countryside
As most people who have lived there for any length of time as a single person will know, finding romance in the countryside can be extremely difficult. There aren’t many people in it, for one thing, and many of those are members of your family. It is also likely
buckfastleigh
Chainsaws seemingly everywhere in the countryside surrounding my house this morning. Unfortunately they were switched on, too, so I took my notebook to Hembury Woods in an attempt to get some writing done. For this journey I was accompanied by The Blackberry, a dog belonging to my friend Susie, who,
countryside
Billy and I were sitting outside a pub on the north eastern edge of Dartmoor, inhaling a much-needed pint when the septuagenarian lady in the Barbour jacket approached us. Well, I was inhaling a much-needed pint; Billy, who is a miniature-toy poodle cross, was inhaling some much needed water from
bowerman's nose
Lots of jobs to do today, a lost phone to replace and three inboxes full of unanswered correspondence, so I decided to do what I often do in these situations: sod it all off, get in the car, head up to Dartmoor and climb a stack of weathered granite. I&
butterflies
July 18th, 2014 I now appear to be living with five cats. I didn't intend to live with five cats. I already had four but one had clearly heard on the grapevine that I was a soft touch and was waiting in a bush for me when I
bees
“Bees?” said the lady near the door as I entered Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum. “I read non-verbals very well,” she added. I’d guess only about five percent of the foot traffic through the museum’s doors this Saturday morning was for the bee identification course in one
countryside
I’m currently growing my hair for the first time since 2001. Some people think growing your hair is merely about not getting your hair cut but it’s actually about buying your hair treats and speaking softly to your hair when it’s angry. Recently, for example, I have
countryside
A few years ago, when I first decided to go vegetarian, the consensus seemed to be that what I'd miss, above anything else, was bacon. "Ooh, you're going to struggle, especially on hungover mornings, if you smell someone else cooking it - it's
countryside
It's been several years since I've been abroad. I could put this down to a couple of very obvious reasons - a certain reluctance to plan that can become ingrained after many years of stubbornly self-employed life, my fear of flying, following lightning striking a plane
badger cull
Sound travels in a curious way on the hillside where I live here in Devon. The sudden dips and rises in the land and the dense canopies of the area’s countless trees can create deceptive pockets of noise. What you think is, say, your girlfriend or your cat talking
countryside
Read more about my dad.
community radio
Those of you who follow me on Twitter might be aware I've been hosting a fortnightly radio show recently. It's called Message From The Country and features music of a rural nature (acid folk, country funk, magical boondocks classic rock, agri-psych, mystic Americana), me rambling on