garden – Stephen Liddell

How many gentle flowers grow in an English country garden?

Fear not as I am not going to start singing this old English folk song, let alone do the accompanying Morris Dancing. I’ve written before on my love of gardening and it was the garden here that partly inspired me to move in when Covid was starting. Back then the garden like the house was… Continue reading How many gentle flowers grow in an English country garden?

Spring has sprung

As the saying goes, it is often darkest before the dawn. It seems strange that just a few weeks ago my garden had been ruined by hurricane strength winds with fences snapped and blown over, furniture blown away and containers flattened. For something like a week now, spring has sprung, at least temporarily so. The… Continue reading Spring has sprung

An autumnal glow from a leafy carpet

After I moved in to my old, small and rather characterful Georgian cottage, I’ve spent much of the year finding out about its various quirks and issues. Some lovely, some needing to be repaired and few that remain unaffordable to sort out. One rather picturesque feature that came with the house is the fact it… Continue reading An autumnal glow from a leafy carpet

Coronavirus Diary 53 – A nice neighbour calls

I was rather in a state of undress when it happened which is rather typical. For the first time in 5 months in my new home, the door bell rang unexpectedly… ie not a delivery of any sort and I was about to get into the shower. It was two dog walkers who lived in… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 53 – A nice neighbour calls

Coronavirus Diary 52 -Social Distancing the back garden

Progress on doing up my new but ancient house continues but at a pace even snails would surpass. It’s all down to this virus and I’ve even been thinking of bringing my new front garden bench into the house so I can sit on it and watch television. At the moment to spread out… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 52 -Social Distancing the back garden

Coronavirus Diary 48 – A bit of this, a bit of that.

I’m continuing my self-isolation which is probably a good thing as typically for my luck, the streets and neighbouring villages around where I live have the highest Covid mortality rate in the whole-country per head of population. With the electrician gone I have spent the last few days tidying up which largely involves turning walls… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 48 – A bit of this, a bit of that.

Coronavirus Diary 45 – Paint me like one of your French girls

Every day since I took delivery of my little front garden bench, I have had an early morning cup of tea there. The road is always quiet and I share my time between watching the sun rising higher in the sky and watching the birds, bees and butterflies fleeting around my vista. These days the… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 45 – Paint me like one of your French girls

A grisly end for a brave Liddell at St. Botolph’s… Aldgate (Whitechapel).

Whilst doing some research on my new book I got distracted as is so easy to do when you’re into history. Whilst looking up a new garden in the old City of London I came across a dreadful tale with perhaps some family links. In 19th-century London graves were allocated to their occupants only until… Continue reading A grisly end for a brave Liddell at St. Botolph’s… Aldgate (Whitechapel).

I’m going to write a new book!

This is a dangerous thing to say in public but I’m going to write a new book. It’s dangerous because I already have a 60% completed novel and a 20% completed non-fiction book on the go. Sadly due to my extremely busy work-load I can’t see myself having the time to complete either of them… Continue reading I’m going to write a new book!