When our council house estate was built in Shrewsbury in the 1950’s it was invaded. These were house martins and within a few years, almost every house had one under the eves. There were [...]

Gardening springs between joy and despair. Earlier this year I bought three online cottage garden plant collections. I knew it was late in the season, the plants were on sale and cheap and they [...]

I love trees. Sitting here, I look out at a small forest stretching up the hillside. The leaves gently wave in the winds. However, much of my current labour is about planting trees in the garden. [...]

Jelly Babies are dangerous. However, nobody could miss the red flash on the packet highlighting high sugars. As it was, that was precisely the reason why I was buying them. Oh, what a hazardous [...]

In my new house, we live with solar panels. There are eight of them, working away and providing ‘free’ power. I wish it were quite so simple. Firstly, I am surprised how little we [...]

I have just had a world class holiday experience. No, not a cruise to Venice or a tour of Bali; it was far more prosaic. With Ann, I walked from my door, paid £5.00 each for a ticket from two [...]

On the morning I was stressed. Can we manage it? Is it too much? Whatever, we were up at 5.45 am, a bowl of porridge, then toast, jam and heather honey (oh, what a substance!) I forgot, I also [...]

I heard a very sad story the other day. Firstly, a young, enthusiastic teacher returned to school after the holidays. Secondly, she anticipated that the young children would be full of stories [...]

Ann and I have been offline for two months. Then, Open Reach put in a sudden and unexpected appearance and here we are, back in communication. At times over the past few months we had no [...]

Bradwell in the Peak District is now home to Ann and I. This is why I have not posted for a while and will struggle in the near future. No, I am not experiencing personal anxiety. Open Reach is [...]

We were invited to the birth by the local farmer, Ann and I. Well, more than one birth, 1500 in fact. The soft, silent, bouncy walk into the barn was over a mass of straw. Around the perimeter, [...]

There are hill routes in the Peak District that have to be treated with respect, especially for we pensioners. The respect is about steepness or remoteness or even the potential for rescue. After [...]

Do you own your own body? If that seems an odd question then perhaps I need to clarify the situation. There is no doubt that you own it whilst you are alive. However, when you die the situation [...]

As we walked through Derby town centre, a young bible basher was in full throat. He shouted, “do you know where you are going when you die?” Mindful that I was headed back to rural [...]

This is a post on getting fitter for the over 60’s. I think I am qualified to discourse on this subject as a runner for over 50 years. However, what is fitter is perhaps a more difficult [...]

I have created five new gardens, each subsequently passed over to the people buying our property. It was a an herbaceous garden in Wolverhampton and then a heather and conifer garden in Penrith. [...]

The words ‘conspiracy in Shrewsbury’ really appealed to me. That medieval town, surrounded by the loop of the River Severn, is hardly the obvious place for such goings on. It was a [...]

I was listening to some music from the proms, in my present in the moment mode. However, afterwards I realised that I had done what I often do at such times, that is to disappear back into my [...]

Can you make soil? If that appears an odd question then stay with me. I was taught this skill in the 1960’s but beware, it involves some hard labour. You might ask why soil is needed. Well, [...]

I have got used to my aching legs. I blame, variously, old age, too much running or even kneeling to do gardening. However, I am not averse to some googling and very quickly up popped various [...]

Moles need a little love! When did you last see or hear anything on moles? Chris Packham never mentions them on Winterwatch or any of the other ‘watches’. David Attenborough [...]

Requests to ban all peat sales in the UK is far more contentious than it might sound. However, this peat extraction issue has been hanging around since the 1990’s and, for some of us, even [...]

As Spring approaches, mucking fields in the Peak District is something you cannot ignore. As a southern softie down in Dorset the contents of a cow’s stomachs never crossed my mind. That [...]

The throwing of statues into Bristol Docks and our past investments in sugar cane touch on a sore that has long plagued humankind. This topic struck me because Ann is reading a book called [...]