I remember sitting in the village hall last November, listening to a young lad from the council talk about “digital engagement platforms” and “streamlined communication infrastructures.” It was all a bit much, if you ask me. You don’t need a subscription service or a degree in computer science to figure out how to set up […]
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I saw a television programme last Tuesday suggesting that you need a digital thermometer, a sous-vide machine, and three different types of artisanal sea salt just to figure out how to make a sunday roast. It’s absolute nonsense. If you ask me, most of these modern “gourmet” guides are just a way to make a […]
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I was standing in the aisle of the supermarket last Tuesday, staring at a pile of pale, watery tomatoes that looked like they’d been harvested in a different hemisphere entirely, and I couldn’t help but huff. It’s a bit of a joke, isn’t it? We’re told we can have anything, anytime, but most of what […]
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I was out near the old flint boundary on Sunday, trying to mend a section of wall that’s been leaning since the Great Storm of 1987, when I realized I’d made a right mess of things. My head was thumping like a hammer on a joist, and my joints felt like they’d been filled with […]
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I was sitting in the draughty village hall last Tuesday, listening to a young man in a sharp suit explain that you need a six-figure consultancy fee just to figure out how to get planning permission for a simple garden studio. It’s enough to make you want to pack up and move to a flat […]
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I was out by the old flint wall behind the rectory last Saturday—a fine bit of 19th-century masonry, though the mortar is perished in places—trying to reset a few loose stones. Halfway through, I felt that familiar, sharp twinge in my lower spine, the kind that makes you realise you aren’t twenty-five anymore. Now, you […]
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If you think joining a local history society means sitting in a draughty village hall listening to a man in a moth-eaten cardigan drone on about nothing but pottery shards and dry dates, you’ve been led astray. I’ve spent thirty years valuing properties from Salisbury to Winchester, and I can tell you that the real […]
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I was out by the old stone barn last Tuesday—a sturdy piece of 18th-century masonry, mind you—and I saw young Miller from down the lane trying to stack his logs against a damp garden wall. He’d spent a fair bit of money on some fancy, decorative metal log holder he’d ordered online, but he was […]
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I remember sitting on the stone bench by the old mill pond—the one built back in 1842, though the foundations are much older—trying to make sense of the silence after Margaret passed. People tend to offer these polished, expensive little platitudes, as if you can solve a loss by buying a self-help book or attending […]
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I was sitting in the kitchen last Tuesday, looking at a packet of those expensive, store-bought liquid stocks, and I couldn’t help but scoff. They’ve got more salt and stabilizers in them than a coastal road in mid-winter, and they certainly don’t taste of anything real. People seem to think that learning how to make […]
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