I’ve been writing a column in one form or another for over two decades, and every year in late November I have to dust off my Santa hat and write about the upcoming holidays before we’ve even had Thanksgiving. I have always had a resistance to getting into the festive […]

Before I get started, I want to address a pet peeve. I know that I am a bit of a Pedantic Pat, but I make no excuses. Words have meanings and disregarding that is to encourage confusion and miscommunication. Until this year my pet peeve was the word Recession. Up […]

Oh, Glorious Atlantic Ocean, how I’ve missed you! I know that I can’t really complain, as our lockdown has been far from claustrophobic, living out in the countryside as we do, but the call of the sea has always been very strong, no matter what time of the year. In […]

It has been almost 80 days since we retreated into the splendid isolation of our rural sanctuary – leaving only to go shopping into town before quickly returning home. That is twice the length of a classic quarantine (which was forty days. The clue is in the name!). In all […]