As a holiday destination, Switzerland brings to mind hiking in the mountains or walking by lakes. It doesn’t necessarily suggest city breaks. But it proved to be a wonderful country for city lovers. Dougie and...
Tim Peake’s spacecraft at Peterborough Cathedral
It’s a surreal moment. I’m looking at Soyuz TMA-19M, the spacecraft used by Tim Peake to descend to earth from the International Space Station in June 2016. To see it in Cambridgeshire, in the...
Diary of a long weekend at the Edinburgh Fringe – Day Four
A Tale of Two Cities. When Dickens wrote this book he was referring to London and Paris during the French Revolution. But Edinburgh could claim this term as it’s very much a city split...
Diary of a long weekend at the Edinburgh Fringe – Day Three
Sunday morning – we were needing a lie-in. There’s only so much excitement a middle-aged couple can have before the idea of a nice cup of tea takes precedence over everything else. Thankfully most...
Diary of a long weekend at the Edinburgh Fringe – Day Two
“Don’t make eye contact”, Dougie warned, as we ran the gauntlet along the Royal Mile the following morning. It costs a lot for performers to put on a show at the Edinburgh Fringe...
Diary of a long weekend at the Edinburgh Fringe – Day One
I can’t remember the last time I travelled First Class on the train. Our usual journeys involve a 50 minute journey into London so it’s never seemed worth the upgrade. A trip from Peterborough...
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival: a murderously good weekend
When you’re at a Quiz Night and the Pointless presenter, Richard Osman, is in the neighbouring team, you know your chances of winning have just gone out the window. This was a surreal moment...
Gin, cake and a new hat. A weekend at The Hoste, Burnham Market, Norfolk.
Dougie and I don’t usually make a big fuss about our wedding anniversary. We’re lucky if we manage a card swap and a steak dinner. Which is why I was surprised when, two days...