Friday 2 September 2022 After a busy week of birthday celebrations, it was a relief to be catching a mid-afternoon BA flight from Gatwick, accessed easily by trains (running almost to time!). Wonderful when it works!  But a late departure meant a later arrival at Turin, and though Hertz’s rep was both friendly and helpful we … Continue reading Piemonte 11: the Langhe 3: September 2022

After a very hot and dry July with not one but two record-breaking heatwaves, the garden had gone from flourishing colours to rock-hard ground and shrivelled plants with yellowing foliage. Souther Water inevitably imposed a hosepipe ban, though ours were put to use siphoning water from the bath onto suffering flowerbeds and roses. Look carefully … Continue reading And what will August 2022 bring I wonder? – drought and a significant birthday!

The first set of train tickets I purchased from Andover to Bridlington were for 19 July; I planned to visit my sister and Hugh was revisiting the RSPB site at Bempton Cliffs in the hope of spotting an albatross…. Strange, but true. The day when the ‘A1 corridor’ experienced 40 degrees celsius was not the … Continue reading And what will late July 2022 bring I wonder? – heatwaves and a difficult journey north….

Raphael’s work is astonishing! Born in 1483 in the Marche (possibly Urbino) to a court painter at the Dukes of Urbino, he lost his mother when he was 8 and his father at 11, but supported by an uncle, he took over the family workshop and by 15 he was acknowledged in Perugia as a … Continue reading And what will early July 2022 bring, I wonder? Raphael at the National Gallery

We arrived home from Cyprus at the start of the extended platinum jubilee bank holiday, to a garden that blew us away! As you will see…. First the foxgloves! Wow! The very sunny May, and some conscientious watering by Hugh while we were in Italy has resulted in bright colours, strong plants and fantastic colour… … Continue reading And what will June 2022 bring, I wonder? A staggeringly beautiful garden!

A trip to Cyprus to see Rob and Joanna married on Tuesday 31 May (after a two year covid wait) The ceremony took place in the little court yard of the church used by the monks of the monastery on whose land the extraordinary Menthis Resort is now being built. The last monk died only … Continue reading And what (else) will May 2022 bring, I wonder?

Sunday 8 May :  taking leave of Canavese Dressed for church, Antonino drove us in the vineyard 4 x 4 around all 45 hectares of Tenuta Roletto. His wife, equally gregarious, joined us briefly at breakfast. We eventually left at 10.00 and I tackled the quiet drive to Gattinara. We stopped for coffee and fuel … Continue reading Piemonte 10: Gattinara, Ghemme and Domodossola: May 2022

Sunday 1 May : all about travel Unusually, it was a car journey to Gatwick on a quiet early morning to leave the car; the charge for a fortnight is less than two return train fares - and there were no trains early enough! We had an anxious if short delay on floor 4 of … Continue reading Piemonte 9: wine regions around Turin: May 2022

Well - for us it’s VinItaly : Italy’s vast wine fair, based in Verona, returns after a two year absence Despite being in Italy in the autumn for a month, I still felt apprehensive about travelling, but having had covid, it was perhaps less alarming than it might have been. The news was doom-laden; as … Continue reading And what will April 2022 bring I wonder?

This will be brief! COVID….. I am getting weary of medical matters. After a couple of months feeling less than 100% largely owing to aching joints and muscles, my bloods revealed a puzzling combination of issues. The good news: last year’s op has not compromised my absorption of vitamin B12 nor rendered me anaemic; my … Continue reading And what did March 2022 bring, I wonder?