Hurray, today my copy of Kimberly Espinel’s inspirational brand new book on how to craft creative food photography has arrived! While I’m not able today to show you some of the inside pages, I can tell you it’s a great book, explained clearly with lots of tips to help you to achieve that professional and […]

These haven’t been taken with a Lomo Camera. I have a trusty Holga but at the moment for a variety of reasons I’m not in a thoroughbred Lomo photography mood. The effects though of a ‘totally on purpose rather ropey’, ‘did you need to use sellotape to clasp shut the film gate?’ leaking in of […]

Shouting out to all lovers of beautiful quality candles, books, cards and gifts to please give my friend Jayne a visit at her wonderful shop Bolthole in Rawtenstall on Bank Street! Jayne has a fabulous eye for quality, beauty, timeless style & heritage with a fantastic price range to suit all budgets. Please see my […]

I’ve got really behind with my blogging lately and I get quite frustrated when that happens. Especially as I have a backlog of un-boxings to do for various fantastic ethically minded or British veteran owned companies! So please I ask for your patience and in the meantime enjoy this picture of a red, orange and […]

This recipe is low on effort and high on the taste and nourishment scales. I made it a few days ago because I was craving the comforting properties of protein, hot liquid, green veg and good fats. All you need is:  1 head Broccoli  Half a medium/large green Courgette  2 large Spring Onions  1 dessert […]

The small smattering of snow we’ve had today in Manchester has reminded me how desperately much I want to share the rest of my Arctic Survival pictures with you and, how keen I am to tell you about all the exceedingly delicious food I ate while I was there. Truth be known, I’ve been putting […]

I’ve started keeping a food diary! I love love love healthy home cooked food but this year I’ve slipped into some really bad habits with what I’ve been eating. I’ve also had some excellent periods when I’ve eaten very healthily and I really don’t want to lose the benefits of my previous hard work, especially […]

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 […]