For the first time ever, I experienced a Christmas away. It was an intimate family get-together in self-catering accommodation in Pembrokeshire. With snow on the ground, temperatures in the minus numbers and brilliant sunshine for the few days we were there, walking the coastal path was quite magical. Cooking a rib joint of beef for [...]
21st December 2010 Short days and tall tales The winter solstice is upon us once again, accompanied by the bonus of a total lunar eclipse and a full moon tonight (neither of which will be visible to anyone around here due to the opaque snowy skies). Shame really, because this is the first total lunar [...]
The current cold spell has been with us now since the full moon on 21st November. My grandpa would have been the first to predict that the weather would remain cold until the last crescent of the waning moon, and so it proved to be. I like the idea of trying to forecast the weather [...]
One of joys of going into Ross on a Saturday morning is visiting one of our favourite independents – Field Fayre. Recently taken over by an extremely enthusiastic couple, David and Yolanda, the shop is attractively stocked with real and organic produce. I say ‘attractively’ because the first thing that catches your eye is the [...]
“The world in solemn stillness lay” I heard a blackbird’s alarm call this morning. Now, you may think that is hardly unusual, particularly out here in the middle of Hoarwithy, but I can tell you that since the temperature plummeted on the day following the last full moon, the sound of birds in our garden [...]