There is perhaps one annual event in our limited social calendar that feels more ‘country’ and more ‘Gloucestershire’ than any other: the Siddington Point to Point. A positive hymn to tweed, and a demonstration of the extraordinary British capacity to picnic in any weather, it’s a windy, muddy, messy, glorious way to spend an afternoon – if…
Month: March 2016
Woodland Retreat
A few months ago I interviewed the owner of The Lakes by Yoo near Lechlade for a magazine feature. This modern country retreat estate is an incredible example of how to bring urban style and convenience to a country setting, while looking after the local environment. The lakeside homes are hidden from view and the…
Easter traditions
Last year, when Munchkin was about nine months old I wrote about how I wanted to start marking seasonal holidays and events throughout the year in a way that becomes an annual family tradition. This year it’s been all about colours from these wonderful baskets that I snagged here (can you believe it?). Pop a few…
Printed Edition
Today would have been William Morris’ 182nd birthday. Born in 1834, he was a prolific textile designer and a major figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. While he spent much of his life in the famous Red House in Bexleyheath in London, in 1871 he rented Kelmscott Manor in the Cotswolds, which was to be…
Primroses, and a perfect day…
It’s definitely true that Mothering Sunday – like every other special occasion in your life once you have a child – can be full of disappointments. Birthdays, Christmas, Holidays….so much hope, so little satisfaction. As with everything, once you have children, these ‘special occasions’ can so often become ordeals to survive, rather than special moments to treasure. (Just A…
A Day for Mothers…
Happy Mothering Sunday! This time last year I was curled up in bed with a bunch of tulips and my little Munchkin rolling around the bed giggling and kissing me on the lips, a lot. (It was her new trick and she was damned if she wasn’t going to practice it all the live long…
I wish….
A letter to my daughter on International Women’s Day…. Darling girl, With International Women’s Day coming hot on the heels of Mothers’ Day, it got me thinking about women, about mothers, about daughters. There are so many I things I could say that I wanted for Mothers’ Day. So many lovely material goods that would…
Spring Flings….
The weather is colder at the moment than it was through most of December and January, meaning those fleeting feelings of spring briefly appear, and then scamper away as the frosty wind returns. We spent the weekend with family and loved pottering around beautiful old Bisley…. …an incredibly quaint and old-fashioned little village, the church…
Five things to read this week…
While the internet is mostly peppered with an awful amount of rubbish, there are occasional flashes of wondrous brilliance, especially for those people navigating the choppy waters of modern parenting. Here are the five things that have made me smile, laugh, weep or nod sagely this week. Wise words on Motherhood: ” In time, you realise…
A Wild Life in Words 