Form following function... Shallots hanging on twisted ropes of their own leaves. Thought I’d try it this year instead of braiding and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. #gardening #gardeningsky #growyourown #gyo

My first border tulips of the year have got their party clothes on 🌷

It’s early sowing time! Kinda crowded in the greenhouse with all the over-wintering stuff still here too, but I’ll find room somewhere! #gardening #gardeningsky #growyourown

Icy night tonight, so don’t mind if we do

Ivy and a touch of frost today.

My greenhouse pepper plants are finally going into overwintering mode (or done-for mode, we’ll see how they go this year) so everything got picked, ready or not. Mostly ‘De Cayenne’ that were left, with a few plucky sweet peppers thrown in. #GardeningSky #Gardening

It’s Christmas season in the garden! #garden #gardening

The temperature’s been all over the place and most things that need a bit of cover are in their winter digs. Like this Alstroemeria “Indian Summer” - one of the most popular varieties for good reason - which is loving the extended season it gets.

Since we’re loving Wicked right now, here are my two copies… one’s a hardback First, and one’s a post-West End show tie-in paperback, but the paperback is signed, so I’m honour bound to keep both. It’s hard work, giving up those two extra inches of bookshelf for book nerd reasons…

I have that! Looks like yours is VG, I’d only call mine G, bit roughed at the corners…

We’ve been away on a city break, so I’m seeing my garden in the light for the first time since the middle of last week. This was unexpected. #gardening

There’s debate over what “real reading” is? Pictured here are facsimile copies from the First Folio of Shakespeare. Written to be spoken yet people have bought them to read for pleasure for four hundred years. So it goes both ways. What matters is that you love the words. The arguments are nonsense.

I call these two my Shelves of Outstanding Britishness 📖🎩 #BookSky #AgathaChristie

I was just sent this picture from Kings Cross, and more importantly St Pancras, in the snow. I’m enjoying the pictures of the UK snow today; unfortunately South Cambridgeshire is just one big rain puddle.

Snowflakes to the left of me Blankets to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

This is one of the favourite books that I own, “A Vade Mecum for Malt-Worms”. A vade mecum is a handbook, and a malt-worm is a beer lover. Printed in 1860, it’s a reprint of pamphlets originally printed and sold at The Crown in Paternoster Row in London around 1720. Probably the original pub guide 🍺

I put it in a reply yesterday, but since there’s so much book love on BlueSky at the moment I’ll “proper” post it again… one of my happy places, and a sanctuary in a crazy world. A lifelong dream come true.

I didn’t post it anywhere at the time, but I did remember to snap a photo (before it went in G&Ts): my very last cucumber of the year (“Carmen”), picked on Tuesday. Mid-November, who’d have thought it.

It was… also here’s the motherboard I’m framing :)

This is the room I spent most of my life wanting, never thought I’d actually have, but somehow now actually have. It’s the happiest of happy places.