february 2026 books…

WH Auden, selected poems (John Fuller): I’m not very familiar with Auden’s poetry (understatement), but have been reading this book’s poems out loud to myself during my recent early morning reflections. I frequently don’t feel clever enough to appreciate the form/structure of poetry in general and/or sometimes the intellect to understand what a poet is trying to say (I’d find a scribbled ‘context note’ very useful on occasions!!), but I really enjoyed Auden’s way with words and will certainly seek out more of his poetry in due course.
Let Us Go Then, You and I (TS Eliot): Another attempt to familiarise myself with the work of renown poets! Another book that I read out loud to myself as the day was slowly emerging. My comments (above) about Auden’s writing could equally well be applied to these works from Eliot – although, I have to say, I suspect I’ll never really become one of his greatest fans!
TonyInterruptor (Nicola Barker): The novel (published in 2026) begins with a heckler disrupting a music gig… thanks to social media, the public interruption goes viral… this single event reverberates through the online world (trial by social media for artistic fraudulence?) and, as the book’s dustjacket puts it, “poses fundamental questions about authenticity, the internet, love and truth”. I think it’s a very funny, clever, satirical book about art and authenticity in today’s somewhat pretentious world. I enjoyed the quirky relationships of the characters (and the way they collide) and the wealth of ideas the author conjures up… but, did I enjoy it? Well, not entirely… and, once again(!), I was left thinking that my intellect (and/or lack of familiarity with how many people experience and use social media?) wasn’t quite up to appreciating it fully. My loss, no doubt.
Called By The Hills (Anuradha Roy): This is our next Storysmith bookgroup choice (theme: non-fiction). Initially, I confused the writer with another Indian writer (Arundhati!) – but soon realised that Anuradha was an acclaimed author in her own right… and also a gifted artist, potter and passionate gardener. The book tells the story of how, more than 25 years ago, she and her husband stumbled upon a derelict, tiny cottage/hut in the hill station of Ranikhet (in northern India, west of Nepal). As a result, they decided it was where they wanted to live – leaving the freneticism of Delhi behind – and so began their story of building a home and a garden on the edge of the Himalayan wilds. It all sounds rather idyllic – and indeed it is. But also full of challenges such as times of severe rains, landslips, falling trees, insects, snakes, leopards, surrounding poverty, isolation and lack of basic services. However, in these times of depressing politics, politicians and celebrities, I found this gentle, humane and beautiful book (which has several reproductions – sadly small in size – of her beautiful watercolour paintings) about her home, her surroundings, her dogs and the local characters that embellish her life rather wonderful. I absolutely loved it.
I Remember (Joe Brainard): Strangely, in recent weeks, I’ve found myself recalling brief moments from my life (and have vaguely wondered if I should start compiling a list?)… and then came across Brainard’s book (he was writer and artist who died from AIDS in 1994, aged 52), which is packed with “I remember” thoughts (more than 1,500 of them!)… so, I obviously had to buy a copy! In the event, although there were several laugh-out-loud moments, I found the book pretty mundane – full of somewhat unremarkable observations such as “I remember when I was very young thinking that shaving looked pretty dangerous”… “I remember feeling sorry for kids at church, or school, who had ugly mothers”… “I remember trying to visualise what my insides looked like”. It felt as if he’d forced himself to sit down and produce these stream-of-consciousness thoughts in one sitting while consuming several bottles of wine! The book’s cover describes it as “a literary and artistic cult classic”… but I’m afraid it left me somewhat unimpressed. 

