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, [...]
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. [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
I rarely told anybody that I once rafted down the Grand Canyon. It sounded a little pretentious. However, it happened because in the 1970’s, as a climber, I lauded Joe Brown and Don [...]
The question to the BBC programme was ‘should I have children when I see the world falling apart?’ I cannot answer it because I don’t have a womb. Even if I called myself a [...]
I have despised the water companies for most of my life. The brook I used to fish in as a kid was ruined by them. They cut all the trees and shrubs along the bank to speed up the flow of water [...]