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R and I spent the morning gardening; between us we achieved a lot, but it left me very tired – I went to my desk afterwards, intending to catch up on some financial stuff, and fell asleep in my chair. … Continued

I don’t know the exact truth of this – the world of rose-breeding is full of charmingly romantic stories, of dubious veracity – but I have read that Rosa banksiae was bred in about 1825 by Lady Banks, whose husband … Continued

I’ve been running around like a thing demented all day today – which has at least lifted me out of the gloom in which I was mired yesterday. The day began with a bit of a jolt: I was sitting … Continued

? Everybody needs good naaaaybours…? One of the phrases I remember from my youth with no fondness whatsoever is “For Heaven’s sake, stop moping about with a face like a wet week, and go and do something useful.” I deny … Continued

With poor weather forecast for the next couple of days, I thought I had better get out and do a butterfly hunt this morning. There’s a field on the far side of the village which I always refer to as … Continued

“Oh Will, it’s gone horribly wrong round here, with this damned referendum. What do you think about it all?” We have seen better days. “You can say that again. I’m still not sure how the vote went the way it … Continued

It’s, like, a metaphor, innit? If you’re lucky enough to live outside the UK and you’re already bored comatose by British politics, please look away now. If you’re struggling to understand the mess we’ve created for ourselves, I’ll do my … Continued

Some of you may be aware that in a former life I trained as an osteopath, and though the rheumatoid arthritis that ripped through my system in the run-up to finals robbed me of the opportunity ever to practise it … Continued

Though he’s not as wild as I am. I had, as I predicted, a very long night. Watching the poll result come in was like one of those news reports where they warn you in advance that there is footage … Continued

Well, maybe I wasn’t quite skipping – but I was delighted today to discover that the village was full of butterflies. I hadn’t expected this because it was very overcast, but it was also warm and muggy, and suddenly they … Continued