On a recent visit to Upton House, a National Trust property near Banbury, we took time out to pootle through a few of the surrounding villages in search of items of interest and once again encountered the kindness of strangers when you take the ... Read more

This year Hatfield House in Hertfordshire celebrates its four hundredth anniversary. Not that we were aware of this when we planned our recent visit but it did mean we saw the exhibition of Henry Moore sculptures that have been brought in for th... Read more

Visiting Reading recently, a town we know have known for many years, I finally remembered to pop a camera in my pocket with the aim of photographing a couple of details we had noted before. I always mean to take a camera as you never know what y... Read more

Domesday - 925 years on   I have just spent some time looking up various places on the BBC Domesday Reloaded site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday) and quite fascinating it has been, too. Back in 1986 there was a project aiming to m... Read more

It's been a mixed bag of weather this week but Monday was one of those bright sunny days with no wind and we opted to make further use of our annual pass to Blenheim Palace and take a walk around the grounds. This was a regular walk for us in th... Read more

This week sees the 21st celebration of Apple Day on 21st October. Originally aimed at drawing attention to our dwindling apple varieties it has become a fun event for all the family at many venues across the country. The celebrations have spread... Read more

In recent years the National Trust has widened its choice of exhibitions in their properties offering some intriguing and often surprising views of the families who once occupied them and Upton House near Banbury is a good example.   It i... Read more

During the past week we have negotiated several mazes - in the interest of research of course. As the subject of my very first published article back in 1991 which was the Year of the Maze I have always had a soft spot for mazes and labyrinths... Read more

An overcast day made it ideal for photography yesterday. Not so good if I wanted to take views ( blue sky best in those) but for close-up photos of details like tiled doorways and signs the lack of sun casting shadows was a boon.   My h... Read more

Research is usually something I do for myself. All sorts of things may set us off on a new tack – an article read, a piece on TV or something we spot on our travels. If it intrigues and we want to know more I’ll spend hours on the ... Read more