A Sweet Day Out
A few days ago, the husband and I got up early and headed off for Sherborne, Oxfordshire, an estate owned by the National Trust. It’s popular with walkers, but generally isn’t very busy, and it seemed like a good time to visit when most other people were heading for the coast. Another reason for our […]
An Evening’s Entertainment in Bath? Step This Way
Because I miss being able to visit Bath I thought I’d write a bit more about another of its attractions, Sydney Gardens. Situated at one end of Great Pulteney Street, this is the oldest park in Bath and one of the few remaining eighteenth-century pleasure gardens in the UK. Designed in 1795 by the architect […]
A Dark Secret from the Past: My review of The Cry of the Lake by Charlie Tyler
I’ve managed to find some time for reading recently and have been enjoying trying something different. The Cry of the Lake is the debut novel of Charlie Tyler. It is an excellent, psychological thriller full of unexpected plot twists. Told from the perspective of three different characters, Lily, Flo, and Grace, this pacy, suspense-filled story […]
A Stroll into the Past Along Great Pulteney Street
If you follow my blog, you’ll know I enjoy visiting Bath. Rightly designated a Unesco world heritage site, it is one of the most architecturally beautiful cities in England. Bath’s popularity isn’t a modern phenomenon; the Romans quite liked it too, using it’s natural hot springs to create a fabulous bath complex. Today, however, I’m […]
It’s Never Too Late for a Second Career: Review of Chasing the Case by Joan Livingston
I enjoy crime and mysteries with interesting plots, so when I saw this book on offer, I thought I’d give it a go. The author is someone new to me and the story is set in the American Mid-West, a place I’m not very familiar with. I also chose this book because I was intrigued […]
Fiction from Fact
My upcoming book A Bachelor’s Pledge is a work of fiction but there are many elements of the story that actually occurred. I try to fit them in seamlessly, so that it is not too much like a history lesson for the reader. It is late 1810, and my hero, Phil Cullen, is instructed by […]
Want your spirits uplifting? Come on a walk to Minster Lovell
I’ve been venturing further afield on my walks as the weather has improved. Last week the husband and I visited Minster Lovell, a picturesque historic village on the banks of the River Windrush. This village has three parts, Old Minster, Little Minster, and New Minster. You might guess that Old Minster was our destination Even […]
Do You Want to Know a Secret?
This article first appeared last year on The Coffee Pot Book Club: I thought it was worth updating here because spying and espionage are very much a feature of my upcoming book in The Gentlemen Series ~ A BACHELOR’S PLEDGE. When we talk of espionage today, we think of James Bond action heroes, or perhaps […]
A Lockdown Day Out
Although I enjoy my daily lockdown walks, seeing the same scenery day after day gets more than a little tedious. After nearly three months I was itching to walk somewhere different. So when the rules were relaxed recently, I decided to see if there was anywhere not too far away from where I live that […]