january-february 2026 books…

The Christmas Egg (Mary Kelly): One of those ‘Bristish Library Crime Classics’ (or so it says on the book’s cover)… first published in 1958. The action starts in London on 22 December: Chief Inspector Nightingale and Sergeant Beddoes have been called to a gloomy flat off Islington High Street. An elderly woman lies dead on the bed and her trunk has been looted. The woman is Princess Olga Karukhin – an émigré of Civil War Russia – her trunk is missing its glittering treasure. All the action is crammed into a 3-day period leading up to Christmas… there were times when I felt that the pace of developments felt unrealistically swift and straightforward (with the sergeant seemingly able to receive and implement orders/pursue leads FAR quicker than the police do in ‘Midsomer Murders’ – even without the internet, mobile phones and the like!). An intriguing, well-written, easy-read, get-away-from-the-world-of-Mr-Trump, typical crime novel.
Journey Into Cyprus (Colin Thubron): Apparently, this is the first Thubron book I’ve read (well, it’s the only one since I started my blog 20 years ago… but I feel sure there have been others before that!). First published in 1975, the book is Thubron’s account of his 600-mile trek (in 1972) around the island of Cyprus – before the Turkish invasion in 1974. It’s part-geographical/travel, part-history and, crucially for me, includes accounts with some of the people he met en-route and their generosity/hospitality (he frequently overnighted in monasteries, but also often accepted a mattress in a family’s tiny, simple home). Thubron is an excellent writer and I very much enjoyed his fascinating observations and insights (eg. the island’s unhappy+unequal divisions; the contrasting Gothic+Byzantine architecture; the contrasting Greek Orthodox+Sunni Muslim faiths; the Greek+Turkish traditions… not to mention the climate and the food!).
Home Stretch (Graham Norton): I’m not (with certain exceptions) a great lover of books written by so-called celebrities, but hey! This is a novel set in a small Irish community in 1987. The local community is shattered by a terrible car accident which kills 3 young people and seriously injures a fourth. Two young men survive unscathed. Out of a sense of guilt, one of them decides he needs to leave the community, taking his secrets with him… but the awful event continues to haunt him over the course of years and, ultimately, he feels the need to confront his past. It’s a book about love, loss, and acceptance… I think I’ll leave it there (*no spoilers*). It’s an enjoyable, very readable novel (albeit maybe a bit predictable/dumbed down?). Norton is a good storyteller. 
The Nikel Boys (Coleson Whitehead): This is our next Blokes’ bookgroup selection. Based on a real-life brutal Florida reform school in the 1960s, this novel (first published in 2019) demonstrates how racism in America has long operated (in the words of one reviewer) as a “codified and sanctioned activity”. With all the horrible stuff currently happening in the US about what the current administration has characterised as a “public safety operation aimed at deporting criminals illegally in the country”, reading this novel felt like a timely reminder that some things there (albeit not so blatantly colour-prejudiced) haven’t really changed. Elwood was raised by his grandmother. He was a bright boy (getting good grades). He’s inspired by his civil rights activist teacher and by the writings of Martin Luther King… but he ended up being sent to the Nickel Reform school through an error of judgement (he’d hitched a ride with a man who’d stolen the car!). Once inside, getting out proved to be almost impossible. Rigid black and white segregation; racist staff; violent beatings (years later, they discover bodies buried in unmarked graves on the school site). It’s an incredibly powerful, shocking story which ‘brought me up short’ on more than one occasion (*no spoilers*). A devastating, moving and impressive novel.
The Soulwater Pool (Claire Williamson): I first read this 10 years ago. The story unfolds over 2 days and features five characters and is set out in short, poetic reflections (often just a single page long) – each given a heading in the form of the named character and their location (eg.”Ella: In the Park”). It’s a surprising and subtle book – enhanced by the starkness of its rather beautiful format. Excellent.   

hamnet...

Moira and I went along to the Watershed yesterday to see Chloé Zhao’s film based on Maggie O’Farrell’s extraordinary, brilliant book (which I read 5 years ago) – which reimagines the agonising loss of a child as the source of Hamlet’s grand stage drama. It locates the play’s beginning in the imagined anguish of Shakespeare and his wife, Anne/Agnes Hathaway, at the death of their son Hamnet at the age of 11 in 1596 (apparently, there’s linguistic evidence that the two names could be used interchangeably) a few years before the play’s first performance - and long before Shakespeare had started to become recognised in London for his writing. It’s an incredibly painful and stark reminder of a time when disease was rife and childhood death common.
The performances of Paul Mescal (Will) and Jessie Buckley (Agnes) are quite, quite brilliant … and also the performances of their children (played by Jacobi Jupe, Olivia Lines and Bodhi Rae Breathnach) were beautifully impressive – as was the cinematography by Łukasz Żal and the score by Max Richter.
After having read O’Farrell’s magnificent book, there was part of me that didn’t want to see the film on the basis that it wouldn’t do the book justice… but I needn’t have worried, it’s been wonderfully adapted (O’Farrell and Zhao were screenplay co-writers).
I cried… I think you might cry too.
Just go and see it… you MUST. 

