” Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”  A mantra for older age. A Funeral eulogy favourite. Dylan Thomas’s famous poem suddenly came to life  last October when  I visited his…

Someone once said ” There are 2 seasons in Scotland- June and winter!” I should have heard this before I set off to the UK in September/ October this year! I had grand plans. For my 74th birthday I would spend a week in my favourite town in Scotland, Oban….

” Perch where the wind comes at you full-force. Let it blow you apart till your feathers fly and you look like hell. Then abandon yourself. The wind is not your enemy, Nothing in life is. Go where the wind takes you- backwards- higher, lower. The wind to carry you…

Let me set the scene. Lesley and I returned from a L_O_N_G  5 – day trip through the Scottish Highlands late last night. The days started early and the schedule was strenuous, so we agreed to have a couple of days to ourselves before leaving for Inverness. And it’s raining…..

” What will my ventures entail, as I begin on this unknown trail, even through the rain and clouds, nature’s beauty still shines proud. The vivid greens and ice-cold streams is what true beauty means.”  (The Yorkshire Dales by Gemma Alexander) My obsession with TV programs like All Creatures Great…

” Great things never come from comfort zones.” is one of those quotes that drop out of the air when I want to justify spending a lot of money or doing something wild! Well in London, solo travelling at the age of 72, the wild may have toned down a…

It’s 4am and I’m sitting in my little London hotel room looking out into a treed square of white Georgian houses in South Kensington. I’m bursting to tell you about my travels and its only been half a day plus a lot of getting here. I’m conscious it’s already 2pm…

Ten sleeps. I’m like a hyperactive child waiting for the holiday to begin…are we there yet? Two suitcases lie yawning on the floor beside my bed and every day or so another shoe, hairbrush or Covid test kit gets thrown into the overflowing pile. It’s one thing to pack a…

A what? What’s a forest apartment? Inner City? How do you grow forests on a building? You mean climbing plants, not forests? The mind boggles and being a person always attracted to creative, boggling minds I had to check this one out. I came across the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest)…