Category Archives: INNIT, THOUGH

It’s definitely cold enough in our house now to start lighting fires in the evenings. To get our logs roaring, I make these easy firelighters every autumn using pine cones, cheap tea lights (such as GLIMMA, £1.75 for 100 from IKEA) … …keep reading

Just spotted a quirky little feature I did in the new issue of The Simple Things magazine, about a very beautiful vintage garden ‘lav’, filled with rustic accessories. Is ‘toilet envy’ a (simple) thing? It is now…!

Talented ceramicist Brenda Bates, of Welbeck Tiles, has opened a beautiful new seaside café in Mousehole, near Penzance, Cornwall. The ‘Rock Pool‘ – which is perched on a cliff above a natural rock pool – is filled with her impressive … …keep reading

Skipping through the verdant Surrey woodland recently, we gathered fresh wild garlic leaves. I picked happily, the husband, less so. He was: ‘very concerned about the possibility of dog wee’ and ‘suspicious’ that we were: ‘actually picking poisonous-and-very-similar-looking Lily of … …keep reading

The interview does not begin well. My iPhone battery is low, so I use my landline, usually strictly reserved for friends and family. When I call her, she doesn’t pick up, but calls me straight back, just as I am … …keep reading

As Petronella lifted the woven Ikat bolster in tangerine and anthracite, searching in vain for the sofa, the dog – and her son – she began to wonder if perhaps her Cushion Problem had returned…  

Channel what? Speidi who? Obviously, I have NEVER seen it (cough) but apparently, there’s nothing Z-list about the blankets in the Celebrity Big Brother house this season. Joining the product placement revolution is the Welsh woollen mill we all know … …keep reading

The older I get, the less stuff I want. Over the past few years, my taste has become simpler and more specific. As my work life continues to speed up and I spend more hours than ever before in front … …keep reading

As every bargain hunter knows, sometimes you have to go the extra mile to get the best deals. And, sometimes, you have to get on a train to the arse end of Ballards Lane in NW12-or-something in freezing fog. In … …keep reading

SO, Pippa Middleton’s £400,000 advance is in the bank and her first book Celebrate now graces bookshops around the globe. (Band wagon. Jumping on, blah blah.) Here are my personal highlights: The picnic people wearing pink chinos on pages 370-371. Particularly the … …keep reading