Desperate Reader

Theres something appealingly (or appallingly depending on your point of view) incongruous about rural phone boxes that at first glance seem ...

My Father is a man who needs a project in his life, for preference one that involves him making something* and with a minimum of paperwork (...

It’s possible that ‘Hag’s Nook’ is my favourite John Dickson Carr so far. I won’t say of all time because there are going to be plenty more ...

The Skerries Mitts pattern comes from Marie Wallin’s  Shetland  Book. They looked like a useful and quick knit that wouldn’t be complicated,...

Way back in my teens and early twenties I used to work for my stepmother over the summer. She had what would now be called a boutique hotel....

We went to see ‘The Whip’ on Monday, and it was brilliant. Which does not make it the easiest play to write about. My theatre companion and ...

After years of sensibly reading one book at a time (finishing them in a timely fashion and finding the next book comes along quite naturally...

I mentioned this book a bit in the run up to Christmas because I genuinely think it's a useful one to have in the kitchen, but it concer...

I’ve spent most of this week diligently making things (in-between job hunting) and now have a lot of marmalade, one and a half pairs of fing...

It's hard to fathom how I got through so many years without discovering Sylvia Townsend Warner's short stories, I blame 'Lolly W...