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The light in this photo (taken just after 3pm this afternoon) tells you almost all you need to know about the kind of day it was. The thing you can’t see is that it was also raining. Quite hard. My … Continued

Yesterday’s bunch of flowers keep on giving – fortunately, because otherwise it’s been an utterly dreary day. We woke to heavy mist, which was then replaced by drizzly rain; the rain decided that it liked Worcestershire, settled down and made … Continued

Today was the annual Feast of Cramming Quarts into Pint Pots, during which I attempt to pack into three cupboards and a large wooden chest more Christmas decorations than emerged from them a month previously. I’m aware that this inflation … Continued

Last night was very cold, and when R and I set off for Croome first thing this morning the car thermometer was registering -7º. We arrived in time for a bracing cup of coffee before the park opened, and then … Continued

Fat balls or seed? Both, I think. Yes, definitely both – now, which first? The extra: Who ate all the pies? Why, you did, my dear – judging by the incriminatory evidence all round your face. Apologies for the lack … Continued

I’m bluffing actually – I know virtually nothing about fungi, so this is a guess based on all of five minutes of research on the web; but I hope that I’m right in plumping for Trametes versicolor, commonly called the … Continued

I don’t actually go in for New Year’s resolutions: I very much agree with Mark Twain about this particular tradition. Which isn’t to say that I don’t try to improve myself – I’m perfectly well aware of my flaws and … Continued

The New Year has arrived in Worcestershire with a squelch: it’s been raining here since last night, and the ground is sodden. There was no chance at all that I was going to leave the house in search of a … Continued

Pretty much every damned thing has made me burst into tears today – I’m not sure why, because I’m not usually this mimsy. I think 2016 may have finally overwhelmed me. I cried when the Sydney New Year fireworks came … Continued

I’ve been fretting recently about the state of the pound versus the yen, and the fact that Japanese camera equipment prices seem to be going through the roof. Over the past couple of days I’ve had quotes from two on … Continued