A Classic Day Out
Sunday saw me and Mr A at the BMW Classics of the Last Century Car Show at Denbies Vineyard near Dorking. We took a 1999 Alpina B3 convertible – the only one of its colour (Alpina Grün) in the country. …
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Victory in Europe Day Celebrations
I wonder, did you celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, and if so, what did you do? In the small Oxfordshire town where Mr A and I live, there were events taking place in the park all day. I…
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Afternoon tease?
Mr A and I are probably unique in that until this week we had never eaten afternoon tea. We decided to remedy this and duly booked a table for the aforementioned meal. I won’t tell you where we went as…
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Car season
Yes, it’s that time of year again, when Mr A gets the classics out and we head off to various parts of the south of England. We went to our first meeting of BMW E31s last Sunday. For the uninitiated,…
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Easter weekend
I trust you have had a thoroughly enjoyable Easter weekend, however you have spent it and whatever Easter means to you. Easter is celebrated by Christians to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the Friday and his being raised…
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Something fishy…
Mr A and I have just returned from a week in West Wales. We were based in Saundersfoot, and very fishy it was too. Interestingly it was difficult to locate crab, as apparently they are scarce currently and dearer than…
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The Museum of Land Speed
Visiting Pendine Sands this week, Mr A and I took the opportunity to visit the Museum of Land Speed. The Sands have a long (nearly 100 years) history of setting land speed records, beginning in the 1920s with Sir Malcolm…
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A right royal time: Plas Dinas
Should you find yourself in North Wales and be in need of food/accommodation, might I suggest Plas Dinas Country House? Formerly the home of the Armstrong-Jones family and in fact still owned by David Armstrong-Jones, this delightful house offers eleven…
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PORTMEIRION
I don’t know if you remember The Prisoner series on tv during the 1960s? It starred Patrick McGoohan as former British Intelligence Agent no 6 and was aired between 1967 and 1968. This series was shot in the delightful Welsh…
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Lark Rise to Candleford
I visited Cottisford, which is the village of Fordlow in the Candleford books, last week. It was a totally unexpected visit, brought about because Mr A’s bicycle had a puncture and he needed my assistance. Unfortunately the “instant bike tyre…
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Has Spring sprung?
According to the meteorological calendar Spring starts on 1 March and finishes on 31 May. Certainly this year 1 March was a beautiful day and looking ahead to the coming week, the sunny weather looks set to continue. I spent…
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Walking – an update
When I started my half hour daily walks, I undertook to report back to you on progress. Well, I have done six walks every week, with the seventh one being stopped by rain, so feel pretty proud of myself. I…
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Valentine’s Day
As I write this I wonder whether you actually celebrate Valentine’s Day? We do. Perhaps with not so much excitement as we did in earlier years, when we had a few days away, but nevertheless we celebrate. This year it…
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Getting fit a step at a time (literally)
I read an article last week about making little changes to improve one’s health and fitness, so decided I would give it a go. I have chosen to do a half hour walk each day. This was one of the…
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Out with the Dragon, in with the Snake
We are currently in the midst of bidding farewell to the Dragon and welcoming the Snake. Yes, it was the start of the Lunar New Year on Wednesday and the celebrations will culminate with the Lantern Festival on 12 February. …
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A couple of tips
Having made myself accountable to you all, I am delighted to report that both my green jumper and my latest premature baby blanket have been finished and the blanket has been delivered to the collection point for the hospital. I…
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Stitches in time
It’s been an interesting week. I gave my first author talk in years to a local group in my home town on Thursday afternoon. People said they enjoyed it, which is always good to hear, although one always feels…
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To do or not to do?
To do or not to do?In other words, procrastination. For a start I love the word, and for seconds I’m rather good at it. Many years ago, a very dear friend once said to me, “Why do today what you…
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Happy New Year!
Well, here we are in 2025. I hope it’s started well for you and that you haven’t been too hindered by the weather, whether too hot or too cold or too waterlogged. It’s currently raining here and washing away some…
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How was it for you?
And then it was nearly New Year’s Eve! How was your Christmas? I hope whatever you chose to do was special for you and that you were gifted a book from the Emotions series. Mr A and I spent Christmas…
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Christmas!
What does Christmas mean to you, I wonder? It means so many different things to so many different people. To children it might mean Father Christmas, presents, nativity plays, carol concerts and finally school holidays. To the people who teach…
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To send, or not to send?
To send, or not to send, that is the question… I decided a few years ago not to send Christmas cards, apart from to the children and grandchildren and Mr A’s German relatives. At the time I was a working…
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What would you do?
I’ve had a thoughtful couple of weeks as I’ve not been too well and one of the things I’ve been thinking about is the restaurants that Mr A and I visit. As you will know from previous snippets we’re always…
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Here comes winter!
Never mind about the leaves that are green turning to brown, I think we may be by-passing autumn and heading straight for winter. I do hope, if you’re in the UK, that you haven’t been adversely affected by Storm Bert. …
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My father’s medals
As it was Remembrance Sunday last Sunday, my thoughts turned to my father’s war medals. A friend came to lunch who worked for the MOD all his life and used to organise the uniforms for the major military events, such…
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Remembrance
I felt it appropriate this week to write a few words about Remembrance Sunday, held in the UK on the second Sunday in November, to commemorate the contribution made by British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen in the two…
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Whoosh and it’s autumn!
As Simon and Garfunkel sang in 1966 (for those of you who are old enough to remember), “and the leaves that are green turn to brown.” The arrival of autumn sparks very definite feelings. For some it makes things more…
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A Classic day
I hadn’t been to a classic car meeting for a while, but on Saturday I accompanied Mr A to Haddenham Classic Cars’ meeting at Bradmoor Farm. The weather was fine and it was a most enjoyable morning. We took our…
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Weekend away
Here I am, back from a weekend away in Lymington. Sadly the main street has many closed shops, as do a lot of other places that we all know, but I very much liked the shops that were left. There…
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Autumn is coming
What do your thoughts turn to with the chillier weather and the darker nights? I really enjoy reading and writing and also knitting at this time of year. I have just finished another baby blanket for the John Radcliffe Hospital,…
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A new experience!
“Let’s go out for a meal after my meeting with my publisher,” I said to my husband. “Let’s try somewhere different,” he replied. “I’ve never eaten Nepalese food. Do you fancy giving it a go?” So…that’s how Mr A and…
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CONFLICTING EMOTIONS has arrived!
I’m really excited to tell you that Conflicting Emotions is now available and first of all I must thank those of you who have already bought it. Thank you all so very much. With the latest book done and dusted,…
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A real red letter day!
The fabulous fourth in my Emotions series comes out today, bringing more stories of love, loss and laughter in the Rowlands family. I really enjoyed writing Conflicting Emotions: An Oxfordshire Quandary – and I very much hope you’ll enjoy reading…
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September News
Hello everyone It’s hard to believe we’re nearly half way through September, although the days are drawing in really quickly now. It’s the time of year to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee/glass of wine. …
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Relaunch of Emotions Series & Update
Here I am outside Whistlers in Chipping Norton, during a walkabout where I was reminiscing about the locations in my novels. Like Susie, I used to enjoy visiting Whistlers when I lived in Church Enstone. It is now ten years…
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