Here’s how I spent the weekend: bottling apricots (courtesy of friends Pete and Steph’s magnificent garden) plus apple puree (fruit from roger) with blackberries (also from Pete). Sixteen jars of wonderful harvest to keep for the coming months. Coincidentally, last…
This week I’ve been recording more recipes for the national Talking News Federation. They offer all the local Talking News organisations a recipe a month, plus the usual news and information, so I treated them to bottled apricots, chocolate truffle…
I’ve been hearing it all weekend. In a distant room, the sounds of small objects dropping on to a table top. Not just one or two but several repeated, intermittent distinctive clinks over an hour or so. Very eerie! The…
Something for your ears. This is the link to the audio podcast I did with Dave (who is also blind) last week. To get rid of the adverts click ‘skip’. Latest adventure. After I’d wandered out of the pool,…
One of my precious apple trees hit the dust (literally) this week. The Worcester Pearmain was laden with fruit waiting to grow and ripen but took a header on to the lawn. It was at least 150 years old, the…
At last, here are some straightforward, practical and proven answers to our broken welfare system. This is what I’ve learned from nearly 30 years working professionally in the disability field. We all want to help 1-in-4 workers to fulfil their…
Common-sense says that benefit bullying hasn’t produced miraculous recoveries in the past. Rebuilding lives and still saving money will need better, broader changes that haven’t got the right attention yet. Rather than the blame-game, let’s tackle the big picture: Poverty,…
You can’t imagine all the bits of kit that beekeepers “need”. There are sheds of the stuff and it creeps into the house, the kitchen, the studio and all over the garden. The solar “wax-melter” is the latest and now…
… or your partner, your child, another family member (young or old), your friend, a co-worker and many more. When 1-in-4 working age people have life-changing health conditions, everyone needs to understand and help. One early reviewer of the new…
When at least 1-in-4 of us will have a life-changing, disabling health condition, my new book might offer some practical help. I’ve spent the last three years (not counting time in hospital!) trying to pull together the thoughts, experiences and…