january 2026 books…

Smart-Aleck Kill (Raymond Chandler): Four short(ish), interconnected crime stories, first published in 1958, involving a private detective hired by a film studio to handle a blackmail threat against a director. Needless to say, it’s all very complicated… and involves drugs, mobsters, hit-squads and shoot-outs. Frankly, I was never really a lover of Chandler’s books and this merely confirmed my opinion. Sorry.
The Blank Wall (Elisabeth Sanxay Holding): First published in 1947, the novel portrays the everyday realities of the American home front (with all its rationing and shortages) through the eyes of Lucia Holley – a mother of two in New York with a husband serving in the Navy and a father also part of the household. She writes letters to her husband at war and generally manages all the domestic issues – but there are also darker, unexpected challenges that arise when she finds herself unexpectedly entangled in a web of criminal activity. Fiercely protective of her family, she is forced to navigate deception and danger to protect them and their reputations. The result is a compelling psychological thriller that is both gripping and unsettling. A tense start to the New Year!
The Heart Of A Goof (PG Wodehouse): First published in 1926 (100 years ago!), in Wodehouse’s inimitable style, this is a book about golf (the book’s cover defines ‘Goof’ as “one of those unfortunate beings who have permitted golf into their souls, like some malignant growth”!). It consists of a “nine-hole course of stories” told (hilariously) by the “Oldest Member” – who, these days, seems to spend all his time sitting a comfy chair in the clubhouse and grabbing hold of passing club members and insisting (against their better judgement) on recounting tales of days gone by and of “big two-fisted he-men floundering around (golf courses) in three figures”* (ie. failing to score below 100). As one would expect, it’s ridiculously dated and yet still very, very funny. A great escape from the idiocy of the present world in which we live.
The End We Start From (Megan Hunter): This is our latest Storysmith bookgroup choice (‘a book less than 200 pages long’ – after the previous 600+). First published in 2017 (and a mere 127 pages long), this futuristic fable tells of a woman who gives birth as flood waters close over London. Days later, they’re forced to leave home in search of safety… the long journey north will prove dangerous… It reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’. I started reading it on the day red alert weather warnings were being issued in the UK and with “tens of thousands without power” (not to mention the dystopian world of Mr Trump!). It’s a powerful, disturbing, thought-provoking and utterly believable book… and I loved its slender, poetic composition. One of those haunting books that stay with you long after you’ve finished it.
Let Me Be The Kind Who Weeps (Jon Swales): Jon Swales is an ordained Priest in the Church of England. He heads up Lighthouse – described as a “fresh expression of church for adults battered and bruised by the storms of life”. I’ve been using this book as part of my daily early morning reflections (and reading his poems out loud to myself!). I found his prose quite moving at times – especially his poems “from the margins” about his experiences with “those battered and bruised by the storms of life”. My own faith journey continues to run its somewhat disenchanted course, but I found this book both rewarding and, in many ways, encouraging. 

december 2025 books...

