Is the Grass Greener?

Thursday 2 November 2023 It’s 07:44 and it’s raining, the kind of rain that you know will soak you as soon as you’ve been outdoors for a minute. In England, the southwest and further southeast is being battered by wind and more rain, which is forecast to head to London, though dying down by then. […]

Wednesday 1 November 2023 It’s November FFS, though that is significantly less shocking than the arrival of September and then October. I met my friend Rachael at 07:30 for a pre-work walk and coffee/tea. It was raining but warm, which is pretty much the same as Scotland. I set off from Scottish Borders just after

Monday 30 October 2023 Today is a list day. I am almost definitely going to drive down to London tomorrow for a few days and my list of jobs for today is split into four: to do; to pack; to bring back here from London; to do before leaving here. I find enormous satisfaction in

Sunday 29 October 2023 It’s 07:56 and chucking it down with rain. The clocks have now gone back an hour and I have no recollection of yesterday being this dark at almost 09:00. But it is very wet and cloudy. The river at the bottom of the drive is a muddy, raging torrent (well, compared

Friday 27 October 2023 I’m trialling an oil-filled radiator in my office instead of a small fan heater. Outside it’s raining, it’s chilly and it’s not even 09:00. I am also poised to try and print a draft of my manuscript. Our printer has not been working, indeed has never really been much good (it’s

Wednesday 25 October 2023 Two months to Christmas. I now most definitely have a far greater understanding of the complications of travel plans for Christmas. Last year, I think because we’d only just moved to Scotland, it was kind of okay and we’d worked out where we would be and the weather was obliging in