Footpath recently and I [...]

Professor Brian Cox recently introduced a BBC programme on music. It utilised the profs planetary skills because it was all about Holst’s suite called The Planets. He spoke about each [...]

When I began to write about Zuri in my forthcoming book, I was aware that my own childlessness would have to be faced. She had to have a child or feel wretched in the face of her society. A woman [...]

BBC Springwatch asked us to enter our gardens into Gardenwatch and we did so. It seemed an apt moment because a nest of long tailed tits had erupted into our garden. Yet, disappointment arose [...]

A theme of my forthcoming book is about how much the past, including the prehistoric past, still touches modern life. The joy of getting back in touch with the land and even utilising the beauty [...]

A dubious benefit of a failing prostate is that I get up for a pee at least once in the night. I always look out and at 4.10 am on the 30 June I saw a tiny crescent moon. I took this photo but [...]

Lundy, what a joy it was to visit in May 2019. Isolation, romance, mystery and, sadly, even cruelty, are words that apply to the island. It makes me realise how much Britain has to offer. The [...]

“As a kid I never lacked for anything. No one felt poor because everyone was the same. We lived off broken biscuits. It was great.” That’s not me speaking but John McDonnell, [...]

The chief executive of Affinity Water was interviewed. She opened her mouth and a load of dribble fell out. It rather mimicked her company’s broken pipes spewing our precious water whilst [...]

You know that feeling when you want to visit but you never do. It’s ages since we went to the Isle of Wight so when friends on holiday there invited us over, it was an easy decision. The [...]

Ann saw the forecast on Sunday and sprang it on me. “How about walking the Avon Valley footpath on Tuesday?” So, on Tuesday morning, we bussed to Bournemouth and then to Salisbury. [...]

Millennials and their superfoods dominate the media these days. A young woman was being interviewed on television choosing food. As she reached for the coconut milk, she claimed that they, the [...]

I live in Friars Cliff, Christchurch – the perfect seaside location. It’s a cosy place, full of pensioners and dog walkers. Okay, it turns a little manic at Bank Holidays and hot [...]

Having lived all over the UK, you may well have found me in some remote and ancient spots. For instance, the hillfort on Caradoc, a steep hill in Shropshire. Or maybe the cockpit above Eamont [...]