Apples and Roses

Y e sterday wa s inten se in the world of bad new s. I had been feeling mildly guilty that I wa s away in Naple s on October 22 when the Pol...

It's raining. My newly discovered cafe Barnum--in which you can sit comfortably for a long time and the pastries are a revelation--was s...

One of my favourite aspects of Rome is the palette: sienna, burnt sienna, lemon yellow, yellow ochre, orange ochre, red ochre, pistachio, di...

7:30 AM:  Wake up and see that I am too late for the morning TLM. 7:50 AM:  Make coffee in French press brought from home because I prefer L...

We are home from Cambridge, having had a splendid time.  On Sunday B.A. and I went to the TLM at Blackfriars, walked down as far as St Mary ...

We are in Cambridge which, as I expected, is a little cold and damp. When the sun came out, I felt a thrill of joy. B.A and I were with our ...

Today I planted carrots, reasonably confident that the carrot fly season is over.  The broad bean season is over too, and I must say that th...

I can tell that I am on a diet because it is not Lent and yet here I am thinking about food. Reading cookbooks will surely follow. If Rose P...

Uncanny. I am reading an interesting book called Atomic Habits . Atomic Habits says change comes not from stating your goals but by p...

More Monday news I am pleased to report that Benedict Ambrose has had a bratwurst mit pommes und sauerkraut although he left most of his s...

Benedict Ambrose and I have managed to get from the airport to this leafy neighbourhood in south-west Berlin and, even more impressive, obta...

A doctor has poked my tick bite and made a cheerful prognosis, so I will not worry for now and meanwhile just put her prescribed cream on my...

On Friday I wrote four articles and then ran around collecting items for a 2-day hike in the Highlands. My friend is going on the Chartres P...

"Normally the patient sits in that seat," said the doctor, or words to that effect, to me. Yes, Benedict Ambrose and I were ba...

My brother has invited Benedict Ambrose and me to stay with his family when they do a two-week house swap with a family in Berlin. There may...

We are back from a weekend in the Highlands, grateful that there was no rain yesterday.  Three people in a tin-roofed shack for three rainy ...