On Friendship (Andrew O’Hagan): My good friend Peter lent me this rather beautiful book of eight essays on friendship… which I read slowly to myself as part of my early morning reflections (apparently, they’re re-worked from a series recorded for Radio4). The essays include recollections about a lost childhood friend from the council estate where he grew up in North Ayrshire; about former colleagues at the London Review of Books, where O’Hagan made his name in the 1990s; and about his adult daughter’s bygone imaginary friend. For me, a particular highlight concerned his long-standing friendship with the late Irish novelist Edna O’Brien, whom he first met in London in 2009. They ended up meeting regularly together during which “we called upon each other to complete thoughts we were unable to have alone”. A really lovely book.
The Wilder Path (Deborah Tomkins): Tomkins attended one of the recent ‘Resonate’ sessions at St Stephen’s church… (just a side note: I thought the book’s cover+titles bore a ‘rather close’ resemblance to Raynor Winn’s ‘The Salt Path’ and ‘The Wild Silence’ books!). I was intrigued by the fact that this was a novel about Climate Change (as opposed to non-fiction). The action takes place over a number of years (I found the timescale somewhat confusing!). The book starts with Rosalie, the narrator, caught between Cornish cliffs in an unforgiving storm… reflecting back on the death of one of her sons several years before in sea tragedy (he was an environmental ‘activist’ volunteering with Greenpeace) – his death continued to haunt her; she and her family were hugely sceptical about their son’s climate concerns… but, after due research, Rosalie becomes evangelically convinced that her son was right… and, much to her family’s and friends’ cynicism, she becomes wholly immersed in advocating and adopting a carbon neutral lifestyle (given a mission to save the world?) (*no spoilers*). I have to say that I was hugely disappointed in the book… yes, the Rosalie character was a little eccentrically ‘crazy’ (understatement) but, frankly, she didn’t come across as a credible individual at all in my view. It’s a very readable book – and, in some ways, it reads a bit like a parable – but I have to say that I ended up feeling frustrated and somewhat annoyed with the author (I know!). Sorry!
Sympathy Tower (Rie Qudan): This was a ‘lucky dip’ gift from Storysmith’s Christmas party! The book attracted controversy for being partly written (5%?) using AI. It’s set in the near-future where the practice of a radical sympathy toward criminals has become the norm. Acclaimed Japanese architect, Sara Machina, has been commissioned to build a new tower in the heart of Tokyo (right next to Zaha Hadid’s Olympic Stadium) to house convicted criminals (now considered to be victims of circumstance) in “compassionate comfort” (no one every wanted to leave!). The architect is haunted by a crime she experienced as a young girl… which causes her to doubt the values of the project. The concept of the book is intriguing and clever (despite my distinct reservations about AI chatbot) but, for me, it really failed to hold my interest.
The Children’s Book (AS Byatt): This is our Storysmith Christmas/New Year book (an opportunity to read somewhat ‘longer’ books – this one: just 615 pages!). This novel, published in 2009, provides a particular slice of late 19th-century life – with its precariously utopian values, resolute Fabians, unstable artists, progressive humane values etc. Novelist Olive Wellwood (a ‘magical tales’ author) writes a special private book for each of her children, who play in a story-book world… but (as the book’s dustjacket puts it!) “their lives and those of their rich cousins and their friends are already inscribed with mystery”. It’s a complex, intricate, compelling story involving some five(?) families and in locations ranging from a rambling farmhouse in Kent; the South Kensington Museum; Dungeness; London; Germany; and Cambridge University; to war-torn battlefields and hospitals. From the very start, I quickly became aware of the vast number of characters involved (not to mention all the swarming children!) and realised that I’d never remember them all: eg. which of the individuals would come to play major roles in the story? who was related to who? Hilariously, I resorted to scribbling FOUR pages of notes that I kept referring to and adding various ‘details’ as I went along (complete with lots of arrows indicating obscure ‘potential links’ between characters)! The novel covers a wealth of subjects - from late Victorian banking crises; class; marriage; infidelity; poverty; pottery; puppetry; the Arts and Crafts; war; politics; duty; and the Fabian and suffrage movements… and a whole range of unexpected(?) couplings, sudden appearances/disappearances and individual histories of the characters themselves. At times, it’s a little difficult to keep up but, overall, it tells a credible story – although, for me, some of the ‘loose ends’ were perhaps tidied up a little too convincingly at the end. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. She’s a very gifted storyteller.
Advent Readings From Iona (Brian Woodcock+Jan Sutch Pickard): I used this book as part of my early morning reflections for the Advent period (I’ve used it as various times over the past 15 years or so). Strangely(?), although I found a number of the daily musings quite thought-provoking, overall I realised that the words (especially the biblical references) no longer resonated with me in quite the same way and I rather struggled. Somewhat typical of my spiritual journeying perhaps.
Ridiculously, it turns out that I’ve read NINETY books this year! 

2025 reflections...

