I have simply loved all of Gervase Phinn's other books and Up and Down in the Dales is no different.Gervase is back as the school inspector working in God's own county and encountering the "delightful" children that the region's schools are trying to educate. This time round though he is acutely aware of the impact of a child's home-life on how they perform at school. Gervase's wife Christine is expecting their first child and he is determined to make sure that this child has every possible head start when he or she enters the ... read more
A start on Jemima
Not much to show so far, but I've made a start on Jemima and I'm hoping that now I've cut out everything for the doll itself I should be able to complete that this week. The clothes may take a while longer though. Fingers crossed. ... read more
Autumn oranges
Looking around the garden at the end of October there ere numerous different shades of orange to give it a very autumnal feel. Just a shame that yesterday's autumn weather seems to have been replaced by the depths of winter today. Torrential rain and gale-force winds. Hope it isn't a sign of what's to come over the next couple of months. ... read more
Growing slowly
It's taking time (and I do have a small blister on my finger!) but the socks are growing. Just in time for the cold weather which is likely to return very soon. Now on to the difficult bit... ... read more
Make do and mend – updated
I wrote previously about the press coverage of John Lewis' updated version of Make do and mend, and I'm not delighted to say that I managed to pick up a copy when I was in my local store recently. I was delighted to find that they are selling copies for just £3 each. Admittedly it's only a small book, but one packed full of valuable tips and hints and in my opinion would make an excellent stocking filler at Christmas for anyone who is keen to save a few pennies. The book starts with some traditional "home truths"; those handy little hints about how to solve household ... read more
Wogan’s Twelve – Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan's a bit like marmite really: people either love him or hate him. If you're in the latter category then to be honest there's probably no point in reading Wogan's Twelve as you'll probably dislike it as much as the man himself. However, if you're someone who looks forward to turning Radio 2 on at 7.30am on a weekday morning then you're in for a treat!Written in a diary style this book gives a year long insight into Terry's life. Not only do we hear about the radio shows and his interactions with his beloved TOGs, but also the books ... read more
Time without a laptop
For a variety of reasons I've had some time without my laptop this week. I'm not at all sure as to whether or not it was a good thing though. I missed being able to look things up when I wanted to know them. I missed popping in to read other people's blogs and get that insight into their lives. I missed chatting with friends in forums as well. On the flip side though I did get so much more time to do other things. For the first time since we moved here I got to knit properly for long periods of time. The amount of reading I did also went through the roof.Possibly I just need to be ... read more
Nostalgic Clothkits
One of my strongest childhood memories is my doll called Jemima. Made lovingly by my mum from a Clothkits kit I have no idea what happened to her in the end, but things like the detail on her dress still seem crystal clear in my memory. I was a child born in the 70s. I think all of us had something from Clothkits at the time. It was just the way things were back then. I was therefore completely thrilled when I passed by the relaunched Clothkits stand at the Knitting and Stitching a week or so back and spotted Jemima smiling out at me. Jemima's now called Kitty. Or maybe she was ... read more
Clean Break – Val McDermid
Years ago I read most of Val McDermid's books (well all the ones that had been published at that time) and completely loved them. I was therefore thrilled when a bag of books my mum passed on to me included Clean Break. It was a while since I'd read any of Val's books and although I think I must have read this before I still loved it!Kate Brannigan is the main character in Clean Break, as well as a number of Val's other books. Kate is a private detective, working in Manchester and taking on all kinds of jobs that come her way. In this particular book Kate is ... read more
So many things…
So many things to tell you about that I'm not really sure where to start. Some fantastic books; a great, although tea-less, trip to the Knitting and Stitching show; exciting knitting and sewing purchases; a new knitting project and a new blog that Mr C and I have been working on as a side project! If you like nature here in the UK then take a look at UK Nature Blog and tell us what you think.I promise not to neglect here though. In fact there's so much to tell you about that I plan to be back very soon to do just that! ... read more