24 Hours in Ancient Rome is one of my favourite books about the Romans. Although it is not as scholarly as a Mary Beard or Adrian Goldsworthy book, it is the most evocative as it paints a picture of daily life in history's most talked-about empire. P...

In the distance, you can hear the rushing water of the River Nith. Across the river, commuters move steadily towards work. In front of you is a path: dog walkers, mums with prams, runners heading out early. The air smells cleaner, and gradually you b...

My personal email was always a source of horror, shame and a never-ending litany of useless emails. As someone who has always prided myself on trying to keep my work email orderly, this created unneeded stress. I tried everything, yet the more organi...

Postman Pat is a haven of calm, gentle storytelling in an era increasingly dominated by dopamine-fuelled, addictive children’s television. It feels almost anachronistic now: slow, thoughtful, and deeply rooted in everyday life. Throughout this articl...

Currently sitting with a mocha in front of me after a brisk, cold and crisp walk. Now seems as good a time as ever to sit and do some writing. The Deep Winter ReflectionFor me, Deep Winter, the time between the shortest day of the year and Candlemas...

Drumlanrig is a castle and stately home situated approximately a 30-minute drive north of Dumfries. It is one of the real wonders of Dumfries and Galloway and a brilliant place to visit. Everyone says the Christmas Fair is amazing, so I decided to go...

Sitting in the glow of Christmas lights is happiness. There is something about a Christmas tree in the corner of a darkened room, lights twinkling, that draws out nostalgia. A nostalgia of times passed. Some say on social media that millennials have...

The winter wind is whipping past my ears, and the rain clouds are coming in fast from the west. You can see the rain already falling from this distance. It will be upon me in a minute, like a soft, grey wall of fine rain. I, of course, do not mind; a...

This is a fascinating and, frankly, underappreciated book about a forgotten era of Scottish and British history. It helps to set the Highland Clearances into the wider historical context of the Age of Improvement. What were The Lowland Clearances?The...

Mushrooms have become a microhobby of mine. I am a Fungi! And I already have enough hobbies. However, this hobby is really neat. I take pictures of mushrooms I see out and about and then try to identify them in my Collins Gem books on Mushrooms. Some...