A Week in North Wales, 2023

August 13, 2023.Reading time 19 minutes.

I’ve just returned from a lovely week in North Wales with the family. I didn’t know Wales well at all and welcomed the chance to get to know it better, especially as I have a Welsh daughter-in-law and three half-Welsh grandsons. The cottage we rented was in the Snowdonia National Park and thus we were […]

Restaurant Review: Barrafina, Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross

August 3, 2023.Reading time 9 minutes.

I’ve been meaning to go to Coal Drops Yard for ages … well since it opened in October 2018 and people started talking about it being a great foodie destination. So when good friends Annie & Jerry suggested meeting there to eat at Barrafina, I was delighted. At last, I was going to make it […]

12 Years of Blogging and a Life in Food

July 25, 2023.Reading time 20 minutes.

It’s the blog’s 12th birthday today. I published my first post on 25 July 2011: The Single Gourmet Traveller & Greek Aubergine Salad. I’d recently returned from a lovely solo holiday to Greece and decided to write a blog about travelling and eating alone, with a particular emphasis at the start in finding places where […]

A French-style Apricot Tart

July 9, 2023.Reading time 9 minutes.

My daughter Nicola, her wife and 4-year-old son stopped off overnight en route to the Channel Tunnel and a trip through France, Switzerland and Italy. I wanted to cook a nice meal for the evening but also take into account that with my son’s three boys (2, 5 and 8) coming over for a while […]

A Taste of Twickenham 2023

July 2, 2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

There had been posters in the windows of shops and restaurants for weeks advertising A Taste of Twickenham – a foodie trail and chance to find out about some of the other things the town had to offer. I made a mental note of the date, let the family know, and told the two eldest […]

48 Hours in Chichester, West Sussex

June 18, 2023.Reading time 36 minutes.

There’s been a plan in my head to go to Chichester since June last year. So the trip has been a year in the making, and I finally made it there this week for a two nights’ stay. It’s not so far away from me – merely an hour and half’s drive (if traffic is good) – […]

Art & Pasta

June 10, 2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

My lovely friend Lucia emailed to say she and her husband David had booked entry to the National Gallery – which is open late on Fridays – to see The Ugly Duchess exhibition and were then eating at Bancone after. Did I want to join them? I most certainly did! We were meeting at 7pm […]

An Early Morning Walk in Kew Gardens – May 2023

May 18, 2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

I’ve often written about the world famous Kew Gardens, which I’m lucky to live very close to. I even recorded a whole year back in 2015 (click here) when I visited the gardens each month and delighted in keeping a close watch on all the changes through the year and gaining a better understanding the […]

Supper & Jazz at The Turk’s Head, Twickenham

April 27, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

My lovely friends Linda and George are visiting from Spain and arranged for us to go to The Turk’s Head pub in Twickenham last night for supper and jazz. Keen jazz fans, especially with George playing saxophone himself, we’ve often sought out an evening’s music entertainment both here and in Spain when I visit them […]

Four Days in Norfolk

April 25, 2023.Reading time 17 minutes.

I’m just back from a lovely short break in Norfolk with the family. There were 9 of us: 5 adults and 4 children, all boys (2, 4, 5 and 8), plus 2 dogs, so we needed a large house to accommodate us all. Fortunately, I found the perfect place on Booking.com in Clippesby, about halfway […]