Have I mentioned recently that I’ve joined a Facebook group dedicated to answering the same questions about a first-time trip to Iceland? What brand of rain pants should I get? Are these waterproof socks ok? Can we tip in dollars? Is this itinerary ok? The itinerary is never ok. It features a month’s worth of … More An Iceland Itinerary for people who get Facebook to do all their research
It turns out, for some reason, I never posted the film photos I took last year in Dubrovnik. It was a beautiful time and a beautiful town, despite the billions of tourists and the number of cruise ships that came into the port every single day. Besides, I love 35mm film. I like how it … More Dubrovnik on film
This is an accountability post. I’m writing a book, theoretically. I’m also logging the time I’m spending on it, which means I can see things like “just over an hour and a half of writing in all of 2025 so far”. The trouble is that it’s for fun, which means when I’m busy, it just … More I’m writing a book about baths
This is a question that’s come up on the Iceland travel Facebook group so many times that I’m going to write an entire blog on the subject: “my flight gets in at 6am and I can’t check in to my AirBNB/hotel until 3pm. What can I do in Reykjavik?”. Really, the answer to this is … More What to do in Reykjavik when you have an early flight
It’s been a while since I added a new instalment in the Journey to Paddlesport Instructor series and that’s partly because there’s been no major step forward for a while and partly because I have an entire separate paddling blog now (I’ll admit it at last: I’m plotting to become one of Paddle UK’s #ShePaddles … More My Paddlesport Leader training course
It’s that time of year! My beloved outdoor pool is open again for the summer season and I’m going to swim – my primary semi-formal exercise of the year! I’m not a gym girlie and never will be. I’m not a “girlie” of any kind, come to that. But no, I don’t go to the … More My swimming routine
OK, when I say “camp”, I mean what my previous Guides called “indoor camp” and current Brownies calls “a sleepover”: a Brownie residential of one night at a Scout-owned campsite in indoor accommodation with bunk beds. “Brownie camp” is more succinct though. It’s 9.30pm on Sunday night, we sent our little angels home eight and … More 11 things I learned on Brownie camp
On Saturday morning, we’re taking twelve of our Brownies away for a sleepover – a mini-camp, indoors and just one night. On Monday, if I’m not too exhausted, I’ll tell you all about how it went but today let’s talk about how it was planned. First up was Tawny Owl, our licence holder, deciding it … More How to plan a Brownie sleepover
There are some camps that go down in legend, to be talked over ten or twenty years later. The one with the storm that knocked the Ranger tent over so that they were scared to go and alert the leaders and everyone ended up getting sent home for two days so we could clean up … More Back to Basics Guide camp was definitely type 2 fun
I recently joined a Facebook group dedicated to people travelling to Iceland, with some idea that I could be useful on there. Instead, I found upwards of 60 responses to every question before I even got there, most posted anonymously and with some disclaimed along the lines of “everyone is really snarky so if you … More Stupid questions you were afraid to ask the first time you went to Iceland (summer edition)
I Am A Polar Bear 