If you ever need cheering up and you happen to be in Redchurch Street, pop into number 45. Here you’ll find the proprietor, Jude, and his collection of sometimes beautiful, sometimes quite odd furniture (can you see the denim couch just behind...

This was supposed to be my 2009 Christmas card, mounted on pretty berry-coloured paper and sent far & wide…. but due to Swine Flu and the need for chicken noodle soup on the couch and lots of sleep, not to mention an impatience with all things crafty,...

A huge thanks for my lovely new header goes to Edwin Lynch, a filmmaker, writer, teacher and webmeister from West Australia who designed it for me – and gave me lots of sound advice earlier this year when I was talking about starting a blog. You can...

This year I wrote down every novel I read. I wanted to see how many I get through, and have a record. I’ve read some great books over the years that I would like to revisit but only remember fragments – a mum teaching her daughter to use a washing...

Thank god for the sun shining today. I thought I had lived here long enough that the weather no longer affected my mood, but what a difference a bit of sun makes to the public morale. Strangers smiling, opening doors for each other, commenting on the...