Real life
Stefano the Albanian turned up in a brand new Audi off-roader, cutting quite the dash. He looked older, with some…
Real life
My friendly neighbourhood Lib Dems have put some campaign literature through my door. In a covering note, they intimate that…
Real life
Darcy is high-maintenance, so I decided to leave her in the posh livery yard, with its luxuriant shavings beds and…
Real life
Easier by far to load up my horses and move them to the next village than try to fight the…
Real life
Like Steve McQueen gone slightly to seed, the builder boyfriend strode off into the sunset. Nothing becomes him so much…
Real life
‘This situation is Rorke’s Drift,’ said the builder boyfriend, after our proposed renovations were objected to at the parish council’s…
Real life
Turns out you can’t eat grass. A horse does something clever to it in its mouth that humans can’t. Fine,…
Real life
After a tense two week stand-off, the Balham Airbnb Crisis has been resolved. My upstairs neighbour and I have drawn…
Real life
Some people call their house Dun Roamin’ to sum up their state of mind. After ten weeks ministering to my…
Real life
Hello, Cydney spaniel here. She’s lying in a darkened room so I’m to tell you what happened. To cut a…
Real life
Buffy Sainte-Marie said it best. ‘The lights of town are at my back, my heart is full of stars./ And…
Real life
The gloves are off in my battle with the two brothers who live in the flat upstairs. They have just…
Real life
The cottage of my dreams (or possibly worst nightmares) proved rather difficult to purchase, not least because the agent selling…
Real life
I am becoming the Basil Fawlty of Airbnb. Almost everything that tormented Basil has tormented me since I started taking…
Chips with everything
Compulsory microchipping of dogs will hurt caring pet owners – but help busybodies
Real life
My adventures in penury land me with two job applications on my screen, one for MI6, one for Sainsbury’s. Do…
Real life
After a year of affordable car insurance, I knew I had to be in for it when my premium came…
Real life
If you are the sort of person who enjoys tinkering with a classic car prone to myriad mechanical problems then…
Real life
Diamonds are for ever. Plumbers take a lifetime. They never finish. No job is too big or small for them…
Real life
‘Racing is 99.9 per cent disappointment,’ said the trainer philosophically, as I sat in the yard sipping coffee, waiting for…
Real life
Darcy trod on a screw. Five little words which, if Darcy was anything other than a thoroughbred horse, might signify…
Real life
The last time I bought a set of tyres in south London I came away not quite knowing whether I…
Real life
My upstairs neighbours are terribly nice, but too naive to be allowed to renovate their flat in peace. The two…
Real life
After the £1,100 quote from the vet in London I drove down the A3 and out the other side of…
Real life
If these speed awareness courses get much more entertaining and informative they might become a dangerous incentive to break the…






























