Have you heard of PLJ? It’s a “cordial” you dilute to drink. PLJ is the brand: the product is pure lemon juice. It was advertised in the ...

Read this shocking report about the huge increase in British arms sales to repressive regimes, including ones involved in the Arab Spring. ...

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know how vital it was to me to get the cover exactly right on BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT ...

Several months ago my family in San Francisco changed their telephone system. Since then they have always sounded 5,000 miles away when t...

Look what Dave made for me with the stained glass I chose two weeks ago … Isn’t it beautiful? When I’m away, he gets up to all kinds ...

…I did nothing at Jen’s, one day of doing nothing involved sitting in the sunshine in the stern of a yacht on the Solent, while Jen’s fri...

I took another pile of books to a local bookshop yesterday and was paid immediately in cash (that’s what I like!) It’s so long ago since the...

I had a perfect holiday, doing nothing with my sister Jen. The first day it rained and we spent the afternoon clearing out the top drawer ...

I’m too tired to blog, and I’m going to stay with my sister Jen for a rest. I am also switching off comments, so I don’t have to worry ...

One of my favourite things in the summer is to go outside in my pyjamas first thing in the morning and pick sweet peas. Today I brought t...

I watched Charade last night and fell in love with Audrey Hepburn’s looks and incredible chic - again. Wasn’t she fabulous? In my next life...

It’s been a busy week. My book is selling well locally and I have to keep tabs on which shops need topping up with copies. I’ve also persu...

Our village is going digital next week, and Dave and I still have a telly that is analogue and ancient and bulbous, so unless we buy a new o...

Stuart Murray, Professor of Contemporary Literature and Film at Leeds University is an expert on the representation of disability in popular...

Have you read my new book yet? (In case you don’t know what it is – BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT I LOVED YOU .) Why do I ask? Well, y...

You want to send flowers to a friend in hospital in Manhattan. First you ring the hospital to check you’re allowed to send flowers. T...

When I was in Evesham in the spring I saw a large notice at the entrance to the park that consisted of a long long list of prohibitions. N...

A story from last summer for your entertainment… The Bunny Club – a late night posting – Part 1. Do you remember I said we had a mouse in ...

These are the flowers on my kitchen work surface, in the jug my sister Jen gave me: This is the mouse that was hiding in the back porch...

The Thing Is to love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it and everything you've held dear crumbles li...

This is an extract from a review of a paperback book which appeared on Saturday in the Guardian Review . …an ambitious young architect buil...

I’m going to pull some up – and will have to blog later. The garden has become a battleground. Below is the small patch of garden from which...

I saw Tate yesterday and asked him if he’d broken into his precious ten pound note , and he said, “Yes! I’ve spent £3.50, and bought a bag o...

Here she is - m y lovely granddaughter . Yesterday, 5,000 miles away,  she took her first steps and a few minutes later I got to see them. ...

If so, please will you order a copy of my new book – BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT I LOVED YOU – from your local library? They might just b...