26 October 2011

Roman Wall Blues

Off to visit my parents this weekend for my Dad's 75th birthday.  We live almost on top of the Roman wall outside of Corbridge.  I thought this poem that reminds you of what it must be like being a soldier away from home, whether Romans or Syrian arc...

02 October 2011

The Sound of Northumberland

I have been to listen and watch Kathryn Tickell twice over the last month, once in Ripon and then at the Sage with her new show, Northumbrian Voices with her band and her dad - actually her dad, Mike Tickell, also came to the show in the Holy Trinity...

08 August 2011

Last Walks Along Northumbrian Coast For This Year (22/23 July 2011)

07 August 2011

Luncheon at The Ship Inn In Craster (22 July 2011)

The day was dry, but overcast with a strong wind from the sea to shore.  We stayed put and walked over the dunes to Low Newton and The Ship Inn. 

06 August 2011

Two Fish Shops - Craster And Seahouses (19 & 20 July 2011)

06 August 2011

Wet weather day in Alnwick (20 July 2011)

A dreich, gray day.  What to do: the girls went to Alnwick swimming pool and had a great time.  My parents went to Paxton House north of the River Tweed near Berwick.  We went to Alnwick to Alnwick Castle.

03 August 2011

Walk To Low Newton – Stinking Newton (17 July 2011)

28 August 2010

School Reports And Memories Of Mowden Hall School

I went to small, all-boys prep school in Northumberland called Mowden Hall School, which still exists and is now a mixed prep school.  In fact, my father went there the first year it moved to Northumberland after the Second World War.  It seems so ol...

04 August 2010

Wheelbirks Ice Cream

18 June 2010

Quest For The Best Burger In The North

I have decided, like many before me, to go on a quest; a quest for the perfect burger. 

07 March 2010

Beautiful Early Spring Day In Northumberland

Today, we were visiting with my parents, who live on the Roman Wall near Hexham in glorious Northumberland. 

01 January 2010

Recipe For Luxuriant Chocolate Chai Latte

The snow is still here and it's a white and cold Christmas and New Year period.  We've travelled to Northumberland, my home county, where we have observed the traditional first footing in a harshly, cold and rural climate - I love it. 

12 December 2009

Billy Pigg And The Northumbrian Small-Pipes

I remember hearing the Northumbrian small-pipes for the first time many years ago.  I was about 10 or 12 and we went with some of my German relatives - probably my Granny - to Wallington near Morpeth in Northumberland.