Summer Duties

I’m typing more furiously than ever today. Not necessarily because of a flood of ideas, more to do with a drop in temperature – the need to keep my digits warm is more evident than ever.

But let me take a few moments to catch up on what’s been happening. Perhaps most exciting is my first commission for Country Life – an interview with Sir Michael Coleman – has been published whilst I am already preparing another piece, more of which nearer publication time.

Not that I have neglected my regular duties. Buckinghamshire Life includes three features in the July edition: 25 Summer Treats, Green Dragon Eco Farm and an interview with the BBC’s Big Painting Challenge winner, Paul Bell. In the August edition I suggest some fabulous waterside pubs in the county.

Hertfordshire Life includes my top Picnic Locations and Eating Out features in the August issue whilst two more reviews have recently appeared in The Lady: Waddesdon’s Henry Moore: From Paper to Bronze (a short review was also carried in Buckinghamshire Life) and the National Portrait Gallery’s Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon.

My regular artist profile slot in Hampshire Life embraced former cartoonist Toni Goffe in July as well as a number of Hampshire Open Studios artists this month.

I’ve been out and about too with visits to BeaconLit and Winslow Opera - where I enjoyed a front row seat for a beautiful production of La Traviata - not to mention the Ashmolean and yet more interviews.

Let me assure you, however, I have managed to fit in a summer holiday though my family did complain about my constant note taking. Well, when you’re inspired, what else is a writer to do . . .