• Upgrading from Foil to Blades for Head Shaving

    For over four years, I’ve been shaving my head daily, starting off with a rotary shaver (Remington RX5) for the first year, before switching to a foil shaver (Babyliss Pro Titanium) for the last three years. The Babyliss was great, but I was starting to get frustrated with the cleaning process after each shave, which…

  • Review: Barbour x Baracuta Porton Wax Jacket (Harrington G9)

    Review: Barbour x Baracuta Porton Wax Jacket (Harrington G9)

    I’ve had a Navy Harrington jacket in my wardrobe for several years, but have barely worn it because I was unhappy with the material and fit. When news broke of the collaboration between Barbour and Baracuta to produce what is essentially a waxed Harrington G9, I knew I would end up getting one at some…

  • Packing Light: a Week in Shropshire

    Packing Light: a Week in Shropshire

    Last week we were on holiday in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. November holidays usually bring a mix of weather, so it was important to make sure I had flexible pieces that would enable me to cope with everything from heavy rain and near-freezing temperatures to sunny autumn days. I love to travel light on trips, and aim…

  • How I Discovered I was Losing My Hair

    It first occured to me that I might be losing my hair when I visited a barber in the village I would soon be moving to. He was proper old school, with the striped pole outside, nicotine-stained walls, fifties black-and-white prints in the windows, a white coat, and a direct manner of speaking that only…

  • Top Three Books of 2022

    Top Three Books of 2022

    My reading rate has picked up again in 2022, and this year I’ve read another mix of non-fiction, novels, and short stories, keeping track of everything through Goodreads as usual. 1st – Winner – Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Every Summer After is the New York Times bestselling debut by Carley Fortune. It’s a “second-chance…

  • Book Review: One Day in December

    Book Review: One Day in December

    One Day in December by Josie Silver. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. Josie Silver’s One Day in December is an entertaining second chance love story that begins when Laurie James first encounters Jack O’Mara as she notices him through the steamed-up windows of her bus when it pulls up at a bus stop. Their…

  • Book Review: The Catsitters

    Book Review: The Catsitters

    The Catsitters by James Wolcott. My rating: 4 of 5 stars. Johnny Downs, the protagonist in James Wolcott’s The Catsitters, has been compared to a male equivalent of Bridget Jones. I’m not sure I fully agree with that, as Downs is much cooler than Jones, and far less scatty. However, the novel certainly explores the…

  • Book Review: Every Summer After

    Book Review: Every Summer After

    Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. Every Summer After is the New York Times bestselling debut by Carley Fortune. It’s a “second-chance romance” novel that marks a step out of my comfort zone into a genre that perhaps it’s still fair to say is traditionally enjoyed by women. I’ve…