Great White Shark, Part II
In the second part of the extract from his book, Nick Hammond heads out to the open ocean, donning a wetsuit while his boat masters begin ‘chumming’ – and, soon enough, the inevitable happens. It’s...
View ArticleMaking Merry in Milford
Finally, it feels as if spring in the air! Snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils are putting in an appearance, and the days are decidedly getting longer. What a perfect time to get away from the hubbub and...
View ArticleMusic Zero to DJ Hero…in just eight hours
Here’s something a little different – Oliver Pickup hadn’t honed his musical skills for the best part of three decades – save for a foray into pan-piping – so when he was able to master the decks in...
View ArticleBooks: Redhead By the Side of the Road
Anne Tyler has been accused of writing the same book over and over again. It’s a charge with which she cheerfully agrees and, if they’re all like this one, frankly who cares? Tyler’s speciality is the...
View ArticleThe Future of Travel…and Travel Journalism
As a publication that thrives on travel, and we adjust to a new era in all things, Sarah Tucker asks ‘are travel journalists redundant?’ Well, not quite – but we have lost our way… Are the layers...
View ArticleI Heart Lockdown
The O on my Imac doesn’t work. The zero, I mean. It’s frustrating, improvising with an O. Which doesn’t look right. Apart from that, and a neighbour who doesn’t understand boundaries, I love lockdown....
View ArticleThe Crown In Crisis: An Insight
Every author hopes that their book is going to be successful. Otherwise, nobody would put themselves through the rigours and difficulties of writing it. Someone said recently that there are only three...
View ArticleThinking on Masks and Bubbles
As we adjust ever more to the ‘new normal’, Sarah Tucker considers how we’ve already been doing much of this since time immemorial… ‘Everything you need is behind the mask you wear’. Poignant and...
View ArticleZen and the Art of Target Shooting
Getting a bullet to land in the same place each time is more than just a skill. It takes some real mental discipline, as Nick Harman discovers… “It’s a bit like golf, only with rifles,” my coach tells...
View ArticleIn Praise of the Bean
What would you do without a coffee? Is it one of the things that has kept you going during the lockdown? I mean, without coffee some days I would not have left the bed. Yes, hug the trees, practice...
View ArticleIt’s Leaf-Peeping Time…
Threats of more lockdowns, winter on the way, the economy on its knees, shorter days and colder nights – no wonder depression is on the rise. But help is at hand. If you do just one thing this month to...
View ArticleBeware the Bitcoin’s Bite
Yes, I blush to confess that I too was tempted by images of that sunny, sandy shore with a treasure trove of golden Bitcoins peeping out from a digital chest left by modern day pirates, but in reality,...
View ArticleNot All Classrooms Have Four Walls
Much can be learned from the books we read as children into which journeys we take as adults. With schools returning and the prospect of travel on the horizon, author and travel writer, Sarah Tucker,...
View ArticleA Walk in the Park
There’s a new book coming out next month, Richmond Park – London’s Wildlife Haven, which focuses on the beauty that is Richmond Park. As a resident of Richmond, London’s leafy, riverside suburb, I lap...
View ArticleHit for Six in Fitzrovia
I can’t be the only bloke out there feeling like he’s been deprived of a bit of male company this past year. So when the editor came calling with a chance to visit a new cricket themed bar and...
View ArticleBath or Bust: A West Country Jaunt
It has, frankly, been a bad business being stuck at home these past few months. Even if you are fortunate enough, as I am, to live in a city as beautiful as Oxford, there is a certain repetitiveness...
View ArticleThe Art of Trees
I’m covered in paint. As the weather has been seasonably English this summer, I’ve used the time to paint the inside of my house with (mock) Farrow and Ball colours (prosaically-named Egyptian Cotton...
View ArticleUnhinged of Richmond
Navigating internet dating has never been my strong point. One obliging friend advised me I should treat it like a job. She met a millionaire on match.com, married him, and is still happily married to...
View ArticleThe Author’s Muse
This month sees the publication of Stage Call, the sixth in my Hannah Weybridge crime thriller series, and, if you include a novella, a collection of short stories and my non-fiction, my thirteenth...
View ArticleCatch Of The Day
More of a Bob Mortimer than a Paul Whitehouse, Nick Harman tries his hand at that most artful of country pursuits, fly fishing, in the Hampshire countryside… ‘That’s okay,’ says my instructor at...
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