Writing, Life and Joining Up the Dots – My 2022 Review

Back in January, I posted about my writing plans for the year (generally, I find, a good way to engender some sort of personal accountability around intentions). December feels like a good time to revisit some of those intentions – if only to remind myself that I’ve probably achieved more than I might think. 2022…

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My Ten Favourite Books of 2022

Towards the end of each year, I tend to write a round-up of my ten favourite books from the twelve or so months preceding. However, 2022 has been a different sort of year for me in terms of blogging – a new job and changing domestic arrangements have meant that many of my old blogging…

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Launching Finn and Friends, A Collection of Verse and Stories

Earlier this month, myself and fellow writers Andrea Wotherspoon, Ian Leith and Charlotte Platt launched new book Finn and Friends at John O’Groats – A Collection of Verse and Stories. The launch marked the culmination of almost a year’s worth of work, which started with us meeting at John O’Groats to discuss how three new…

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Finn and Friends at John O’Groats

Back in January, when I wrote about my writing plans for 2022, I mentioned a project that I hoped would come to fruition before the summer. Well, here we are in May – and apart from wondering how on earth time passed so quickly – I’m delighted to say I have some new book news…

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Of Snow and Stories

Last weekend brought snow to Caithness, two days of respite from the unchanging nature of lockdown. As it fell that first evening, my 11-year-old ran into the street without a jacket while I watched him from the door. There was a simple kind of magic to seeing him spin under heavy, lamp-lit flakes, like parts…

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We’re Not Aloof, We’re Introverts

Years ago, when I had a ‘proper’ job, I was a participant in a set of development centre activities for graduates. It was standard development centre stuff, including participation in group activities and receiving feedback on performance by an assigned observer who monitored the tasks. In one such exercise, I was observed in a team…

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Hibernation Diaries – Learning New Skills in Lockdown, Quiet and Cianalas

And so another week passes in lockdown. Seven weeks of homeschool, thirty-five sessions of P.E. with Joe Wicks. Our children at home for the longest period of time since starting nursery. Homeworking, Facetime calls, daily exercise, a seemingly insatiable familial hunger. Dirty dishes piling up like small, obstinate mountains where they lie. A new dishwasher…

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Little Women, The Snow Queen, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Few Changes and Two Perfect Words: The End #LittleLoves

It’s been a while since I shared a Little Loves round up, having had a brief hiatus in December. With this in mind, some of my ‘loves’ span both December and January, so please forgive me if you see the odd glimpse of a Christmas tree, or some fairy lights, in here! It’s been a…

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Special Birthdays, Mother’s Day, War and Peace and A Blog Break – Little Loves

The last few weeks have been very busy here in wellies, with both our kids’ birthdays, a weekend away, a Harry Potter sleepover and of course most recently Mother’s Day. It’s also been a busy time on the writing front, and I’ve managed to reach 70,000 words on the second draft of my book, and…

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Les Miserables, World Book Day Preparations and Weekend Plans for Spring – Little Loves

February was a busy month for everyone in the wellies household and a spate of good weather saw us out and about, enjoying the first glimpses of Spring, and a few day trips around the county. We’ve enjoyed several trips to John O’ Groats lately (which isn’t far from us) and a few lovely coffee dates at Stacks…

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