This wasn’t my original plan for my July book but the one I’d planned to read sounded like even its own author hadn’t enjoyed it so off I went to the Kindle shop where I came across I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol. It’s the tale of a woman in her 40s … More Travel Library: I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol
This last year has been like nothing I’ve experienced ever. I’m up to about five Girlguiding roles and this summer term, I’ve been out four nights a week plus the weekend quite a few times. So I thought, as possibly the busiest volunteer in the country, I’d talk a bit about each of those roles over … More Girlguiding 2023-24: a review
Just for the avoidance of doubt, I’m not actually a kayaking instructor. I volunteer at our Girlguiding boathouse where we have one qualified leader and three assistants. I’m kind of hoping to be an actual qualified instructor by next year maybe but for now, I’m using “instructor” in the sense of… well, my job is to go out … More My second season as a kayaking instructor
It’s been a while since I did a Girlguiding post (last November when we went to Sparkle & Ice, in fact!) so it’s definitely time to do another. Last weekend, I went to GLOW! GLOW is Girlguiding South West’s new flagship event for girls. With the selling-off of our Training & Activity Centres, our big … More Campfire singing for 8 hours at GLOW
Let’s give it its full title – this month’s Travel Library comes from The Rhine: Following Europe’s Greatest River from Amsterdam to the Alps by Ben Coates and let’s start by being brutally honest. This was a slog. The fact that I bought it in 2022 and never got beyond the first page until now should … More Travel Library: The Rhine by Ben Coates
Iceland has been my mania for a long time. Kayaking has been bubbling up but has been my newest mania for a little while, but particularly right now, as I attempt to enact a plot I actually have no control over whatsoever. Anyway, the moment I discovered that this book existed, via Lee-Anne Fox on … More Travel Library: Iceland by Kayak by Nigel Foster
This book holds a record for the longest time between reading it and getting onto my Travel Library! I bought it in Exeter back in September, on my way back from my weekend on Dartmoor, devoured the first chapter eagerly on the bus… and then it took until December to actually finish it and now … More Travel Library: Epic Continent by Nicholas Jubber
Well, it feels very late to be publishing this considering I started reading it at 7am on official release day on January 11th but there’s been so much Georgia stuff and I had other stuff to slot in but finally, it’s time for Alastair Humphreys’ Local. I read his Ask An Adventurer last year and … More Travel Library: Local by Alastair Humphreys
I was most excited about the enamel workshop, out of all the tours we did in Georgia. A traditional craft, one I’d never even considered having a go at! I watched videos on how cloisonné enamel is made and honestly, I realised it was going to take longer than the three hours allotted. At the … More An enamel workshop and the ancient capital of Georgia
I know, it’s only been two weeks since the last Travel Library but a) I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of Georgia posts that are starting on Thursday and b) I wanted a bit of breathing room between getting home and getting the first post out. Of course, today’s book isn’t technically about travel. … More Travel Library: Kvachi by Mikheil Javakhishvili
I Am A Polar Bear 