I’ve been blogging New Year reflections for something like 16 years (just for me). I was tempted to drop this ‘tradition’ last year, but ended up persevering… and this year feels somewhat similar. Yes, I absolutely accept there’s nothing particularly exciting about these reflections (understatement!) – but they act as a reminder of matters that I might soon forget!
So, using the usual sort of headings:
BOOKS
This year, I’ve read 90 books (I keep a tally as a reminder!)(last year it was 80 and the previous year 85!). It seems ridiculous that I used to be one of those people who only read four books a year – and two of them would have been while on holiday! My favourite books were probably: The Crooked Cross (Sally Carson)(I’m a sucker for Persephone books!); Once Upon A River (Diane Setterfield); Proof Of My Innocence (Jonathan Coe); The Children’s Book (AS Byatt); Hostages To Fortune (Elizabeth Cambridge); Sculling (Sophie Dumont); Tell Me Everything (Elizabeth Strout); Highway Cello (Kenneth Wilson); Little Boy Lost (Marghanita Laski); and The Fortnight In September (RC Sherriff).
FILMS
I think I’ve watched 18 films this year at the Watershed. These were my favourites: The Ballad Of Wallis Island; Blue Road; A Complete Unknown; Steve; The Phoenician Scheme; The Thing With Feathers; Prime Minister; and I’m Still Here.
THEATRE
My/our theatre-going has been pretty awful this year (partly due to Moira’s hearing struggles; one trip to Bristol Old Vic (Your Starter For Ten) and one to the Tobacco Factory (The Winter’s Tale – featuring Felix).
CONCERTS
Bristol Beacon: Graham Nash (a highlight); Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; and London Symphony Orchestra. St George’s: O’Hooley+Tidow; and Takács Quartet. Bristol Cathedral: Simon Watterton.
EXHIBITIONS
Thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the impressive Harris Gallery (especially the Ocean Mother exhibition), Preston; Hauser+Wirth Gallery, Somerset; the Barbara Walker, Dana Awartani and Sahara Longe exhibitions at the Arnolfini; Helios (Bristol Cathedral); Brutal Bristol (Sparks, Bristol); Holburne Museum (Diedrick Brackens), Bath; plus various exhibitions at the RWA (we have Art Passes so drop in quite frequently), including: Summer Exhibition; Connecting Threads; Paule Véselay; and Paper.
SPORT EVENTS
Didn’t watch any football or rugby, apart from going to watch the Women’s World Cup Rugby Semi-final game at Ashton Gate between Canada and New Zealand (and saw my first ‘live’ Haka!)… which was excellent. Once again, cricket was my main ‘live’ sport this year: Somerset (at Taunton) once and Gloucestershire (in Bristol) three times; also watched cricket at Bedminster CC on a few occasions… but must do better next year!!
ART
This is my main form of ‘activity’! I continue posting on my daily ‘One Day Like This’ blog (a drawing and a photograph on alternate days) – which has been running for the past 13 years (since September 2012) and has now amassed over 4,850 posts.
I continue to be involved in the wonderful Urban Sketchers Bristol group (I’ve participated for the past 7 plus years and continue to be one of the administrators). We celebrated our 10^th Anniversary this year – so put on ‘birthday’ exhibitions at CassArt and on board MV Balmoral. We meet at least once a month throughout the year and usually meet up in a pub to share our sketchbooks afterwards. I also try to get to the Urban Sketchers Bath gatherings on a regular basis.
I continue to enjoy the fact that the cathedral is our next-door neighbour… and the building and its beautiful garden have continued to be one of my regular sketching locations.
HOLIDAYS
Holidays don’t really feature highly in our lives… but we did have a lovely few days at Salisbury in February; and an excellent break at Ilfracombe in June (in a lovely flat directly overlooking the turquoise sea – and the sun shone!). We also had an enjoyable few days in the Buckshaw area with Alice+Co in November.
HEALTH
We’re both getting older! Medication has continued to keep Moira’s Parkinson’s in check (which is brilliant)… but, by its very nature, its effects vary on a day-to-day basis. Rest and diet continue to be important – as is regular exercise; Moira impressively (to me) does her ‘PD Warrior’ exercises via video link perhaps three times a week. At times, she struggles with sciatica (and knee issues) and visits a physiotherapist on a regular basis.
As for me, like all us oldies, I really don’t like the ageing process… but I’m really doing ok.
SPIRITUAL STUFF
I am no longer a church service attender – which has been the case for more than three years now. Moira continues to attend church pretty regularly. I miss the people, but I don’t actually miss the ‘church stuff’ – although I do continue to go along to our weekly 7.30am café gatherings - referred to as ‘Blokes Prayer’ (and we are all ‘ageing males’) - consisting of six or so old fogeys – who have become special friends and which has now been going for more than 7 years. I suppose it’s effectively become my ‘church’ (or nearest equivalent). I continue to be disenchanted by the Church of England.
I’m a very early riser and, these days, use much of my early morning time sitting in my ‘thinking seat’ - reading words from the likes of Mary Oliver, Richard Holloway or poets/writers such as my friends Chris Goan and Ian Adams… and sometimes even writing stuff myself – and, of course, looking at the emerging day from our balcony. They’re very special times.
REUNIONS:
2025 was a year of several reunions. During the course of the year, I/we met up with Dave+Sue; Gerry+Merry Carol; Alan+Gareth; Adrian; Ted+Paddy and Steve+Bev; Nick+Christine; Ken+Debby; and with my cousins Jackie, Janet, Lyn+Barry… and, of course, more regular get-togethers with Gail+Ian; Diane+Steve; and Pete, Bob+Steve.
STUFF FOR 2026?:
• Continue to do my daily early morning ‘exercises’ (all 7 minutes of them!).
• Continue to monitor my weight.
• To walk more (and to continue my Leigh Woods/harbourside ambles).
• To jump on the bus to Clevedon, Portishead (and train to Bath) more regularly.
• Watch more live cricket.
• Produce another ‘Blurb’ self-published book (possibly under the heading of ‘Half A Mile From Home’?).
• Continue with my daily ‘One Day Like This’ posts (they will pass 5,000 in 2026!).
• Continue to attend urban sketching ‘events’ – both in Bristol and Bath.
• Continue to sketch at the Watershed, Cathedral and Bristol Old Vic.
OTHER STUFF:
My old early morning walking activities (eg. during Covid lockdowns) rarely happen these days… instead I enjoy watching the mornings begin… looking through our living room windows. I do, however, also enjoy taking the bus up to Leigh Woods on a regular basis… and then walking back home through the woods, tracking the River Avon towpath and then back along the harbourside.
Having said, my brother Alan and I also had a wonderful walk to Bath (along the river from Keynsham) in July… so lovely to spend time chatting and looking at our beautiful surroundings (Alan+I have also continued to get together for lunches in Brum or Bristol on a regular basis… and these have also included Barry, David and Martin at various times.
We gave up the car 8 years ago and, getting on for 3 years ago, I gave up driving altogether – so buses and trains are now our default modes of transport - but, weirdly, I seem to have developed some form of ‘anxiety’ towards travel (I know!). I really don’t like journeys away from my comfort zone.
The world seems to be full of so many challenges these days (even more than in the past?)… wars, the climate change, greed, poverty, lack of funding for the NHS, mental health, education, the growth of right-wing politics and annoying politicians (did someone mention TRUMP?!) etc. The Labour government has been a huge disappointment (playing into the hands of Farage/Reform?); could the Greens/LibDems emerge as key players?
I’m conscious that our ‘world’ has become much smaller over the years… and that we’ve probably become rather boringly unadventurous (who us?!)… but that also feels ok. Enjoying and recognising the simple pleasures of life and our lovely family and friends. Lucky us!
All in all, we continue to count our blessings.
I wish you (and all yours) a very happy, healthy and (hopefully) peaceful 2026.

