Veg Plotting

On Wednesday I took part in a project commissioned by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. They invited anyone and everyone to write a quick 150 word nature diary to mark this year's spring equinox. Regular readers know I love this kind of project, reminiscent of the fun we had with #MyGardenRightNow a couple of years ago. You can read my [lightly edited] entry below. 80+ submissions and photos from around the country are available here . It's a wonderful celebration of this year's arrival of spring. How's spring (or autumn) looking in your neighbourhood? Today's dawn was special as the first chiffchaff of spring announced its arrival. It's a fitting way to celebrate the vernal equinox. Nature's changing so fast now. The apple boughs have just burst into leaf and my herb bed tells me there'll be mint for our potatoes this Sunday. My small urban garden is full of microclimates; demonstrated admirably today by my potted St George&

Big birthdays and anniversaries demand big holidays, and so NAH and I found ourselves touring the delights of Vienna, Bohemia and Prague for ten days recently. The weather on the whole was more March lamb-like for us compared with you and Storm Gareth . However, packing was still a bit tricky as we knew the forecast held both snow and temperatures in the low 70s Fahrenheit for us. And surprisingly it all came true. The above photo summarises that packing dilemma as it depicts the plentiful catkins we saw, along with chilly, snowy peaks in the distance. In the woods I was delighted to see wild cyclamen and hellebores in bloom; the latter are called 'Snow roses' in Austria. Being Lent, we found many places decorate their homes and businesses with flowers and greenery in a similar way we do for Christmas. More of those delights to come, along with some unusual public planting and an international edition of The Great Green Wall Hunt ...

Write away is an occasional series on my writing experiences and what I've learned along the way. It's inspired from joining a WI writing group last year, who've gently taken me to all kinds of places and forms of writing I never thought I'd go. In this post, I'm going to tell you a little more about the practical side to my recent Postcard from Fishguard , where I joined a workshop aimed at gaining an income from travel writing... My previous experience of writing workshops isn't good; for me they usually result in writers' block, so I approached a whole weekend immersed in the world of writing with some trepidation. I needn't have worried - and once again I did have a (temporary) block - sympathetic and knowledgeable tutors, a great location (and weather!) with the company of 50 or so like minded people made the whole weekend an enjoyable one. Our tutor Simon Whaley created a relaxed vibe for his class of just two ladies. He has a

A poem by moi, for once; I must show it to my Creative Writing group. This is what happens when you're trying desperately not to quote that poem for Muse Day 😉