I become heartily sick of programmes analysing our lack of preparedness for the pandemic. We were not prepared and I doubt we ever will be. As mentioned in a previous post, I was tasked in 2005 [...]

I have read that stone walls last about 50 years before they need rebuilding. That’s similar to a human life, you might think! However, until I moved to Taddington I gave stone walls little [...]

This is hot off the press, literally springing out of the countryside. Because we usually walk most days, there is always something new to see and experience. Today, we walked up Slipperlow Lane. [...]

I have ticked the box to state that this post is a cornerstone content. That forces me to double the number of words and avoid those of over two syllables. Even worse, I have to link this post [...]

Ann and I are searching for a property in the Peak District. For certain, it will need to be warm and comfortable, with a good view and well away from flooding potential. However, the essential [...]

Once, in what sometimes seems another life, Ann and I were the Northern Veterans 10K champions. I won the men’s race first and then cheered her in later, in the women’s race. What a [...]

I developed an intimate knowledge of outdoor loo’s, in case you want to know, when I was 12 years of age. Poverty saw my mother send me out to work on a milk-round. I was earning, paid a [...]

Going underground in the Peak District is rather easy. Derbyshire is riven with old mines and mining waste. Huge numbers of men worked out lead, copper and coal. However, humans don’t [...]

The coalman appeared outside my barn window, having stepped out of his truck. This was covered in full sacks ready for delivery. It could have been a carnival float but no, this was the genuine [...]

We left our campervan at Froggatt Garage for servicing and MOT. It was 8am, very cold and we had to get lost for the day whilst they did the work. With Covid in mind, we didn’t want to use [...]

Ah, life in the countryside. Back in Christchurch, my mountain jacket or duvet, and my big leather walking boots were, let’s say, overkill. Wearing them seemed odd and set me apart from [...]

My move to another pagan paradise, a new tribal area, is about to happen. Blame it on lockdown. Ann and I reconsidered where we should be for the next decade, assuming we survive, of course. The [...]

My friendship with a man fell apart some years ago and it still troubles me. When I first met him, he had recently married. Never, in the realms of human history, could you have met a more loving [...]

When I posted a short while ago about people surviving in the Stone Age, it triggered a thought. This was that we rarely appreciate how sophisticated Stone Age people actually were. The word [...]

Angels and prayers have become challenging topics since Covid arrived. For instance, they commonly appear on the leukaemia website which I frequently log on to. Consequently, every time a [...]

The Channel 4 programme Surviving the Stone Age really appealed to me. The reality was less so. The first, of three, was on Saturday 7th November 2020. The clothing of the eight participants [...]

I sit in the conservatory and scour the sky through the glass roof. No raptors. Outside, I constantly look upwards to the skies but still no raptors. Yes, I am looking for eagles, white tailed [...]

Strawberry trees in Friars Cliff sounds rather like a fantasy, yet it’s true. They are fruiting now and this is the best time to identify them. The fruits tend to drop onto the path and [...]

We are in sheep country and the farmer thinks walkers need shepherding. Or, does he think sheep can read? Oddly enough, the path seemed obvious, to humans, at least. It dropped through woods once [...]

Ah, ivy! A friend and a foe to gardeners I believe. There is some truth in that. If you need to cut ivy then you must wear safety glasses and a dust mask. The dust it releases goes straight to [...]

I sat at the dining table and stared at my toast. There was only one and a half slices; one half was missing. It struck me that I might have missed that half, might have left it in the toaster. I [...]

Horticulture and global warming in Britain are rarely considered together. Horticulture is a dirty word these days, as are all jobs that utilise the land. However, it has a long history in [...]

I had not given ancient myths too much thought until I read Gaia Vince’s bestseller called Transcendence. This complex read concentrated on how prehistoric humans see the world through [...]

Gardening is a sensuous hobby because it is all about fertility. Consequently, if we gardeners are not spawning vegetables and fruit then we are growing flowers. Success feeds the senses, not the [...]