Rain, rain, don’t go away
I LOVE rain. One of my greatest pleasures is to sit in our tiny conservatory while it batters down above my head, watching our stream rising (often very quickly). I … Continue readingRain, rain, don’t go away
A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
I LOVE rain. One of my greatest pleasures is to sit in our tiny conservatory while it batters down above my head, watching our stream rising (often very quickly). I … Continue readingRain, rain, don’t go away
THIS is a rather smart house in our neighbouring village. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs and an open plan living area upstairs with lovely … Continue readingAn inconvenience truth
A rather short column this week, I’m afraid. ROAMING round YouTube, I came across this extraordinary clip. These are some of the 1,100 Indian Runner ducks employed by the Vergenoegd Löw Vineyard … Continue readingDucks in a row
THE other day I was pleased to see half a dozen redwings busily turning over leaves in the field at the back of our house. It is quite a few … Continue readingWelcome back, redwings
This week I am handing over the first item to JEREMY CRAIG-WESTON. LIKE many other people living and growing up in Oldham, in the foothills of the Pennines in Lancashire, … Continue readingForgive us our trespasses
On our return from the festive break, I am handing over the first item once more to DEREK REYNOLDS. WHAT is it about sheds? My wife has a shed in … Continue readingShedloads of sheds
DURING this spell of freezing weather I thought we would look at a bird that is well adapted to these conditions, the ptarmigan. More properly called the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), in … Continue readingThe ptarmigan’s ptrousers
ON FRIDAY night we had the first hard frost of the winter. I thought it would be the end of my geraniums which I have not got in yet, though … Continue readingThe plants with built-in antifreeze
MY husband Alan regularly takes our young labrador Teddy up on the nearby fells and often sees ravens, which I never see at lower levels. The common raven (Corvus corax) is the … Continue readingThe raven, a magnificent flying machine
This week I am handing over the main part of the column to BRIAN MEREDITH for his account of a traditional British pursuit: point-to-point racing. AT MY age it’s not … Continue readingA day at the races