Blog

  • There’s not mushroom inside

    I’m just taking a yellowing copy of Machineries of Joy from my bookcase. It’s a collection of short stories by the master storyteller, Ray Bradbury. I love his small town, big wonder style. Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of my favourite books, a coming-of-age novel where good and evil do battle against the…

  • Good morning to the snowdrops

    Saw these this morning and I just had to stop to say hello. They didn’t respond but I think they were pleased to see me. For some reason, I was whistling Let ‘Em In by Wings, which sent me down an internet rabbit hole when I got back home, as I wanted to find out…

  • Spring is in the air

    After a grey, grim old day yesterday, we have blue skies and signs of spring here in West Dorset. There’s mud everywhere and it’s squelchy underfoot but the many puddles are reflecting the changing of the seasons. We’re not there yet but it won’t be long. On my morning walk, I glanced up when I…

  • January book reviews

    Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for advance review copies of these novels. Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce *** Publication date: 26 February 2026 Two teenage girls are on trial in Scotland for the killing of one of their friends. As the court case unfolds, primarily through the eyes of one of the burnt-out…

  • January reflections

    January has already been a mixed month here in West Dorset, with cold, cold weather and blue skies at the start of it (hooray!) and then miserable rain and wind (boo!), which kind of reflects the way many of us feel in the weeks after Christmas. The festive season passed me by without major incident…

  • Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be

    We’ve just shelled out £6.50 on a Christmas Radio Times. Mr Grigg wasn’t too happy, but, with my work background, I appreciate the many hours it takes to put something like this together. And, let’s be honest, the heyday of printed magazines and newspapers is long gone, so it’s good to support an industry on…