We took our Viennese visitor to Richmond Park for a walk in the winter sunshine. He was enchanted to see the deer roaming freely in the park, quite close at hand (see photo). While we were watching this  group of deer, we witnessed a ‘raid’ by another stag. He ran up to the group, and [...]

In our tiny vegetable patch we (when I say ‘we’, I mean Bob) have managed for the first time to grow a little crop of butternut squash. There are five or six of them, plus a mysterious green marrow-like interloper growing alongside, perhaps a rogue seed from the pack. It’s somehow astounding to see these [...]

I’ve been exploring some of Dorset’s villages and churches. Milton Abbey was a lovely surprise -set in grounds wonderfully landscaped by Capability Brown. Close by is the picturesque village of Milton Abbas, one of the first examples of English town planning in the sense that it was designed by a rich man who didn’t want [...]

The local foxes are getting cheekier (see photo). This one didn’t even mind me going out to take a picture. We now have to remind ourselves not to put food directly on the garden table, now that we know the foxes use it as an observation platform. There are several foxes who play regularly in [...]

Each weekday evening at 10.45pm this week, Radio 3′s ‘The Essay’ slot is presenting a series of talks about the piano. Alastair Sooke, Stuart Isacoff, Wendy Cope and Luke Jerram are all talking about different aspects of the piano, its history, its personality and the influence it’s had. On September 28 I’m giving the last [...]