Book news, reviews and recommendations
Holidays and holiday reading
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 »
We booked a short break back in March thinking that it might be our last chance to join the EU citizen passport queue but once again we were reprieved. Or at least that’s how I think of it. This time we were heading for Genoa, home of two of my favourite things to eat: focaccia
Almost Four Days in Genoa and One Book Read More »
I’d been toying with the idea of a weekend in Lille for what must be a decade but had somehow never got around to it. When the train which took us to Amsterdam last year stopped there, less than 90 minutes after we’d left St Pancras, it seemed ridiculous not to go so off we
Almost Three Days in Lille and One Book Read More »
With two Young Writer Award dates in the diary, H and I decided to make a weekend of it, arriving on Saturday morning when London was looking its beautiful best in glowing autumn sunshine. I went off to the bloggers’ event at the Groucho Club after lunch where the four shortlisted authors were introduced by
Two Days in London and Four books Read More »