The gear I wouldn’t be without #1: Opinel No. 8 pocket knife
I’ve been thinking lately about the bits and bobs of kit or clothing that I get most use out of in life. Not necessarily the best or most specialist stuff,…
January 2026 – the month that was
For me, January felt like it took a long time to get going. Perhaps it’s because I took so much time off over Christmas, then returned to my desk and…
How to wear a beret for men
I realised a while back that there’s not a lot online about how to style berets for men – and looking at what there is, most of it is cobbled…
Too many resolutions
A new year ticks over, and having finally taken a bit of time to jot down some resolutions, I find I have covered three sides of A4 and reached a…
The Porcelain Poet is out today
I know, I know, two years is a long time to wait for a sequel. But here – just in time for Christmas – is the follow-up to my debut…
Walking the Fjällräven Classic
In September, WildBounds.com sent me off to the western Lake District to walk the Fjällräven Classic UK. If you haven’t come across them before, Fjällräven Classics are organised multi-day hikes,…
A summer trip to Sarek
In my day job, I do quite a bit of writing about fancy outdoor kit for WildBounds.com. They’re lovely to work for and it’s quite a fun gig, but the…
A portal to the Dance
I’ve coveted an Adrian Daintrey sketch for years, and at an auction not long ago I finally got hold of this wonderful one of wartime Cairo. I like his decisive…
Two years of the gentleman poacher
Last Saturday marked two years since Porridge the lurcher came to live at Sunnyside Cottage. By now he has become part of the furniture (often, in fact, quite difficult to…
The green ink brigade
Green ink. Hue of choice for complainers and poison-pen writers, the famous ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’. Also senior officers, artists and headmasters. In the days before Excel, book-keepers often used…
