Life in the slow lane…
Very Berry Weather
The sun has been blowing it's own trumpet for weeks now. To the point we really could do with nature turning its thermostat down a notch or two and turn on the rainclouds for some meaningful rain to quench the thirst of the garden. Thankfully though the wet weather we...
Holiday Life with Bassets
Aside from seemingly not getting the memo about having late starts over the holidays the bassets have slipped into long lazy summer days as if second nature. Their dawn chorus is a habit I'm longing to break especially as soon as they are up and had breakfast they're...
Food Gatherings – we’re up and running
Even as the tables were set and the guests arriving I could hardly believe that this event was happening. Months of research, planning and wondering were over and it was show time. Food Gatherings opened for business. Anyone that has hosted a party or started a...
New year, new look, new possibilities
There's nothing that offers more promise than starting a new diary for the year. Those empty pages yet to be populated yell freedom before appointments, commitments and fun events get added to set the year off and running. To get that same sense of new possibilities...
Riding with the Devil Again
Testing, testing. Anybody there. Ah well, who can blame you......I know it's been a while but I've had a lot on my plate. More on that soon. For now, here's a post first drafted over 6 weeks ago. It only seems right to confess that we're back eating...
How cake can make or break your sanity
As reality TV goes, the Great British Bake Off must be the sweetest show with plenty of sugar, bunting and I suspect lashings of ginger beer being drunk behind the scenes. Behind the nostalgic ode to the eccentricities of middle-class-middle-England village fetes is a...
When business as usual is a good thing
If bad luck comes in threes, the we've had that squared in recent weeks. The first daffodils in the garden that heralded Spring were my symbolic start to more writing and photography. Yes, 1 September was the deadline to start of my new blogging rhythm but then...
New Adventures and Why I need Your Help
One of the biggest buzzes I get from my work is seeing people come up with a bright idea that makes them all excited and want to rush out the door there and then to start making things happen. I've been that person in my managerial life, pursuing the next shiny...
The best of times and the worst of times……a peak into my reading list
Wandering with the bassets this week my mind kept turning over Charles Dickens' opening to The Tale of Two Cities. You know: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it...
Finding Inspiration Amongst the Gloom
I confess it's been a tough couple of weeks finding the inspiration to blog. Blogging block is not a new affliction but one I have become more attuned to even if it is a struggle to take a deep breath and accept that sometimes it's better just to say nothing. Or...
Shopping Like a Foodie
Deep in its core my brain is still processing memories of my trip to the UK. It's piecing together the fragments of conversations, of meals, experiences, fleeing moments and promises made. Three themes are emerging - time with family and friends, gardens and food....
Basset Mobility
When the iPhone was first launched some of the photography fraternity got very sniffy about its legitimacy as a proper camera. After all, no self-respecting photographer would use a phone to take photographs; serious photographers lugged around several kilos of camera...