Small Breeds Farm Park
Life, Travel
On a warm and sunny day in August, my friend Kim, her daughter M and I had a wonderful day out at the Small Breeds Farm Park at Kington, Herefordshire. ... Read more
Gardenwatch: July 2024
Life
Summer is here at last! The year began wet. Spring arrived and the rain continued. It seemed never-ending. Mid-May, the thunderstorms arrived, bringing flash flooding to the back garden one ... Read more
Chetham’s Library After Hours
Life, Travel
In April, I made a return visit to Chetham’s Library in Manchester’s Medieval Quarter. This time my visit was for a self-guided tour through the medieval stone passages, secret staircases ... Read more
Manchester Street Art – April 2024
Travel
On a recent trip to Manchester to see James Blunt in concert, I took time to wander around the city centre to see if I could find any new street art. Street ... Read more
Uspenski Cathedral, Helsinki
Life, Travel
Sat on a hillside on the Katajanokka Peninsula, Uspenski Cathedral (‘Uspenskin Katedraali’ in Finnish) overlooks the city and harbour of Helsinki. This red-bricked cathedral with its 13 onion domes is ... Read more
Oulu Cathedral, Finland
Life, Travel
Oulu – The fourth northernmost city in the world with over 100,000 inhabitants, known as the “capital of Northern Finland” and, surprisingly, home to the Air Guitar World Championships! Oulu ... Read more
Gardenwatch: Hedgehog & Fox
Life
With it being a very wet and very windy January, you’d think the back garden would be fairly quiet, apart from the little garden birds. Well, when I checked the ... Read more
Helsinki Cathedral
Travel
Think of one landmark in Helsinki and it will most likely be Helsinki Cathedral. It sits proudly above Senate Square, but it is not Helsinki’s only cathedral. We’ll visit a ... Read more
2023 – A Review
Etc, Life
It’s that time of the year between Christmas and New Year when my energy totally disappears! However, at least this year I have dodged the old C.O.V.I.D. Thankfully! Travel After ... Read more
Helsinki Christmas Market
Life, Travel
Beneath the snowy steps of the city’s great white cathedral sits Senate Square, the location for Helsinki’s Christmas Market (locally known as “Tuomaan Markkinat”). This year the market runs from ... Read more
Valkohieta Beach, Finland
Life, Travel
Have you ever had a whole beach to yourself? On a hot day back in June, during my visit to Finland, my friend and I discovered we had an entire ... Read more
Jessie Wills Anderson
Etc
An unassuming gravestone sits in the village cemetery, no different to those surrounding it. It gives no indication of the lives led by those it immortalises. You would never know ... Read more
Gardenwatch: Misfit Dahlias
Life
Hello from a wet and windy Mid Wales! Long-term readers will know that I’m a bit obsessed when it comes to dahlias. I can’t pass one on a plant stall, ... Read more
Manchester Street Art – August 2023
Travel
Last week I treated my niece to a trip to Manchester for a few days. I knew the trip would mostly be about shopping, but I also wanted to show ... Read more
Tankar Island, Finland
Life, Travel
The small but beautiful island of Tankar can be found in the outer archipelago in the south of the Bay of Bothnia. The island was inhabited as early as the ... Read more