Book news, reviews and recommendations
Holidays and holiday reading
I’d not been to Manchester since I can’t remember when but I do recall going to a Rock Against Racism gig there which tells British readers of a certain age something. It was soon clear that the derelict, grimy city of those days had been replaced by a prosperous shiny updated version, at least in […]
Four Days in Manchester and Half a Book Read More »
As my birthday appeared on the horizon, I could feel myself giving into the lure of the New Forest again and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt about holidays it’s not to try to replicate them so I booked a few days in London in an aparthotel around the corner from Tate Modern. Once settled
Three Days in London and a Bit of a Book Read More »
I’ve been meaning to visit Edinburgh for ages and managed to track down a lovely flat in New Town for the week, complete with a quirky guard at the door. It took us all day to get there and when we arrived, we had the curious feeling of being somewhere at once very different and
Seven Days in Edinburgh and Two Books Read More »
I’d booked the lovely Cottage in the Garden back in January, calculating that summer self-catering was a safe bet whatever happened with Covid. It’s a delightful rustic cottage full of generous, thoughtful touches: fresh flowers from the garden and the table laid with a welcoming cream tea. It also comes complete with its own wildflower
Seven Days in Sussex and Kent plus One and a Half Books Read More »
Despite being fortunate to live in a beautiful city, H and I felt in need of a change of scene and were lucky enough to snap up a cheap deal in an aparthotel in spitting distance of the Tower of London. Our first outing was a walk from St Katherine Docks along the canal to
Seven Days in London and Two Half-books plus the Memory of Another Read More »
After five failed attempts, largely due to bad timing, a broken wrist, oh, and the pandemic, we finally managed to get away for a couple of days hardly believing our luck having snapped up two nights in the New Forest B&B I’d been eyeing up for some time. Not only that but the weather looked
Almost Two Days in the New Forest and a Bit of a Book Read More »
Walking is the thing that’s helped keep me sane – so far – throughout the pandemic. That and blogging with its virtual community, still there when I can’t see my other friends. I’ve resisted using the term ‘lockdown’ because, for me, that would have meant the end of the permitted daily exercise outside the house
If 2020 had gone according to plan I’d have posted about our four-day break in the lovely city of Ghent in March and we’d be enjoying ourselves in Northern Italy right now. So strange are the times we’re living in that I’m just relieved that everyone I know is safe rather than disappointed but I
Pandemic Travels From My Sofa: Scandinavia Read More »
It’s been quite some time since H and I went to Portugal even though we love it there. After skirting around the southern Alentejo, years ago, we’d promised ourselves we’d visit the area properly one day and this year we finally got around to it. I rarely write about the places we stay but the
Eight Days in Portugal and Two Books Read More »
Regular readers of this blog will know that I like to travel a bit, flitting off to mainland Europe whenever I get the chance. Truth be told I’m more familiar with Amsterdam and Berlin than I am with many British cities and those that I do know well are in the south. I’m ashamed to
Two Days in Yorkshire and a Bit of a Book Read More »
H and I enjoyed our time in Poland last year so much that we decided to go back, this time combining a bit of gentle urban exploration with a few walks in the mountains. We started off in Gdansk whose beautiful old town reminded me of the Baltic States. All meticulously rebuilt, of course: like
Thirteen Days in Poland, Half a Day in Slovakia, Two Books and the Ghost of Another Read More »