Read a good book - Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson, is the singular book I would take to a dessert island, if I was only allowed one book. Not only is it incredibly informative, full of facts, some rather obscure, but also it is extremely funny. Honest. Who knew a book on language could beContinue Reading

There's an ancient feature in old French gardens that looks like a wall made of bones, and I have one in my garden here at PumpjackPiddlewick

There is a small wall in my garden which, if discovered by an archaeologist with a lively imagination, might cause a certain amount of excitement. It is made of stones that look remarkably like bones. Not metaphorical bones of the sort one finds in a poet’s description of a windsweptContinue Reading

Rescuing the unwanted is about giving life to singular misfit items, the odd tea cup, singular sock, or lonely penny here at PumpjackPiddlewick

There is something rather sad about an object that has become the last of its kind. A single teacup sitting forlornly on a charity-shop shelf, its saucer long since disappeared. A sugar bowl with no lid. A teapot that has somehow survived the decades but lost the very thing thatContinue Reading

I have never owned a television. A very real curiosity in this day when TV's dominate the living room. Buy why? We delve here at PumpjackPiddlewick

‘I have never owned a television’. It is one of those statements which, depending upon whom I am talking to, can produce anything from mild surprise to the sort of look usually reserved for people who confess to having no central heating. (Which, by the way I also don’t have.)Continue Reading

Blogging vs Vlogging or Blogs versus Vlogs, which would you choose and why? We delve into the differences, the interests and the future of both here at PumpjackPiddlewick

I am a writer, with blogging being my preferred platform. I love writing, always have, and the written word is where I naturally find myself most comfortable. Reading, writing letters, blogging. Give me a subject that interests me and I’ll happily disappear down a research rabbit hole, emerge several hoursContinue Reading