Posted in Events, Personal life

Of House and Home

Although it’s always sad to lose local shops and services, there’s something very charming about living in a house that once served a commercial purpose.

Hawkesbury Upton is full of characterful homes wrought from former pubs (so many pubs!), stores, workshops, and even places of worship. As you may know, my cottage is among them, as a former village post office – not to be confused with The Old Post Office just up the road. We never do anything by halves in Hawkesbury Upton. Continue reading “Of House and Home”

Posted in Writing

A Monumental Error

In the April edition of the Hawkesbury Parish News, I’ve been focusing on a prominent village landmark: the Somerset Monument.

cover of book showing painting of column
Cover #1 – I loved it, but readers insisted I lose the Italianate column

“But that looks like Italy!” “Definitely Italian.” “No, that doesn’t say English village at all.”

Such was the feedback when I showed foreign friends the proposed cover for All Part of the Charm. This new book brings together all my Parish News columns with my essays about village life.

My friends’ reaction astonished me. Like most people who live here, I’m used to the Monument serving as shorthand for Hawkesbury Upton. Its portrait is everywhere, including the cover of the Parish News. The only challenge is to find an original way to illustrate it. I was using a watercolour painted by my dad. Continue reading “A Monumental Error”