Category: Away from the desk

I’m working on my teetering to-be read pile – I have made a rule: read at least two books which have been there for a while before touching a new arrival. I seem to be always breaking it. This summer I devoured four novels one after the other by Ann Tyler, Bonnie Garmus, Elizabeth Strout … Continue reading The to-be-read pile …

A mild, windy morning and for a while not a sign of a bird! But my count in the end (between 9.15 and 10.15, coffee time) was: Blackbirds 3 | feral pigeons 5 | house sparrows 14 | dunnock 1 | robin 2 | coal tit 1 | great tit 1 | blue tit 1 … Continue reading Big garden bird watch 2023

About a year ago, a few months after I moved to the Northumberland coast, one of the best things I did was join a local beach cleaning group. We meet up every weekend for a couple of hours, litter picking alternately on two local beaches. I fell in love with the coastline when I came … Continue reading Beach cleaning

So pleased to get my Level 2 Award in Printmaking! I loved trying out different techniques and approaches and exploring ways to express myself in a visual way. I felt clumsy with some tools and an awkwardness in this other new language but I loved it all. And it was a pleasure to spend time … Continue reading A certificate!

I’ve moved and my upstairs flat has a front garden patch as well as a small back garden. They are both pretty much blank canvases and the landlady is happy for you to do what you like with them, which is great. I have plans to grow herbs and native plants and flowers. I like … Continue reading Two gardens!

Yes, after working with Swansea Print Workshop for 10 years and only 5 years since I moved from Wales, I have finally signed up for a printmaking course at the local college in Kendal! I’m looking forward to exploring a new artform and to being with other creative people, feeling that energy of a group … Continue reading a different way with ink