March 2025

This is the stunning Italianate Portmeirion Village in North Wales. I apologise if the picture is a tad blurred and surreal looking, but I wanted to show you how convincing an app replacement sky can look, if you agree it looks convincing? I think this photo looks quite make believe but I like it all […]

Today is Armed Forces Day and it’s one of my favourite days in the year, because it offers another opportunity to think on and thank our amazing armed service personnel for their hard work and incredible sacrifice. I had lot of pictures to share with you today but sadly I’ve been unwell the last couple […]

In my opinion, nothing beats a traditionally built Silver Cross pram or should I say Perambulator?! I couldn’t believe it the day I got this one for ten quid from the charity shop! We had so much fun on these walks and you would be amazed the kind of terrain you can successfully traverse a […]

Suffice it to say my son fermented this red gooseberry wine with organic gooseberries from our garden. It is exceptionally good and we’re all extremely impressed! And they were gooseberries we still had in the freezer, so even better for achieving such a superb result. Well done son! 

Not to tell a lie this photo is from last year, but I hope your washing line is getting some attention as well as mine! These towels are, starting from the left: Cath Kidston Hydrangea Print; Tesco or Sainsbury’s Home Brand Tropical Print; Debenhams/Matthew Williamson Pineapple Print &… Matthew Williamson’s Butterfly for Debenhams Tropical Print. […]

The first time I ate ‘Rocky Road’ was when I bought a bar of something called ‘Congleton Crunch’ in a cafe in Macclesfield about twenty years ago. Although Macclesfield has a reputation for being a rather upmarket place, it was sickly sweet and made with cheap plastically flavoured chocolate. Nonetheless, the idea of it still […]

I love these pictures. They bring back such happy memories for me of taking country walks with my children when they were little, and more recently with my friend and her lovely bunch. Over lockdown one of my bubble friends has been wearing a baby carrier every time we’ve been walking together. A big part of […]

Easter is a wonderful time of year when the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ causes us to meditate upon the wonder of new life. I love Easter –  the yellow shock of daffodils against the green of the fresh new grass and the new growth on the rose bushes with the promise of gorgeous […]

I wanted to write down for y’all a good few verses of the book in the bible Song of Solomon or as it’s also known Song of Songs. It seems a most appropriate passage for Valentine’s Day and as funny as it is raunchy.  It describes the author talking about his amore’s gorgeous figure and […]

Here in Ramsbottom we are blessed with a number of eating establishments of note, and The Cultured Bean is one of them. We went for lunch there recently on my husband’s day off and were impressed with the quality of the food and the service. Opting for the same first course we ate some absolutely scrumptious […]

This photo really makes me laugh & feel virtuous! Hark back to the days when I used to make homemade oven baked Kale crisps for my children! It’s been a long time since I’ve made those! These were made simply by turning them in a little oil and ground coriander and roasting them for a […]

The blog I initially had planned for today was all about beautifully illustrated vintage and current books, but God had different plans! On the way back from school, while watching a mummy duck waddle along with her ducklings in tow, two of her ducklings fell down a drain at the side of the road. Determined […]

Here we have been eating a lot of gingerbread lately and it’s reminded me of some Snowman gingerbread I made at Christmastime many years ago.  Despite years of artistic training, I wouldn’t say I’m anywhere remotely expert at writing with icing pens, so I was really pleased with how well my snowman turned out. I’m […]

I’ve been so sleepy today.  I keep thinking about my bio for here and cringing. I mean I’ve described myself as super-energetic, but to be honest I’m just so tired a lot of the time at the moment, it feels as if I have made a ridiculous assertion. This week alone, I’ve gone back to bed every […]