Travel
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Join us in Portugal on 18-21 May 2026 for our Travel Writing Retreat
This retreat is not just about improving writing skills. It is also about discovering why travel writing matters. We draw inspiration partly from 19th century English art critic John Ruskin, for whom beauty was key. Ruskin taught drawing to working men and he wanted to go beyond technique. His fundamental aim, he said, was to develop in his students a deeper appreciation of beauty. Writing works in much the same way. To describe a place well, a writer must observe more carefully than the casual traveller, noticing details and nuances that might otherwise go unseen. Travel writing fosters this kind of attention, encouraging a more engaged relationship with the world.…
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4 day Travel writing retreat 18-21 May 2026
My neighbour Stephen and I are both writers. During my last writing workshop in 2025, we discussed the possibility of a shared Travel Writing Retreat and created an event page on Facebook.We both live on Monte Agudo, near Tavira, in the Eastern Algarve. I live at Casa Alexandra and Stephen at Casa Anatôlio. Both venues will be used for workshop sessions during the retreat.We created the following text: Could this work as a spring treat – a four day travel writing course in the sunny Algarve? This course aims to give you the tools and the mindset to bring your ideas to life. There can be so much richness in…
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Blue Eyes and the Secret – A Novella
Coming soon on Kindle Blue Eyes and the Secret. A novella – Venture into the heart of the Algarve with Blue Eyes, a Balinese-spirited feral cat, as she uncovers ancient secrets and fights to protect her home on Monte Agudo. In a land where olive groves meet modern orange farms and water is scarce, Blue Eyes speaks with plant devas and heeds the whispers of the earth. When a devastating threat emerges in the form of disappearing trees, poisoned lands, and a foretold prophecy of end times, Blue Eyes must embark on a transformative journey. Guided by the wisdom of Ceres of Old and aided by a motley crew of animal…
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Reflections: Visiting Birmingham
Jim and I travelled in May and June (for nearly seven weeks) to the UK, Greece and Ireland. We are now back in Portugal. This latest post is some reflections on Birmingham, UK, our first stop. I may share more from my journal about Bloomsbury and then Ireland in other posts. The last time we lived in the UK was 15 years ago. We have not visited for the last five. On Tuesday, 7 May, we landed in Birmingham and stayed a few nights in this modern changing City. I was born and grew up in South Brum, so I know it well. Some of my memories could be clearer,…
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Mobility plan – consultation document
I am working my way through the 98 page Mobility Plan for Tavira. I have already sent in a response before the deadline of 21st March. But now because the deadline was extended after the protest outside the Camara I plan to rework my response into something much more coherent and considered. Jim and I translated the document with the help of DeepL and Google. The image charts are not translated but fairly easily understood in terms of objectives. Here is the link to the English translation of the mobility plan for Tavira. Clicking the link will open the PDF file. It is a large file 6MB even after reducing,…
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Are the community gardens in Tavira under threat? – Voicing your concerns
I was contacted by the association ACTIVE ECOTOPIA to translate documents and help spread the message about a possible threat to the Community Gardens in Tavira. Jim and I were part of the protest a few years ago to save the historic Agricultural Centre in Tavira where the Community Gardens are now flourishing.I have translated the document from Portuguese into English with the help of DeepL and added some native English sense. Coming from a large city in England we know what traffic congestion really means and why it is important to maintain as much green space and promote public transport and not cater just to cars by creating new…
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Solar and Cuba
Electricity has occupied my thoughts in the last week. Solar electricity and charging stations to be more accurate. To help the planet, we invested in an electric car, mainly because we are more or less 100% solar at home. Last week, we took off through the dry, red Alentejo countryside to Evora – a Roman town celebrate my birthday. We had done some homework about charging stations. Still, we fell at the first hurdle, not least because the instructions for charging were only in Portuguese and why not? It is Portugal, after all. We quickly translated the instructions. The other obstacle to accessing solar juice was the need for a…
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We headed towards Nepenthe.
Leaving San Francisco, we stopped off in Berkeley, or to be precise, we went onto the University campus. I half hoped to see Barbra Streisand or at least a few students demonstrating, calling out lies, declaring a strike, or asking for signatures for a petition. I love that part in the film ‘The Way We Were,’ when a young student played by Babs makes a speech on the Campus. So much passion and belief. It was Fresher’s week, so no one was carrying banners. Do they even do that at Berkeley now? From looking at the Society stalls, there was not much about campaigns to make the world a better…
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California 2019 – Maybe our last long trip?
In 2017, Jim and I started talking about a trip to California. My ageing hippy consciousness kept telling me to go and visit the places I grew up in films and books. I also now have a couple of dear American friends, one of whom lived in California and helped with ideas for the trip. I don’t know why I didn’t write much as the journey progressed. Somewhat saturated, I guess it has taken time to reflect on the colours and stories. We visited friends along the way, a couple I only know from Facebook and a kind ex-Jehovah’s Witness who invited us into their home in Tucson. The visit…
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Cambodia: the circus and plastic – Eco-tourism
I have fallen in love with Cambodia. We have been here for over two weeks, and I feel rejuvenated in a way that I find difficult to understand or articulate. I am trying to work out why Cambodia has enlivened my spirit. The intense oranges and greens of the landscape and the solid temples, mixed with a touch of French colonial culture, have captured my heart. Old art, drawings, and paintings sit on Cafe walls as a silent testament to an age before the Khmer Rouge. It feels like being dropped into a warm, soapy bath that smells of jasmine, but it is not like that at all. Our trip…
