Well, something pretty unusual happened last night . . . we went out for the evening. Okay, we have been known to nip out occasionally to pick up fish ‘n’ chips from the Cottage of Content, but it is a rare occasion indeed when we go out simply to be entertained by a band, but [...]
I just have to ask the question: exactly how many newly ordained priests are there in Greece, and why do they all want to come to England? Now, unless you are in the tourism business, you may not know what I’m talking about. So let me elucidate. Since we opened our doors at Aspen House, [...]
Another day of heavy rain. For some, for instance those staying at Aspen House, this makes a total washout of whatever it is they had planned for today or indeed for the weekend. Consternation abounds. As ever of course, everything is relative, and our problems here in Herefordshire are as nothing compared with Cumbria, a [...]
Calling in to our farm shop the other day, the girl at the counter, by way of polite conversation, said, “Soon be Christmas!” “That’s, exciting, isn’t it?” I ventured, pausing for effect before adding a contradictory, “Not.” She giggled. Aha, I thought, someone who thinks just like we do. It is a fact that we [...]
Us Brits – what are we like? After going into Hereford today, I would consider myself on fairly safe ground if I were to posit that we really are a bunch of barmy buggers. Consider, for instance, our never-say-die attempts at emulating Parisian café society. Anything the French can do, we can do better. Like [...]
Idly browsing through the books in a charity shop today, I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation that was going on between a customer and the woman at the till. They were comparing notes on all the peculiar manifestations that we are all witness to in our gardens these days. “My apple blossom has come out [...]
All this talk of food fear and lack of understanding about what actually makes our bodies tick brings to mind a conversation we had recently with a friend in the village who used to suffer with what is commonly called ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome.’ I wonder about the word ‘syndrome.’ To the typical layman, it might [...]
The weekend starts here, and Aspen House is full again. Another chance to lay bets on how much bacon fat will be left on the breakfast plates that come back from the dining room. You may be forgiven for thinking this is a slightly odd comment, coming as it does from someone who cooks a [...]
A trip into town had us thinking once again about the sheer amount of pressure applied unceasingly to consumers to persuade them to part with yet more borrowed money to buy yet more stuff they don’t need. The description ‘fashion victim’ used to refer simply to those who felt obliged to wear the latest High [...]