Life-Style


The Convent Gallery: Inspiration, Light and other Stories

Sometimes there are things to see in your own back – yard. In the spirit of “ explore something new every day,” I cheated a bit when I revisited the Convent Gallery, a 10 minute walk from my home. In all fairness I hadn’t been there for many years so…

26 July 2019 | Life-Style

Trending Now in Home Styling

Spend an afternoon hunting for a new sofa at any major homewares centre and you’ll soon discover the three key trends in interior design and decoration.  Open Elle Decor or check on – line sites such as theinspiredroom.net  and you’ll see imaginative and vivacious styling. The right mix of colour,…

11 July 2019 | Life-Style

Tips for Staging a Home for Sale

Some weeks ago a local gallery was closing its doors and I decided to visit its final sale of artworks. A very stylish woman, probably in her mid 50’s  was loading her car with  paintings and sculptures, lots of them.  As she headed into the gallery to pay for her…

26 June 2019 | Life-Style

A Glimpse of Glasgow

As a tourist, how long does it take you to “know” a city? Seeing the main tourist attractions is one thing but getting a “vibe” of the unique character of the city may take much longer. Is it possible to get to know a city in a week or a…

24 June 2019 | Life-Style

The Pattern Project

It was raining again yesterday. And cold. The adolescent self wanted some new entertainment only found in big cities and preferably in the northern hemisphere. Call it “post -travel- you’re home again blues” but this kid needs a diversion. My seniors card in hand and rugged up against the elements…

21 June 2019 | Life-Style

Edinburgh: The Grand Duchess

My childhood knowledge of Scotland was an odd image of men in kilts, shortbread, a disgusting haggis thing and some great folk music. In primary school in England our music lesson was a weekly tune – in to the BBC schools program. The class monitor would distribute BBC song books…

13 June 2019 | Life-Style

Seafood and Snippets

It’s been nearly a month since  the cat went into the five star Villa Feline and I locked the door of my home to head out on my travels. I’m on the last leg of the Viva70 Tour heading from Glasgow to London tomorrow, then 3 days in London (Yey!)…

30 May 2019 | Life-Style

Tour of the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye

I’ve always been averse to guided tours. In fact, since the days of Sunday school excursions and school tours I’ve never been on a tour. Organised tours conjure up a busload of  rubber necked people sitting in an overheated bus, eating soggy sandwiches, leaky flasks of tea and a guide…

26 May 2019 | Life-Style

A Childhood Trail: Ilkeston

Ilkeston is a town In Derbyshire in the UK, first established on the banks of the Erewash River around the 6th century. During the 19th century,It grew in size due to the numerous coal mines in the area and the existence of Stanton Ironworks, which supplied iron to major projects…

21 May 2019 | Life-Style