old office memories…

One of the Christmas cards we’ve received this year was from my good friend Matthew - former partner from my old architecture practice, Brocklehurst Architects. Amongst his ‘news’ was the fact that, after 43 YEARS(!), they’d recently moved offices to Stokenchurch (5 miles up the road) from West Wycombe High Street.
I had joined the Practice in 1977 and was made a partner 18 months later. At that stage, our offices were located in High Wycombe, but I ended up designing a courtyard extension to the Grade II Listed building for a developer client and so we moved to West Wycombe in 1982. By the time I retired from practice in 2005, we’d already been in those offices (rented from the National Trust) for 23 years.
As you might imagine, the offices conjure up all sorts of memories for me (as well as reminding me just how old I’d become!).
There used to be up to 15 of us at any one time working there.
We initiated a ‘proper coffee break’ at 10.30am every day – the entire office staff (AND any visiting clients or consultants!) sitting around the conference table… and all of us (including partners!) taking it in turns to make the coffee (and wash up).
I introduced a 9-day fortnight work regime – probably 30 years ago (way ahead of the game!).
We seemed to spend ‘quite a few’ lunchtimes (and ‘after works’) at the George+Dragon pub in West Wycombe High Street!
The post office was just across the road – very convenient!
The daily 20-minute drive to the office from home in Thame, over the beautiful Chilterns (I used to start work at 7am most mornings).
The practice used to play the occasional game of cricket at West Wycombe House’s rather beautiful cricket ground at the end of the High Street.
Happy times!
Photo: This is my sketch of the West Wycombe office - drawn in 1982, shortly after we’d moved there (it’s the building on the right, just beyond the archway… and you can see the G+D pub sign just a few metres down the High Street!).