I'm back for my start-of-the-year moan about January. I know I do this every year: so grey, so bleak, so ... predictable.  I've just...

My homage to the cactus is born of the fact that it's the only houseplant that I can reliably grow. I'm so  not a houseplant person:...

It's been a funny old time out here on the (not-so) sunny Costa Brava. We've had the very worst weather imaginable. On Tuesday...

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas ... We've even had five flakes of snow in London today! I know. I know. It's still...

It's Black Friday , which sounds more like an apocalypse than a retail event to me. Are you busy shopping? Or are you safely tucked up a...

Forced networking is something that I loathe with a passion. I've got lots of unhappy memories of feeling uncomfortable at corporate ev...

This week I've had a lot of fun using logwood chips to create a dye-bath that's given me a lush spectrum running from inky purples t...

Last week I was pootling around in the sunshine, feeling as though summer hadn't really gone anywhere, and could safely be relied u...

I love Hay-on-Wye. It's totally my kind of town. Mr B and I are in the habit of going there on a fairly regular basis to shop, shop,...

It's been a long time coming, but, finally, Emi's got his summer hols. Not having to get up at the crack of dawn this morning was bl...

Crumbs it's way too hot down here in the Big Smoke. It's been like this for ages, and for some reason all this hot, hot weather has ...

We're having some very strange weather here in (usually) sunny Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Our early mornings are foggy with strange, dense m...

The other day a friend told me about Bookbub. Have you heard of it? It's an internet site that directs you to book promotions. The pub...

With Halloween just around the corner I've got the perfect late night spooky read for you: It's one of my favourite Gothic hor...

I may have mentioned before that I'm an enthusiastic fan of a good detective story. Like millions of people the world over I enjoy crime...

Emi's working hard on a history assignment for school. He's got to write down some in...

This week I've been researching a character that I'm trying to create. For now her name is Phillice Anne Swift, but she's kno...

Now I have a confession to make straight out of the blocks: I am a huge fan of Benjamin Franklin. He was, in my opinion, a true giant among...

Now that the sun is shining, the sap is rising and the skies are blue I thought I'd make a list of my top 5 dog walks here in sunny West...