Three Months In Sri Lanka- The First Week


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
It has been an unusually colourful but cold, wet autumn. It will be a hard winter they said. I packed a bag and flew to my second home in Sri Lanka – for three months. ? Flight EK 018 On a cold and blastery November morning, I took a taxi…

One Day At The Ashes Test


It’s been some time since I went to any Test match. It was a lovely surprise when my Christmas presents last December included tickets to the Edgbaston Ashes Test in July   I drove to Birmingham, left the car in the small basement car park of the Pentahotel on Ernest Street and walked to the…

Love Supreme – Santana At The O2


Carlos Santana turned sixty eight last week. Few days later he was at the London O2. I went to see him. I drove to London that Saturday morning, left the car at my daughter’s and took the DLR to the O2. The new swish cable car they call the Emirates Air Line took me across the Thames.…

In My Time – Week 29, 2015


Early on in the week we made Harira for supper – the Moroccan thick soup with chickpeas, lentils, rice, tomatoes, garlic and ginger. It didn’t come out quite the way neither the recipe nor we intended, so we added loads of leftover roast guinea fowl from the previous evening to it and opened a bottle of…

In My Time – Week 28, 2015


It is already mid-summer but days with good summer weather have been few. Week 28 was no exception. Buying exciting new wines and walking in the Yorkshire Dales were the highlights of the week WINE The man from Enotria Wine Cellars popped in at the beginning of the week. He had driven all the way…

A Walk Along Regents Canal


“The Regent’s Canal is one of London’s best-kept secrets – a peaceful haven often hidden by the surrounding buildings. Today it is well-loved by boaters, walkers and cyclists all looking to escape the capital’s busy streets”   The 13.8 kilometre canal, completed in 1820, links the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west,…

Breakfast At Dishoom


The other day, we had breakfast at Dishoom, the Bombay Irani cafe at Kings Cross where English food comes with an Indian twist. The cavernous but elegant converted warehouse is cosy, beautifully furnished and lit. Waiters smile. The barman adds spices to cocktails. Joss sticks burn and the air smells sweet. You feel instantly comfortable.…

A Weekend In The Dales – Friday


 “Let’s spend the weekend in the Dales” Renu said. She travelled by train from London to Darlington with Bailey and took a taxi to Richmond. That afternoon Rani and I drove up from Harrogate. We met up at the Bishop Blaize pub in Richmond’s Market Square and drove to our rented cottage in the little…

May Day 2015


The morning was bright and sunny. The rain and north winds of yesterday were gone. The day was right for a walk in the country. I drove to Brearton, a small village just outside Harrogate and walked along narrow lanes in to the country. A white and brown cat followed me for a while. Sheep…