The scent of burnt lavender, the itch of the cicada song and the gurgles of the pool.
Hope Town, Elbow Cay, The Bahamas- Pirates, Island girls and Conchs
Our feet sank into the sugary pinks sands, footprints immediately washed away by foaming shallow wavelets.
Basking Crocs to rainbow crocks of gold
Extraordinary US never fails to surprise.
New Orleans, Cajun/Creole cuisine, Jazz, voodoo, vampires and paddle steamers on the muddy Mississippi.
New Orleans assaults all senses including the sixth.
New Orleans, The Big Easy in the Garden District
Pelting rain and violent thunderstorms- taking it easy in steamy New Orleans
The Writers’ Retreat, Tennessee
A writers retreat in deepest Tennessee
Sunshine and storms in Key West
Our literary tour starts…
Underwater wine-discovering a mysterious wine in Secret Tuscany
Dreams, underwater wines inspired by shipwrecks and poetry.
Fireflies and Nightingales in Tuscany
Ours was a warm, still spring night with ‘no breezes from heaven blown.’ We stood instead in the dark, amongst the roses and their perfumed air, looking up into the olive grove with its shaggy grass and wild flowers hidden in the dark.
Coffee, cornetti, Tuscan artists and sculptors
Bumping into world class Tuscan artists and the visceral sculpture of Paolo Pelosini
Should you write your memoir?
Don’t even think about it unless you are committed to the level of obsession.
Overnight stop in France Mulhouse aka two Philistines in La France Profonde
Two philistines in La France Profonde
Flashbacks – friend or foe for the memoirist?
Can use of multiple flashbacks exhaust word budget and lead to writer’s block?
Rainy days, operatic owls and the most romantic Cafe in Lucca
There is something lascivious about a Lucchese hot chocolate.
Writing under a pseudonym
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Oscar Wilde
Tuscan Secrets off the beaten track
I love seaside resorts out of season. Glistening seas, bright sunshine and rows of umbrellas all have the  energy  youth and summer love but it is out of season that you see the bones, the face of resorts without makeup, …
Pisa – Cinderella City
Beloved Pisa
Lost youth and the November rains
Pigs might fly
Villa Proserpina, returning to the light
In 2009, in  the months before we met in person GS and I messaged by text. Somehow in that text environment we quickly became close, so close that I wasn’t sure if and when we actually met in  person, the …
Mysteries of the Universe. Why? Why?
I cannot speak for successful writers nor published authors as I am neither. I am though a committed amateur. Nothing makes me happier that wafting around vacantly, doodling and looking for the perfect word whilst eroding a track to the …
Pufflings, oysters and castles
How does that happen? One second my baby was making a highly dramatic entry into the world, the next my Puffling is 21 years old! Unfortunately Mac couldn’t make it to Newcastle for celebrations, and was much missed, but BB …
Via Elisa, Lucca
After few lazy mornings enjoying the last of the sunshine and swatting mosquitos with The Bat of Death, we needed a mooch around Lucca.We usually park near the station and go in the Renaissance Porto San Pietro and are quickly …
Last swim of summer; Tellaro and Fosdinovo
It is still hot during the day, the sun bright and the skies blue. But the dews are becoming heavier, the forecast is for thunderstorms to roll in. It is time for The Last Swim of Summer. I feel cheated, …
The battle of the Clams
Truth and lies
Breakfast in Rome
When pixels were tesserae
Bramber and Benidorm
Finally, Â skin grey and hair stiff with dust as if we had been substituted hoover bags for pillows in a pillow fight GS and I took off in separate cars of the coast. Since we couldn’t find a hotel in …
How not to move house
So, in the months since GS and I were on our wonderful road trip to Puglia we have spent the dog days of the summer in emotional and physical awfulness. My beloved father died, and I could not write in …
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Termoli-Tuscany (10)
We set off and crossed back over the border into Puglia, driving for hours until we crossed over into Molise. Â This was the stack of giant marshmallows and baby bottles which someone who shall remain nameless (GS) totally demolished. …
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Nardo-Alberobello-Matera (9)
Trulli scrumptuous
Tuscany- Puglia Road Trip Nardo Starburst (8)
Palm fan skies
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Gagliano del capo to Nardo via Otranto (7)
Fighi d’india and watermelon fields
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Rabatana -Santa Maria di Leuca (6)
Taranto door knob
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Basilicata, Rabatana (5)
Fiat 500 up a staircase
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Fondi to Rabatana (4)
The Bergamot, Rabatana, Tursi
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Folly and Ostia (3)
Reception theatre The ‘Don’t Blink’ reception The Homage to Stephen King Our suite was every bit as quirky as we hoped it would be with antique furniture and unique touches. The signage outside seemed to indicate that it was part …
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Roma! (2)
Wonderful Roma
Tuscany-Puglia Road Trip Orbetello (1)
Road trip! Woohoo!
Wild Sausages
May in the Tuscan hills
Wonderful Worthing!
Shhhsh best kept secret on the south coast?
The Fam
This is the family cat. Tiger
Shoreham by Sea
The quaint seaside town of Shoreham by Sea.
Old Shoreham, Shoreham by sea, Shoreham Beach
Old Shoreham, Shoreham by sea and Shoreham Beach Coat of arms in St Nicks, Old Shoreham Ginger and Dobbs for groceries, coffee pastries and assorted temptations in Shoreham by sea A rising cloud of seamews It was more by accident …
First dip of Summer (almost)
But for one mermaid it was baptism, time to dance with the high strong churning waves again. The first swim of summer.