Dr Biswell has returned to the Deep North. We tried to persuade the Rough Cats to make a banner saying ‘WELCOME HOME TO THE YOUNG MASTER’ and hang it over the drive but we got a lot of lip about ‘Wot’s in it for us, then?’ Cottagers these days… However, one other person, apart from […]
I was immensely gratified the other day to get a parcel from Peter Scupham, poet and bookseller. Mr Scupham is in the habit of issuing an annual challenge to his customers in the Christmas catalogue. He lists thirty-odd titles chosen from among the books in his catalogue, and states a theme – this year, ‘First […]
We went up into the hills this afternoon; we have an Italian Guest, and since the weather had temporarily cleared, we thought, Speyside and up into the hills, for whatever this country’s deficiencies from an Italian perspective, there is no denying that it can be very beautiful. We ended up visiting Scalan; a haunted place […]
Well, it ended today. You will have gathered from the last post but one that all was not well. Final diagnosis was lymphosarcoma of the spinal cord. She was in quite good spirits last night, but when she found in the morning she was unable to stand, you could see she had had enough. […]
I have just found out about this, due to having been googlewhacked (see reactions to last post). I had never heard of this; for readers similarly ignorant, here is what Wikipedia has to say:
A Googlewhack is a query consisting of two words (with no quote marks) entered into Google’s search page that returns a single […]
There had been a bit more excitement this evening than seemed quite necessary. In order to explain the course of events, I must first say that for the last few days, Miss Cat has not been quite her splendid self. She has a bad knee which tends to give way under her; at the moment […]
The Northern Professor and his Godpapa have tootled off down the drive for several days adventure in the north of England. Things seem strangely quiet, especially since yesterday was enlivened by a good deal of the Apparitional Gamekeeper’s company. He did a great deal of virtuous work in the way of strimming, mowing and so […]
one of the few really lovely aspects of the late, cold spring has been that the Tibetan — intense, cerulean blue — and the Welsh — cadmium yellow –poppies have happened simultaneously. Both the blue and the yellow have the classic, satiny translucent petals of the poppy tribe, both, characteristically, are held on wiry […]
The other morning, I was convinced someone was knocking on the door. Dream? No. Miss Cat was sitting up alert, ears pricked. Postie? I got up, observed Miss Dog somnolent on her beanbag, checked front and back, walked round the house, etc., and realised with some irritation that it was quarter to seven, a bit […]