I often feel a sense of sadness at this time of year. It’s a melancholy that is both nostalgic and foreboding: nostalgia for the summer that’s gone and foreboding of the winter ahead. This year however, I can’t complain. September has been such a beautiful month, stretching summer out for a […]

I’m writing this on a terrace in the full sunshine in what is probably the last hurrah of summer 2021. All around me people  – mostly tourists – are eating and drinking, soaking up the heat. Others stroll down the street eating ice creams, trailed by a line of children […]

Oh my, my July! What a month it was. Not only did we have a glorious heatwave, but we also started meeting up again. Both were wonderful and yet a little freaky. The heatwave was like a dream come true. I even went swimming -both in a lake and in […]

Last week, an envelope filled with documents arrived from my solicitor. Along with the usual ‘sign here’ stickers, was a note to arrange a zoom call to go through it with her, which I thought was rather considerate. Once we had connected, however, it became clear that the reason for […]

I must apologise for last month’s grumpy column. It came very close to feeling hopeless, though I did finish with the hope that things were going to get better. Well, they have. Things have definitely gotten better and I can feel the difference, the relief. It’s not quite as relieving as […]

Here we go again. After a heart-lifting Paddy’s Day spent working in the garden in the sunshine, the gales are back. This time they’ve brought along some hail, just to mix things up. Spring is definitely here, but sitting inside, as the rain pummels the house, it might as well […]