I was leafing through my local village magazine and an article looked familiar – about cookie cutters together with an amazing array of biscuits and cookies that had been produced in a local artisan bake house.  This in turn reminded me of Read More

I was in the States recently staying with a family who are not short of a dollar or two.  That’s just as well as they live i a very affluent city and you need every dollar available to just keep up with Read More

I have often thought that a man must have designed my kitchen – apparently the devleopers have been in the business for thirty or forty years and know a thing or two about building family houses.  Or do they?!  My kitchen is  Read More

When you first leave home, you have to learn to do all the things that make that life safe, comfortable and hygienic.  If you haven’t been encouraged, or made, to share the domestic chores from toddlerhood, this can be a tremendous shock Read More

I know of a young woman who married in the summertime about 5 years ago.  She and her fiance had been very keen on trying out new foods and recipes – in fact they used to get her ’round the world’ cook Read More

At this time of year there are many programmes on tv that aim to inspire our home creativity.  We have a jolly lady who does a great deal of crafting – be it making her own christmas crackers to the miles of Read More

We all get used to our own kitchens and all the familiar things around us.  I know that when I want fast boiling and steaming, it’s the left hand front ring.  For a little gentler simmering, either of the back rings and Read More

As summer has so rudely departed – after taking up a vast amount of our time and causing endless worries about heat stroke and lack of rain, she goes off, leaving us with a tumultuous rainy season to contend with.   This year Read More

I helped out at a country house that was hosting a national daliah festival at the weekend.  I am pretty used to arriving for duty and finding something utterly remarkable was taking place just in the main courtyard or in the famous Read More

Having discovered that winter has really gone, spring sprang in and out again quickly, and now summer has definitely come and we are already being bombarded with suggestions for the Christmas festivities.  Even more annoying was seeing a delivery made to a Read More