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A hospital diary

It’s Wednesday. My third day in hospital. On Monday I had a breast operation. The doctor took out a lump that – he said – was as big as a ping-pong ball. By all accounts it’s a benign tumor, but the final results will come in two weeks.
It’s horrible being in hospital. It’s not to […]

Stephanie in Africa

It’s 6.45, Monday night, my birthday. I’ve told no-one. The rain on the corrugated iron roof sounds like a large, angry waterfall crashing to earth. It’s only completely dark because the clouds are blackl It almost feels as if the world is coming to an end in this most Christian of countries.
After a lunch on […]

Coming up for air

It’s been almost a month since Paulo (straw and earth building maestro / permaculture teacher) and Ruth (desert environmental school and permaculture student) arrived to help get our field camp up and running. This is supposed to be an area to accommodate a few people. A proper outdoor kitchen, somewhere to keep things clean. A […]

Seminars suck

I am sitting in a Ministry of Culture seminar about film making and it has all the hallmarks of a rotten event: a huge queue at the registry desk (but nobody saying hello), nowhere for coats, coffee servers arguing among themselves, an electrical fault that the secretary of state loudly complains about, doors that squeak […]

Cycling to St Tropez

By Andrew Wolfe Murray
I want to let you know about something that Jamie Hockin and I will do in September. Please visit this website for full details, but the premise is to do 1000 miles in 10 days: London to St Tropez.
Why?

Impressions of Edinburgh

Click here to see Rupert’s photos of Edinburgh
When I went to Edinburgh recently I expected to see high street shops selling off their stocks at huge discounts and “everything must go” signs.  But I was surprised to find that it looked like “business as usual” and I didn’t see any boarded up windows,  stray dogs,  […]

Alentejo Acrostic

We were in Alentejo last week for a short holiday; two days’ drive, three days there; distilled below, a taste of sunny South.
A - Alentejo stone. Alentejo, the sun-baked humpback, crumbles into a multitude of coloured pebbles. A first step into desert? Crumbs for poets and painters? Warm slate shines from fists of dry earth, […]

Our house and land project in Troporiz

This starts a series of posts I will do about our house and land project in Troporiz, Alto Minho, way up North Portugal. I will separate them out by sector, so they are not too long, but the title should show what they cover. I will endeavour to put a time frame beside each theme, […]

The black eyed lady of the lowlands

Some days ago Jackie lost the wag in his tail. Ian the gardener here said that tails are real tell-tale signs of a dog’s health. I contacted an on-line vet and you might be interested to see our correspondence.
“My dog is in a lot of pain. He is nearly 4 years’ old. 3 years ago […]

Midweek Momentum

Wednesday afternoon: Kira comes back from school half-early and wearing someone else’s jacket. It is yellow, like hers, but also nothing like hers. It is twice her size, has a tartan design on the inside, and no zip. She didn’t notice. (Didn’t notice?) We go back before the (bigger) owner of the jacket does notice.
Then […]

The last feat of Senhor Felix

Senhor Felix must have been quite a character, and his farm - the pride of the entire village. Half a hectare of sunny terraces – and he must have had a good go at covering it all in vines, fruit trees and vegetable beds. Older people tell us about it in the local bar, putting […]

The revolution will not be electrified

Perched high above the rolling hills of Vigo lies an expansive university complex. It’s a stunning location, an inspired choice by people who must have realised what a special setting they have: a bay that forms a natural port, protected from the ravages of Atlantic winters, surrounded by hills on all sides, a city built […]