Friday 13 October  We left the house on foot (and in waterproof trousers) in the pouring rain, to catch the 09.06, whose restricted speed meant a late arrival at Waterloo, eating into what had appeared to be generous margins to reach Euston. We were safely seated on a full train only 8 minutes before departure. … Continue reading 13 – 17 October 2023: A wedding in Glasgow and an impromptu stay in the Lakes

Monday 18 September  This area in the south west corner of the island,known as Sulchis, has a very distinctive and long history of unusual wines. We started learning about these at Cantina Mesa, with Luca Fontana, brand ambassador. After showing us the extraordinary black polished marble interior of a very large and striking modern winery, … Continue reading Sardinia 3: 18 – 21 September 2023

Friday 15 September We left a quiet Nuoro at 08.45 to travel to Oristano (about an hour) first to leave our luggage with the helpful Davide at Locanda da Renzo, in Siamaggiore, and then to visit La Cantina della Vernaccia at 10.30. The journey went smoothly, and the Locanda is a good example of a traditional … Continue reading Sardinia 2: 15 – 18 September 2023

Monday 11 September  The journey from Andover on the 12.38 to the 16.55 Easyjet flight from Gatwick to Olbia couldn’t have gone more smoothly. This was a huge contrast to the journey to Brighton we’d made two days earlier (on the hottest September day ever recorded) to see Jez and Emma, and briefly Helena, Paul … Continue reading Sardinia part 1: : 11 – 15 September 2023

May produced some extraordinary flowerings - after a wet winter and a showery spring: and as the deadline for the text of David’s book loomed (30 May) the half term holiday brought some excitements for the younger members of the family (books AND cricket!!) : June was hot; very, very hot (but not as hot … Continue reading Summer in Andover 2023